Division IV

Progenitor: Carsten Jansen (1634 - c. 1697)
Birthplace: unknown; first recorded in New Amsterdam in 1656
Possible origin: Scandinavia
Current Y-DNA terminal haplogroup: R-S3525
Also known as: Corson families of Cape May County, New Jersey
Division database: Descendants of Carsten Jansen (webtrees database)

Carsten Jansen and his wife Barbara arrived in New Amsterdam aboard the ship De Bever on December 20, 1656.  They settled in Gravesend, Long Island.  His origins are suspected to be Scandinavian, but firm proof has not been established.  There has been speculation of Dutch origins by a few.  Carsten crossed the Atlantic at least twice; he arrived again on October 12, 1662 aboard De Purmerlander Kerck. An unconfirmed source says Carsten was born on Long Island in 1634. Flatbush Town Records (no. 1006, pp 246-247) say that the mother of Carsten Jansen was buried on November 5, 1665.  There are many references to Carsten and sons John and Peter in the town records of Gravesend and Flatbush in what is now Kings County, part of New York City. 

The two sons of Carsten, John and Peter, were married in Gravesend, but later settled in Cape May, New Jersey.  John married Maria (Mary) Daws/Daas, who may have been of English descent.  However, her family were members of the Dutch Reformed Church and spelled their surname "Daas".  Her father was Elias (Eliose). Peter married Deborah.  Her origins and surname have not been established.

After they settled in New Jersey, John and Peter were affiliated with the Quakers.  Whether they might have been introduced in Gravesend is not established. Gravesend was an area of much Quaker persecution, and many other families from that area emigrated to southern New Jersey. The family did not remain in the Quaker following, as evidenced by the number who served in the American Revolutionary War, and by later military records.

Variations: CORSON, CARSTEN, CORSTON, COSEN, CAUSON, COSTON, KARSTEN, CARSTENSEN

Maps:

• Birthplaces of Division IV descendants born with the Corson surname:

Main Reference Works:

• "The Cape May County, New Jersey, Corson Family", Ch. I-XXI of Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America, by Orville Corson, 1939, Vol. II, pp. 1-262.
• The History of Cape May County, New Jersey: From the Aboriginal Times to the Present Day. Lewis Townsend Stevens, 1897.

Notable Division IV Descendants:

Fred Pierce Corson (1896-1985), president of World Methodist Council in 1961

Dale R. Corson (1914-2012), physicist and former President of Cornell University

Division-specific Links: