Anna & Laura Tirocchi – Dressmakers to the Elite
January 5, 2010
The Prentice Mansion at 514 Broadway, Providence, site of the shop operated by sisters Anna and Laura Tirocchi from 1915 to 1947.
Anna Tirocchi
Anna & Laura Tirocchi were a famed and successful dressmaking sister team I happened to come across because of my interest in a British t.v. series called The House of Elliot (apparently, partly based on the Tirocchis).
What a complete surprise it was to find her business was patronized by some Braytons, Mrs. Dwight Waring (daughter of Lizzie’s defense attorney, Andrew Jennings) et.al. of Fall River. And from Providence, we have Preston Gardner’s wife Mary, and daughter, Maude, all of whom received considerable money and jewelry from Emma’s Will.
Another notable from Providence is Mrs. William G. Thurber, whose husband was Vice President of Tilden-Thurber, the store where Lizzie shoplifted two paintings on porcelain only 4 years after her acquittal. An incident in which Preston Gardner came to the rescue and an action for which Emma Borden was eternally grateful.
Anyway, back to the Tirocchi sisters. They operated a shop in Providence from 1911 to the mid 1930’s. The stock market crash was the beginning of it’s demise. Anna said that 1927 was their “best year ever.”
If you’ve already read the basic background linked above, consider their elite client list that reads like a Who’s Who of Fall River’s and Providence’s upper crust.
When you click on Client list you can then click on a woman’s name. You then find out who her husband was. Then you can click on “Transactions” for what she purchased (keep in mind that a dress costing $200 had the equivalent purchasing power of nearly $2,400 in today’s money), and “Correspondence” for letters she wrote and/or received.
Tirocchi’s clientele is addressed HERE. (then click “The Clients”)
One notable is Jessie Brayton – John Summerfield Brayton, Sr.
It was Jessie’s husband who was the recipient of the well known letter written on August 31, 1900 by Lizzie Borden about his noisy bird that crowed so loudly and made her nervous. My, my. Talk about dress threads that bind!
Her grandson was extremely accomplished, and it was his father, Jonathan Summerfield Brayton III, who was the discoverer of that above mentioned letter.
Not only did Anna keep precise records of sales and who these women were married to but she had all their measurements – not surprising for a dressmaker but enlightening to Borden researchers. Here’s the one for Mrs. Elizabeth Brayton.
This entire website is a marvel to explore and a person can spend a good two hours finding out who these women were. I was getting visions of that film “The Women” directed by George Cukor – the early scenes of the ladies in the dressing rooms …. but I digress.
Anna Tirocchi in the Butler Exchange workroom, making the final adjustments to a dress; ca. 1914.
The contents of the Tirocchi dress shop at 514 Broadway was offered to the Rhode Island School of Design Museum by sister Laura’s son, Dr. Louis Cella, Jr. No wonder the staff, inventorying for over year, was thrilled with what they found!! Indeed, so was I.
And a big THANK YOU, DR. CELLA!!!
P.S. If Lizzie had an account there, she certainly didn’t use her real name.
The Gift That Keeps on Giving: “Alone” Painting Part IV
January 4, 2010
You might remember my posts on this painting – a copy of which was once owned by Lizzie Borden. The mystery of just who the original-original artist was remains a mystery. I continue to get emails from people having copies - all of them by different artists or unsigned. All of them from the same time period. ‘Tis a puzzlement it tis.
Two more recent entries on eBay for this highly popular painting:
1. This time the artist is Inez Johnson. Note that the painting did not sell at a starting price of $298.00.
2. No artist signature on this one, but it sold for $103.50.
This blog was cited in both and I think that’s because I’ve written about it so often. Click HERE.
See also Comments on the right of this page from Donna Teeter, and Johnny on “Alone”.
A Lizzie Borden Documentary by Ric Rebelo
December 31, 2009
Here’s a snippet from “Lizbeth – A Victorian Nightmare” (still in production) by filmmaker Ric Rebelo of Fall River Ma. You can view his other “teasers” on YouTube.
And who were the Gardners that factored into this case?
Henry, William & Hamilton Gardner
I’ll be writing about the Gardners of Swansea and their ties to Emma Borden very soon. Stay tuned.
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS!
December 22, 2009
I’m off to California and then a post Christmas Christmas with relatives in Hawaii. When I return, we’ll go “Gardening”. Some really cool and new stuff on the Gardners of Swansea – and Emma, too!
