LIZZIE’S ARREST RECORD BOOK

Fall River Police Chief John M. Souza

On the wall of the Administrative offices at the Fall River Police Department are these photographs of the past City Marshal’s and Police Chiefs.

• Rufus B Hillard – City Marshal – 1886-1909 (top left)
  

• John Fleet – City Marshal – 1909-1915 (bottom left)
  

• (Change from City Marshal to Chief of Police)

• William Medley – Chief of Police – 1915-1917 (center)
  

• Martin Feeney – Chief of Police – 1917-1931 (top right)
  

• Abel Violette – Chief of Police – 1931-1946 (bottom right)
  source: http://www.frpd.org/history.htm

Four of the five were involved in the Lizzie Borden case and had been in her house. Lizzie damn near outlived them all.

On November 14, 2000, through the courtesy of then Lt. Charles Cullen of the Fall River Police Department, I was allowed access to the police records books of the mid 1880’s through the early 1900’s. They were under the control and possession of Administration Lt. (now Deputy Chief) Cathleen Moniz.

When I arrived she had them laid out on her desk along with “all the remaining documents we have on the Lizzie Borden case”, which was miniscule at best. She was kind enough to let me handle, research and photograph these important ledger books. Lt. Cullen had also arranged for me a tour of the new police facilities (completed in March of 1997) which included their huge evidence room. High on a shelf was the camera long thought to have been “the” camera which photographer James Walsh took of Andrew and Abby – the crime scene photos – both just prior to and after the initial autopsies done at 92 Second Street around 4:00 pm, August 4, 1892. As has been learned, while the camera in possession of the FRPD is indeed a police photographer’s camera very similar to that one used on August 4th, it is not the camera, but one donated by a family member of a deceased police photographer.

In March of 2007, I contacted Deputy Chief Moniz once again and asked if she could arrange for the Arrest Record Book be brought out again so as to show to my friend, Shelley Dziedzic. Again, Deputy Chief Moniz had them laid out and allowed us to take pictures. She even gratiously took a photo of Shelley and me with the book.

Unexpectedly, having heard of our visit and plans to do a Lizzie Borden Conference, Police Chief John M. Souza, Fall River Police Chief since 2000, came into the room and spent an hour discussing the Borden case with us as well as other high profile murder cases. We delighted in his conversation regarding police forensic investigations as contrasted in the Borden case of 1892, to modern police forensic techniques used today. He instructed Deputy Chief Moniz to take us down to the “vault” where “historical” police records are stored. (For security reasons, I’ll refrain from describing the room or it’s safeguards.) While there it was interesting to learn that most all of the historic police files were lost in flood damage and, where the Borden case is concerned, also due to pilferage decades ago. Now the Department has rigid policies and procedures to protect and preserve case documents.

Lizzie’s arrest entry

Subsequent to the Preliminary Hearing of probable guilt, the entry of “Prob.” was handwritten over the standard “Guilty” column.

Jose Corriero murdered Bertha Manchester in Fall River with an axe on May 30, 1893. The papers reported this other hatchet murder the following day prior to the Borden Trial jury being sequestered. On June 3rd, 19 year old Jose was arrested and booked. (Note different spellings of his name. I took note of the fact he was born on January 8th, same as me.) The year of his birth is recorded as 1874, which would make him 19 on June 3, 1893, but the ledger shows age 18.

That a suspect was in custody was not known to the jury as they had been sequestered by the time it was reported in the papers, which they were not allowed to read. Thus, in the minds of these mostly farmer jurors, a hatchet yielding maniac was still on the loose and could have been – by golly – the same one that murdered old Andrew and Abby.

Tags: chief john souza, fall river police department

Lizzie Borden August 4th Re-enactments…

…just get better and better each year thanks to Shelley Dziedzic and the Pear Essential Players, a group of Lizzie Borden enthusiasts who volunteer to costume themselves and portray characters from this most compelling mystery.  The above cast and their characters included:

Lizzie: Lorraine Gregoire; Bridget Sullivan: Kristin Pepe; Emma Borden: Barbara Morrissy; Mrs. Churchill: JoAnn Giovino; Andrew Borden, Jeff Masson; Abby Borden: Shelley Dziedzic; Uncle John : Joe Razda; Officer Medley: Ben Rose; Alice Russell: Susan Hauck; Dr. Dolan: Ted Gregoire; Little Mary Doolan: Miss Kathryn Woods; Mrs Bowen: Ellen Borden

Here’s the newest YouTube video showing what transpired yesterday at 92 Second Street, the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast.

Lizzie Borden Preliminary Hearing – FREE

UPDATE (August 4, 2009)

“Stop and go no further!” cried the spinster.

“But I am for Truth, Justice & the American way!” bellowed the blogger. (LMAO)

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By clicking the “Preliminary Hearing” page above, you can read the entire transcript of this proceeding in the Lizzie Borden case, absolutely FREE. You can also cut and paste the entire text into Word and save it to your hard drive for later printing if you wish.

The Preliminary Hearing in the Lizzie Borden case was held August 25, 1892 through September 1, 1892.  It was near enough to the murders that memories were sharper than when shared by the same witnesses at the Trial ten months later.

(Click on all images for larger view)

The first hard copy availability of this primary source document was made over 15 years ago through the Fall River Historical Society.  They received Defense Attorney Andrew Jenning’s copy, with his handwritten notes, and sold copies through their gift shop

At the time of the Hearing, newspapers reported on the daily testimony but it was the New Bedford Evening Standard that printed all of the Preliminary Hearing after the Trial -  including Lizzie’s Inquest testimony – which had been read into the record.

The book above contains the full transcript and although it is in very small print, it has wonderful illustrations.

I made copies of the original source document from the FRHS and bound them as shown in the first image above and sold them on eBay over a decade ago.  In 2000, I began transcribing the document in Word format and put them on CD’s as a Research and Reference source into this case.

The above image gives a description of the content of those CD’s, inclusive of my own transcription of the Preliminary Hearing.

I sold the CD’s for many years in different formats beginning in 2001.

Often times I sold the CD with other Lizzie collectibles.

The CD, with my own Word transcription has been copyrighted for years.

I also made a hard copy of my transcribed document from 2001 as seen above and this, as well as the CD’s have been sold or given away for years, including sold at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River, MA.

Harry Widdows, Stefani Koorey and Kat Koorey edited their own version of a transcribed Preliminary Hearing and sell it through LuLu Press and the FRHS for around $40!

Now you can read this most interesting document absolutely FREE, cut and paste the text into MS Word and have it on your hard drive.  You can even do word searches.

Again, just click on the “Preliminary Hearing” page to this blog at the top and Enjoy!

Mary Livermore and “Poor Girl” Lizzie

Mary Livermore had been a friend to Sarah Morse Borden, mother of Lizzie Borden and Emma Borden.  She was a staunch supporter of Lizzie during her incarceration and Trial, but she paid a price for that support.  Read of her harrassment by the press – not totally unwarranted by the way – at this link:

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I wonder what Ms. Livermore thought of Lizzie’s prompt move to “The Hill” when she purchased Maplecroft as reported in the papers the second week of July, 1893?  Indeed, after Lizzie’s stay in Newport beginning three days after the Trial (June 23), and her visit with Emma to Taunton to thank Sheriff Wright and his wife (June 27), most of their time was spent looking for a new home where “cultured girls”  lived, i.e., The Highlands.

In fact, they purchased #7 French Street even before they settled with Abby Borden’s relatives on her money and possessions, as can be read at this link:

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Thus, Lizzie and Emma secured their new and much improved digs less than two months after her “Not Guilty” verdict.

Home, Sweet Home, Lizzie darlin’.

