A Lizzie Borden Documentary by Ric Rebelo

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.

The Bordens: More Irreverent Humor

Another blogger recently wrote:

“Below the frostline now lay today what remains of the sad, frozen bones of Abby and Andrew Borden- still headless, -  and now their likenesses and characters the fodder for irreverent cartoons, gift products and unspeakable accusations made without a shred of evidence.  Those who once were loved and walked among us.  Does the interval of Time allow for such insensitive liberties?  Is murder ever a source for humor?”

I don’t pretend to mourn the deaths of Andrew and Abby Borden.  I didn’t know them.  They didn’t walk amongst me.  Their deaths, tragic and horrible, were no less tragic and horrible than those of hundreds of thousands throughout history whose deaths were in service to our country, or the individual citizen who rushed towards fatal danger in  a sacrifice to save another.

The death of Abby and Andrew were no less tragic and horrible as are those of thousands of kidnapped, abused and murdered children of the last century, the last decade, the last year.  Those are the ones to which I can relate.  As can any mother.   I can mourn for my neighbor’s wife who just passed from cancer.  I knew her.  She walked amongst me.

But I will not pretend a sappy, maudlin and false sensitivity about mourning the death of Abby and Andrew Borden.  If humorous characterizations (and there are tons of them) are considered irreverent and those that consider them funny are insensitive, then so be it.  Let those who find it distasteful deal with it.   The interval of Time did not give birth to such liberties.  Irreverent humor has been a part of American culture since man first put pen to paper.

Let those who hide behind their works in the church and profess a reverent Christian POV (yes, I refer to the blogger quoted above of whom I know personally) while living a life of phony pretenses for purposes of popularity throw stones.  Myself, and many like me, are quite adept at dodging them.  Besides, if you believe in neither heaven nor hell the dictates of the Christian consequence are rendered moot.

Having said all that, I now present more such humor.  View them or not.  Like them or not.  (Click links below images – have sound on).

Andrew Borden, William Moody, John Morse and other familiar faces:

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/4DXlDFcOvb3PYUp3WVOm

A modern Lizzie and Young John Morse:

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/6ET6nnbyIeMprPDVmX8e

Lizzie Borden does Carmen Miranda:

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/b41mPAPf5SthoIomwLAN

Lizzie says to Moody: “Let Me Entertain You”:

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/HPHSxgCejJNQIaRqTunT

New Book: FDR’s Shadow-Louis Howe the Force that Shaped Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt

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.

Rosella Howe

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.

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

September 10, 2009

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.

The Haunting of Lizzie Borden’s grave

Perhaps you’ve heard of the mysterious skulker of Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River, Ma. On the other hand, perhaps you have not, in which case I’ll tell you.

For over a century people have seen the scurrying to and fro of a woman dressed in a black Victorian dress. She is described as neither attractive nor unattractive, neither young nor old, more short than tall and has pale blue eyes. It’s unknown how she gets into the cemetery as she has never been seen walking through the main gate off Prospect Avenue. When spotted from a distance and called out to, she will turn and look up and then quickly scurry away, disappearing between the headstones and over the little sloping hills.

Some people have claimed they saw her carrying away a bone, thought to be a femur, but at the time there was no evidence of any graves having been dug up or in any way disturbed. An Oak Grove caretaker once said he chased her for 200 yards on a vehicle similar to a golf cart but she could not be overtaken. She disappeared somewhere between Louis and Grace Howe and Philip T. Borden.

While in Boston at the Boston Public Library sifting through shelves of old film reels, I came across a short film done as an experiment with time lapse photography at Oak Grove Cemetery at night. After close scrutiny and playing it over and over, I could see this mysterious skulker captured on film! Look for yourself!

Recently spotted and captured on digital camera, I can now reveal the mysterious skulker of Oak Grove:

Scroll down slowly

Keep scrolling

Wait for it

Wait for it

You’re almost there

Trust me, you’re very close

Almost there

Almost

ta daaaa

Photos taken by Don S., a guest at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast on Saturday, August 4, 2007. How he got her to stand still I’ll never know.

That Lizzie. “She’s everywhere”.

15 days to Holloween

Emma Borden’s Classic Photograph

“Being single has great advantages in society and life. Besides, just because a woman is single all her days doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a rich and rewarding sex life.” -Stefani Koorey 8/30/09

Emma Lenora Borden, a Fall River spinster of a different age – may or may not have had a rich and rewarding sex life.   We just don’t know.

Emma Borden after sex?

She was Lizzie’s older sister and is shown here in the last known image of her taken from a newspaper artist sketch supposedly made on April 12, 1913.  It was published the next day in the Boston Sunday Post which carried an extensive interview by reporter Edwin Joseph McGuire.

We’ve yet to see photos of Emma in her old age.  Instead, what we see over and over is what I refer to as the “classic” Emma.  But how did it come to surface and end up the iconic image of Emma Lenora Borden?