But first, I send you more jibjab funnies. Click and enjoy! (have sound on).
This one is APPROPRIATE to the economic times.
From J.C. and the Gang – an idea is born.
And the Borden Office Party!
Have a safe and wonderful Holiday!
Lizzie Borden’s Grand Tour Money Shortage
December 20, 2009
On June 21, 1890 Lizzie Borden embarked on a 19 week Grand Tour of Europe. A month and two days later, she would celebrate her 30th birthday while on that Tour. It must have been her best birthday ever. However, according to reports, she would also have to wire home for additional funds, a necessary appeal that must have been a source of great embarrassment to her considering her travel companions.
Lizzie was enjoying the thrilling sights of England, Scotland, France, and Italy with sisters Carrie Lindley Borden and Anna Howland Borden, daughters of Colonel Thomas J. Borden (of the “Greater Bordens” and related to Lizzie, albeit somewhat distantly); Elizabeth Hitchcock Brayton, daughter of David Anthony Brayton, (and who later owned and resided in the structure which is now the Fall River Historical Society); Sarah Brayton; Ellen “Nellie” Shove, whose father was President of the Shove Mill; and a chapperone, Miss Cox. Lizzie was truly emershed with the upper crust, i.e., “the cultured girls” who lived on the coveted “Hill”, i.e, the Highlands of Fall River’s elite.
Lizzie certainly didn’t have the cash on hand her companions did for purchasing souveniers. It has been reported she brought home common reprints of cathedrals and famous paintings, but its likely Carrie, Anna, Sarah and Elizabeth bought more expensive items such as fine lace, small sculptures, perhaps even designer clothing. So when Lizzie, who always had a keen eye for quality and exquisite taste found herself cash strapped, it has been reported she wired home for more.
Below is a page from the September 17, 1892 The Illustrated American telling us something a little different and who actually sent her the money needed for her return passage. (Right click image for easier reading and note yellow highlight). I have several issues of The Illustrated American from this era and have found their reporting to be remarkably accurate. However, I find it curious that her passage would not have been booked as “round trip” in the first place. Perhaps the ladies had not booked return passage when they arranged to begin their journey. After all, crossings were frequent and if they decided to return “sometime in November”, there would be plenty of time (and for most of them, plenty of cash) to purchase the return fare.
This issue was released after the Coroner’s Inquest (August 9-11) and the Preliminary Hearing (August 25-31), and Borden scholars will recognize precise testimony from those proceedings.
It is my long time personal belief that it was this trip – the first abroad for Lizzie – that changed her forever. She was transformed during those four months into a woman who, having lived the life of what money could bring – i.e., fine food in restaurants, hot running water, luxurious bathtubs, culture – became steeled in her determination to “have more.” (See my essay in Jules Rychebusch’s Proceedings book of the 1992 Lizzie Borden Conference, “Why We Don’t Know Lizzie”). Less than a year after her return to her unstylish home below “the Hill” in Fall River, the Borden house was burglarized in broad daylight. Shortly after that, Emma “offered” Lizzie her larger bedroom. A year after that Andrew and Abby were murdered. And a year after that – Lizzie, indeed, got “more”.
ÓÓ
In the same issue, which is extensive about the Borden case up to that date, are the following images we have become familiar with. The top photo shows the Borden house and part of the Churchill house to the left. This photo was used for the cover of Marie Belloc Lowndes book: Lizzie Borden – A Study in Conjecture.
What has always puzzled me is what exactly is that thing outside the fence in front of Mrs. Churchill’s house? This is the clearest photograph I have seen and I still can’t figure it out. Couldn’t be a resting spot to tie up a carriage because it is set too far back on the sidewalk. Anyway, it’s driven me nuts for years so if anybody knows, please enlighten me.
The Bordens: More Irreverent Humor
December 17, 2009
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”:
Did Lizzie Borden Use Unnecessary Force?
December 15, 2009
Abby Borden, Lizzie’s stepmother, had 19 blows to her head with a hatchet. Her father, Andrew Borden, (who was killed a good hour an a half later) sustained 10 blows to the face and head – also with a hatchet. Some say that was overkill. Certainly it was, er, uh, unnecessary force.
If Lizzie were a woman of contemporary times with proper credentials and specialized training, she would have other outlets and instruments of means in which to release her pent up rage. She undoubtedly would not have messed with something so mundane as a hatchet. Something like this, for example.