William H. Moody

The prosecution team in the matter of the Commonwealth vs. Lizzie Andrew Borden included the formidable William Henry Moody, whose stellar career surpassed all others associated with the case.  An extraordinarily handsome man, in my opinion, he remained a life-long bachelor.

If Lizzie continued her reading of Harper’s Weekly, she may have seen the December 29, 1906 issue below and its cartoon cover story on one of the men who played a part in a “most interesting occasion.”  Most all of the text which follows comes from that article.

William Henry Moody was born on December 23, 1853, in Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of farmers. He graduated from Phillips Andover Academy in 1872 and Harvard in 1876, leaving Harvard Law School after four months to read law under Richard Henry Dana. After admission to the state bar in 1878, Moody practiced law in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he was elected city solicitor (1888-1889). In 1890, he was named the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Massachusetts.

In 1895, he was elected as a Republican to fill a vacant seat in Congress, and subsequently elected three more times. He impressed his congressional colleagues with his command of legislative details and debating skills, and served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Theodore Roosevelt first met Moody in 1895 and quickly came to admire a man with a similar physical build, athletic interests, and a progressive Republican perspective. In 1902, Roosevelt appointed Moody as secretary of the navy.

Moody served in that capacity for two years, working to expand and improve the U.S. naval fleet, and reform the navy’s organization.

In June 1904, the president named him as the U.S. Attorney General. In his new position, Moody became a key advisor to the president and played a leading role in the prosecution of the administration’s antitrust lawsuits, successfully arguing Swift and Company v. United States (1905) before the U.S. Supreme Court. He agreed with Roosevelt’s distinction between “good” and “bad” trusts.

The Justice Department under Moody negotiated agreements with large business corporations that it deemed were working in the public interest, such as International Harvester and U.S. Steel, but prosecuted Standard Oil because its economic power and business activities were considered contrary to the public interest. As attorney general, Moody took a case concerning peonage of blacks to the Supreme Court, and ordered contempt proceedings against a sheriff who allowed a black rape suspect to be lynched.

Harper’s Weekly was concerned about the centralization of governmental power during the administration of Republican Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), and in December 1906 criticized an address in which Secretary of State Elihu Root called for federal intervention in situations where the states failed to act. Root’s speech, which the newspaper assumed was actually written by President Roosevelt, is excerpted in the caption of the featured cartoon. The cartoon warns that William Moody, whom the president had recently named to the U.S. Supreme Court, will be a judicial tool by which Roosevelt can expand federal powers at the expense of state control through new “constructions of the Constitution.” On the right, Secretary of War William Howard Taft sits studying the “Simplified Constitution” while waiting his turn for the next appointment to the Supreme Court.

When Justice Henry Brown resigned from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1906, President Roosevelt tried unsuccessfully to convince Taft to take the position and then considered appointing a Southern Democrat. Finally, on December 12, 1906, the president announced the selection of Moody, emphasizing the attorney general’s nationalist philosophy by describing him as a follower of Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall, not states’ rights advocates Thomas Jefferson and John C. Calhoun. The Senate approved the nomination on December 17.

During Moody’s brief tenure on the Supreme Court, he wrote 67 opinions, including 5 dissents. His most famous dissent came in the Employers’ Liability Cases (1908) in which his minority opinion upheld the constitutionality of a congressional statute protecting employees involved in interstate commerce. The constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce, he argued, included the authority to legislate labor-management relations. Despite his general support of enhanced federal powers, Moody’s most important majority opinion (later overturned) ruled that the federal constitutional provision in the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination did not apply in state courts (Twining v. State of New Jersey, 1908). Moody’s judicial career was cut short when he developed debilitating rheumatism in early 1909 and was increasingly forced to neglect his judicial responsibilities. In 1910, Congress passed legislation that permitted Moody to qualify for federal retirement benefits, and he retired from the Supreme Court.

A saddened President Roosevelt remarked, “there is not a public servant, at this particular time, that the public could so ill afford to lose.” Eventually incapable of moving his arms and legs, Moody lived seven more years with the painful disease, cared for by his sister until his death on July 2, 1917.

Lizzie Borden Slept Here

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

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.

Often disregarded or minimized in the role they played in Lizzie’s life, I find them fascinating in their own right.   As it turned out, by the time Grace received the cash (along with with Helen Leighton) three years before Louis’ death, it was a financial windfall at a time sorely needed.

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.

From TIME Magazine – published about 3 months after Louis McHenry Howe’s death (April 18, 1936)

Relict’s Recompense

Monday, Jul. 27, 1936

While he lived, the nation hardly knew that Louis McHenry Howe had a wife. Quartered like a bachelor in Abraham Lincoln’s White House room, Franklin Roosevelt’s gnarled and gnomish No. 1 Secretary was a member of the private as well as the official Presidential family, spent more time in Washington than he did at home in Fall River, Mass.

Last week it was revealed that, while her famed husband devoted himself to Franklin Roosevelt’s affairs, plump, grey-eyed Grace Hartley Howe has done more than sit at home rearing his son and daughter. She is a director of Fall River’s Family Welfare Association, Historical Society, Ninth Street Day Nursery and of the League of Nations Association; advisory board member of the Consumers’ League of Massachusetts and of various local WPA projects; trustee of the Bristol County Agricultural School and Fall River Public Library; secretary of Massachusetts’ Democratic State Committee and vice chairman of Fall River’s Democratic City Committee; member of the Fall River Women’s Club, American Association of University Women, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, New England Farm and Garden Club, English-Speaking Union. League of Women Voters. D. A. R., Fall River Vassar Club and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiques.

None of these activities, however, has made her rich, and Louis Howe left “less than $20,000.” Last week President Roosevelt recompensed his most devoted and intimate friend’s relict for virtual widowhood during her husband’s later life by appointing her acting postmaster of Fall River, at $4,000 per year.”

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.

Lizzie Borden and the Fall River Animal Rescue League

It’s been a week of Portuguese Water Pirates.  No wait.  That’s wrong.  In any event, in honor of Bo Obama, here’s a recycled post tribute of Lizzie Borden and the Animal Rescue League of Fall River.

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Lizzie Borden not only left a huge amount of money to the Animal Rescue League of Fall River when she died on June 1, 1927, but she was also one of its initial financial contributors when it was created in 1914.  Her friend, nurse Helen Leighton and Helen’s friend, school teacher Gertrude Baker were there at the beginning and became founding members of the League.

Helen Leighton

Gertrude Baker

Below is the founding document establishing the League as a corporation by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  (Right click images for larger view).

Reading over the Annual Reports from my collection, its interesting to contrast how the League began.  Here’s a sample Report and a history document recapping its early beginnings.

Click on the link below for a scanned image of the April 15, 1926 “12th Annual Report of the Secretary” of the Animal Rescue League of Fall River who, at that time, was Annie E. Allen.

12th Annual Report-1926

Little did the Board of Directors know that less than 14 months later they would be the recipients of large bequests from the Wills of Lizzie ($30,000) and Emma ($20,000) Borden.  Subsequent “Annual Reports” reveal these monies were invested so well that income is still derived from this fund.

The “History” tells us that early fundraising after its incorporation was done in private homes – perhaps even Lizzie’s?  And that they even dressed up as playing cards and had various games.  I like to think Lizzie participated and had some fun.  Stuffy Emma would probably have deferred even if she had still be living at “Maplecroft”.   It was the League who took care of the burial of Lizzie’s dogs according to later Reports filed.

history-1

history-2

Today, the Faxon Animal Rescue League, (formerly the Animal Rescue League of Fall River) located at 474 Durfee Street, pays tribute to the Borden sisters by keeping their photographs on the wall in their lobby.  You can see their pictures in the upper right corner of that photograph as is shown here.

