Anna & Laura Tirocchi – Dressmakers to the Elite
January 5, 2010
The Prentice Mansion at 514 Broadway, Providence, site of the shop operated by sisters Anna and Laura Tirocchi from 1915 to 1947.
Anna Tirocchi
Anna & Laura Tirocchi were a famed and successful dressmaking sister team I happened to come across because of my interest in a British t.v. series called The House of Elliot (apparently, partly based on the Tirocchis).
What a complete surprise it was to find her business was patronized by some Braytons, Mrs. Dwight Waring (daughter of Lizzie’s defense attorney, Andrew Jennings) et.al. of Fall River. And from Providence, we have Preston Gardner’s wife Mary, and daughter, Maude, all of whom received considerable money and jewelry from Emma’s Will.
Another notable from Providence is Mrs. William G. Thurber, whose husband was Vice President of Tilden-Thurber, the store where Lizzie shoplifted two paintings on porcelain only 4 years after her acquittal. An incident in which Preston Gardner came to the rescue and an action for which Emma Borden was eternally grateful.
Anyway, back to the Tirocchi sisters. They operated a shop in Providence from 1911 to the mid 1930’s. The stock market crash was the beginning of it’s demise. Anna said that 1927 was their “best year ever.”
If you’ve already read the basic background linked above, consider their elite client list that reads like a Who’s Who of Fall River’s and Providence’s upper crust.
When you click on Client list you can then click on a woman’s name. You then find out who her husband was. Then you can click on “Transactions” for what she purchased (keep in mind that a dress costing $200 had the equivalent purchasing power of nearly $2,400 in today’s money), and “Correspondence” for letters she wrote and/or received.
Tirocchi’s clientele is addressed HERE. (then click “The Clients”)
One notable is Jessie Brayton – John Summerfield Brayton, Sr.
It was Jessie’s husband who was the recipient of the well known letter written on August 31, 1900 by Lizzie Borden about his noisy bird that crowed so loudly and made her nervous. My, my. Talk about dress threads that bind!
Her grandson was extremely accomplished, and it was his father, Jonathan Summerfield Brayton III, who was the discoverer of that above mentioned letter.
Not only did Anna keep precise records of sales and who these women were married to but she had all their measurements – not surprising for a dressmaker but enlightening to Borden researchers. Here’s the one for Mrs. Elizabeth Brayton.
This entire website is a marvel to explore and a person can spend a good two hours finding out who these women were. I was getting visions of that film “The Women” directed by George Cukor – the early scenes of the ladies in the dressing rooms …. but I digress.
Anna Tirocchi in the Butler Exchange workroom, making the final adjustments to a dress; ca. 1914.
The contents of the Tirocchi dress shop at 514 Broadway was offered to the Rhode Island School of Design Museum by sister Laura’s son, Dr. Louis Cella, Jr. No wonder the staff, inventorying for over year, was thrilled with what they found!! Indeed, so was I.
And a big THANK YOU, DR. CELLA!!!
P.S. If Lizzie had an account there, she certainly didn’t use her real name.
A Lizzie Borden Documentary by Ric Rebelo
December 31, 2009
Here’s a snippet from “Lizbeth – A Victorian Nightmare” (still in production) by filmmaker Ric Rebelo of Fall River Ma. You can view his other “teasers” on YouTube.
And who were the Gardners that factored into this case?
Henry, William & Hamilton Gardner
I’ll be writing about the Gardners of Swansea and their ties to Emma Borden very soon. Stay tuned.
Louis McHenry Howe – Devotion vs Love
December 5, 2009
A study of the personal correspondence between Louis McHenry Howe and Grace Hartley Howe (second cousin to Lizzie Borden) cannot help but make one wonder if this man misplaced his unwavering devotion to President Franklin Roosevelt over the love for his own wife and family. The letters reveal a man conflicted but unwilling to remove himself from the virtual shadow of FDR where he relished being so close and so influential to the power on the throne.
Photo by Corbis
Julie M. Fenster’s excellent book, FDR’s Shadow, is the first to reveal these letters stored at the FDR Library in Hyde Park, New York. I went there to read them myself and came away with a few differing insights from Julie’s, but my mission was focused more on those letters between Louis and his wife than those between Louis and Franklin.
In the letters, time and again Louis professed his love for Grace and his daughter Mary, and son Hartley, above and beyond anything else.
But very early on in the marriage there were problems -within its first year in fact. Grace and her mother may have been shocked by the sudden flat-lining of Louis’ financial promise from when he and Grace were first secretly married.
| November 9, 1898 | Grace Hartley & Louis Howe are secretly married by JOP; Grace returns to Boston same night & Louis to Saratoga. (Rollins p75) |
| May 6, 1899 | Grace Hartley marries Louis McHenry Howe in a formal ceremony at the Church of Ascension in Fall River. |
Evidence of Louis’ doubt of Grace’s love and problems in the marriage are revealed in this letter dated 1900: (Click on images for larger view)
Over a period of 20 years, Louis would occasionally bring up the names of “Ted” and “Willie” whom he suspected his wife involved with. (And let me say right now that from reading all these letters the thought entered my mind if Hartley was, indeed, Louis’ biological son – more on that in another post). “Ted” was apparently a wealthy Fall River person whom Louis stated would have given Grace the kind of life she wanted. Here he again mentions “Willie”:
Grace’s letters were far different from Louis. They were not filled with terms of endearment or expressions of love. As Julie stated in her book, they were written more like a sister to a brother. But they do reveal a woman very much interested in local Fall River as well as national politics. Grace wrote often of her civic and social service involvements and activities and of her family members, cousins Bessy and Bertha who visited often.
The letters between Grace and her mother (Mary J. Borden Hartley) reveal much about how Grace was raised, transparent of being a “Borden”. Prior to her marriage, Grace lived her young life much the way Lizzie would have wanted for herself. Grace’s passions extended to the love of animals, antiques and helping the poor – the same as those of Lizzie.
In reading those letters over and over (the library allows you to take digital pictures of the letters and I captured them all) I was struck by another common bond between Grace and Lizzie: Louis made the decision to live most of their married life with the Roosevelts rather than with his own family. Could it be that Grace and Lizzie shared feelings of abandonment – Grace by her husband, Lizzie by her sister? Animals, anitiques, abandonment and concern for the poor – threads that bind.
An excellent biography on FDR which includes the importance of Louis to FDR’s political rise is FDR: An American Experience Part 1 (1994) available thru Netflix. Or, you can view it online at this link.
This documentary also has some terrific footage of LMcH, some where he actually looks handsome.
The more I read about Louis the more I myself am conflicted about his sincerity with regards to his profestations of love in those letters to Grace. When you love someone you want to be with them – share your lives together. Louis chose to live with Franklin and Eleanor. Louis was totally devoted to FDR. Did that devotion supercede his love for Grace? Was he truly a man conflicted? Was it a deeply torturing guilt that guided his hand to paper and write with false conviction?
I have found it written by Hartley Howe that he never felt close to his father, that he never felt he really knew him.
New Book: FDR’s Shadow-Louis Howe the Force that Shaped Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
November 17, 2009
I’ll be doing a review shortly on Julie’s new book that came out last month: FDR’s Shadow the Force that Shaped Franklin & Eleanor Rooswevelt . I wanted to wait until I got a chance to review those letters – and more – at the FDR Library which I did just recently.