Click link below. And be sure to have your sound turned on.
Rufus Bartlett (aka “Bassett”) Hilliard – Fall River City Marshall
December 12, 2009
RUFUS BARTLETT HILLIARD
| May 5, 1849 | Rufus Bartlett Hilliard born in Pembroke, ME; later Chief of Police of Fall River 1886-1909. |
| December 30, 1912 | Rufus B. Hilliard (FR Chief of Police) dies in Fall River. |
Hilliard was the son of David and Elizabeth (Wilson) Hilliard. In 1879, he was hired by the Fall River Police Department. By 1886 he was named City Marshall. He married Miss Nellie Smith Clark of Fall River.
It was Marshall Hilliard who was in charge of the investigation of the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. The fact half the police force was at an annual outing at Rocky Point was only a slight disadvantage compared to the fact this crime – a brutal double hatchet murder of a prominent banker and his wife with a “Borden” name in broad daylight – was an event outside the realm of comprehension let alone experience of this mill town founded by Bordens. (Note: “The Hilliard Papers” were donated to the Fall River Historical Society two decades ago and will eventually be published and perhaps reveal Hilliard’s personal comments on the case).
Hilliard had advanced rapidly in the police department, partly perhaps to his savvy social networking, such as membership into the Republican slanted Washington Club. In fact, Hilliard and Assistant Marshal Fleet advanced through the ranks like a pair of competitors in a foot race, with Rufus eventually leapfrogging over the more senior John Fleet. Anyway, here is his Washington Club membership pin from my collection which I donated to the Fall River Historical Society on my last visit. (Click on images for larger view).
As stated, half the force was out of town but the Marshal did manage to send nearly two dozen remaining officers to 92 Second Street. Scrambling throughout the house, yard and barn looking for evidence and clues as to who could have done this dastardly deed, they trampled here and there, compromising the crime scene. Hilliard himself went across the river to the Borden’s Swansea farm on Gardner’s Neck Road to check out the “Swede” who worked there. Before he left and even after he returned neither Hilliard nor anyone else even thought of replacing citizen Charles Sawyer from doing back door guard duty with a member of law enforcement. Sawyer had been commandeered by Officer Allen (first to respond) at around 11:20 a.m. Sawyer finally asked if he could go home for dinner about 6:00 pm.
Hilliard’s boss was Mayor Coughlin, who gave instruction to handle the poor Borden girls lightly until they were sure they had grounds for an arrest. The same applied when District Attorney Hosea Knowlton came aboard and took over the investigation the next day.
By Saturday, still without evidence, but Lizzie herself being the key suspect for the past 3 days,
the Mayor and the Marshal called upon 92 Second Street and spoke to the sisters and Uncle John Vinnecum Morse in the parlor. The Mayor asked the family to remain in the house and when Lizzie abruptly asked if anyone in the house was suspected, Mayor Coughlin stated: “I regret to inform you, Miss Lizzie, that you are suspected.” Odd duck that she was, Lizzie responded with: “I am ready to go now or any time.” Coughlin back peddaled at that and assured the family they were only there to advise them to remain indoors. Since the Marshal had an arrest warrant for her in his hip pocket one can just see him rolling his eyes at the Mayor’s remark. That remark would work in Lizzie’s favor at her Trial when her Inquest Testimony was excluded on the basis she was virtually under house arrest as far back as August 6, 1892.
Hilliard shows himself to be a competent law enforcement “chief” (as he became in 1893) and it’s difficult to fault him for all the mistakes his “keystone kops” made that infamous day. But golly gee, going to Swansea himself after being at the house and seeing Charlie-”ornamental painter” Sawyer at the back door and not replacing him with a uniformed officer, has always struck me as obvious negligence.
I also wonder if there were hushed conversations in corners of the Washington Club between the Marshall and some of its prestigous members.
Note: The middle name of “Bassett” instead of “Bartlett” is used both in the letter from the FRHS President and in the link to the Hilliard Papers. It’s also the name on the pin. So which is it? Bartlett or Bassett?
Lizzie Borden Discovered to Have Been in a Silent Movie
December 10, 2009
While this little feature film had a limited release, it does illustrate that Lizzie had at least one suitor during her latter years at Maplecroft.
Click below:
Let’s Go to the Movies and See Lizzie Borden!