The Month of February

Fall River looking down North Main – late 1880’s.

Lobby poster for Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer, 1927 -the year of Lizzie’s death.

A sampling of what happened back in Lizzie Borden’s day during the month of February.

Date	Event
February 1, 1894	Spinners line street between Spring & Columbia on both sides of Main St., declaring strike.
February 1, 1893	Robinson joins Lizzie’s defense team.
February 2, 1920	#230 (formerly #92) Second Street house purchased by Mark Mandel from John W. Dunn.
February 2, 1928	Pocassett Mill fire – City Hall, Union Bank bldg, etc. destroyed – over $35 million in property loss.
February 2,1894	Emma signs discharge of Executor duties of AJB estate, witnessed by Henrietta & Elizabeth Morse.
February 2-4, 1926	Lizzie enters Truesdale Hospital for gall bladder operation.  Registers as “Mary Smith”.
February 2, 1902	Philip H. Borden dies in Fall River.
February 3, 1854	Abraham Borden deeds house on Ferry Street to Andrew.
February 4, 1927	The film “The Jazz Singer” starring Al Jolson premieres as the first “talkie”.
February 6, 1940	Weetamoe Mill fire, loss of $450,000.  This mill was owned by the City of Fall River.
February 6, 1844	McKee Rankin (Nance O’Neil theatrical agent) is born in Canada.
February 6, 1879	Charles Churchill, husband of Adelaide, dies at age 35.
February 7, 1965	Nance O’Neil, 90, dies in the Actors Fund Home, Englewood, New Jersey (nursing home).
February 7, 1910	Emma & Lizzie deed 9 acres land e/side Gardner’s Neck Rd, Swansea to Preserved Gardner.
February 10, 1905	John Morse leaves Iowa for Boston.
February 10, 1893	Officer Phillip Harrington,  FRPD, promoted to Captain.
February 11, 1888	Women’s Board of Fall River Hospital is formed.  Miss Anna H. Borden, Treasurer.  (She went on 1890 Grand Tour with Lizzie).
February 11, 1880	Edmund Lester Pearson born in Newburyport, Mass.
February 11, 1889	Service at Central Congregational Church calls for pledges of $82,000 to clear debt.  (Did Andrew contribute?)
February 12, 1892	Former President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is declared a national holiday in the United States.
February 12, 1834	Mass. General Court Assembly changes name from “Troy” to “Fall River”
February 14, 1890	Chicago learns it will be the site for the next World’s Fair.
February 15-16, 1916	Major fire in downtown Fall River – 30 businesses destroyed, over $1.5 million in property loss.
February 16,1897	Providence Daily Journal prints story of Lizzie’s shoplifting at Tilden Thurber.
February 16, 1898	USS Battleship Maine blows up in Havana harbor, 266 killed.
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.
February 18, 1904	Edwin H. Porter, dies in FR at age 39
February 14, 1910	Lizzie sells 18 acres in Swansea (Gardner’s Neck Road)
February 19, 1829	Phebe Ann Borden, Andrew’s sister, born in Fall River.
February 20, 1912	John Vinnicum Morse signs his Last Will & Testament in Hastings, Iowa.
February 22, 1896	Governor Robinson dies at the age of 62 in Chicopee, Mass.
February 24, 1924	1924 Woodrow Wilson dies.
February 25, 1968	Gertrude M. (Russell) Callow, Lizzie’s maid (1912-1913) dies at the age of 79 in Fall River.
February 26, 1829	Hiram Harrington born (marries Lurana Borden, Andrew’s sister).
February 26, 1883	Mary B. Young addresses Fall River City Council proposing her gift of $400,000 for new High School- becomes B.M.C. Durfee High School).

“Todd Lunday” Unveiled

Note:  The inspiration for “The Mystery Unveiled”, and certainly the foundation for its premise, lies with Edwin Porter’s The Fall River Tragedy,  beginning on page 6 which can be found by clicking HERE.

Mr. Porter was a police reporter for the Fall River Globe.  Keep that in mind.  His book, also published in 1893, was released BEFORE The Mystery Unveiled. Mr. Porter sets forth each and every particular of what the “assassin” (as he calls the killer) must encounter, confront, avoid, and/or deal with as does Todd Lunday when describing what “Villain” must encounter, confront, avoid and/or deal with.   Indeed, it is quite possible “Todd Lunday” read what Porter wrote,  and flashed upon the concept of another book to unveil the mystery in this confounding case.

Let us now examine just who “Todd Lunday” may be:

One of the many by-product mysteries in the Lizzie Borden case is the identity of “Todd Lunday”, a fictitious or non de plume for the actual writer of The Mystery Unveiled: The Truth about the Borden Tragedy: Fresh Light That Must Be Convincing to The Reader. This is a 56-page pamphlet published by J. A. & R. A. Reid immediately after the Trial in 1893. The content is rich with tongue-in-cheek satire, and ultimately concludes that since Lizzie was acquitted and no one else charged or suspected, nobody committed the murder – a conclusion meant to illustrate how preposterous that Lizzie was acquitted in the first place. He writes:

“Any revelations that would lead to correct opinions relative to the perpetrator of the crime would not fail of favor with all lovers of justice, and it is the object of this book to make such revelations in hard and fast facts.”

In other words, if not Lizzie, who? And by extended logic: No one else could have done it, ergo, she did it.

He takes us step by step through both murders and presents the obstacles “Villain” must surpass in order to complete the dastardly deeds, such as access into the house, hiding between murders, moving from upstairs to downstairs unseen, dealing with locked doors, escaping unseen, having a plan executable even without knowing whether Lizzie and Bridget would be inside or outside, what they would be doing, etc. He finely details the boatload of improbabilities an intruder would encounter, and the absurdity of an intruder being a viable suspect by any stretch of the imagination. Indeed, an absurdity which came to mind of the police within the early hours of investigation and promptly reported by the local press, particularly the biased, Catholic-owned Fall River Globe.

There is no more obvious sarcasm in The Mystery Unveiled than the last paragraph of the pamphlet, quoted here exactly as it appears:

“Now what are we to say of the case? This: At a recent court convened according to the laws of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, the first party of the only two who could have committed the deed, the Party of unhindered opportunity was declared not guilty, AND I HAVE DEMONSTRATED IN THE PAGES OF THIS VOLUME THE ABSOLUTE AND ENTIRE INNOCENCE OF THE SECOND PARTY, LEAVING NO GROUNDS FOR ANY DOUBT. IT, THEREFORE, FOLLOWS THAT NO MURDER WAS COMMITTED. O LAND OF THE FREE IN WHICH THE FOULEST OF CRIMES MAY BE COMMITTED IN THE QUIET OF THE HOME, EVEN IN THE OPEN BLAZE OF MIDDAY, AND YET NOBODY THE DOER!

So just who was “Todd Lunday”? Borden enthusiasts and scholars have been trying to figure it out for years. Some play the anagram game with the letters, i.e., “Dolan”. Others have thought it was written by Marshall Rufus Hilliard (don’t even try it – the letters won’t fit). For some years now, I have held the belief it is: (drum roll) …………………….

(from Images of America – Fall River)

………James Dennan O’Neil, Irish Catholic, managing editor of the Daily Globe. The paper was Catholic owned and the favored publication of the mill workers. It was O’Neil who wrote the editorials every year on the anniversary of the Borden murders with each article pounding the point that the murderer still walked free or that “no murders happened”. The articles usually appeared on page one of The Globe and they became progressively more assertive in pointing the finger at Lizzie. Always contraversial, often cruel.