Emma had possession of family albums as described in a previous post: Family album click HERE.

The “classic” Emma Borden photo shown below  – or a copy of it – was given by Emma to Emma and Lizzie’s friend, Mary Brigham, who had been a character witness at Lizzie’s Trial.  Mrs. Brigham had a son named Richard.  Richard married Florence Cook (who eventually was to become the Fall River Historical Society’s Curator Emeritus.)  When Mary Brigham died, her family albums went to her son, Richard (Florence’s husband) and when he died, Florence still kept possession of them.

Emma may have been around 20 years old when this photo was taken…perhaps at the same time the “young Lizzie” photo was taken.

In 1988, Florence prepared a provenance documentation page for the FRHS archives to cite the origin of the portrait and placed it in the back of the framed photo as shown below.  (Click for larger view).

(A copy of this page was given to me in 1990 by Florence Brigham and is from my private collection)

Since 1988, the FRHS has granted permission for this same image to be used in a number of books on the case.  But in this internet age, Emma’s grim countenance is now on hundreds of blogs and websites.  She would not have been pleased.Diminutive but incredibly energetic, the late Florence Brigham, Curator Emeritus of the Fall River Historical Society

Lizzie Borden’s Will and Who Got the Cars

Lizzie Borden died on June 1, 1927.  Her highly publicized Will was probated for six years.  We learn much from those probate proceedings.  For example, Undertaker Winward charged $696.70 for her funeral arrangements.  We learn that Lizzie’s two cars, which were not listed among her bequests, were subsequently given away to her chauffeur, Ernest A. Terry,  and business manager, Charles C. Cook as assigned assets disposed of in the 4th and Final Probate Accounting.

Conformed Copy of the original of Lizzie Borden’s Last Will and Testament.

(Right click images for better viewing)

There were 4 Probate Hearings as follows:

Proceeding	Inclusive Dates	Held
1st Accounting	June 24, 1927 - May 1, 1929	October 2, 1931 (Fall River)
2nd Accounting	May 2, 1929 - Jan. 1, 1932	February 17, 1933 (Taunton)
3rd (Substituted) Accounting	Jan.1, 1932 - Nov. 28, 1932	February 17, 1933 (Taunton)
4th Final Accounting	Nov. 28, 1932 - March 3, 1933	March 24, 1933 (Attleboro)

Conformed Copy of the original probate documents as filed with the probate court in Fall River.

As executor of Lizzie’s Will, Charles C. Cook had listed his services at $10,000.  That was reduced to $5,000.  There was also the initially unreported sale of the Henry house (for $10,000 on April 14, 1928) adjacent to Lizzie’s that was contested by the primary “human” heirs, Grace Hartley Howe and Helen Leighton.   As if the money and the “so called Baker lot” were not enough, Mr. Cook ended up with the car below.   He had served Andrew Borden in his business interests and then Lizzie and her sister for the past 35 years.   He had earned Lizzie’s respect and gratitude for his loyalty and discretions.  Perhaps, like Lizzie, Charles had his own sense of entitlement.

The vehicles pictured below are for illustrative purposes and not the actual cars.

1923 Lincoln Sedan went to Charles C. Cook.

Charles C. Cook was born March 28, 1854, and died on  September 28, 1934, only 18 months after the final probating of Lizzie’s Will.

1924 Buick Sedan went to Ernest A. Terry

Ernest A. Terry was born January 26, 1886,  and died October 11, 1955.

Both these cars would have been garaged in the special structure Lizzie had built for her first automobile in 1913.  It still stands on French Street but is used for storage.  Robert Dube, owner of “Maplecroft” tells me that when originally constructed there was only the center doors.  The doors on both ends were added years later.  Dube showed me the original drawings.

Rear of Maplecroft showing the area behind the Swift residence to the right.  This shows the pathway on which Lizzie wanted to have a driveway built to her garage with it facing towards Belmont Street.  Due to restrictions set forth in the sale at the time, she was not able to build where she wanted.

Besides Ernest and Charles and the cars – both Grace and Helen gained from the “residuals” of the estate.  In addition to the furniture, carpets, books, jewelry, silver, glassware, etc., they were given cash payouts earned from interest on properties and stock dividends earned since Lizzie’s death to the final accounting – a period of 6 years. Grace was in Fall River on March 3, 1933 to sign (along with Helen Leighton)  the Fourth and Final Accounting of the Probate of Lizzie’s Will, wherein they both received $6,000.  That was a chunk of change to receive in the middle of the Depression.

The very next day Grace Hartley Howe, cousin to Lizzie Borden and wife of the private secretary and chief political strategist to Franklin Delano Roosevelt,  was in Washington, D.C. for the inauguaration of the President of the United States of America.  She and Hartley took the train.

Why she and Helen chose not to keep these cars is a puzzlement to me.

