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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CORSON LINES

Unless otherwise credited, these notes on the various lines are derived from Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America, by Orville Corson.  Some of the more common variants are listed with each division.  For a more complete listing of variant spellings go to our Variants  page.


RESEARCH HELP

The organization has established 'Division Coordinators', who have a degree of expertise and experience in researching each of these lines.  For specific research help you are encouraged to post to the RootsWeb Surname Mailing Lists.

If you find a connection, or have any questions about the possibilities, then please contact us and exchange information.  Your contribution to the dialogue will help extend and revise our information for the benefit of all.


MAJOR DIVISIONS

I. NEW ENGLAND: Descendants of Cornelius Cursonwhit (c.1660-c.1710)

II. SUSSEX CO., NJ: Descendants of Jan Corszen (c.1649-1703)

III. STATEN ISLAND, NY: Descendants of Cors Pieterszen (1612-1655)

IV. CAPE MAY, NJ: Descendants of Carsten Jansen (1634-c.1697)

VII. HUNTERDON CO., NJ: Descendants of Jacob Corson (born c.1740)

XV. SOUTHERN UNITED STATES: Descendants of unknown Courson progenitor

Maps:

Birthplaces of major-Division descendants born with Corson/Colson/Coursen surname (data incomplete):

 

MINOR DIVISIONS

V. GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND.   Coordinator: 

Immigrant families have been identified from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.
Group V-a: The Scottish line of Corson or Corsane is said by some to descend from Corsani or Corsini brought from Italy to Scotland during the 1200's. These early lines are sketchy, but later the line is more firmly detailed in Marr on the River Nith in Scotland. Later descendants have been identified in Ohio and elsewhere in the US; in Ontario, Canada; and in Australia and New Zealand.  Described in Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America, Vol. II, Chap. XXII, pp. 263-269.
Variant spellings: CORSON, CORSANE, CORSAN, CARSON, CARSONS, ACCARSONS, CORSANI, CORSINI

  • "The Corsons of Dumfriesshire, Scotland", Ch. XXII from Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America, by Orville Corson, 1939, Vol. II, pp. 263-269. (available to CCFHA members in the members-only section)

Group V-b: The Curzon line in England traces its ancestry to a Courson from Brittany, France (see Division IX) who invaded with William the Conqueror in 1066. The family now uses the name Curzon, but other name variants also occur there and have immigrated to the US.  The Curzon family used the following device:

 

 


Variant spellings: CURSON, CURZON 
Many 19th and 20th century "Corson" immigrants reached the United States from Ireland, but no family pattern has as yet been established for that country.
(The Division V designation was previously limited to the Scottish family)

VIII. COLSONS not derived from Corsons.   Coordinator:  

    This group includes families whose progenitor was named Colson, Colston, or a close variant.  Examples include Adam Cols(ton), born ca. 1660, who lived in Boston, Mass.  Other Colsons are listed at the site for Colson Family Genealogy.

Variant spellings include: COLSON, COLESON, COULSON, COLSTON, COULSTON

IX. Europe -> US.  Coordinator: 

     This group is for families whose roots are in Europe (other than the United Kingdom or Germanic countries). Immigrants have been identified from Scandinavia, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Austria, Italy, Greece, Malta, Spain, and the Isle of Man.
Variant spellings include: COURSON, CORSANI, CORSINI, KORSAN, KORSEN, KORSON, KORZAN, KORZEN, KORZIN.

     One prominent family in this group is the COURSON family of Brittany, France.  In 1881, descendant Robert de Courson described this family in Historical Research on the Courson Family in Brittany and England from 1066 to 1881 (original title: Recherches historiques sur la maison de Courson en Bretagne et in Angleterre depuis 1066 jusqu'à 1881).  The breton family carried the following arms:

One descendant of this family,  Joseph Marie Corson, moved to from St. Malo, Brittany, France to Mauritius in 1792.  His descendants established a tea company there, the Corson Tea Estate.  One of their products:

 

XI. AFRICAN-AMERICAN.   Coordinator:  Iverne Rinehart M002  [email protected]

     Census reports show there were Corson families of African extraction in the US at least as early as 1820, when three free Black families were enumerated in New York City.  By 1840 free African Americans were also living in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and in later years the pattern continued to spread. Following the Civil War and emancipation, still more Corson families of African extraction appear in the record, especially in the South. Further research is needed to determine if the surname was adopted from former slave owners, admired acquaintances, or other sources. More research is likewise needed to see if any of these families were related, and if any of the lines continue to the present.
Variant spellings: CORSAN, CORSEN, CORSON, COURSAN, COURSEN, COURSON, CURSON

XII. NATIVE AMERICAN.  Coordinator: 

     Census reports sporadically show Corson and Corsum families identified as American Indians. The earliest entries were in 1880 for two families in Texas. By 1900 there were entries in Pennsylvania and Washington state, but no continuity has been found so far. Further research is needed.

XIII. CANADIAN & Other AMERICAS; MISC. & UNATTACHED.   Coordinator:  Gale Corson M139 [email protected]

     Several significant "Corson" families live in Canada, including one with Metis roots. A few immigrants have come from Latin American and the West Indies.

  • "The Canadian Corson Family", Ch. XXV from Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America, by Orville Corson, 1939, Vol. II, pp. 285-287. (available to CCFHA members in the members-only section)

COMPILED FAMILY HISTORIES
*Orville Corson: Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America,  in two volumes with index, hardbound; volume one, 303 pp; volume two, 336 pp., Burlington, Vermont, Free Press Interstate Printing Corporation, 1939 . LOC# CS71.C828 1939 [40007956] (Out of Print; copyright expired)

Reprints are available from: Higginson Book Company, 148 Washington St., POB 778, Salem, MA 01970, tel. 978-745-7170,  <http://www.higginsonbooks.com/>
These are quality hardbound copies made by a photocopy process on a custom-order basis. Either volume may be ordered separately.

Alternately, microfiche copies can be purchased from the New York State Library.

Woodruff, Francis W. (1909), The Coursens of Sussex County New Jersey. A Reprint from The Woodruffs of New Jersey. *Book or CD $10.95
Ullman, Percival G. (1918), The Coursens from 1612 to 1917, Compiled from Ancient and Modern Records with the Staten Island Branch, 88 pgs. *Book or CD $10.95
*Available from Quintin's Family History Centre, Quintin Publications, 22 Delta Dr., Pawtucket, RI 02860, 1-800-747-6687  http://www.quintinpublications.com/familygenealogies_n.html  

Site maintained by  Michael Corson (CCFHA Member M-297). Please report any errors, comments, or suggestions to

The CCFHA web site originally created by Jeff Owens (CCFHA Member M-260).

This page updated 03 Dec 2011

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