December 9, 2009
You will most likely find the following video gross, irreverent, disrespectful, insensitive, cruel, blasphemous, sickening, – dare I go on? I’ll let you add to the list of adjectives after you’ve seen it. Just click on the URL and have your sound on.
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/Z5dmbOJbwbSjxON0gi0t
Told ya so.
But here’s something much nicer….(ahem).
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/tFRabqxiPFHjHCA4Mqer
Louis McHenry Howe – Devotion vs Love
December 5, 2009
A study of the personal correspondence between Louis McHenry Howe and Grace Hartley Howe (second cousin to Lizzie Borden) cannot help but make one wonder if this man misplaced his unwavering devotion to President Franklin Roosevelt over the love for his own wife and family. The letters reveal a man conflicted but unwilling to remove himself from the virtual shadow of FDR where he relished being so close and so influential to the power on the throne.
Photo by Corbis
Julie M. Fenster’s excellent book, FDR’s Shadow, is the first to reveal these letters stored at the FDR Library in Hyde Park, New York. I went there to read them myself and came away with a few differing insights from Julie’s, but my mission was focused more on those letters between Louis and his wife than those between Louis and Franklin.
In the letters, time and again Louis professed his love for Grace and his daughter Mary, and son Hartley, above and beyond anything else.
But very early on in the marriage there were problems -within its first year in fact. Grace and her mother may have been shocked by the sudden flat-lining of Louis’ financial promise from when he and Grace were first secretly married.
| November 9, 1898 | Grace Hartley & Louis Howe are secretly married by JOP; Grace returns to Boston same night & Louis to Saratoga. (Rollins p75) |
| May 6, 1899 | Grace Hartley marries Louis McHenry Howe in a formal ceremony at the Church of Ascension in Fall River. |
Evidence of Louis’ doubt of Grace’s love and problems in the marriage are revealed in this letter dated 1900: (Click on images for larger view)
Over a period of 20 years, Louis would occasionally bring up the names of “Ted” and “Willie” whom he suspected his wife involved with. (And let me say right now that from reading all these letters the thought entered my mind if Hartley was, indeed, Louis’ biological son – more on that in another post). “Ted” was apparently a wealthy Fall River person whom Louis stated would have given Grace the kind of life she wanted. Here he again mentions “Willie”:
Grace’s letters were far different from Louis. They were not filled with terms of endearment or expressions of love. As Julie stated in her book, they were written more like a sister to a brother. But they do reveal a woman very much interested in local Fall River as well as national politics. Grace wrote often of her civic and social service involvements and activities and of her family members, cousins Bessy and Bertha who visited often.
The letters between Grace and her mother (Mary J. Borden Hartley) reveal much about how Grace was raised, transparent of being a “Borden”. Prior to her marriage, Grace lived her young life much the way Lizzie would have wanted for herself. Grace’s passions extended to the love of animals, antiques and helping the poor – the same as those of Lizzie.
In reading those letters over and over (the library allows you to take digital pictures of the letters and I captured them all) I was struck by another common bond between Grace and Lizzie: Louis made the decision to live most of their married life with the Roosevelts rather than with his own family. Could it be that Grace and Lizzie shared feelings of abandonment – Grace by her husband, Lizzie by her sister? Animals, anitiques, abandonment and concern for the poor – threads that bind.
An excellent biography on FDR which includes the importance of Louis to FDR’s political rise is FDR: An American Experience Part 1 (1994) available thru Netflix. Or, you can view it online at this link.
This documentary also has some terrific footage of LMcH, some where he actually looks handsome.
The more I read about Louis the more I myself am conflicted about his sincerity with regards to his profestations of love in those letters to Grace. When you love someone you want to be with them – share your lives together. Louis chose to live with Franklin and Eleanor. Louis was totally devoted to FDR. Did that devotion supercede his love for Grace? Was he truly a man conflicted? Was it a deeply torturing guilt that guided his hand to paper and write with false conviction?
I have found it written by Hartley Howe that he never felt close to his father, that he never felt he really knew him.
Christmas With the Bordens – Part I
November 30, 2009
The season of Christmas is upon us and warrants a peek at how Lizzie Borden’s family celebrated.
And what is Christmas without a showing of that famous “It’s a Wonderful Life” film? This version has Deadwood’s Al Swearingen, Marshal Hilliard, and Little Lee-ann Wilber along with Andrew, Emma, and of course, our dear Lizzie.
Just click on the titles to get started. And be sure to have your sound on!
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE WITH THE BORDENS!