Julie M. Fenster’s, award winning author and historian, new book
Julie has reciprocated in helping me with my own research at the FDR Library in Hyde Park, NY. We now have much to discuss of our own insights from that very private and revealing correspondence.
Julie was, of course, focused on the Holy Triangle of Louis, Franklin and Eleanor – the Grace Hartley Howe connection a stunning by-product towards understanding the “inner man” of Louis. I, of course, was interested in the Grace-Louis correspondence specific to the Lizzie connection. Why, after all, was Grace a major legatee? I got my answers.
When Grace died her daughter Mary and son Hartley inherited her personal papers, which included the letters written to her from Louis and these were subsequently donated to the FDR Library to be deposited with Louis’ other papers.
Side note: Mary Howe Baker sat with Eleanor Roosevelt and other notables in this TIME Mag article May 20, 1933. Grace was in Fall River at the time.
Point Reflections
November 17, 2009
A print of this collage, which I created back in 1999, still hangs on the refrigerator at the Lizzie Borden B&B.
(click on image for larger view)
Back from visit Northeast with scads of voice mail, emails and snail mail to catch up on. Some pointed reflections that I may elaborate on later:
1. Twisted Restaurant in Hyde Park.
2. Two FR senior guys at Rosario’s – turns out one has a home at Rim Country Club Estates here in Payson.
3. Letters from Mary Hartley to Grace Hartley at Vassar in 1897…re “cousin in the news again”.
4. Letters from Mary Hartley to Grace Hartley Howe full of gossip about the “Rock Street people”.
5. Victoria’s Secret girls at the Lizzie Borden B&B.
6. Long chat with Michael Martins and Dennis Binette re Lizzie, their book, etc. (photos selected, galleys done, index done; awaiting blueline, altho new stuff still coming in).
7. Scallops and Lobster at the Liberal Club with Manny A. and his wife.
8. GalleryX Exhibit piece “Two Sides to Every Story”….couldn’t find artists contact info or I would have purchased it right then and there.
9. Interior of Abby Grille (Central Congregational Church) since the recent vandalism. Sickening. I’ll post pictures later.
10. “Blood Relations” in New Bedford Saturday night, then our mad dash back to the Eagle. What a ride!
11. FDR’s house, Vanderbilt Mansion, Val-Kil – thank you Margaret, D.A.R. member, and resident of Hyde Park.
12. Max the cat in window of the “bahn” late at night; red glow background (from Exit sign), foggy. Stunning effect.
13. Blueboy in parlor – couldn’t stop laughing.
14. Ken Champlin telephone calls.
15. Fall River Library – new piece by Macomber donated in memory of Jerome C. Borden – my personal fav.
16. Visit to FRPD and chat with Asst Chief Moniz.
17. Nice visit and Chinese lunch with Bob Dube. (Wonderful new look to the parlor).
18. Mayor’s office re disposition of WPA artist project of murals at Kuss Middle School.
19. Viewing the grounds at Vassar in Poughkeepsie where Grace and Mary Howe attended. (Grace lived in an apt there while Louis lived with the Roosevelts a their huge house).
Lots to do, little time. More later.
Rosella Howe
October 26, 2009
Note: It was Rosella and Hartley Howe who inherited most of Lizzie’s furniture, books, etc. that Grace Hartley Howe had inherited from Lizzie’s Will. When Hartley died and Rosella went to a nursing home, her son Edward H. Howe, was given many of those items.
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She was the wife of Hartley Howe, son of Louis McHenry Howe and Grace Hartley Howe. Grace was second cousin to Lizzie Borden.
Rosella R. (Senders) Howe
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September 10, 2009
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WESTPORT, MASS. — Rosella Senders Howe, poet, feminist, political adviser, and Lewis Carroll scholar, died at home on Thursday, September 10, after a long illness. She was 97.
Mrs. Howe was born March 28, 1912, in Exeter, N.H., and grew up in Cambridge, Mass., where she graduated from Cambridge Latin School and attended Radcliffe College for two years, majoring in psychology. In her first job after college, she put her new-found knowledge of the human psyche and her excellent command of the English language to immediate use, responding to irate letters for Macy’s complaint department.
She went on to study dance in New York’s Greenwich Village with Charles Weidman, a pioneer of modern dance, but said she gave it up after a tour stop in Providence when she found herself sharing a dressing room with a circus elephant. Despite this traumatic encounter with a pachyderm, she remained in excellent physical condition for the rest of her life.
Before World War II, she worked for the American Red Cross in Boston. During this time, she met Hartley Howe, a newspaperman who was the son of Louis McHenry Howe, President Franklin Roosevelt’s best friend and political advisor. They were married in 1941 and moved to Washington D.C. , where she worked for the Office of Indian Affairs and then for Sidney Hillman, head of the labor division of the War Production Board, writing speeches and news releases.
After their first son was born and Mr. Howe returned from the war 10 months later, the Howes moved to Queens, New York. Here Mrs. Howe concentrated on their growing family of three boys and a girl while she and Mr. Howe were active in the Democratic Party, the Americans for Democratic Action, and the American Civil Liberties Union. She later taught English as a Second Language at Queens College and befriended many of her foreign students, who adored her.
Once their children were grown, the Howes moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where Mr. Howe was a journalism professor and Mrs. Howe finished up her degree in linguistics and studied Japanese. She became active in the Wisconsin Humanities Council, where she taught poetry and writing to adult students. She was a prolific poet herself, excelling in clever puns, visual metaphors, and acid social criticism.
She was known to drive a thousand miles to sample the country’s best oysters, played a wicked game of tennis, and provided strategic advice to the campaigns of politicians such as (Congressman) Barney Frank and (former Fall River mayor) Ed Lambert, among others. With a fascination for language and a vibrant imagination, she was drawn to the works of Lewis Carroll and traveled to many meetings of the Lewis Carroll Society. Over the years, she also mentored many young adults, especially women, always urging them to follow their career dreams.
Mrs. Howe is survived by three sons, David S. Howe, of New York City, Edward H. Howe of Jamaica Plain, Mass., and Henry S. Howe of Gallup, N.M.; one daughter, Rosemary Howe Camozzi of Florence, Ore.; by two sisters, Virginia Browne of Wayland, Mass., and Henrietta Jacobsen of Austin, Texas, and a brother, John Senders of Toronto, Canada; and by 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Her husband Hartley died in 1996.
A memorial celebration for friends and family will be held October 24, at 3 p.m., at the Westport Friends Meeting, 930 Main Road, Westport, Mass.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mrs. Howe’s honor may be made to Emily’s List, 1120 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036.
Florence Borden and the Masquerade Party
September 14, 2009
When Lizzie Borden was in her teens and early 20’s she did attend parties with her contemporaries. She may have attended a party not unlike the one described in the handwritten letter below by Florence Borden, daughter of Spencer Borden. Flushed with the excitement of the evening’s events, the 15 year old Florence wrote “November 30, 1896″ at the top of the letter, but the postmark shows when it was mailed the next day, “December 1, 1895″.
Shortly after acquiring this letter for my collection, I took it with me on my next visit to Fall River and left a photocopy for Fall River Historical Society Curator Michael Martins to help me identify those named within the letter. He wrote a 9-page response and I include the first two pages here to save me time (and space) in providing background and identification particulars of a few mentioned: (Click on all images for larger view)
Note: Parker Hooper (born 1877) was the son of William S. and Isabella Hooper who resided on French Street, three houses east from Lizzie.
