Thanks for the information! The confusion comes in when the name is “George Corwin, Jr.,” as — today — that usually means George Jr. is the son of George Sr.

My cursory search of the records didn’t clear it up for me, and — before I finish my book — I’ll need to roll up my sleeves and get into the church and probate records of that era. Clearly, census records and anecdotes aren’t enough, and this is typical of the naming trends of that time.

With two lines naming their sons George, it’s likely (but not certain) that the father of John and Jonathan was named George, and that would explain the “Junior” note. (This is not the same as “Jno” in records, which often stood for the name John or Jonathan.)

Because the Corwin lineage is so old in America, DAR and other records have documented the family. Unfortunately, those documents aren’t always as reliable or consistent as they might be.

So, this means primary source research, as much as possible. Since my own ancestors were in Salem in 1692, I was going to have to go to primary source materials anyway, making this doubly productive research.

I appreciate the research tip, thanks!

Cheerfully,
Fiona

George Corwin, Jr., the Sheriff of Essex County during the Witchcraft episode, was not the son of Jonathan Corwin. His father was John Corwin, brother to Jonathan. I beleve Jonathan DID have a son named George, but he was not the sheriff.

I’m not sure. I’ll need to plot it out on a map.

Someone else told me that the line goes through Provincetown, but I’ll need to check it to be sure.

Also, I only talk about one line in this article. There’s more than one. That’ll be in my book about Salem’s ghosts, and I’ll include extensions of the lines to see where else this energy might cause hauntings.

Cheerfully,
Fiona