I have all 23 of those anniversary articles and it was after years of reading and re-reading them and contrasting the phrasing, sentence structure, vocabulary, wit, and general degree of callousness that appears in The Mystery Unveiled that I reached my conclusion. I ruled out Marshall Hilliard. I don’t think he would have risked exposure. Interestingly enough and something of a coincidence, in 2006 while doing research on James O’Neil in the Fall River Room of the FR Library, a newly donated original Lunday had arrived that day. Inscribed inside was “property of Rufus B. Hilliard.”

So…… If I were an Irish Catholic, editor of the FR Globe, and I had a fairly high profile in the City of Fall River, meaning lots of people knew me….and I decided to write a book anonymously, tongue in cheek but based on facts, and I knew the facts pretty damn well because:

1. Hell, I’m a newspaper editor.

2. Lots of the cops were Irish Catholics that investigated the case throughout and gave me an earfull because we were ethnically and culturally sympatico regarding the people of Fall River above and below The Hill.

3. My key reporter, Edwin Porter, was right there on the scene every step of the way and had the inside track to the police department and officers.  Edwin wrote The Fall River Tragedy and I was inspired by it.

And further:

4. I wanted to disguise my writing style, but couldn’t quite keep it exactly disguised.

5. I wanted to pick an author’s name that sounded sooooooooooooo not Irish and sooooooooooo not Catholic….rather more English Protestant.

The anniversary editorials were very popular among The Globe readers. Each year that editiorial was looked forward to with high expectation by their readership. Indeed, O’Neil would get letters as the August 4th date approached asking “what’s the next anniversary editorial going to tell us?” People were excited and in anticipation of it so O’Neil relished in that. And sales spiked on August 4th. Did it continue so long because It was more about sales than sticking it to Lizzie? In any event, they finally ended after 23 years. According to Victoria Lincoln, it was Monsignor Cassidy who convinced The Globe to put those articles to an end. (A Private Disgrace, pg. 303). Perhaps it did take a high ranking Catholic to persuade a Catholic newspaper to “knock it off.”

Here are some samplings of those articles. At the 5 year mark take note of the last sentence in the left column. The way its worded makes me wonder if by then so many had read the “Lunday” pamphlet that it may have been rumored the true author was O’Neil and he was making a “veiled” attempt at re-directing local suspicion.

In 1906, it was back on page 1 of The Globe. The article continued with mention of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. True enough, Pinkerton Detective Hanscom, hired by Lizzie’s attorney Andrew Jennings, lasted only 2 days before whatever conclusions he drew was enough for Jennings to scurry him out of town.

August 4, 1914 was the last appearance of the anniversary articles and it appeared on page 5.

Long blog, I know. But I type fast. On a final note, the FRHS will publish Parallel Lives in December (postponed from this summer) and it should be revealed then who “Todd Lunday” really was. Meanwhile, IMHO, the real author of The Mystery Unveiled is James O’Neil.

CASE SETTLED! Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum vs. Salem’s “True Story” of Lizzie Borden Exhibit

For those who have been following the litigation between Donald Woods, co-owner of the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum in Fall River, MA, and Leonard Pickel, operator of the recently opened “True Story of Lizzie Borden” exhibit in Salem, MA, – the case is expected to be settled out of court today. This result was what a few of us knew would be the probable outcome.

However, this AP first reporting was actually premature as the ink has not yet been applied to the Agreement papers as of noon Eastern time.  Mr. Pickel, no doubt in his excited relief, rushed to speak to the AP Reporter.  You can read the AP’s first and premature reporting of the settlement HERE.

At issue was Mr. Pickel’s use of the word “museum” in both his website URL and contact email address wherein Mr. Woods claimed copyright to the word when attached to “Lizzie Borden” as that was cause for confusion and adversarial to his (Woods) business.

For the next several days there will be the usual flurry of newspaper and t.v. reporting following up on the AP wire story.  All of which is good for both businesses.  We wish them well. 

And – unrelated to the case but for anyone interested, this next article associates Sarah Palin with Lizzie Borden.  Read it HERE.

Lizzie Borden Salem Exhibit & the Bleeder-Readers

I’ve posted before about the Lizzie Borden “True Story” exhibit in Salem and now, I give you some overall glimpses of most of the exhibit.

I’ve written before on this subject and those posts can be found HERE

and HERE and HERE .  BE SURE TO READ THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE AT THE VERY END OF THIS POST!

The facility is 3,500 square feet of which 3,000 feet is exhibit space.  It is brand, spanking new, extremely well organized with the spacial layouts of the storyboards which are very well done with a clear, readable font.  It seems more thought and planning went into the storyboards than the actual floor displays.

There is nothing new to be found here in terms of information or “true” story.  What it is, is a factual telling of the case thru the extremely text-heavy storyboards.  All the content is what has already appeared in numerous books or newspapers.  One feels they ARE reading a book.

The “True Story” exhibit is located on Essex Street in Salem’s “boardwalk” of numerous museums, shops, restaurants, cafes, bookstores, etc.

It is right next door to the large Witch History Museum

The first thing you see when approaching the door is the display of “Halloween’ type skulls displayed in the large glass window.

Once inside, your eyes take in the neatly displayed variety of gift and souvenier items.

There are NO interactive displays.  No audio memories.  No audio guides.  No videos of any kind.  No forensics display.  No interactive forensic exhibit that would engage the visitor to “solve the crime”.  It’s all about the READING.

After paying for your ticket and going thru the entry turnstyle, you enter a small narrow hallway and the READING begins:

CAUTION:   CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR EYES!

AND READ……….

AND READ………

READ ABOUT THE BORDEN FAMILY (Too bad there isn’t audio with voices depicting the family members *telling* you about themselves.   Oh well.  Ho-hum.)

AND READ………

AND READ…………

KEEP MOVING – KEEP READING……..

AND READ………….

Now if you didn’t know better and skipped the “reader boards”,  you would incorrectly assume both Andrew and his wife were murdered in the same room because of the body outlines shown in the same display space.  One is FORCED to read to get the facts.  (Might as well get a book.)

OKAY, MOVE ON NOW.  THERE’S MORE READING TO DO……….

AND READ………

Ahh!  Finally something different to LOOK at!  A 3-D paper mockup of the Borden house and immediate neighbors.  (Here you can relax your eyes for a moment or two.)

BUT THEN…………

YOU KEEP ON READING……….

AND READ ABOUT THE DISCOVERY OF ANDREW’S BODY AS OUTLINED  ON THE BLUE, NOT BLACK (SO00000 “UNTRUE” SOFA).

READ ABOUT THE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND TRIAL IN A VERY UN-AUTHENTIC MOCKUP OF THE JUDGES BENCH AT THE SUPERIOR COURT IN NEW BEDFORD.

AND READ………..

The “mastoidian” type teeth in the skull of “Abby” was so inaccurate that Mr. Pickel removed them.  The skull is now without teeth.  However, the autopsy report on Abby clearly states she had false teeth in the upper jaw, but visitors do not see the “true” replica of Abby’s skull.

READ ABOUT LIZZIE MOVING TO MAPLECROFT.  NO, THAT’S NOT LIZZIE’S FURNITURE.  NOTHING IN THE EXHIBIT IS A LEGITIMATE ARTIFACT FROM THE CASE OR FALL RIVER’S HISTORY.  BUT DON’T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM READING BECAUSE THERE IS FAR MORE TO READ THAN ITEMS TO LOOK AT.

I don’t know why the picture of these dogs are on the wall.  They were not the kind of dogs Lizzie or Nance O’Neil had.  Perhaps something was just needed to fill up the wall space and its just temporary.