Bertha Borden (born 1882) was the 15 year old daughter of Jerome Cook Borden & Emma Borden. Jerome was Lizzie’s cousin who supported her during her Trial.
Young Florence is clearly thrilled with the costumes and those attending. Her letter reflects an almost giddiness in her descriptions. She lived in one of the two grandest homes in Fall River: Interlachen
……and she spent that night with Marion Osborne at the other grand house: the Carr-Osborne House
One generation behind Lizzie, these young ladies and gentlemen were the sons and daughters of Fall River’s elite society on “The Hill”. And while they were only around 8-12 years old when the Borden murder case exploded upon the Fall River scene, they would know of Lizzie all their lives. (Most would live long enough to have read Edmund Pearson, Edward Radin and even a fellow B.M.C. Durfee High School graduate, Victoria Lincoln.)
It would be less than two years after this party that Lizzie would be trumpeted again on the front pages: the Tilden-Thurber shoplifting incident. An oh, how these fine, cultured young people must have gossiped about that at other parties.
Note: Florence doesn’t tell us if any of the ladies came dressed as Lizzie Borden with a hatchet sewed onto their skirt. That would have been shockingly inappropriate. Never would have happened. But today? Hell yes.
Lizzie Borden Slept Here
May 14, 2009
On April 25th I wrote a blog (scroll down) trumpeting a terrific newspaper article on the history of Gardner’s Neck Road. I mentioned it was the first time I seen it in print that the above farm house had been built by Peleg Gardner and his sons.
Well, sometimes you get a sweet nudge from someone you met and with whom you shared your interest in Lizzie Borden. Thanks to “Vicki”, who refreshed my memory, I can show the source of where I did, in fact, read about the sons of Peleg Gardner building the “Borden farmhouse” on Gardner’s Neck Road in Swansea, MA.
Thank you, Vicki!
Click on the email for a larger view.
I should mention my newspaper collection on the Borden case is vast – I have photo copies of the newspapers which are kept in ten 4-inch wide 3-ring binders and indexted by date and headline. They begin with 1845 (Fall River Monitor) and continue to present time as I am constantly adding to it. Vicky caused me to look back into my presentation package for that lecture and check the “Headline” index – and I was able to quickly find it.
The article was written by Barbara Ashton, long time Swansea historian, who, sadly, died in the late 1990’s. She appeared in a number of Lizzie Borden documentaries. It is a terrific article full of interesting information that any Borden scholar would relish and appreciate. Again, click to increase size.
Grace & Louis Remembered
May 4, 2009
Grace Hartley Howe (cousin to Lizzie Borden and major legatee in her Will) and her husband, Louis McHenry Howe, “the man behind Roosevelt”, have long been favorites of mine in the Borden saga.
To put events into a better perspective, here is a partial timeline where it can be seen 1936 was a pivotal year for Grace:
| November, 1932 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins election to his first term as President of the United States. |
| February 7, 1933 | Grace Howe and Helen Leighton each receive $4,500 from Lizzie’s Will. |
| February 17, 1933 | 2nd Probate Court accounting filed by Charles Cook on Lizzie’s Will for period May 2, 1929 thru Jan.1, 1932. |
| February 17, 1933 | 3rd Probate Court accounting filed by Charles Cook on Lizzie’s Will: period May 2, 1929 thru Nov. 28, 1932. |
| March 3, 1933 | Grace Hartley Howe & Helen Leighton sign 4th & Final Account of Probate. |
| March 4, 1933 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd U.S. president. |
| March 24, 1933 | 4th & Final Probate Court acctg. filed by Cook on Lizzie’s Will – period Nov. 28, 1932 thru March 3, 1933. |
| April 13, 1933 | Emma Borden’s estate sells Maplecroft. |
| April 27, 1933 | The play: Nine Pine Street opens on Broadway at Longacre Theatre starring Lillian Gish as Lizzie Borden. |
| January 29, 1934 | The huge Merchant Mill, 14th St. extending from Pleasant to Bedford, destroyed by fire. |
| 1934 | Victoria Lincoln’s book February Hill is first published; some characters based on real Fall River people. |
| 1934 | American Print Works, one of the largest factories in Fall River, closes. |
| 1934 | The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is formed to regulate broadcasting |
| September 28, 1934 | Charles Cook dies at age 80 in Fall River (6 months after final settlement of Lizzie Borden’s estate). |
| 1935 | Pearson, Edmund. “Legends of Lizzie” published in More Studies in Murder.” NY: Smith & Haas |
| 1935 | The “Monopoly” board game is patented in the U.S. |
| August 31, 1935 | Louis McHenry Howe enters Bethsheba Naval Hospital |
| April 18, 1936 | Louis McHenry Howe dies at Bethesda Naval Hospital; has state funeral in East Room of White House. Eleanor Roosevelt contacts Grace Howe in Fall River and notifies her death of Louis. |
| February 20, 1936 | Gertrude Baker dies. |
| 1936 | The federal law prohibiting the dissemination of contraceptive information through the mail is modified and birth control information is no longer classified as obscene. |
| April 19, 1936 | Grace and son Hartley travel from Fall River to Wash. DC. |
| April 22, 1936 | President Franklin D. Roosevelt attends Louis McHenry Howe’s burial funeral in Fall River at Oak Grove Cemetery. |
| July 17, 1936 | Louis McHenry Howe estate valued at $20,000. |
| June 3, 1936 | Arthur Sherman Phillips writes to son of Defense Attorney Robinson asking to be forwarded Lizzie’s answers to the questions he posed her back in 1892. |
| June 23-27, 1936 | Grace Hartley Howe attends Democratic Nat’l Convention in Philadelphia as a Delegate At-large. |
| July 17, 1936 | Grace Hartley Howe named FR Postmistress. (Time Mag. July 27, 1936) |
| October 21, 1936 | FDR & wife visit to Delano Family Homestead at 39 Walnut St. following a campaign speech in New Bedford. |
| 1936 | More Studies in Murder by Edmund Pearson is published. |
| December 10, 1936 | King Edward VIII abdicates the throne. |
Borden here, Borden there, Bordens, Bordens EVERYWHERE!
February 3, 2009
I regularly receive emails and letters from those interested in the Lizzie Borden case and usually because they have or believe they have a link to Lizzie herself.
As early as 1970, I began exchanging letters with people, many of whom were distant Borden relations or residents of Fall River during Lizzie’s life time, although one or two generations behind her. For the early correspondence I am indebted to Florence Brigham, past Curator Emeritus of the Fall River Historical Society, who was so accommodating and helpful with her introductions and assistance in my early years of research.
In more contemporary times, letters have given way to emails in terms in quantity and frequency. But the content seems to always have that recurring thread: the writer is related to Lizzie Borden. This isn’t surprising since we’re all only 14 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon, why not 20 degrees of separation from Lizzie? Seriously though, with a variety of internet search engines we can instantly find countless blogs and websites on the case to learn specifics from -
Andrew’s skull as presented at trial to:
The Drew Barrymore connection to:
The Borden Project is one of my favorite sites because of the many photographs of Bordens. When you get to the site, click on the “Photo Gallery” at the left and by the time you get to the 3rd and 4th pages you are at the 5th, 6th and 7th generations of Bordens. When you see all those faces, the years they were born and died, the states they spread out to, is it any wonder that Bordens are everywhere? And though the bloodline thins with each generation, the linkage is still there.