Lizzie Borden & the Dutiful Escort

Lizzie Borden circa 1890

(Note: this image has not been photo-shopped by a  50 year old, financially strapped, unemployed spinster in Fall River).

Central Congregational Church

In various interviews at the time of the murders, Lizzie Borden had been described as “odd” by some who knew her.    During her younger years it has been said by Michael Martins, Curator of the Fall River Historical Society, she did not have the proper dresses to attend the elegant grand parties up on “the Hill”.  But it is now known Lizzie did attend some parties – according to the private journal of an old school chum of Lizzie’s – owned by an elderly descendant who is still living in Fall River.   However, there is nothing on record, as yet, of Lizzie ever having a boyfriend or romance during her teens and early twenties.  I suspect her alleged moodiness and being “odd” was a put-off by the opposite gender.

A few years ago, a letter was among papers again donated to the Fall River Historical Society by a descendant of a prominent FR family.  The letter is written by a gentleman who attended a reception at the Central Congregational Church welcoming back Lizzie and her travel companions from their 19 week Grand Tour of Europe.  In the letter he writes that Lizzie was the last of ladies awaiting an escort home and that he did his duty.  The reception was held November 11, 1890 – Lizzie was 30 years old.

Pure conjecture, but (taken from one of my scripts) it might have gone something like this:  (Please excuse the formatting as the Final Draft script software is not wholly compatible with the cut and paste as Word feature here.)

CUT TO:

INT. 1ST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH – ONE WEEK LATER – NIGHT

The Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor is having a reception for the ladies return of The Grand Tour.  The church vestry is decorated with fresh flowers and there is an orchestra and refreshments.  Young men and women in fine clothes mix and talk with the ladies and others in attendance.   Older men and women of the church are also gathered.  It is all gay and laughter with lots of background conversations.  Lizzie, along with her travel companions, have been getting much attention from those asking about their trip.  Jerome Borden, a second cousin to her, stands talking with CHARLES HOLMES, banker.

CHARLES HOLMES

What surprises me is that old Andrew paid for any of it.

JEROME BORDEN

Not too far-fetched, from what I’ve heard.  I’ve noticed he seems to be much more at ease these past weeks, judging from his appearance at board meetings.

Mrs. Holmes walks over with Lizzie and Reverend Buck.

MRS. HOLMES

Charles, Reverend Buck has told me  Reverend Jubb has been talking of returning to England in another year.

LIZZIE

I hadn’t heard that.

MRS. HOLMES

Well, my dear, there is a great deal you have not heard.  We must find the time to catch up.

Jerome and Charles give a knowing look of gossiping women.

JEROME BORDEN

Where is your father and Abby, Lizzie?  Did they not come for the reception?

Lizzie looks at Jerome, then to Reverend Buck who recognizes the awkward moment.

REVEREND BUCK

I see Alice Russell waiving to us.  Shall we join her?

Reverend Buck takes Lizzie’s arm and walks with her.

JEROME BORDEN

Yes, I’m surprised they are not here.

MRS. HOLMES

Well, if the truth be told, all is not right in that house.

CHARLES HOLMES

Marianna.

MRS. HOLMES

I’ll say no more.  I’ll say no more.

MRS. HOLMES spots someone in the crowd. She waives her arm in the air.

MRS. HOLMES

Yoohoo!  Yoohoo, Mrs. Chase.  Excuse me, gentlemen.

She gathers her skirts and scurries across the room.

CUT TO:

INT. – CHURCH ENTRANCE

The evening has ended and the last of the people are leaving, saying goodbyes, getting into carriages.  One by one they leave, the ladies being escorted by the young gentlemen for carriage rides home. Lizzie is the last of the ladies left, a few young gentlemen still stand around, talking among themselves.  Mrs. Holmes and two other women are very much aware Lizzie needs an escort and no one has offered to take her home.

MRS. HOLMES

Excuse me Lizzie, I think I left my purse inside.

As she moves towards the few young men remaining, Mrs. Holmes taps one of the gentlemen motioning him inside.  She whispers something in his ear and with a slight grimace, he looks over his shoulder towards Lizzie.

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON LIZZIE who stands awkwardly staring blankly.  The young man reappears at the entrance stepping towards Lizzie.

YOUNG MAN

(tipping his hat)

Excuse me Miss Borden.  May I escort you to your home?

LIZZIE

Well, I…

Mrs. Holmes reappears at the entrance, with her purse in hand and cloak on.

MRS. HOLMES

We are leaving now, too, Lizzie.  Such a short walk we have for such fine night air.  I see you have an escort to take you home.  Goodnight Lizzie.  Goodnight.

Lizzie walks out of the church, the young man trailing after her, resolved to do his duty.

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.