Those lovable Bordens – when they were young - have a happy time decorating their Christmas tree!
And here take notice of how those Bordens stick together.
Thanksgiving 1891 – What Lizzie Borden is Thankful For
November 25, 2009
Lizzie has sat down and made out a list for what she is thankful for on Thanksgiving, 1891:
I’m thankful for all the things I get to do at Central Congregational Church. (They like me! They really, really like me!)
I’m thankful I got accepted as Secretary to the Women’s Board of the Fall River Hospital. (They all like my penmanship).
I’m thankful Emma knows how to keep her mouth shut.
I’m thankful I’m a Borden.
I’m thankful I have so many books.
I’m thankful father pays my bills at McWhirrs, Gifford’s and other places for things I “got”.
I’m thankful I don’t have bright red hair.
I’m thankful Dr. Bowen lives nearby. (He is so handsome!)
I’m thankful I don’t have to do any housework, except the care of my room – which Emma does mostly anyway.
I’m thankful Abby has no shoes with good tread when she clumsily wobbles up and down the stairs.
I’m thankful Aunt Lurana’s neuralgia is not getting worse.
I’m thankful father called off the investigation of “that robbery” this year.
I’m thankful nobody used those horse-car tickets.
I’m thankful Mrs. Holmes and Anna Borden invite me to their homes so I can use a real bathroom.
I’m thankful father didn’t cut back my $4.00 a week allowance when I implored him to give me more – that miserly, degenerate b…..d. (Oh, but I dare not put my true thoughts down on paper).
I’m thankful Emma finally gave me the bigger room.
I’m thankful I got to go on the Grand Tour last year, and oh, how I pray to return.
I’m thankful I have an aversion to pigeon pie.
I’m thankful Uncle Morse won’t be here for dinner, that smelly, secretive old coot.
I’m thankful my new gloves match my new hat.
I’m thankful I have a knack for decorating.
I’m thankful for my loyal friends – few as they are.
I’m thankful Central is so close now that Father sold our horse.
I’m thankful Father keeps accumulating more property.
I wonder what I’ll be thankful for this time next year?
Lizzie Borden B&B/Museum Gift Shop
November 23, 2009
The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum Gift Shop is a splendid choice for selecting a Christmas gift for your friends who share your interest in Lizzie Borden.
(Click on images for larger views)
Susan Hauck, who gives tours and works in the Gift Shop was Curator for the outstanding GalleryX Exhibit of “Lizzie Borden – A Tale of Two Cities” held in New Bedford.
On my recent visit to Fall River, I took Bob Dube, owner of Maplecroft to the B&B and to chat with Susan whom he had thrilled (along with Gift Shop Manager, Dee Moniz) with a complete tour of his home. Bob said to me: “This stuff is really good!”
The Gift Shop offers up so much more than what is illustrated at their website as can be seen in these images. There are skateboards, buttons, magnets, jewelry, postcards, memory booklet by Ed Thibault, CD’s by yours truly, glassware, hats, T-Shirts, golf shirts, cups, mugs, buttons, etc.
Viewed here are some of “diggings” discovered when the old Leary Press was demolished. Lee-ann Wilber, B&B/Museum Manager, was able to salvage these finds and are on display for all to see.
So if you can’t get to Fall River, you can contact the Gift Shop by calling 508-675-3333, place your order, and they will ship promptly. So why not get that unique Lizzie gift for your special friends. You won’t find this stuff at Walmart. 
New Book: FDR’s Shadow-Louis Howe the Force that Shaped Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
November 17, 2009
I’ll be doing a review shortly on Julie’s new book that came out last month: FDR’s Shadow the Force that Shaped Franklin & Eleanor Rooswevelt . I wanted to wait until I got a chance to review those letters – and more – at the FDR Library which I did just recently.
Julie M. Fenster’s, award winning author and historian, new book
Julie has reciprocated in helping me with my own research at the FDR Library in Hyde Park, NY. We now have much to discuss of our own insights from that very private and revealing correspondence.
Julie was, of course, focused on the Holy Triangle of Louis, Franklin and Eleanor – the Grace Hartley Howe connection a stunning by-product towards understanding the “inner man” of Louis. I, of course, was interested in the Grace-Louis correspondence specific to the Lizzie connection. Why, after all, was Grace a major legatee? I got my answers.