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My mother’s family were Bordens from Fall River, MA. What is interesting is that my family lineage were all male descendents, so the surname remained Borden until my mother. Your friend indicated that you were also a Borden and had done a lot of Borden genealogy and also that you knew quite a bit about Lizzie. Between a third cousin, Stephen Borden in Fall River, and my aunt, most of our family’s Borden genealogy is current.
Why I have contacted you is mainly to see how we might be related and also to ask you a question or two on Lizzie Borden. There was a grocer by the name of Edmund Whitehead located on 102 South Main Street during this period of Lizzie and the murder of her parents. Edmund Whitehead had married a Borden, Silvia L. Borden, oldest daughter of Stephen and Sarah Potter (Brayton) Borden. Silvia was the older sister of my great grandfather, Charles Edgar Borden. Anyway, Edmund was called as a witness at Lizzie’s trial in regards to the movement of Andrew Borden that morning. I am attaching a summary of Andrew Borden’s movements that morning and you can see the reference to Whitehead.
What has peaked my interest, and you may be able to offer an answer, is the half-sister of Lizzie’s stepmother, Abby. The half sister’s married name was Whitehead. I can’t find my reference at this moment, but I think her first name was Mary. My question: Was Abby’s half sister married to one of Edmund’s brothers? The Whitehead family came to Fall River in 1856, so I don’t think the town was full of Whitehead’s. Lizzie would be my fifth cousin, three times remove according to my cousin, Stephen Borden. But I would be interested in finding out if there is a connection with the Whitehead family.
I hope this email hasn’t confused the daylights out of you, I am open to any questions you may have on my family’s history. My great great grandfather, Stephen Borden, and the next two generations of male Bordens were all carriage painters by trade. So you can see I am not directly related to any of the Borden shakers and movers.
I hope to hear back from you,
Mary Clemens in Florida
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Bill
So, when I read the newspaper account of Pete Peterson’s story on your website, I wanted to see the whole newspaper account.
Sincerely, Patricia
St. Anne’s Church & It’s Notable Shrine
September 15, 2008
Located on South Main Street, across from Kennedy Park in Lizzie’s Borden’s Fall River, is this magnificent Catholic Church built by French Canadian immigrants in the early 1900’s. It is one of the iconic skyline structures immediately recognizable upon the Braga Bridge approach to Fall River.
This structure was put on the National Historic Register of buildings in 1983.
St. Anne’s Parish was founded in 1869 when there were about 500-600 French families in the city. The Church was founded in 1894. In 1900, Fall River had a population of slightly more than 100,000 people, of which nearly 40,000 were French. The surge of French Canadian immigrants at the turn of the Century came from the agricultural crisis in Quebec. They had a profound influence in the labor, language and culture. Even by the 1930’s, Fall River still kept sort of a French flavor, and even today one comes across more French and Portuguese names in its local politics, legal profession, and many of the middle class businesses.
French Canadians rose to prominence in Fall River, including Edmund P. Talbot, Fall River’s Mayor from 1923-1926 and again from 1929-1930. Past Mayor Edward M. Lambert, Jr. is Franco-American. Ties to church and community is what kept the former mill workers (including the Portuguese and Irish) to remain in Fall River while most of the founding families split when the hard times hit. Now the French Canadians and those from the Azores are the weavers of a restored tapestry to Fall River’s rich history. Their hands are no longer on levers and pulleys and spindles, but their fingerprints are all over what is left and plans for what will be.
Little known to tourists and passing visitors (mostly because it’s not advertised in city brochures) is the below ground level Shrine to St. Anne within the Church. One has to know where to enter: an unmarked outside door on the north side. According to Fall River “Officer Dave” whom I met at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, the Church at one time opened up this space for the homeless. In short order there were thefts, vandalism and even a death. The space had also become a safe haven for illicit drug use. So the parishioners had to re-think that whole be-kind-to-those-less-fortunate thing when it came to free and easy 24/7 access to the Shrine of St. Anne.
The subterranean Shrine is open most all hours to the general public. It is spacious with a number of “exhibits, as I prefer to call them. The Shrine of Mother Theresa is astonishingly realistic from all angles.
I forgot what or who this was supposed to be. I just remember it striking me as rather creepy.
St. Anne was Jesus’ maternal grandmother – although you won’t find that in the bible.
Candles for prayer.
After you delight in the “Shrine Exhibit”, just down the road at Globe Four (really Five) corners, at Globe and South Main is one of the best secrets in town. You can get the best soft serve ice cream anywhere, right here, in this little French Canadian nieghborhood.
Lizzie Borden Link to JFK and Harry Truman
September 3, 2008
And there she is, the link – well, sort of a link: Grace Hartley Howe, cousin to Lizzie Borden, sitting behind John F. Kennedy and Harry S. Truman. 1st Row: Governor Paul Dever, JFK, Truman, Eddie Doolan; 2nd Row: Tom Kitchen, Mary Kane, Grace, City Councilor John Arruda, and David Talbot. This photograph was taken in Fall River in 1952 during JFK’s campaign for the Senate and is on display in the dining room cabinet at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum. Grace died in 1955, three years after this photograph was taken.
Grace lived her last years at this cottage on Martha Street in Fall River.
It has a lovely view of the Taunton River, which would have been even more exposed in her time there.
When a boy, Fall River author Leonard Rebello (Lizzie Borden Past & Present) used to deliver papers to Grace here. He never knew her connection to Lizzie Borden until he was doing research for his book.
Oak Grove Cemetery grave site of Cook and Mary Borden – Grace Borden Hartley Howe’s maternal grandparents. (Right click for larger image)
Grace’s grandfather, Cook Borden, was a brother of Abraham Borden – Andrew Borden’s father. Grace’s mother, Mary Borden Hartley, was named after Grace’s grandmother (Cook Borden’s wife). Grace’s own daughter, Mary Hartley Baker, who died many years before Grace, was also named after *her* grandmother. Mary’s son, (Grace’s grandson) Robert Baker, inherited family property in Westport and also much of Lizzie’s personal property – as did Grace’s own son, Hartley, which Grace had inherited from Lizzie. When Hartley died in 1996, some of what *he* had was left to his wife, Rosella, who is now in a nursing home in Westport.
Grace is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery with her husband, Louis McHenry Howe (d.1936)
Lizzie Borden: Democrat or Republican? Listen to WSAR Radio Friday, August 29, 2008 at 8:00 am
August 28, 2008
I was invited back to WSAR Radio – this time to talk about one of Fall River’s most accomplished – if not notorious – women – Grace Hartley Howe – also a cousin to Lizzie Borden. Tune in if you’re in the area.
What was, if any, Lizzie Borden’s political affiliations? August 26th is “Women’s Equality Day” and as every indication tells us Lizzie was one to assert her rights, (by virtue of her sense of entitlement or legally) she most likely exercised her right to vote as ratified by the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Did she vote for the first time for Democrat James Cox or Republican Warren G. Harding? In 1924, did she vote for Calvin Coolidge who had been Harding’s Vice President, or did she vote for progressive Democrat John Davis?
She didn’t have much of an opportunity to exercise her hard-fought right to vote before she died in 1927. But because of her cousin, Grace Hartley Howe (1874-1955), Lizzie Borden may very well have been a staunch Democrat.
Grace Hartley Howe as Fall River Postmistress
Grace was one of the two major legatees in Lizzie’s Will. Her mother, Mary Borden, was the daughter of Cook Borden, Andrew J. Borden’s uncle. Grace married Louis McHenry Howe (1871-1936) – first secretly and then a second ceremony in Fall River on May 6, 1899.