The Gardner Cemetery – Swansea

Add on:  There’s a wonderful article in yesterday’s Fall River Herald News written by Linda Murphy titled:  “Gardner’s Neck – Bountiful  Beginnings”

giving a history of this area which figures so prominently in the Lizzie Borden case due to her father’s (Andrew Jackson Borden)  land purchases.   This is the first time I’ve come across the fact – in a printed newspaper article – that the property at 1205 Gardner’s Neck Road  was originally built by the sons of Peleg Gardner.  (The house can be seen in the second post referenced below.) It was more than two decades ago I was first shown this area by the late and beloved historian Helen Pierce of Swansea, Ma. who gave me a history of Peleg Gardner and showed me the lands common to his decendents and the Bordens.

Another related post to Swansea’s historical ties to the Borden family can be found at another earlier post of mine.

(Recycled post)

Fall River has it’s Richard(s) Borden, and Swansea, Mass. has it’s Peleg Gardner. Lots of Bordens, lots of Gardners. Like the Richard Bordens, old Peleg split his vast property holdings to his sons and it was through their descendents that Lizzie Borden’s father, Andrew, acquired much of his Swansea property. Most of the “founding” Gardners are buried at the Gardner Cemetery, not far from the “lower farm” at 1205 Gardner’s Neck Road.

There are many associations ‘twix the Bordens and Gardners within the Andrew J. Borden family, be they legal, familial or scandalous. As previously stated on this blog, it was a cousin, Orrin Gardner, who inherited much of Emma Borden’s estate, including the early (and recently discovered) portraits of Lizzie & Emma’s biological parents, Andrew Borden and Sarah Morse, as well as family albums and the Borden bible – all shown here.

Carl Becker, Swansea Historical Society President, ponders the “Borden Bible”. The portraits are available for public viewing at the Luther’s Museum in Swansea and the albums available to the public at the Swansea Library.

It was Preston Gardner who rescued Lizzie from the notorious Tilden-Thurber shoplifting incident of 1897. Years ago, Florence Brigham of The Hill People’s Historical Society (whoops, that’s Fall River Historical Society) told me of the story related below which was typed up after Mrs. Dawson came in and told it to Florence so as to be a “matter of record for our archives” as she (Florence) put it.  Elizabeth Brayton Dawson was listed as an Honorary Director with the FRHS.

(The two paintings on porcelain were “Love’s Awakening” and “Love’s Dream”.) The image below is “Love’s Awakening”.

Preston is buried between his two wives with a whole slew of other Gardners at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Swansea.

A couple of unrelated items of interest: The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast finally has a replacement screen door, much to the welcome of case “purists”as well as lending to more accuracy for those annual August 4th re-enactments.

And the Central Congregational Church, dba International Institute of Culinary Arts, has got a not-so-tattered mesh fabric protecting it’s steeple from spilling forth more bricks.

Getting the Fall River community vested in “what they’ve lost, what they’ve destroyed and what they have left” is something that culinary institute owner Chef George Karousos is passionately interested in and finalizing his booklet of that title. He showed us the booklet and its absolutely wonderful. I would describe it as a simplistic cross between Judith Boss’s Pictorial History of Fall River and the Historic Fall River book illustrating the architectural types of structures in the city.

After lunch at the Abbey Grille, myself, Doug Tweedy, General Manager WSAR Radio and Chef George discussed the malaise in Fall River with regard to historic preservation and how he can best get underwriting for printing and publicity for the booklet through community outreach.

The Month of April – Lizzie Borden

So here’s a partial and selective extraction from my continuous work-in-progress Historic Timeline of Fall River and Lizzie Borden.