When Grace died her daughter Mary and son Hartley inherited her personal papers, which included the letters written to her from Louis and these were subsequently donated to the FDR Library to be deposited with Louis’ other papers.
Side note: Mary Howe Baker sat with Eleanor Roosevelt and other notables in this TIME Mag article May 20, 1933. Grace was in Fall River at the time.
Point Reflections
November 17, 2009
A print of this collage, which I created back in 1999, still hangs on the refrigerator at the Lizzie Borden B&B.
(click on image for larger view)
Back from visit Northeast with scads of voice mail, emails and snail mail to catch up on. Some pointed reflections that I may elaborate on later:
1. Twisted Restaurant in Hyde Park.
2. Two FR senior guys at Rosario’s – turns out one has a home at Rim Country Club Estates here in Payson.
3. Letters from Mary Hartley to Grace Hartley at Vassar in 1897…re “cousin in the news again”.
4. Letters from Mary Hartley to Grace Hartley Howe full of gossip about the “Rock Street people”.
5. Victoria’s Secret girls at the Lizzie Borden B&B.
6. Long chat with Michael Martins and Dennis Binette re Lizzie, their book, etc. (photos selected, galleys done, index done; awaiting blueline, altho new stuff still coming in).
7. Scallops and Lobster at the Liberal Club with Manny A. and his wife.
8. GalleryX Exhibit piece “Two Sides to Every Story”….couldn’t find artists contact info or I would have purchased it right then and there.
9. Interior of Abby Grille (Central Congregational Church) since the recent vandalism. Sickening. I’ll post pictures later.
10. “Blood Relations” in New Bedford Saturday night, then our mad dash back to the Eagle. What a ride!
11. FDR’s house, Vanderbilt Mansion, Val-Kil – thank you Margaret, D.A.R. member, and resident of Hyde Park.
12. Max the cat in window of the “bahn” late at night; red glow background (from Exit sign), foggy. Stunning effect.
13. Blueboy in parlor – couldn’t stop laughing.
14. Ken Champlin telephone calls.
15. Fall River Library – new piece by Macomber donated in memory of Jerome C. Borden – my personal fav.
16. Visit to FRPD and chat with Asst Chief Moniz.
17. Nice visit and Chinese lunch with Bob Dube. (Wonderful new look to the parlor).
18. Mayor’s office re disposition of WPA artist project of murals at Kuss Middle School.
19. Viewing the grounds at Vassar in Poughkeepsie where Grace and Mary Howe attended. (Grace lived in an apt there while Louis lived with the Roosevelts a their huge house).
Lots to do, little time. More later.
Hosea Knowlton at Tufts College
November 8, 2009
Recycled post.
From my Lizzie Borden collection is this Tuft’s College graduating yearbook photograph of Hosea Morrill Knowlton, also showing his signature. Knowlton of course, was the District Attorney who prosecuted Lizzie Borden in her famous 1893 Trial in New Bedford, MA.
From time to time I’ll be posting “little known tidbits” about the people, places and things that factor in the Lizzie Borden case, so I’m creating this new category. I’ve not been able to find this photograph on the internet so perhaps its shown here for the first time.
Knowlton graduated from Tuft’s College in 1867. After he died of a stroke (December 18, 1902), Charles E. Fay, a Tuft’s College graduate of 1868, wrote a 6-page tribute to Hosea in the January, 1903 issue of The Tuftonian, the college newsletter. It is here that we get an insight into Hosea’s younger days and find that he was not without experience in college pranks. (By the way, it wasn’t until July 15, 1892, the Tufts Board of Trustees voted “that the College be opened to women in the undergraduate departments on the same terms and conditions as men.”)
(Right click to view larger type)
Hosea Knowlton had three sons and they all attended Tuft’s College.
Though it is often stated that Knowlton graduated from Harvard Law School, he did not. He attended there for a year but did not graduate. I was able to verify this last summer when I went on a business conference to Raytheon in Andover and spent all my spare time doing research on Knowlton at the Boston Public Library and State House.
When Frank Warren Knowlton, Jr. donated his grandfather’s papers on the Borden case to the Fall River Historical Society, he described his grandfather as “too brash, too cocky. He had a way of standing with his hands on his hips and maybe the jury thought that he was talking down at them.” Source: -Fall River Herald News, Sept. 1, 1989. (Note: It was Frank’s father, Frank Warren Knowlton (Tufts College 1899-1902), who engaged in an 8-year correspondence with noted author Edmund Pearson who resurrected interest in the case with his long essay in Studies in Murder.)