READ ABOUT NANCE O’NEIL

READ ABOUT FALL RIVER TODAY (HUH?) AND THE LIZZIE BORDEN BED & BREAKFAST (THEY FORGOT TO ADD THE WORD “MUSEUM”)

There is no really “Wow!” factor in the exhibit.  But I suppose the closest would be this replica of the Andrew Borden grave site in Oak Grove Cemetery.  Very well done.  It is the next to last thing you see in the exhibit.  It has a dark-mirrored background in back of which is the gift shop.

AND READ…………

THE GUEST BOOK BEFORE YOU GO THRU THE EXIT TURNSTYLE.

There has been much reporting in the media lately of Leonard Pickel’s new “True Story of Lizzie Borden”.  What follows is pure FICTION.

YOU CAN MAKE UP YOUR OWN NEWSPAPER HEADINE AT THIS SITE.

“The True Story of Lizzie Borden” – or Maybe Not

EXPANDED UPDATE – SEE BELOW

UPDATE: According to this USA Today’s AP report, Mr. Pickel is planning to open up his alleged “True Story” of Lizzie Borden this weekend. CLICK HERE

Mr. Pickel continues to be under the erroneous assumption that most people don’t know what state, let alone what city, in which the Borden case took place. To that I say: “Mr. Pickel – just ask the Fall River Historical Society how many decades people have flocked there ONLY to see the Borden case exhibits. Inquire at Oak Grove cemetery how many people traversed their grounds solely to find Lizzie Borden’s grave until they finally painted footprints on the pavement guiding folks to the Andrew J. Borden family plot. Ask Robert Dube and the Silvia’s how many people have come on to their property or stopped to photograph “Maplecroft” for the past 40 years.

Most importantly, people have been flocking to 92 Second Street since Day One. Indeed, within days of the murders wagon and carriage drivers would transport disembarking passengers from steamers of the Fall River Line coming from New York and Boston requesting to be taken to the “Lizzie Borden house.” This was reported in the local papers shortly after the crime and continued when Lizzie moved to French Street. Visitors to Fall River for the past 116 years have continued to drive by 92 Second Street just to get a gander of the famous structure.

For 116 years local, regional and national papers have continued to write articles about the case. Dozens of books have been published, several documentaries have been made on “Fall River’s” Lizzie Borden. The #1 best selling book on the case, Victoria Lincoln’s A Private Disgrace, has had over a dozen printings and is still in print. Royalties continue to be paid out to her daughters, Priscilla Williams and Louise Lowe Kittredge. This book, written by native of Fall River who emphasized “Fall River’s” close-knit families, left no doubt in the reader’s minds WHERE this crime took place. People who have read only one book on the case, most always have read this one.

And when 92 Second Street was opened up to the public for the first time as the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum in 1996, it put Fall River on the map as a tourist destination for all those interested in unsolved murders and the Lizzie Borden case.

The Lizzie Borden case is as iconic to Fall River as the JFK assassination is to Dallas.

If you can’t even quote the truth about the general public’s awareness of where these crimes took place, what confidence can one have in your ability to present the “true story” of Lizzie Borden at your Salem “exhibit”?

Get a clue, Lenny. Get a grip on the “true” story.

UPDATE:

Looks as if Pickel is already hawking his wares OUTSIDE the facility on a display table with some schlock emphera. This may be an indicator to the “quality” of his exhibit. Also, his statement regarding the exclusion of the Bence testimony on Lizzie’s attempt to buy poison is incorrect. It was excluded because it was deemed to be “too remote in time”, not because no poison was found in the bodies. This news footage uses an old image of the B&B at 92 Second Street, Fall River but includes the newly found photo from Emma’s cabinet photo album of Lizzie as a young girl.

CLICK LINK BELOW

FOX25 TV NEWS CLIP

“The True Story of Lizzie Borden” is what Leonard Pickel proposes to reveal to $10 ticket holders ($8 if you use his online $2 discount coupon) at his EXHIBIT, EXHIBIT, EXHIBIT (get it?) in Salem, MA. The “True” story??? Just how does he know what is true?

First and foremost: Lizzie Borden was acquitted on June 20, 1893 in that sensational Trial held at the New Bedford Superior Court. No one else was ever brought to Trial. The Who, How and Why continues to be a major mystery in this most compelling unsolved classic crime. Indeed, from books, blogs and bumper stickers we repeatedly see the phrase: “Lizzie Borden – Did she or didn’t she?” It is absolutely presumptuous of anyone to state – be it in a book, blog, bumper sticker, lecture, Youtube video, or anything else – that they can reveal or know the “true” story. Nobody does.

2005 photo of Leonard Pickel from his Haunted Times magazine website

The person with the most means, motive and opportunity certainly was Lizzie, but it was never conclusively proven and no one knows for certain if she did it. The good money says of course she did, but no one can prove or show that is true.

So I have to wonder just what TRUTH to the Lizzie Borden story Mr. Pickel will impart to his visitors? Is the “true” story going to reveal that Lizzie alone committed the murders? Even the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum and the Fall River Historical Society do not and never have been so presumptuous as to state whether or not Lizzie did it. Nor have they ever claimed to know the truth about Lizzie. Too many questions remain. Far too many.

Lee-ann Wilber, General Manager & co-owner of Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum

Since the opening of the B&B in 1996, the tour scripts have been written for the tour guides to give facts of the case without asserting that Lizzie or anyone else in particular did the deed. They do not purport that Lizzie did it or didn’t do it, or that Uncle John or Bridget or William Borden committed the murders, or that Lizzie had a boyfriend named David Anthony who did it, or that her sister Emma did it, or that even Phoebe Bowen did it. Nor do they state that it is true that Lizzie was a lesbian, actually strangled or cut off the head of Abby’s cat, or that she was actually a shoplifter. None of this is known to be the truth.

But Leonard Pickel, by virtue of the name of his proposed EXHIBIT and from what he’s stated in newspapers, has the audacity to assert he will exhibit The True Story of Lizzie Borden. What yellow brick road is *he* on? The true story of Lizzie Borden will never be known. Whatever it was, Lizzie took it to her grave. Maybe Mr. Pickel has visited “the other side” and knows something we don’t.

Mr. Pickel is also repeatedly quoted in interviews that Fall River has never “embraced” Lizzie nor had the support of the city. Not true. There was a Lizzie Borden symposium in 1986 of which the city and community organizations supported. But it wasn’t until the highly successful 4-day 1992 Lizzie Borden Centennial that Fall River realized money could be made and that Lizzie was a source of new revenue for tourism dollars that they fully embraced her. She’s in both Chamber and City promotional brochures, city department websites, and the “LIZZIE BORDEN MUSEUM” is a prominently displayed huge BLUE I-95 highway sign on the approach to the Braga Bridge just entering Fall River.

Here’s the August 9th Boston Herald’s report of the current litigation wherein Pickel demonstrates his lack of knowledge regarding the relationship between the City of Fall River and Lizzie Borden.

In my opinion, Mr. Pickel not only does not have his thumb on the pulse of what Lizzie means to Fall River, he doesn’t have his hand on the hatchet to exhibit the True Story of Lizzie Borden.

LIZZIE BORDEN ADMITS GUILT!

NEWS FLASH: Incredible email received today. Wonder if it’s a hoax? And yes, I did respond. Here it is:

“—– Original Message —–

From: XXXXX

To: phaye@npgcable.com

Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 1:51 PM

Subject: Lizzie

I have 4 books from her library, 2 signed and 2 initialed. One is the travel/art guide she carried on her European trip with notes and comments. Also a play with Nance O’Neil’s

sig and Porter’s Fall River Murders !893. I bought them from her chauffeur’s nephew about

30 years ago. If anyone knows the value of such items it would be you – can you help me?