April 18, 1774	Paul Revere and William Dawes warn “The British are coming.”
April 19, 1775	Minutemen of Lexington and Concord battle British regulars and start the American Revolution.
April 01, 1778	Oliver Pollock invents the dollar sign, i.e. “$”.
April 30, 1789	George Washington becomes the first U.S. President.
April 4, 1803	First town meeting held at home of Louisa Borden.
April 30, 1803	US more than doubles its size thru the Louisiana Purchase.
April 1, 1844	Abraham Borden invests money for his son Andrew & William Almy to start furniture business. (Andrew is 22 years old).
April 24, 1844	Andrew, Abraham & William Almy purchase lot on Anawan St. for $1500.
April 20, 1854	William S. Borden, son of Deacon Charles L. Borden, is born (Arnold Brown’s “illegitimate son of AJB”)
April 22, 1854	City Charter adopted for Fall River, establishing 6 Wards.
April 22, 1854	James Buffington elected first Mayor of Fall River. Southard Miller elected Alderman of City of Fall River.
April 17, 1859	Philip Harrington, later to be Captain of Fall River Police, is born.
April 3, 1860	Pony Express service begins in St. Joseph. Mo.
April 9, 1865	General Lee surrenders to General Grant, ending Civil War
April 10, 1865	Nathaniel B. Borden dies; former Mayor, Senator, mill owner and bank president. (Married 4 times).
April 14, 1865	Abraham Lincoln assassinated at Ford Theater. (Lizzie is almost 5 yrs old.)
April 26, 1865	American Civil War: Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrenders to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman at Durham, NC
April 26, 1872	Andrew buys 92 Second St. house from Charles C. Trafton for $10,000. (Lizzie is almost 12 years old).
April 19, 1873	Bessie Borden born. Daughter of Jerome C. Borden.
April 25, 1873	Emanuel Taylor, mill worker, has his arm cut off on machinery. Dr. Seabury Bowen summoned and performs surgery.
April 24, 1884	At 6 PM fire started amongst cotton in the basement of Sagamore Mill No.1
April 14, 1890	John Morse goes to Warren, RI to visit his Uncle Charles Morse for a year and a half. (LR75-76)
April, 1892	Borden barn is broken into while Andrew and Abby are at Swansea farmhouse.
April, 1892	Lizzie tells dressmaker Hannah Gifford that Abby is a “mean, old thing”.
April 3, 1893	Emma & Lizzie sell 74 acres of land to Leander E. Gardner. (LR556)
April 10, 1893	Judge Blaisdell resigns as Judge of the Second District Court.
April 24, 1893	District Attorney Knowlton writes Attorney General Pillsbury that he’d like to “get rid” of the Trial of the case.
April 16, 1894	New Bedford Bar Association formed. Hosea Knowlton is founding member.
April 17, 1897	UFO crashes in Auroa, Texas, dead “alien” found and buried. (Dallas Morning News p5)
April 19, 1897	First running of the Boston Marathon.
April, 1899	Rev. Buck tenders his resignation to Central Cong. Church after 32 yrs of service (HistoryCCC194)
April 17, 1901	William S. Borden is found dead hung from a tree in Fall River with empty bottle of Carbolic Acid by his side..
April 1, 1902	Lizzie purchases east side of Belmont from Mary Swift. (LR559)
April 3, 1905	Nance O’Neil begins 3-week engagement at Tremont Theatre in Boston; leaves for Australian tour one month later.
April 18, 1906	San Francisco earthquake and fire kills 452.
April 22, 1909	John Morse travels from Iowa to Boston.
April 15, 1912	White Star liner Titanic sinks on her maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg; 1,500 die.
April 6, 1913	Boston Sunday Herald special edition: “Lizzie Borden 20 Years After the Tragedy” by Gertrude Stevenson.
April 13, 1913	Boston Sunday Post publishes interview with Emma Borden by reporter Edwin Joseph McGuire.
April 29, 1913	The all purpose zipper is patented.
April 6, 1917	Woodrow Wilson signs Declaration of War against Germany, allowing U.S. to engage in World War I.
April 15, 1919	Strike by Boston operators disrupts telephone service throughout New England.
April 9, 1920	Melvin O. Adams dies at the of 70 in Boston, Mass.
April 15, 1920	Bandits kill guard, shoot paymaster at shoe factory in Braintree, MA (Sacco & Vanzetti case).
April 14, 1924	Lizzie forms a partnership with Jacob Dondis in her half share of the AJ Borden Bldg on So. Main and Anawan.    (LR56)
April 29, 1924	Hannah B. Reagan, former police matron, dies at the age of 73 in Fall River.
April 8, 1927	Two way test of “Television” with AT&T President Gifford & Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover.
April 13, 1933	Emma’s estate sells Maplecroft. (LR561)
April 27, 1933	The play: Nine Pine Street opens on Broadway at Longacre Theatre starring Lillian Gish as Lizzie Borden.
April 18, 1936	Louis McHenry Howe dies at Bethesda Naval Hospital;  Eleanor Roosevelt contacts Grace Howe (Lizzie’s cousin and major legatee) in Fall River and notifies her of her husband’s death. Louis lies in state in the East Room of the White House.
April 19, 1936	Grace and son Hartley travel from Fall River to Washington, DC.
April 22, 1936	President Franklin D. Roosevelt attends Louis McHenry Howe’s burial funeral in Fall River at Oak Grove Cemetery.
April 10, 1944	Orrin Augustas Gardner, cousin and major legatee in Emma’s Will, dies in Deighton, MA.
April 13, 1945	Franklin D. Roosevelt dies. Harry Truman sworn in as President.
April 22, 1948	Premier of Agnes DeMille’s Fall River Legend ballet in NYC.
April, 1952	Edward R. Snow’s radio broadcast stating a boy found undisturbed dust in barn loft on August 4, 1892.
April 10, 1982	Edward Rowe Snow dies at the age of 80.
April 6, 1997	Memorial for Hartley Howe at Fall River Marine Museum where he had been a Trustee.
April, 2003	Robert Dube’ files application with FR Planning Board to build single home on driveway of 306 French; some neighbors protest; Dube’ later rescinds application.
April 8, 2003	The Herald News reports Robert Dube’, owner of 306 French St. (“Maplecroft”) is listing home for sale at $725,000.
April 27, 2005	Demolition begins of Leary Press adjacent to 92 Second St.
April, 2008	Third printing of David Rehak’s Did Lizzie Borden Axe for It? Is published. Contains newly found Lizzie letter.