When Louis Howe met Franklin Roosevelt in 1911 he began a life-long career of service and devotion to FDR, becoming not only his best friend but private secretary when FDR was Secretary of the Navy and later chief political strategist and “keeper of the secrets”. Louis McHenry Howe is attributed as having encouraged FDR to fight his battle of infantile paralysis and persuaded him to continue on with his political career. He was FDR’s speech writer, confidant, manager, mentor and trouble shooter.
After Roosevelt was elected his first term as President of the United States, Louis lived in the White House and Grace lived in Horseneck Beach, with Louis coming home on weekends. Grace busied herself raising her two children, Mary and Hartley, and often went weeks at a time without seeing Louis. But in the 1920’s and 1930’s and beyond she would be a tireless fundraiser, campaigner and active member of the Democratic Party. I would not doubt that Grace received political contributions from Lizzie for Democratic and social causes to which she was involved.
During the 1920’s it’s very likely Lizzie and Grace visited each other in their respective homes in Fall River, Horseneck Beach in Westport, New York and Washington, D.C. During this time the Howe’s and Roosevelts also visited at each other’s homes. Lizzie very well may have visited Grace in Westport when Mary and Hartley were growing up. And would Lizzie and Grace have discussed politics?
Grace Hartley Howe is seated to Louis’ right, who is directly across from Eleanor Roosevelt
When Louis died in 1936, it was Eleanor Roosevelt who called Grace in Fall River and gave her the news. Prior to his funeral services at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River, which both Eleanor and FDR attended, Mr. Howe was honored in Washington.
Prior to Louis’ death, Grace’s work within the Democratic Party coupled with the cache of her husband’s service, she was on an upward trajectory. Below is the article of how she became appointed to the Secretaryship of the Democratic State Committee in 1933. She was a Delegate at the 1934 Democratic Convention.
And after Louis’s death, FDR appointed her Postmistress of Fall River. Grace continued with her many political, civic and social activities. Grace resided on Locust Street (shown below) in Fall River, a few short blocks from Lizzie’s home, “Maplecroft” on French Street. Grace lived there when Lizzie died June 1, 1927.
In 1938, two years after Louis died, Eleanor Roosevelt came to visit Grace as told in this FRHN article that recaps Grace’s life and service to the Democratic party.
Grace died in 1955 after being in a coma for many weeks. At that time she lived in a lovely little cottage on Martha Street (still there) in Fall River with a nice view of the Taunton River.
Throughout her husband’s political career it was rarely reported in the papers of the link between Lizzie Borden and the Howes. That link would be too close for comfort. Notoriety from an 1892 scandal certainly was not needed to surface and hinder the ultimate goal of making FDR President. But it was Louis McHenry Howe himself who was the source of the “Emma did it” theory. I found verification of this in Fulton Oursler’s book, Behold This Dreamer! during his visit to the White House. But although Louis said it tongue in cheek, the Bordenia urban legend was born that Grace’s husband believed Lizzie’s sister did the awful deed of August 4, 1892. The story Louis told Oursler was typical of his sense of humor. (I’ll address that in a future blog entry).
With her relative and close friend, Grace Hartley Howe, so entrenched in democratic politics through her husband Louis McHenry Howe, could it be that Lizzie Borden was a Democrat? I say yes. In an interview after Lizzie’s death, Grace remarked of the many charitable acts and donations to which she gave. I just bet some of Lizzie’s money went to those very causes in which her cousin Grace solicited.
And here’s the part that has never failed to amuse me: Had Lizzie Borden lived a mere five more years she very well might have been invited to the White House. Think of it: Through her cousin’s friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt, Lizzie Borden, accused and acquitted of the most sensational crime of the century, might very well have chatted it up with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States.
Discreetly, of course. ;
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
August 9, 2008
(Recycled post)
We know Nance O’Neil is connected to Lizzie Borden. But actress Drew Barrymore? Yes indeed, and only by “six degrees”. 
1. Actress Drew Blythe Barrymore
(b. February 22, 1975)
2. Her grandfather was actor John Drew Barrymore
(b. John Sidney Blythe, February 15, 1882, Philadelphia. - d. May 29, 1942, Hollywood, CA.)
3. He was the brother of actor Lionel Barrymore
(b. Lionel Herbert Blythe, April 28, 1878, Philadelphia – d. November 15, 1954, Van Nuys, CA.)
4. Lionel Barrymore married the daughter of McKee Rankin*
(b. February 6, 1844, Canada – d. April 17, 1914, California)
5. McKee Rankin was theatrical manager to Nance O’Neil
(b. Gertrude Lamson, October 8, 1874, Oakland, CA – d. February 7, 1965, Englewood, NJ)
6. Nance O’Neil was a friend of Lizzie Borden
(b. July 19, 1860, Fall River, MA – d. June 1, 1927, Fall River)
*Doris McKee Rankin (1888-1946) married Lionel Barrymore at age 17 in 1905, divorced December, 1922. (Time Magazine, May 19, 1923)
Source: (McKee Rankin and the Heyday of the American Theater. David Beasley, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2002.)
Lizzie Borden Link to Deadwood’s Al Swearingen
April 5, 2008
My all time favorite TV drama series was the now defunct HBO’s DEADWOOD, starring Ian McShane as “Al Swearingen”, (Ellis Alfred Swearengen) a true life character who owned The Gem saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota in the 1870’s. The series was created by genius David Milch.
“I thought you might appreciate what I just confirmed last week while researching Al’s mother, Keziah Montgomery. Keziah Montgomery is named after her great grandmother Keziah Huff (1744-1797) who married Eli Branson (1734-1797), a pretty infamous Carolina Tory during the American Revolution (he was a Patriot but switched sides and fought for the British). While I knew Eli’s mother was a Borden (Rebecca Borden), I didn’t research that line too far until this weekend and made a few more Borden connections. Rebecca’s grandfather was John Borden (1640-1716) who had nine children. My family (and Al’s) descended from John’s son Benjamin (1675-1743); Lizzie’s family descended through John’s son Richard (1671-1732). That makes Al Swearingen and Lizzie Borden sixth cousins – a fairly distant connection, but related nonetheless. So I’m related to both Al Swearingen and Lizzie Borden … probably won’t be putting that on a resume.”
Letter to the Swansea Historical Society re Andrew J. Borden Portrait
December 17, 2007
Below is a letter written to the Swansea Historical Society regarding this portrait of Andrew J. Borden. I’ve had numerous people email me expressing the same sentiment, i.e., that the portrait remain where it is and suggesting I post about the issue on my blog. Being direct and upfront to a fault, I’m posting the letter itself. Here’s hoping when the Swansea Historical Society Board of Directors meet after the first of the year that they will vote in accordance with the letter.
December 10, 2007
Board of Directors
Swansea Historical Society
c/o Mr. Carl Becker
177 Market Street
Swansea, MA 02777
Dear Board of Directors:
I am writing in regards to the newly identified portrait of Andrew Jackson Borden of Fall River, MA, father of Lizzie Andrew Borden and Emma Lenora Borden and to make a plea for the portrait remaining in the ownership, custody and continued possession of the Swansea Historical Society.