Many thanks. Robert XXXXX”

I’ve X’d out his email address and last name for obvious reasons.  Over the years, I’ve received emails such as this from time to time.  Some turn out to be golden – others, not so much.  Awaiting his reply to my response.

***********************************************************

Write your own “story” about Lizzie Borden and email me and I’ll post them to this blog.

You can find this very simple and quick program here.

And while we’re being silly -

Here’s a little ditty I wrote back in 1998:

My name is Nellie McHenry

And I’m a stringer for the Press.

I once scored a special interview

With a damsel in Distress.

She was the household maid

To a family of some fame.

You’ll remember Lizzie Borden?

Well, Bridget was her name.

And she told me with great confidence

Of something Lizzie said

About her stepmother Abby

Who soon after was found dead.

Now Lizzie told this Bridget

Who, of course, told it to me

That Abby made a “groaning” sound

When slaughtered horribly.

I am that very person

To whom this Bridget spoke.

My name is Nellie McHenry

But the story is a joke!

Lizzie Borden and an Unhappy Family

The period immediately after the crime up through the end of the Preliminary Hearing has always been of more interest to me than the Trial itself. So many clues into the twisted fabric of this enigmatic case can be found in that span of time.

This particular New York Times article of August 24, 1892 has always been one of the most interesting to me because it is so generously sprinkled with the seeds from which grew so many speculative theories on this case. First, read the article about Lizzie’s letter.

While Lizzie testified to writing such a letter to Emma, it embellishes beyond that to which she actually testified at the Coroner’s Inquest held August 9th thru 11th, 1892. The day following the NYT article, the Preliminary Hearing began and, of course, Lizzie did not testify nor Emma. Keep in mind that it was the day before the Preliminary Hearing in which the incident of Lizzie and Emma having an argument where Lizzie alledgedly said “You have given me away, Emma” and “I won’t give in one inch” as Matron Reagan testified. If you believe Matron Reagan, and I do, what was the issue?

Clearly tongues were wagging freely to investigative journalists and neighbor to neighbor up to the Preliminary Hearing. Comparatively, the period from the Hearing to the Trial, people who would later testify were more circumspect, especially in reference to harmony or disharmony within the Borden household.

Two weeks before the murders Andrew bought back the Ferry Street house, giving Emma and Lizzie a tidy $2,500 each (considerably more in 1892 purchasing power). Suddenly, “the girls” were flushed with cash. Lizzie and Emma immediately left town and that house and traveled to New Bedford and Fairhaven, respectively.

But there was much more going on in that two weeks leading up to August 4th, 1892. More information came out in the newspapers about the family background, trouble in the household, and even speculation of how the dastardly deed could have been done. The murders were all that anyone was talking about and soon they would be reading what people sworn to the truth would be telling the court.

It was during that period between the crimes and the Preliminary Hearing that we learn about things Lizzie said of her stepmother, Abby, and of various observations of the personal dynamics within that home. Most everything that the Government would gather to build their case on motive was during this period. As to means, something new would have to wait until the end of November when Alice Russell’s conscience (bless her soul) got the best of her. You won’t read about the “dress burning” incident during this period. But could it actually have been the issue, been the topic, to which Lizzie and Emma had words which Matron Reagan overheard? Did Emma tell Attorney Jennings Lizzie had burned a dress the morning after she was told she was suspected and Lizzie was determined to deny it?

Back to more snippets of unhappiness in the household is this article from the Fall River Daily Globe, August 24, 1892, page 7: Edwin Porter was the Globe reporter who wrote The Fall River Tragedy (George R. H. Buffinton, Press of J. D.Munroe, 1893) published immediately after the Trial. Within this article is a portion typical of the veiled sarcasm when speculating the scenario of the murders and how the “intruder” did it that one cannot help but consider Porter as the unknown “Todd Lunday”. (The Mystery Unveiled: The Truth about the Borden Tragedy: Fresh Light That Must Be Convincing to All Readers. Providence: J. A. & R. A. Reid, 1893). Or, maybe Lunday was the paper’s editor, James O’Neil, who penned those god-awful anniversary articles which were so anticipated and popular by the working class “below the Hill.” In any case, there are clues a-plenty to that unhappy family here.

The following article gives us more clues about unhappiness within the Borden household.

Draw your own conclusions. By the way, just what is YOUR idea of cordiality?

Response to Leonard Pickel’s Open Letter re: Lizzie Borden Museum

The litigation I referred to a while back between Fall River’s Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum

and the proposed True Story of Lizzie Borden Museum in Salem

can be read HERE as told by the Fall River Herald News.

I indicated I would comment on Mr. Pickel’s “open letter” below. My brief comments appear in color below:

“Leonard Pickel
http://www.lizziebordenmuseum.com | lizziebordenmuseum@gmail.com | 70.22.220.232

I find it interesting that a museum, which has not opened to the public as of yet, (we are working hard on that people, trust me!), has been dragged through the mud as much as The True Story of Lizzie Borden has.

“Home Haunter?” Do you even know what that means? I have built Attractions for Universal Studios, Madison Square Garden and 6 Flags Parks across the country. I have over 30 years in attraction design, own and edit the industry magazine, and own a convention. I am no hack!

Why don’t you at least wait for reviews of people who have been through the museum, or perhaps even tour the museum yourself, before casting disparaging criticism on the level of experience quality, amount of preparedness or fact checking. I think many people are wishful of a first class operation and anxious to see that is exactly what it turns out to be.

I contacted the FRHS many years ago about getting photos, and they assured me there would be no problem. Then when I was ready to purchase them, everything was different. They have been trying to put together a quorum to even have a meeting for 2 months now. We will be open before they decide if they are willing to assist us in developing the museum content. Sounds like you got the run-around. The FRHS is very proprietary about Lizzie. They are, of course, the repository of and safeguard to much of the physical evidence presented at the Trial. They have regularly scheduled Board of Director’s Meeting. Just how savvy are you, Mr. Pickel? hmmm?

I had all the most of the photos I needed already, what I was looking for was photos with the best resolution available. I just spent $15,000 enlarging photos for the museum, most of which have never been enlarged, or enhanced. Very exciting! You paid too much. Not very prudent for a business man. That’s a lot of $10 admission tickets just to cover costs of those enlargements. And you’re wrong about them never having been enlarged or enhanced. I have 3 feet x 5 feet enlargements in my collection which I’ve used for presentations going back to the mid 1980’s. But perhaps you have better resolution.

While a Lizzie Borden attraction has been in my thought since 1992, I did not have the funding and the right location at the same time until January of this year. I am a busy guy and was not willing to devote the time to fully develop this back burner project until it was real! By then time was short. If you’ve been successful with your Haunted House attractions at premiere venues, why didn’t you have the funding since 1992?

We are behind on opening because of building permit, construction, and contractor delays, and may not be able to open on Monday due to a Fire Alarm panel programming issue. But I am sure we will be open by the end of the week. Then I worry about the web site!! Your website is your branding. It is a primary marketing tool. A rush to open may sacrifice quality, and for visitors, initial impressions are lasting.

Will we be where we want to end up when we open? No. A museum as a constant work in process. We will be critiqued and fact checked by every person walking through the attraction, and we will make changes and corrections to the museum content as we go. Add better photos as they become available, and nuances as we or others thing of them. “Critiqued and fact checked.” You got that right.

We are in this for the long run! Taking our time now to get it right is what is important. “get it right’….I would certainly hope so. Advertising the “true story” puts the burden of TRUTH on you, Mr. Pickel.

As for the lawsuit rumor, there are some people who think they own Lizzie! And that no one is allowed to do anything with her without their permission, which they do not give anyone. Maplecroft tried to open a B&B at one time, and those plans were squashed by the self appointed owners of Lizzie. Too bad, I would have loved to spend the night at Maplecroft, wouldn’t you! “Maplecroft” DID open as a B&B, albeit for a short while. Nice research, Leonard.