What Pushed Lizzie Over the Edge?

Most scholars on the Lizzie Borden case believe she was guilty and that money was the motive. But why were the murders done in broad daylight on the very next morning after a visit from John Morse?

District Attorney Hosea Knowlton was quoted after the Trial as saying if he knew what Andrew Borden and John Morse (uncle to Lizzie and Emma) discussed the afternoon before the murders (August 3, 1892) he “would have convicted somebody.”  We have Lizzie herself  (in her Inquest Testimony) saying she stayed in her room all day that Wednesday because she wasn’t feeling well, and that the voices of her father and uncle “disturbed” her.

The curving staircase in the front hall affords one the ability to linger part way down and not be observed while listening to a conversation in the Sitting Room.

If we assume Lizzie guilty and that money was the motive, the following exchange extracted from an old screenplay I wrote could have occurred which Lizzie, indeed, would have found extremely “disturbing”.

(Morse has shown up unexpectedly that afternoon, and after eating in the dining room, he and Andrew and Abby go into the Sitting Room and engage in conversation.  Lizzie is upstairs in her bedroom.)

MORSE reaches over to a small table and picks up a newspaper.

MORSE
I see in here where Carnegie is selling his yacht.  Might be a good
purchase for you, Andrew.

ANDREW
(grinning)
Ha!  What would I do with such a thing?

MORSE
I got your letter of the 25th, Andrew, about wanting to talk to me on getting a man for the farm.

ABBY
I’ll be going upstairs and lay down a while.  This heat has wore me down.  And that stomach sickness we told you about.  I’m just a little poorly.

Abby gets up and leaves the sitting room through the door to the dining room.  Andrew watches Abby leave and waits until Abby is out of hearing distance.

ANDREW
I didn’t want you making arrangements on a man for the farm at Swansea until I talked to you.

MORSE
That’s what you wrote.

ANDREW
You know, John, I’ve been thinking about making a Will.  When I’m gone Abby is never going to be able to live under the same roof with Lizzie and Emma.  Things have gotten worse than when  you were here two weeks ago.  Emma took off to Fairhaven, staying over at old Moses Delano’s place.  Lizzie went with her, far as New Bedford, but
came back early.

MORSE
Haven’t seen Lizzie last few times here.  How is she?

ANDREW
Sulks in her room all day.  They can’t live together those three. And I won’t be around forever to keep things together.

MORSE
Never have taken to Abby, have they?  Maybe they should have separate houses.  How ‘bout Swansea?

ANDREW
No, I won’t be going over there until things get settled here. Time’s not right.  Too much trouble right now.

MORSE
I meant how about giving the girls the Swansea place in your Will.

ANDREW
I’ll not leave them any property. Abby will get this house and my property.  She wants to live near her sister anyways.  The Swansea place -  well I’ve been thinking of maybe donating it the Old Folks Home.  As for the girls, I’ve settled on $25,000 each.   They can both buy their own house with that and manage to live comfortably.

CUT TO:
Lizzie on the staircase, leaning over and listening. She has heard every word. She blanches.  She is deeply shaken by what she has just heard.

CLOSE ON LIZZIE
MORSE’S VOICE
(registers surprise)
But no property Andrew?

ANDREW’S VOICE
They can’t manage property.  Made a mess on the rentals of the Ferry Street homestead.  And I took a big loss on it when I bought it back of them just two weeks ago.  You know that, you were here then. Remember the fuss?  No, they can’t be trusted with property.  They haven’t got the heads for it.

MORSE’S VOICE
And Abby does?

ANDREW’S VOICE
Not much more.  But of the three, she’s the more deserving.  Besides, she’s my wife.  I need the Will to make sure she gets her due. Fact is, I’ll most likely have one drawn up in a day or two.

ANGLE ON Lizzie, almost tottering on the staircase, grips her hand around the railing.

CUT TO:
SITTING ROOM

MORSE
Andrew, don’t you figure this a bit unfair? These are Sarah’s daughters. And your own flesh and blood as well.  Seems with the money you have the girls should get a better share. I’m only suggesting, mind you.

ANDREW
(adamant)
It’s my money.

MORSE
True.  Your money.  Your daughters.

CUT TO:
LIZZIE ON STAIRCASE:

ANDREW’S VOICE
(raising his voice)
MY money!  Mine!  To do with as I see fit!

CUT TO:
MORSE
(raises voice)
You expect them to be happy with that?

ANDREW
I expect them to be grateful for whatever I choose to give them. They’ve gotten plenty from me.  Plenty. There’s trouble in the house over my money and I aim to set it out, plain and solid, in a Will.

MORSE
I’ve known you a long time, Andrew.  I know when to end an argument with you.

(Morse rises from the chair.)

MORSE
(friendly)
I better see about getting a rig and drive over to the farm.  Expect I’ll be back before nine. I’ll get your eggs. Probably take supper at Luther’s.