As a Fall River and Lizzie Borden scholar, I was naturally thrilled to see a “new” image of a young Andrew and especially pleased that it was resident with the SHS. I was pleased because I believe it will most assuredly have better opportunity of viewing by any who inquire to your most courteous and accommodating Carl Becker and Paul Summers, as well as others who open up the wonderful Luther’s Museum to the public. I need not tell you how the town of Swansea plays into the entire Borden saga as I’m sure you are well aware of that history, particularly regarding Emma and Lizzie and the Gardners. Whoever donated that portrait meant for it to reside with the Swansea Historical Society.
It has come to my attention that the curator of the Fall River Historical Society has offered to have the gilt frame professionally cleaned and offered to have it hung at their structure in Fall River. It is my opinion that any consideration by your Board to allow it to be resident there would serve to erode the trust and confidence of future donors of artifacts, documents, etc. that would have been intended for the Swansea Historical Society. When something is given to an historical society it is given with the intent that it shall remain with that body in perpetuity and be secured and available for viewing and study, as deemed appropriate. In consideration of their privacy, I cannot reveal the names nor circumstances, but please believe me when I tell you that various items given over to the FRHS for “restoration” have never been returned nor seen the light of day again.
I have been a dues paying member of the FRHS for over 25 years and have traveled to Fall River two to four times a year for the past 30 years. Unfortunately, on several trips since the passing of the beloved Florence Brigham, the late Curator Emeritus, even with advance notice of my coming and intent to research specific people or events from their archives, I have been denied access because of their being closed, short staffed, or other reasons. When Florence was alive, I was never denied access for my research, simply out of consideration that I traveled 3,000 miles to do so. I relate this information to press my point that Borden scholars will want to view that portrait and I am confident in my belief it will be made available with courteous accommodation more through the Swansea Historical Society than those responsible for the operation of the Fall River Historical Society.
If the Board should deem that the portrait would be best hung in a structure with better heating and cooling (although it has appeared to have done just fine to date), please consider the offer made by Mr. Donald Woods, owner of the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast. Mr. Woods has offered to cover the cost of any cleaning or restoration in exchange for the portrait being hung at 92 Second Street, Fall River. Consider the appropriateness of the portrait being resident there. Andrew, unlike Lizzie, never wanted to leave that house and move up to “the Hill”. Residing up on Rock Street in that magnificent granite structure would be the last place where old Andrew would want to “hang out”. A long term temporary loan in the care and custody of Mr. Woods and his partner, Lee-ann Wilber, the B&B Manager, would afford hundreds of people monthly to view the portrait – not only as overnight guests, but all those who partake of the daily tours of the house.
Andrew J. Borden had strong ties to Swansea in family, friends, property (numerous land transactions) and, after his death, through his daughters. Whoever donated that portrait (and I understand it is believed to have been a “Gardner”) they wanted it to remain in Swansea. I urge you to vote for fulfilling the intended wishes of that donor.
In closing, I wish to express my appreciation to Carl Becker and Paul Summers who so kindly allowed me and my guests to tour “Luther’s Museum” on such short notice. It was refreshing to be treated with such accommodation when not even a member of the Swansea Historical Society. Both gentlemen were gracious and kind in sharing information. I had brought with me – on different occasions – Mr. Robert Dube (owner of “Maplecroft”) and Kenneth Champlin, noted Fall River author and historian. They both strongly concur with the sentiments I have expressed here regarding disposition of Andrew J. Borden’s portrait. Please! Do NOT let it fall into the hands of the Fall River Historical Society.
Thanking you in advance for your consideration, I remain
Very truly yours,
Faye Musselman
516 W. Jones Drive
Payson, Arizona 85541
Phone: 928-468-0581
Email: phaye@npgcable.com
Cc: Donald Woods
Lee-ann Wilber
Robert Dube
Kenneth Champlin
Andrew Jackson Borden as a Young Man
November 12, 2007
SPECIAL ADDENDUM:
Well, Shelley Dziedzic has a burr up her butt about me again, so I think a little explanation directed to all the forum members who visit my blog is in order:
First of all, Stef’s find of this AJB portrait is quite remarkable and I would not have known about it had it not been for her own posting of this discovery – the timing of which coincided with my pre-planned visit to Fall River.
Any researcher or Borden enthusiast such as myself would naturally want to actually SEE this portrait, so of course I planned to see it. I took with me Bob Dube, owner of Maplecroft and Ken Champlin. And of course we had pictures taken of ourselves with the portrait as I think, again, any Borden researcher or enthusiast would do his or herself given that the Swansea Historical Society President and Treasurer are allowing photos to be taken of and with the portrait. Lord knows how long they may have possession of the portrait while it CAN be photographed. I’m hopeful their Board will vote to keep it with the Swansea (and not the Fall River) Historical Society. So the window of opportunity of seeing this portrait up close and personal – not to mention FREE – may be very short.
What amazed me was that Shelley did not include a visit to Luther’s Museum with the MuttonEaters group who gathered in Fall River on November 9th – same weekend I was there. Such an arrangement to tour Luther’s could have been made by a simple phone call to Carl Becker. And my guess is that each and every one of those who would have gone would have had their picture taken with the portrait. A nice momento of their trip. So – to use Shelley’s words that I “beat feet” to Luther’s to see this portrait – you bet I did.
I certainly would have included them for a tour of Maplecroft, with Mr. Dube’s approval.
Bob Shaw, me, Don Sykes and Kenneth Champlin
I also heard all about the gathering from Don Sykes who invited me to dinner at Magoni’s Saturday night, as well as others who are mutual acquaintances. I have NOT nor had any need to email any forum members asking about it as Shelley posted. That’s just not true. Don’t need to. But I DID email a forum member whom I met Thursday night at the B&B explaining I couldn’t see his images and could he email them to me. Shelley jumped to conclusions about my intent. I only wanted to see them. Just get the facts straight when you post. It’s what Sherlock or any good sleuth would do. 
So once again, for those who do not subscribe to The Hatchet (as I do not) and have no knowledge of any other images or poses in it and have only seen one image of the portrait – here’s more:
After a very late, late arrival back in Payson, I realized I had to be at the Women’s Shelter in the area early this morning where I do volunteer work, so I’m still running on a minimum of sleep. But I wanted to get some pictures up before I hit the bed with a good book.
Thanks to Stef Koorey’s eagle eye in spotting a “bigger than a bread box” ornate framed portrait of Lizzie Borden’s father, we now have it on record – even if it hasn’t been validated, i.e., no documentation. But given all the givens, one can deduce, Sherlock, that it is young Andrew. The Sunday Fall River Herald News article was pushed to this date and partially appears here.
That’s Carl Becker holding the portrait outside Luther’s Museum in the bright sun on a chilly but clear day being photographed – as was happening just as we arrived. (The shrieking sound you hear is from two curators across the bay).
Since very few of the people who read my blog subscribe to the FRHN or The Hatchet, or even go to other blogs, I’m posting more pics here. I know this to be a fact because I get referrals from all over the world and the country and from emails I’m getting these people have only seen the one image posted on the internet so far.
This dual image shows the backside of the frame. Both Carl Becker, Swansea Historical Society President, and Paul Summers, Treasurer have carefully checked and there is no writing or note card or any sort of documentation that would identify the portrait or where it came from.
Below is author and local historian Ken Champlin holding the portrait upright.
So at issue is just where this portrait of a “young Andrew” should reside. The Fall River Historical Society would LOVE to have it adorn the interior walls of their structure. I would imagine the public would see it – at a price – after the tour (when tours are happening) and at the tail end of the tour when they expose visitors, salivating and enduring the waiting for the “main show”, i.e., the Lizzie Borden display. (Michael Martins, Curator, informed Carl Becker he knew just where they would put it. Hopefully, not out of sight – for protective purposes against the light, of course.)