So now they think they own the idea of a Lizzie Borden Museum, and no one can open one because they own it! They own Lizzie Borden!! I haven’t heard any person, organization or entity say they “own Lizzie Borden”. That’s YOUR phrasing. Clearly, the issue has been the word “museum”.

Sorry… I thought we were free in America, that pursuit of happiness thing, and monopolies were against the law. Monopolies? Monopolies? They ain’t got no stinkin’ monopolies.

The other thing that is against the law is slander! And when you announce a lawsuit in the newspaper, you had better stop wining and moaning and file the thing! All I have gotten so far are angry temper tantrum emails from some attorney, demanding that we take “Museum” off the logo and signage, demanding that we give them our URL, demanding that we take “Lizzie Borden” off of our logo and signage! Because they own Lizzie! Chill, dude your professionalism is showing.

So either file your lawsuit or shut the hell up! Someone didn’t shut up.

The sad part is that The True Story of Lizzie Borden is the best thing that ever happen to the B&B and the FRHS. There are 600,000 tourists that come to Salem each year. And most of them have no idea where Fall River is, or that Lizzie Borden lived there. Only an hour and a half south, we will drive more people to Fall River than the Fall River Tourism Board (if there even is such a thing), could ever dream of doing! Read my type Leonard, your exhibit is NOT the best thing that ever happened to the B&B and the FRHS. It hasn’t happened yet. The B&B has done very well for well over a decade. A first class exhibit in Salem would probably drive more tourists into Fall River, but not that much. People interested in the Borden case come to Fall River anyway. Why? Because its where the House is. Because it’s where the evidence artifacts are. Ask yourself why Willie Sutton kept robbing banks.

Our plan was to have an internet terminal, so people could find out the hours of the FRHS or rent a room at the B&B while in the museum. An internet terminal. How early 90’s. People have cell phones with internet access, text messaging. Again, good research, Leondard. Good out-of-the-box thinking.

But why would we do that if they are going to be ugly about the whole thing. If they don’t want the exposure, we can always tell people that, the Murder House is still a print shop, that the FRHS’s Borden exhibit is about the size of our men’s room, and that Fall River is in Rhode Island! Your charming professionalism is exceeded only by your creative wit, as displayed here.

-end

Note: I hope the trademark issue is resolved with no further litigation than the current Restraining Order and Temporary Injunction. I hope the Salem exhibit DOES open and I hope it is a first class operation as is the B&B and the FRHS. But “first class operation” means accurate information. And it has been very apparent to me that ever since Mr. Pickel had this idea (by his own admission back in 1992), he has done little to acquire or read source documents or become knowledgeable about the case and its principles. Something a curator would do. Something an historic B&B owner and manager would do. Something enthusiasts do. Like I said, I’m not holding my breath.

From Lizzie’s A-Twitter Be it Salem or Fall River!, 2008/08/03 at 7:17 AM”

116th Anniversary Weekend of Borden Murders

Tour Guide Kathleen describes discovery of the murders to visitors at the Borden house on July 31, 2008. (FRHN video)

How fortuitious that the fatal fourth of August falls on a Monday this year – 116 years later from the 1892 Borden murders that made Lizzie Borden an enduring fascination. This week day date allows for a long preceding weekend for the local media, particularly the Fall River Herald News, to do what it has continuously done from that very day (when it was known as the Fall River Globe), i.e., fill its paper with remembrances of the case and its iconic female enigma, Lizzie Borden. It is The Big Weekend for the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast and the Fall River Historical Society.

Also, more vehicles will pass through the beautiful entrance of Oak Grove Cemetery and follow the arrows painted on the pavement leading to the Borden family plot than any other weekend of the year. And traffic on French Street, already congested with insufficient curbside parking, will be heavily traversed with the “lookie-loos” getting a gander where Lizzie lived the rest of her life – the once stately abode she named “Maplecroft”.  Lizzie died in the add-on bedroom over the veranda she had built as seen in this photo.

So it’s no surprise that the papers are full of Lizzie. It’s that time of year. Always has been, and (as long as the case remains one of the great murder mysteries) it always will be. The anniversary draws more tourists to Fall River and thats good business for the City and its tourist attractions. We can also look forward to the annual re-enactments and (don’t hold your breath) the opening of the Salem “Lizzie Borden Museum”. Come Tuesday, August 5, 2008, the local and regional papers will be still be full of Lizzie.

Yep, one long weekend. A virtual Lizzie bonanza for the media looking to increase viewership, radio listeners and on-site visitors! Free publicity all around. Especially for a town long suffering in its economic development that could use an infusion of revenue. No wonder they love her. Go, Fall River! Go!

On Monday, August 4th, I’ll post an updated Timelime of events the day before and the day of the murders.

Lizzie’s A-Twitter Be it Salem or Fall River!

CHECK OUT THIS ABC NEWS CHANNEL VIDEO AND WHAT FALL RIVER PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY:

CLICK HERE

I was excited when I heard about the “Lizzie Borden Museum” in Salem, and contacted Leonard Pickel on June 24 to offer assistance and perhaps loan some rare items from my collection for his 3,500 sq. ft. facility (3,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space). However, after two weeks of email exchange, learning of current litigation, and doing a little due diligence, I was less encouraged about the prospects of a first class operation. Learning this owner of Haunted Attractions magazine had planning and design exhibit experience solely on “home haunts” and the ghostly/paranormal genre, my enthusiasm waned considerably. When I asked what he had so far, Mr. Pickel informed me he had “only 50 hatchets so far” and that he was looking for good resolution images of the crime scene to make copies. Three weeks before his initial proposed opening (he wanted to open on her birthday, July 19th) he was still busy with contractors remodeling the venue and still looking for items to exhibit. Mr. Pickel had been asked by the FRHS (of which he is a dues paying member) to do a synopsis of his exhibit for submission to the Board for permission to access and obtain items from their collection. Clearly, the FRHS had the same reservations.

Mr. Pickel claims to have been planning this for years, yet his knowledge of the case is weak. One would think he would have been collecting source materials and reading everything possible to ensure accuracy of exhibits and the proposed CSI-type “journey” into the “true story of Lizzie Borden.” His website, as of this late date, still lacks a “Schedule” of operating hours, a “History”, or “Gift Shop” info. The website is in an ufinished state. Much as, I suspect, the exhibit/facility itself.

Fall River is home to Lizzie Borden. She remained in Fall River all her life. If she had moved to Boston and lived her remaining post-Trial years there, it would seem very appropriate for some type of Lizzie attraction. But in Salem, not so much. On the other hand, whether Mr. Pickel’s enterprise turns out to be a roaring success or a schlocky endeavor, people that visit it and are heading south, will most likely tour the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast (Mecca), visit the Fall River Historical Society, see the family graves at Oak Grove Cemetery and drive by Robert Dube’s “Maplecroft”. Lizzie brings in tourists. The vast majority of visitors to the FRHS come specifically to view their exhibit regarding the Borden case. And those that stay overnight at 92 Second Street get the best bang for the buck of any B&B in the country. PLUS, there are many Lizzie and case related artifacts on display and available for scrutiny at the B&B, including the most complete and comprehensive library of books, pamphlets, letters and journals easily available for review and research. The B&B is truly, the closest thing to a Museum that Fall River’s got – and almost a “living” museum, IMHO.

Yes, Fall River has repeatedly missed golden opportunities for obvious and new ways to capitalize on its most famous citizen. As descendents of the “founding families” literally die out, the resistance to that capitalizing seems to diminish. And that’s a good thing.