CUT TO:

INT. LIZZIE’S BEDROOM

Lizzie is pacing in her room, then sits at her desk and takes a piece of stationery and begins writing “Dear Emma”.  We don’t see what else she writes, but in a few moments she crumbles up the paper and throws it in her wastebasket.   She is extremely distraught.  Emotionally on edge.    Almost out of control, but not quite. Something inside her steels her nerves.

LIZZIE

(quietly to herself)
Alice. I’ll go talk to Alice.

FADE OUT.

*****************
So if Lizzie *did* hear such a conversation and feared her father would write a Will favoring Abby – and that he was going to do it in the next day or two – she would have to act immediately. But the good and evil forces were at bay within her. Her forebodings of “something terrible will happen” to Alice Russell was clearly a cry for help while also setting the stage.

The next morning on August 4, 1892, at the very first opportunity Lizzie had to be alone with Abby, she killed her. An hour and a half later, at the very first opportunity Lizzie had to be alone with her father, she killed him.

Never so much a “who dunnit” as a “how dunnit” to me, the real mystery is what happened to the murder weapon and how could Lizzie be seen within 10 minutes of her father’s murder and no blood found upon her person?

“It was a terrible crime. It was an impossible crime. And yet it happened.” -Hosea Knowlton, 1893.

Borden here, Borden there, Bordens, Bordens EVERYWHERE!

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:

Descendents of the Bordens

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.

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

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

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

I came across your blog from the article in today’s Boston Herald. Very interesting! Last year I starting doing family research because my Mom always told stories of how her mom (my grandmother) would play in Lizzie’s house. My grandmother, Marion Haywood b. 1893, mother was Flora A. Borden. Anyways…traced it back to Lizzie’s G G Grandfather John Borden b. 1640 is my G G G G G G  Grandfather. Not sure how you would say we were related, but we were.Anyways…great web-site enjoyed it alot!

Bill

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

After reading Arnold R. Brown’s book regarding Lizzie Borden, I became interested in the aspect of the murder being done by William S. Borden, with the possible help of William Lewis Bassett.  I began researching these two people.  One thing of interest I found is that William Lewis Bassett left Fall River, Bristol, Massachusetts after 1900 and ended up across the country in Sunnyside, Yakima County, Washington, where he died after 1910!  After William S. Borden’s murder or suicide in 1901, it looks like William Bassett wanted to get as far as possible from Fall River.William Lewis Bassett’s mother, Peace, was the second wife of Charles Lott Borden.  Charles Lott Borden’s first wife was Phebe Hathaway, the mother of William S. Borden.It is probable that Ellen Eagan’s story of seeing William S. Borden coming out of the Andrew Borden house at 11;00 a.m. the morning of the murders is true.  My theory is that he and William L. Bassett went there that morning, between 10:15 and 11:00, to ask for money from Andrew Borden.  When Andrew refused, he was murdered by William S. Borden, a dangerous lunatic.  Abby Borden was probably murdered shortly before, between 10:30 and 10:45.

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

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

Note:  “Slides” above from presentation to womens group at ASU 5 years ago.  There are letters I will post pending permission where applicable.

The “Upper” & “Lower” Swansea Farms

Andrew Borden, Lizzie Borden’s father, purchased several tracts of land in Swansea, much of it from the Gardner family.

Luther’s Tavern where John Morse ate dinner on August 3, 1892.

The “Lower” Borden Farm

The “farm house” most often visited is at 1205 Gardner’s Neck Road as shown below. It was known as the Lower farm. This was the farm where the Bordens “summered”. The add-on was done to accommodate William Almy’s family, Andrew’s partner in the furniture and Undertaking business. After William died, Andrew purchased his half from the Widow Almy. Lizzie used to fish with her father on the Cole’s River a short ways down back of the barn. The Swede, Alfred Johnson, managed this farm.

Note green barn in back.

This would be the barn that Lizzie’s horse and wagon would be put in while she visited there post trial. Lizzie’s chairs, once stored in the barn, are now housed at Luther’s Museum.

The “Upper” Borden Farm

On Old Warren Road, very close to Luther’s Four Corners. This was a huge farm with cattle, vegetable crops, chickens, etc. managed by Mr. Eddy. It is where uncle John Vinnicum Morse stopped by to fetch the eggs Andrew asked him to bring back. This was the farm that Morse referred to when questioned about Andrew making a Will. He said Andrew told him one time when they were “walking on the street” that he thought of giving this to the Old Ladie’s Home “if they would have it.” Frankly, I think Morse was lying to cover up what he and Andrew talked about Wednesday afternoon concerning Andrew’s Will. Victoria Lincoln asserts in her book, A Private Disgrace, that Andrew was planning to leave this property to Abby and that Lizzie learned of it and this knowledge was the precipating motive to the killings. It would be easy to understand that Lizzie would not want this property going to Abby. In a 1909 journal of Leontine Lincoln, grandfather of Victoria, he writes about this farm. I read it first hand as presented to me by his great-grandaughter, Louise Kittredge.