Hosea’s grandson donated The Knowlton Papers in August (see the Fall River Herald News article of Sept 1, 1989 below).
Pictured above: The often seen image of Hosea Knowlton as he appeared in 1893. Taken from the video Hash & Rehash, is this TV screen image of his grandson, Frank Knowlton, Jr. who donated “the Knowlton Papers” to the Fall River Society.
I had the pleasure of meeting Frank, Jr. at the 1992 Centennial Conference on Lizzie Borden at the Speakers Reception and again when both he and Andrew Jennings Waring (grandson of Lizzie’s defense attorney) joined me on a tour of Maplecroft. It was very interesting, though not surprising, that one stoutly believed in her guilt while the other stoutly believed in her innocence. I’ll never forget the dialog between the two out on the sidewalk after the tour of Lizzie’s house on French Street. Both are now deceased and the few letters I have from them are read now with a special melancholy and fond rememberence.
“Gasp, gasp – I’m dying….”
November 4, 2009
Below are posting stats of probably the best chat forum on the subject of the Lizzie Borden case.
Like the Grasberg mine in West Papua, Indonesia, it’s Archives are the repository of its own gold and copper riches. 
Yes, I’m talking about Stefani Koorey’s forum – the same forum for which she has blocked me from joining and inevitably removes my party mask of contrived digital personas when I have been discovered after slipping in under the radar.
Now look at these stats:
| Number of new posts by month | ||||||||||||
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 432 | 1138 | 832 | 595 | 710 | 676 | 611 | 1145 | 1280 |
| 2005 | 1110 | 1148 | 1615 | 1978 | 1457 | 1769 | 1228 | 1051 | 1328 | 1145 | 1059 | 1019 |
| 2006 | 1144 | 1223 | 1172 | 1402 | 1561 | 1831 | 1350 | 1961 | 1688 | 1549 | 1512 | 1595 |
| 2007 | 1707 | 1328 | 1264 | 1397 | 908 | 915 | 1038 | 1430 | 908 | 1079 | 1171 | 1052 |
| 2008 | 1494 | 1157 | 978 | 715 | 733 | 1059 | 829 | 934 | 643 | 786 | 430 | 680 |
| 2009 | 473 | 540 | 603 | 577 | 377 | 482 | 606 | 960 | 504 | 370 | 38 | 0 |
The steady decline of posts began in April of 2007 when the 4 digit count was less than the same month of the prior year. And since April of 2008, all but one month has been in 3 digits. And we just had a wallapaloosa of a Lizzie Borden month this past October and yet only 370 posts. Wassup?
I attribute the recent reductions due to the lack of postings from sister Kat Koorey who, when not asking to “cite your source” was meticulous in assuring accurate information on the multitude of threads. Kat deserves credit as being the chief contributor (and top poster) to the quality of information. Now that she’s MIA, the post count and quality has subsided.
Another contributing factor to the steady decline, IMHO, is attributable to the more recent absence of Shelley Dziedzic who also was a great contributor to the Forum’s content. Her bright and breezy posts, not to mention the glorious photos, was a delight to all. I’m sure she is missed by the 15 or so hard core regulars. Shelley was the #2 top poster.
The point is, no matter what lack of, er, ah, cordiality exists between Stef and me, the Lizzie Borden forum is a terrific source of Bordenia, provided you have the determined patience of a Grasberg miner.
I would encourage all eager to learn more – novice or scholar – to check out those threads and archives. You don’t have to join unless you want to actually post, but you certainly can take advantage of the riches of that mine without joining. The rewards are plentiful and the journey exciting.
Down in Front!
November 3, 2009
Inside the Fall River theater – a movie based on historical fact is showing. Suddenly, a man stands up and blocks the view:
“Hey, Mister! Down in front! We’re tryna watch a movie here.”
“Thanks, Mister.”
Genesis of the “Emma Did It” Theory
October 29, 2009
Those who choose to believe Lizzie Borden
was innocent cite the various theories to be found in dozens of books on the case. From the villainous “Intruder” to the illegitimate son, Billy Borden, there is none more preposterous than the “Emma did it” theory.
That Lizzie’s older sister, 
visiting in Fairhaven – a good 15 miles distant in horse and carriage days – committed the dastardly deed was never considered in the slightest by the Fall River police or District Attorney Hosea Knowlton. It was only many decades after the crimes and Lizzie’s acquittal that this theory took hold. But how did it come about? How did it start? Was it Alfred Hitchcock’s teleplay, “The Older Sister“? Just when and from whom did this theory first appear in print or any other media?