As to the new Superior Court across the street, it assumes and will hear those criminal cases which would have previously been at the old New Bedford Superior Court. It was not long ago that an inmate escaped the courthouse in New Bedford, much to the embarrassment of all concerned. The new facility in Fall River will have state of the art security. Talk of an increased criminal element in the Second Street neighborhood is without merit. There will be far more security in and around that building because of the nature of its operations than ever existed before in that space. And let us not forget that the Borden case Coroner’s Inquest and Preliminary Hearing were held in Fall River. Who knows, maybe arrangements will be made between the B&B owners and the court to have re-enactments in the future. I’d certainly pay to see it.

Lizzie Borden “New Stuff” for 2008

(Recycled post)

Since I’ve gotten so much into Geocaching, I went out last week and purchased a Christmas gift to myself – a brand new Quadmobile. It’s a mini 110 cc EX just like this only solid dark green. Now I can easily zip around off-roading to those hard to find places for hidden treasures. This has been so much fun, have met some truly adventurous and hilarious characters as well as “middle America” type families. I just love it! Another Paysonite into this loaded both our Quads on his pickup and he and his son and myself went up to Jerome, an old mining camp town way up in the hills north of Cottonwood and did some tracking up there. Inside an actual old mine, by tracking the coordinates, we located the “cache” – an 1862 book on Arizona mining. In its place I left a mini Lizzie hatchet and a copy of Arnold Brown’s book; my friend left an assortment of agates. The weather was beautifully clear but cold. I love Jerome and the people there….and its one great period saloon. I really encourage people who like to sleuth and have great fun to go geocaching!

Also this year we will be returning to Italy in early April. People I met at Raytheon in Andover, MA. last year will be letting us use their villa in Florence for 3 days. We’ll also go back to Rome and Venice and then take the long train ride south to Naples for 5 nights. I’ve been researching geocaching groups in these 4 cities and plan to leave Lizzie treasures (tapes, booklets, buttons, magnets, CD’s, photos, etc.) at all of them!

Speaking of hidden treasures – Borden enthusiasts will be in for several “reveals” during 2008. First off, the Fall River Historical Society will be publishing the long awaited Hilliard Papers which they received in 1989.

RUFUS BARTLETT HILLIARD

1849 – 1912. Born in Pembroke, Maine, Hilliard; son of David and Elizabeth (Wilson) Hilliard. Hired by the Fall River Police in 1879; named City Marshall in 1886. In 1888 married Miss Nellie Smith Clark of Fall River. He died in 1912.

Here are some images from my newspaper collection. Right click to enlarge.

As can be discerned from the write-up, we are indebted to Donald Bradbury, husband of Marshall Hilliard’s grand-daughter. It’s likely the Hilliard Papers will contain some redundancy from the Knowlton Papers in terms of letters from quacks or those with sound ideas as to how the murders were committed. Certainly Hilliard and Knowlton shared these types of letters with each other. But Hilliard’s career also included the Bertha Manchester case and many others. He lived a rich, full life, active in many civic and fraternal organizations. I look forward to this publication. It’s been a LONG time coming since they were received just a week or so after the Knowlton Papers were donated to the FRHS.

Second offering from theFRHS supposedly being published this summer (or so they said over a year ago) will be a two volume set on Lizzie Borden and Fall River’s society….supposedly new photos of Lizzie. Also revealed will be why some of the Bordens and Morses were considered “ugly”. Remember the Morton Batchelder report on whether or not there was insanity in the family and instead he was told they were considered “ugly”? Well, that didn’t have to do with visage as much as character or personality. Also we will learn why Abraham Borden named Andrew “Andrew”. Not a big mystery to me as I’ve always felt it was because of Abraham’s youngest brother named Andrew who died at a very young age. Seems a woman who lives in Fall River has a journal from a woman who was a schoolmate of Lizzie’s, went to parties with her, and wrote about her all through her life. I kinda think it’s Augusta Tripp because Lizzie left her money, was an “old schoolmate” of Agusta’s and even visited her just a week before the murders on August 4, 1892. We can expect these books to be of high quality. I look forward to their summer release.

I’ve already mentioned about David Rehak’s book and the newly found Lizzie letter, and I know of one other new Lizzie book to be published. More on that later.

So yes, 2008, will be a much more interesting year for new reveals on Lizzie. As time goes on people die and pass things on….a newer generation gets them – and when they are about Lizzie – or any historical event or person for that matter – we can only hope they have the foresight to preserve and share.

I’m off to study some maps and plot my next treasure geo tracking. The SuperBowl is in Phoenix so the stadium is my next target location.

“We Love You, Lizzie – Oh, Yes We Do!”

(Think “We Love You, Conrad” from the movie Bye Bye Birdie.)

There was a great deal of sympathy and support for Lizzie Borden from the time of the murders to the time of her Trial – particularly during the time she was incarcerated at the ivy-covered Taunton Jail until June 3, 1893, when she was transfered to the New Bedford Jail.

While at the Taunton Jail, she gained sympathy from the “sob sister” style reporting of her jailhouse interview with Mrs. McGuire which appeared in print on September 20, 1892. In that interview Lizzie tells her of the flood of letters she has received from kind supporters. (Where ARE they? And who has any she may have written back to?)

Then on October 10th, the “Trickey-McHenry” journalistic fiasco by the Boston Globe so promptly retracted with apologies to Lizzie (and John Morse) garnered her more of the “that poor girl” image.

The papers reported the Government had a weak case but the critical revelation of the dress burning incident told by Alice Russell when the Grand Jury reconvened on December 1, 1893, was not published.

By April 1st, 1893, Lizzie was already a popular icon regardless of one’s belief in her guilt or innocence. Her popularity was evidenced by her name receiving the most write-ins for the below contest. The contest was for 5 tickets to the Chicago World’s Fair in 5 specific categories: (1) School Teacher, (2) Policeman, Letter Carrier or Fireman, (3) Mechanic or Gentleman Clerk, (4) Mill Hand, and (5) Lady Clerk – all to be residents of New Bedford. One simply had to cut out the coupon and write the name of the person they felt the most popular and designate which occupation.

Lizzie, a Fall River resident, won hands down for most popular “School Teacher”. Lizzie courteously rejected hers suggesting it be given to another, as it was. (It is believed, however, Lizzie subsequently attended the Columbian Exhibition towards its end run after her acquittal.)

How Lizzie must have relished in the glow of all this popularity. She had never been popular in school and so much wanted to be accepted among her peers. She played her “awful confinement” to the hilt.

Then, exactly one month later, on May 1st, 1893, there was the trumpeting of an “outraged” Mary Livermore at the police for their abuse and sheer adacity to even suspect this virginal Sunday school teacher who was the younger daughter of her long deceased friend, Sarah Morse Borden. And in this same article (below) we learn that even Emma received many letters of sympathy and support.

Lizzie’s Trial would begin on June 5th. She was still perceived as a victim. Her Inquest Testimony was disallowed. Her attempt to buy prussic acid was disallowed. She was acquitted. She was loved. “We love you, Lizzie Borden.”

Well, maybe not so much later.

By the way, just WHERE ARE all those letters Emma and Lizzie received, let alone those constituting their responses if they did correspond back? Emma, I would think, would have disposed of them. They certainly haven’t surfaced in the personal possessions she left Orrin Gardner. Lizzie, on the other hand, may have kept hers. If she did keep them, I have an idea where they might be. She was odd like that. For example, she had no fondness for Abby but she held on to that silver cup Abby gave her all her life.

I think Lizzie would have held on to the mementos that validated her popularity or when she felt loved.

So….

altogether now: “We Love You, Lizzie – Oh, Yes We Do!”