When sending inquires or corrections,
please indicate Bristol (William of Portsmouth) Corys line of the family.

This web site is a combined effort. It is through the help of many people that have contributed information, that we are able to present this. We thank them, as I know you will. There are, I am sure, many inaccuracies, mistakes, typing errors, etc. Please send any corrections, additions, comments to the webmaster so that this site and the Ancestry databases may be updated.

The information in this database was from the data used in the creation of the William Cory Line in Volume 2 of Corys in America, 2nd Edition by Al B. Cory. The information has been updated and corrected from the published work.  Many of the corrections were furnished by then Societies Genealogist, Charlotte Muller.

The Bristol database contains six separate trees. 

  1. John Corye (1580 -1621 Bristol)
  2. John Corey (est 1760 RI - ?)
  3. Rufus Marcus Corey (est 1768 - ?)
  4. Elias M. Corey (1826 NY– 1871 PA)
  5. Clement Cory (est 1815 PA)
  6. Emery J. Corey (1832 NY – 1897 PA)

The Bristol database has been published as one Ancestry.com Tree.  If and when the connection between the trees is established, they will be connected.

William of Portsmouth (Ancestry Tree)

William Cory was born about 1628 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. He was christened on 21 May 1634 in St James Parish Church, Bristol. His parents were John Corye and Agnis Wauker. His father was a sailor, and after he died, Agnis married John Roome. Agnis died in 1669/70 in Rhode Island.

It is not known when William travelled to America or with whom. The first record of William in Massachusetts was when he received a grant of land at Portsmouth, Rhode Island, 10 December 1657. He had a grant of 8 acres of land. Ann Roome, his grandmother, was the grantor. 18 May 1658 William was made a freeman. 28 Oct 1662 he let or hired out his now dwelling house, with fenced land, to Peter Folger of Newport, for five years with conditions for improving the farm.. He was a carpenter and a Freeman, marrying Mary Earle, daughter of Ralph Earle of Portsmouth, and the family did well in the whaling industry. William returned to England with his brother-in-law in 1669/70 to claim property deeded to him by his grandmother. He died on 8 Feb 1681/82 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI.

Records for 1667 show the widow of John Roome deeded two mansions in the parish of St James, Bristol, to William but there is no corresponding records in Bristol. William had two sisters and one brother, Thomas, who died in 1623.

For the most part, the descendants of William have elected to add an "e" to their name.  This has been added at various times.   In the UK, the name is most often spelled Cory.

Further information is need to tie in the William of Portsmouth line to their English ancestors.  Currently all we know is that he originated in Bristol, England, but we have been unable to locate any Cory family in that area with the same DNA. Further DNA data is required to make this connection. All male Corys are welcome to participate in our joint DNA project.  Please refer to our DNA page for further information.