Residing up on The Hill, is one of the last places old Andrew would ever want to spend his days – dead or alive. Yep, Andrew would be happy as a clam if he were “hanging out” at 92 Second Street. The old bird never wanted to leave that place, anyhow. And some think he’s still there.
If it was Henry Gardner (out of Orrin Gardner), who delivered all the Gardner property, he meant for it to remain in Swansea. Perhaps the portrait hung at the Gardner’s Neck Road farmhouse – or perhaps Emma had it in her possession (taking it with her when she left Maplecroft, perhaps?) till the day she died. Whatever the outcome, it is an intriquing portrait. I do think Andrew was younger than 35 in the portrait, however.
Recently placed inside the bookcase on the second floor of the Swansea Historical Society (Luther’s Store & Museum) you see here on the top of the dual image is Orrin Gardner’s autograph book with
writings dating as early as 1850. A particularly interesting entry is Emma Borden’s 1881 entry, written when she was 31 years old in flawless penmanship and signed “Emma L. Borden 1881″. It was Ken who pointed out to me: “That’s on the dedication page of my booklet on the history of the Fall River Y.M.C.A.” And indeed it is:
What Emma wrote was verbatim to the above, taken from Hamlet, Act I, Scene III:
“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
So there it was written by Emma in 1881 and the exact same quote used in 1988, in A Periodical History of The Fall River Y.M.C.A. (1857-1917) by Kenneth Champlin. I know, I know, Shakespeare is quoted a zillion times. But pause to think of it as yet just another tiny thread that further weaves into this wonderfully rich fabric.
Meanwhile, back in the basement of 92 Second Street, the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast:
Ken and myself blocking out the irrelevant wording.
Maplecroft Neighbors: Lizzie on French Street
November 6, 2007
(Recycled post)
Here’s a question I’ve pondered from time to time: Of those French Street and nearby neighbors, who might have visited Lizzie Borden that last year of her life? Weak and not recovered from her gall bladder operation, who went a-calling? No mystery in finding out who lived nearby; more difficult is assessing which neighbors would have visited her. One can only speculate. Here’s a scan from my 1926 and 1927 Fall River City Directories. Let’s take a peek at a sampling of those neighbors
.
Directly across the street from Lizzie at 309 French was Mrs. Emma Lake. Her son, Arthur Lake praised Lizzie in Joyce Williams’ Casebook, but there had been a property dispute between Lizzie and Mrs. Lake after Lizzie acquired half a lot adjacent and wanting it for an open park. It would seem Lizzie and Mrs. Lake ended their friendship on ugly terms. Perhaps Arthur was never made aware of that dispute.
Lizzie’s nearest neighbor to the east would be at 328 French Street, shown above. The 1926 Directory shows this house as apartments with Edwin Belcher a tenant and school teacher Harriet E. Henry (listed in the Directory as “Hervey”). By the time of printing of the 1927 Directory, Edwin Belcher is no longer a tenant. This property was purchased in 1925 by Harriet and then sold to Charles C. Cook, Lizzie’s business manager, in trust for Lizzie about 7 months before Lizzie’s death. That particular transaction would end up being reviewed by the State Supreme Court, but we’ll skip the details for now. This property is alternately referred to as the Henry House or the Davenport House (a previous owner and relation to Harriet). Note: The rod iron spiked fencing separating the properties was installed by Lizzie.
Lizzie’s nearest neighbor to the west, 324 French, would be John T. Swift. Swift was the lawyer Alice Russell, her conscious weighing heavily, first told of the dress burning incident. Had Swift not advised Alice to tell it to District Attorney Hosea Knowlton, we would not even know who Lizzie Borden was 115 years later. Shown here left to right is the Swift house, Maplecroft, and the Henry/Davenport house. Photo taken in 1998.
The next house east is 344 French where the widow Mrs. Isabella Hooper lived. Perhaps she and Lizzie visited? Exterior re-hab has been going on for years with this house and it looks much better in 2007. This photo was taken in 2005.
Across the street and slightly east from Maplecroft, this structure existed in 1926 but I’m unable to locate the number from the 1926 or 1927 Directory. It is now a commercial property and often referred to as the “Baker” lot. Lizzie bequeathed to Charles Cook “my so-called Baker lot on French Street across from where I live.” I took this photo in 1999.
At the southeast corner of French and Belmont was John Summerfield Brayton, Jr., a BC&C (Big Cheese & Connected) whose crowing bird annoyed Lizzie and made her nervous over a quarter century before she died. Did John and Mary Brayton visit Lizzie? I don’t think so.
At 257 French was Everett M. Cook, Vice President of BMC Durfee Trust Company. Another BC&C, like so many on French Street.
At 243 French was Elizabeth J. McWhirr, widow of Robert A. McWhirr, who may have been related to the great McWhirr department store. Did she go a-calling on Lizzie? I don’t think so.
At the southeast corner of French & June at 421 June was Marion Jennings – the daughter of attorney Andrew Jennings. It’s safe to say she did not call upon Lizzie. It’s further safe to say Marion had no knowledge of what lay inside an old hip bath covered with a tarp up in the attic of this house. Most likely, neither did Lizzie.
ON ROCK STREET:
Carrie L. Borden is listed in 1926 at 492 Rock Street, but in 1927, only her sister Anna H. Borden. These ladies went on the Grand Tour with Lizzie in 1890. It is my educated guess that they were the two sisters that spoke in confidence to author Edmund Pearson when he was writing his long, first essay on the Borden case in Studies in Murder. It’s highly doubtful these ladies went a-calling to Miss Lizbeth of Maplecroft.
At 618 Rock was Jerome C. Borden, son of Cook Borden and Grace Hartley Howe’s uncle, and strong supporter of Lizzie in 1892-93. Jerome succeeded Andrew as President of Union Bank, but it’s doubtful Jerome ever presented his calling card at Maplecroft during Lizzie’s last year. While most genetic threads were woven tightly, some weaves became irreparably tattered.
At 451 Rock Street was the formidable Elizabeth Hitchcock Brayton, whose nephew, having inherited this stately granite beauty, donated it to the Fall River Historical Society in 1935.
Actually, the 400 thru 700 blocks of Rock Street in 1927 reads like a Who’s Who of Fall River. However, after Lizzie died, Fall River had about one good year remaining before its economy and stratified society would fade and dissolve like so much smoke drift from the iconic mill chimineys that marked its once great prominence and vitality.
BACK TO FRENCH STREET
The interesting thing about French Street is that at #96 French Street, just west of Rock Street, we find Gertrude M. Baker, 
long time English teacher at BMC Durfee High School. ( The 1927 Fall River High School Yearbook, “The Durfee Record”, is dedicated to Gertrude Baker). Gertrude owned a summer house on the beach in Linekin, East Boothbay, Maine. She was a friend of a later friend of Lizzie’s, Miss Helen Leighton (we’ll get to her in a moment) but the important thing is through this thread that bound, Miss Baker was a founder and Treasurer of the Fall River Animal Rescue League from 1914-1930. It seems more a gratuitous gesture for service rendered than one steeped in a personal friendship that Lizzie left Gertrude $1,000 in her Will. Miss Baker never married and when she died she left her money to her close friend, Helen Leighton, along with her beach house in Linekin. Lucky Helen.