The current residents tell me the tree and stone wall date back to the 1870’s or earlier.

According to George Quigley, the house below, which sits across the street from the Swansea Country Club, was purchased or leased by Andrew when he was married to Sarah.

Carl Becker, President of the Swansea Historical Society (see slide show of interior) standing in front of Swansea Country Club. Taken April, 2008, the day of our drive around historic Swansea, ending up at the Library.

Lizzie Borden: The Rock Musical

Well, it was only a matter of time.  After dozens of books, a t.v. movie, an opera, ballet, several plays, two slasher flicks, numerous documentaries, YouTube videos, and hand crafted collectibles, now comes a New York Broadway production of Lizzie Borden – this time out as a rock musical.

Perhaps you know someone with the chops and a little acting ability to fit the character types described in this “Took An Axe Productions” audition notice.

You’ll find the Audition notice by clicking HERE.

Oh, Lizzie

if you only knew

What became of you

Post 1927,

Surely you’d fret

at how bad it did get

Whether you went to Hell

or to Heaven.

-faye musselman 1/21/09

Merry Christmas from the Bordens (2008)

It has been speculated on how Lizzie Borden and her family celebrated Christmas.   Click these links to find out.  Be patient on the loading – it’s worth it!

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE WITH THE BORDENS AT CHRISTMAS!

WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG

BORDEN CHRISTMAS HOE-DOWN

SNOWBALL FIGHT

SNOWBALL FIGHT-VARIATION ON A THEME

THE DANCING BORDENS!

THOSE PESKY BORDEN ELVES

ANDREW’S ENCORE

Meanwhile, down at the Mellen House, here’s what Mayor Couglin, Dr. Dolan, Marshal Hilliard, Inspector Fleet, and pharmacist Eli Bence were doing back in Christmas 1893.

YOU GO GUYS!

I’ll be adding a few more between now and Christmas, so check back soon. 

New Photo of Emma Borden

From a recently acquired photo comes another purported image of Emma Lenora Borden, sister to Lizzie Borden.  Stefani Koorey, obsessed with all things Borden, quit her tenured teaching job in theater history at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida and moved to  Fall River early last summer.   Unemployed and sharing an apartment next door to “Maplecroft” where her boyfriend lives, she spends time digging thru old  boxes of old photos  in search of Borden family members.  But this time she saw an old photo for sale and bought it, believing it to be Emma Borden.  Lucky for us Stefani Koorey made the move and pulled out another photo – this time identifying it as Emma Borden.  Personally, I think it is Emma.  Let’s take a look, shall we?

Above carte-de-visite taken at Melville Sumner studio on 5 So. Main probably between 1873 and 1877 when Emma would have been 23 to 27 years old.

I know, I know. At first glance, anyone familiar with the often published Emma Borden as seen below would say “That ain’t her.”    Here is the Emma we are familiar with:

Here she is obviously older – perhaps the pictures are around 10 years apart – it certainly would serve the maxim that stress ages a person rapidly, doncha think?

What I find remarkable is comparing the “new Emma” with the “young Andrew” – remember that?

In this new image she certainly seems to have her father’s nose, bulbous eyes and mouth.  The downward curvature of the lip lines as they grew older seems to have been a Borden trait.

Poor Emma.  Her disapproval of Abby bore upon her countenance as she aged.  Perhaps not just that, but also her self-imposed life of quiet restraint and solitude contributed to the appearance of a woman who radiated little joy or happiness upon which her friends could remark.

How about these, folks?

Nah.  We’ll just have to wait until the next ” big reveal”.   Some, like me, may think it stupid to leave a good paying job in these economic times just to chase Lizzie in Fall River, but those of us interested in the case certainly reap the benefits of her finds.   Keep ‘em comin’!

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.

Lizzie Borden: Democrat or Republican? Listen to WSAR Radio Friday, August 29, 2008 at 8:00 am

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. ;

Louis McHenry Howe

From TIME Magazine – Monday, April 27, 1936:

On election night 1932, in the first hour of his triumph, he (Franklin D. Roosevelt) gave credit to those to whom he was most indebted: “There are two people in the United States, more than anybody else, who are responsible for the great victory. One is my old friend and associate, Colonel Louis McHenry Howe, and the other is that splendid American, Jim Farley.”

Watching the DNC Convention speeches this evening, I was reminded by my friends here in Fall River, Swansea and Somerset as we gather round Ken’s 60″ HD screen that Louis McHenry Howe wrote many of FDR’s speeches. I’m not the only one here watching his tv while blogging with a laptop – we must be embedded! haha. I actually love politics and have been watching this year’s presidential race more closely than I have in decades.

Short tonite but a special toast to Keri – see you shortly! I know you are watching, too!