I made a delightful discovery a couple years ago from my expanded readings of the Lizzie Borden-Franklin Roosevelt connection. That connection has always intrigued me because had Lizzie lived six more years she might had taken tea with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, an invitation arranged by her cousin, Grace. Imagine that. Lizzie Borden in the White House.
I think it’s time to reveal the genesis of the “Emma did it” theory. The source is none other than Lizzie’s own cousin’s husband, Chief political strategist and advisor, personal secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt – Louis McHenry Howe.
Louis McHenry Howe and President Franklin Roosevelt
Louis was, of course, married to Grace Hartley Howe. Grace was born November 9, 1874 in Fall River making her 14 
years younger than Lizzie. Grace’s maternal grandfather, Cook Borden, and Lizzie’s paternal grandfather, Abraham Borden, were brothers. Grace married Louis on May 6, 1899 at age 24. Louis had been a newspaper man and he surely had read about the murders, the legal proceedings and Lizzie’s ultimate acquittal. After his marriage to Grace, there must have been discussions with his wife about her notorious relative.
On December 11, 1931, writer Fulton Oursler went to meet Franklin Roosevelt, then
Governor of New York, at his home at 49 East 56th Street. The meeting was a result of Oursler’s writing two recent articles for the influential Liberty Magazine, (of which he was about to become editor) one of which was entitled “Another Roosevelt in the White House?” It was a time when Governor Roosevelt was about to engage in the year long campaign for the presidency under the tireless guidance of his closest friend and chief political strategist, Louis Howe.
Upon Oursler’s arrival he was greeted by Louis who was living in the Roosevelt home while his wife lived in Fall River. The two men waited for FDR’s return from the dentist. The conversation that took place – remarkable in and of itself - can be read in the book shown below – an autobiography competed by his son, Fulton Oursler, Jr. :
Behold This Dreamer! Fulton Oursler, Little, Brown & Company, 1964, 1st Ed.
Click on images for larger view.
Now, to any serious reader of the life of Louis Howe, one would know how he often played gags on people, toying with their head so to speak. I can imagine Louis saying all this with a straight face but with an undetected twinkle in his eye that the very straight-laced and conservative Oursler would not recognize.
Here was a man (Louis) whose wife was named as a primary legatee in Lizzie’s Will just 4 years previous (but due to the six years of probating had not yet received her cash windfall). Perhaps Louis had Lizzie on his mind because of the fact the first Probate accounting had just been held less than two months previous on October 31, 1931 in a Fall River court. Or perhaps he was just full of glee knowing his man, Governor Roosevelt, was on the threshold of becoming “President Roosevelt” in a year’s time, mainly due to his own efforts.
Whatever his reasons for saying what he said, Louis was a man who surely knew at least the basic facts of the case. But he told this story and it stuck. Not only did he tell it to Oursler but he repeated it to that
prolific writer and librarian, Edmund Pearson at a subsequent luncheon arranged by Oursler. Now Pearson, being an expert on the case, didn’t believe a word of it. How he must have cringed over that bit about Emma being crazy and suffered from epileptic fits, and had been out of town in “Marion” but snuck back. Either Louis had scant knowledge of the particulars or Oursler got that wrong, but oh, how Louis much have enjoyed that luncheon! And Louis most certainly knew beforehand that Pearson had written that long essay on the Borden case in Studies in Murder, published in 1924. Oh yeah, Louis knew what he was doing, all right. I would love to have been at that luncheon – invisible and silent but taking in every word of the Messrs. Oursler, Pearson and Howe.
There’s a lot more misinformation in those quoted remarks of Louis attributed by Fulton Oursler – almost comical in its ridiculous assertions – as any scholar of the case will readily recognize. Could Louis, always the visionary and strategist, have deliberately wanted to eradicate any thought that the cousin of the wife of the chief advisor to the future President of the United States was a murderer, and by so doing, misdirect guilt to the sister?
Oh, Louis, you dishevled, asthmatic, chain-smoking, strategizing scamp, you. Look what you’ve done. Your contrived tale told nearly 80 years ago continues to surface and provide an outlandish alternative theory.
So there you have it, the source and genesis of the “Emma did it” theory first appearing in print.