Helen Leighton struck half of the mother lode upon Lizzie’s death being one of two primary legatees. Seven years younger than Lizzie, Miss Leighton graduated from nursing 
school in Fall River a month before Lizzie went to Trial for the double hatchet homicide. Helen had been nurse and companion to Eudora Borden Dean, daughter of that very wealthy Captain of Fall River Industry, Jefferson Borden. Smart Helen. In 1913, she had successfully solicited money from Lizzie to start the Fall River Animal Rescue League of which she became its President. Clever Helen. She moved to Boston in 1919 and Lizzie visited her there, taking in galleries and the theatre. She moved to Brookline, MA. in 1924, and when she died in 1947, newspapers reporting on the Borden case were found stuffed inside the walls of the Linekin beach house.
So there they are: Gertrude, Helen, and Lizzie – they could have all three been sisters judging by how they looked in these photographs. It’s anyone’s guess as to who introduced who to whom in this three-some, a constellation in orbit around Lizzie’s moon. These dames were really out of the same mold. Same hair styles, same glasses, same kind of dresses. I can almost visualize them at the Animal Rescue League Board of Directors meeting or even taking their time walking through some museum in Boston or New York. Not exactly your party-hardy type broads. Uh uh. But oh so very proper, yes indeed. Decorum, decorum, decorum. All were proper spinsters who loved animals. None ever married or had children of their own to enrich their lives, to nurture, to enjoy, to love, and who would return that love.
Grace Hartley Howe hit the other half of the mother lode, inheriting half of Lizzie’s half of Maplecroft, furniture, jewelry, books, carpets, personal effects, etc. Grace’s grandfather was Cook Borden, a brother of Abraham, Andrew’s father. 
In 1926, Grace and her husband Louis are in the 1926 Directory as having a residence at 636 Rock Street, but in 1927 Grace is living at 464 Locust. Louis McHenry Howe was chief advisor and political strategist to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt but lived in the White House, visiting his family at their Westport residence in Horseneck Beach. (Louis would die in 10 years and be buried at Oak Grove with FDR attending his funeral.) But here we see Grace was literally in walking distance to Lizzie in 1926 and 1927, and surely she must have visited her. I have long believed Grace was called by the Reverend Cleveland of the Church of Ascension and was at Maplecroft when Lizzie died. She would have been, after Emma, the next and, literally, nearest of kin. Ten years after Lizzie’s death, two years after the final probate of Lizzie’s Will, and one year after her husband died, Grace was appointed Postmistress of Fall River by President Roosevelt.
Of these three women, Gertrude, Helen and Grace, two (Helen and Grace) gave newspaper interviews in the week after Lizzie died. 
One other woman, definitely not neighbor nor friend of Lizzie’s when she died, also gave an interview – Nance O’Neil. Nance met Lizzie in 1904. By 1927, Nance had successfully transitioned from the stage to motion pictures. In the newspaper interview she remarked on Lizzie’s kindness, refinement, and intelligence, downplaying their relationship and characterizing it as “ships passing in the night.” She was not named in Lizzie’s Will. Nance lived long enough to have read several books on Lizzie published prior to 1965. Her ashes are entombed with her husband, Alfred Hickman at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, California.
I think Lizzie was probably always ladylike and refined and masked her inner angst and depression when in public. We know she let that mask down with Miss Leighton, who, after Lizzie’s death,
commented so definitively on Lizzie’s loneliness and depression in her later years. The Roaring Twenties, shorter skirts, bobbed hair, Lindberg racing across the Atlantic through the skies while she, Lizzie never did anything in a hurry. The “Flapper Age” must have come on like gangbusters and not suited her at all, much like the sexual liberation of the 1970’s to the Born Again Christians. No, I don’t think Lizzie liked the changing times. She was nervous and depressed enough and now all this fast living. (Mammy to Scarlett: “It ain’t fittin’, it just ain’t fittin’).
I can envision her, in her last year of life, sitting on her window box seat in her summer bedroom in Maplecroft. More alone and isolated than ever with only a tiny few who ever came a-calling. Dressed in a stylish lounging gown, too weak to go up and down the stairs every day, she would have spent much time wistfully looking at the houses below and at the young people coming and going. Perhaps a young man honking the horn of his tricked out Model T Ford for his girlfriend to come out. Twenty Three Skid-doo. I envision one of Lizzie’s dogs in her lap feeling the gentle strokes of her hand as she remembers a quieter time of proper deportment. The era of when ladies were ladies and conducted themselves accordingly was gone forever. Stroke…….Sigh……Stroke.
No wonder our “Lizbeth of Maplecroft” preferred Dickens and Trollup over F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Sources:
1926 & 1927 Fall River City Directory
Unveiled: Miss Helen Leighton by Leonard Rebello, Lizzie Borden Quarterly, October 2000, Vol VII, #4.
1927 BMC Durfee H.S. Yearbook.
Last Will and Testament of Lizzie Andrew Borden.
Knowlton-Pearson Correspondence, Fall River Historical Society.
Famous Actors and Actresses on the American Stage, vol. 2, by William C. Young, 1975.
Lizzie Borden- Past and Present, Leonard Rebello, Alzack Press, 1999.
Conversations with Robert Dube, owner, at 306 French Street, August 3 & 5, 2007.
LUTHER’S MUSEUM – SWANSEA, MASS.
August 8, 2007
So now, anyone who Googles Swansea Historical Society, Lizzie’s chairs, Swansea farmhouse, etc. and live a remote distance from Swansea will hopefully land here and get a FREE peek at the chairs and inside the Luther’s Museum. But nothing beats being there, absorbing the ambience and touching these historical artifacts so indigenous to early American history and specifically the history of Swansea and its farming families. (Additional info follows with the link at the end of the slide show).
On August 3, 2007, Kristin Pepe and myself went to Swansea to visit Luther’s Museum at Luther’s Four Corner’s. For over 20 years I’ve been going past 160 Old Warren Road often stopping to take exterior pictures but never inside. Carl Becker, who lives only a block or two away, offered to open it up any time during my 5 day stay in Fall River.
The historical significance to Borden buffs is that Uncle John Vinnicum Morse stopped off at “Luther’s” after getting some farm fresh eggs at Andrew’s upper farmhouse at 217 Old Warren Road. (And hey, if they had farm fresh eggs on Wednesday night, why did Abby order 5 day old mutton for breakfast? Maybe Andrew wanted them to peddle for a penny more on the street.)
Hearing Mr. Becker relate the history of the area and the people over the decades who came to this store to talk and exchange information, purchase and trade necessities, Swansea comes alive with it’s rich history of the Gardners, the Luthers, the Braytons, etc. It’s much bigger inside than it looks from the outside….the second story is loaded with old furniture, tools, sewing machines, antique photographs and paintings of prominent families of eras gone by.
It is said that the two cane seat and wood chairs pictured here once belonged to Lizzie Borden, but the provenance is a little weak. I have a letter from a minister who knew the Borden girls obtained from his copy of an original Porter (Fall River Tragedy, 1893). In the letter he remarks about Lizzie, post 1905, going to the Swansea farm to see the horses, afterwards sitting in a chair for a while before her driver would take her back to “Maplecroft”. Pretty slim. But maybe they are. I was more impressed with the chair President George Washington sat in, as well as many other objects housed in this unique and wonderful museum operated by the Swansea Historical Society. THANK YOU MR. & MRS. BECKER!
Next time visiting Fall River or the area be sure to visit Luther’s.
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FOR MORE ON LUTHER’S MUSEUM
