The Gardners of Swansea – Emma Borden’s Surrogate Family

(Recycled from 2010)

Long  before Emma Borden abandoned her sister, Lizzie, in late May of 1905, she had very close ties to many Gardners in Swansea, Ma.   But after she split from Lizzie, some of those Gardners  became a surrogate family to her.

The progenitors of those that Emma would embrace, socialize with, attend major family events, and help financially in trusts and her will, are those in the oval picture below (click it to enlarge).

The births, marriages and deaths of these people were recorded in William  Gardner’s family bible:

Why were these people and their children, and even some of their children’s children important to Emma?  Well, the  genealogical link was addressed in this blog post.

If you’re interested, study the names and who married who….there’s more to come about events she attended.

The direct line of Henry Augustus Gardner is the most important – and closest – to Emma.   Much of the information I have obtained was from his estate records and from direct descendants.

As for Lizzie, well she was pretty much written off by these Gardners around early 1897 due to two hugely embarrassing incidents to this quiet, salt of the earth, family entrenched group.

Lizzie had her servants, dogs and a few loyal friends.

But Emma had family.

 

Emma Borden’s Death & Wake at Riverby

(Repost from March, 2013)

Emma Borden died in the early morning hours 9 days after her sister, Lizzie.  Members of her surrogate family saw to her funeral/burial wishes.  Her wake was held at Henry and Caroline Gardner’s home. Unlike Lizzie, family and friends gathered to pay their respects and the details of how things were handled was published in these papers.  (Click for larger views).

Seated left is Henry Augustus Gardner and his son Orrin to the right.  In the back is Hamilton Gardner (raised by Orrin since he was about 10 years old) and his best friend “Buck”.  These 3 Gardners, and many more, were at her Wake.

Where we read that Emma had made her wishes known to “Mrs. Gardner”, that would be Caroline Cole Mason Gardner who died in 1918, just seven years after celebrating her 50th Wedding Anniversary with Henry, an event which Emma attended.  (Henry would go on to live until 1931).  It was Caroline’s sister, Susan Francis Mason who had married Sarah Morse Borden’s brother, William Bradford Morse (they moved to Minnesota and lived all their lives there).  That marriage began the bloodline connection to Lizzie between the Morses and the Gardners and the Bordens (still with me here?).

In the article below it states Emma’s wishes were to be buried by her father and stepmother.  She is, in fact, buried right along side her sister which can  be seen in the image of the family plot at the end of this post.   It’s somewhat curious that Emma did not specify “beside my mother”.  Emma had been informed of Lizzie’s death by Orrin Gardner but due to her weakened condition did not attend her burial.  Unless the sisters spoke of the exact placements of their own future graves prior to Emma’s 1905 departure from Lizzie, Emma would not know of this layout.   (Note:  Lizzie, in her funeral instructions, requested to be buried at her father’s feet).

In this next article we note that Jerome C. Borden and his family attended the wake.  Jerome, of course, was the son of Cook Borden who was Andrew’s uncle.  Andrew’s father, Abraham, and Cook were brothers.  Jerome, Andrew’s nephew, had several daughters several years younger than the previously departed Lizbeth of Maplecroft.  Two of those daughters were close cousins withGrace Hartley Howe, Jerome’s sister’s daughter and thereby his niece.  (No mention if Grace was present at the wake though I doubt it as her husband,Louis McHenry Howe was absorbed in pursuits to get Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected President).  (I wonder if Jerome thought maybe Emma might have left him some money or property since Lizzie left plenty to his niece Grace as shown in her will which had been printed in the papers just that week).   But she didn’t leave anything to Jerome who had been a staunch supporter of Lizzie during the Trial.  She left plenty for the Gardners, though whereas Lizzie left them nothing.

The State of New Hampshire’s Record of Death for the year ended December 31, 1927, has a July 1, 1927 entry recording her death on June 10, 1927 and internment on June 13th at Oak Grove Cemetery.  The cause of death is “chronic nephritis” and “duration 2 years”.  Indicated as the cause is “senility” and “unknown duration”.  No mention of any fall.  Note that under “Occupation” is written “Retired”.   Indeed.

George H. Towle was the physician who pronounced her dead and reported the death.

Then in 1992, comes this record of death from the State of Massachussetts showing the causing of death as both Chronic Nephritis and senility with no indication of the duration of either.

Below:  Riverby (pronounced River”bye”) as it looked in the late 1920’s.

Then:                                                                                  Now:

This property was originally in Caroline’s family but she and Henry lived there most of their lives operating it as a successful farm.  It passed on to Orrin then to Hamilton Gardner and was sold and subdivided in the 1950’s.  Few of the extra out-buildings remain.  The current owner of Riverby has partitioned off several rooms, making them into apartments although the neighborhood is not zoned for that.  An artist lives on the first floor, a couple on the second and a musician on the 3rd floor attic rooms.

Lizzie is foot-to-foot with her father; Emma is foot to foot with her mother, Sarah.  Abby is next to Andrew on the outside.  The overall layout has a certain symmetry that seems almost poetic.

 

What Happened to Emma’s Stuff?

Recycled from 2011

 

Emma Borden, Lizzie’s sister, left most of her personal property to Orrin Gardner.  He, in turn, gave much to his nephew, Hamilton, son of Orrin’s brother.  Before we go further, please note I’ve written about the Gardners of Swansea many times and you should review these posts HERE and HERE.

Young Orrin Gardner

Young Hamilton Gardner, son of William Gardner

The following images of letters and notes gives us a glimpse of what happened.  Indeed, the recently discovered portraits of a young Andrew and young Sarah were donated to the Swansea Historical Society by Hamilton Gardner.   (You’ll remember those portraits, possibly done at the time they were married – a true love match.)

                 

You have to wonder if these portraits hung at Maplecroft and if Emma took them when she left Lizzie in 1905.  Anyway….as to her other stuff, read these:

So we can begin to understand how so much of it got scattered when Bailey most likely sold them in his store.

I sure would like to see that photo of Emma “with a girlfriend at church bazaar”  Maybe it’ll be in Parallel Lives).

(Scanned documents from the Swansea Historical Society)

 

Emma Borden Not Such a Recluse

The following Recycled post will be of added new interest to those who purchased Parallel Lives.  Indeed, as we’ve learned from that book, Emma was no recluse.  Beginning on page 748, I believe, the writers go into depth of the Gardners from the Henry Augusta Gardner line.  Enjoy.

————————————————————————————

One of the urban legends in the Borden case is that Emma Borden became a recluse, rarely went out, and had no family after departing from her infamous sister, Lizzie.  Not true – at least not until the final few years of her life, when she was infirm and senile.

I’ve written before of the Gardners of Swansea who became a sort of surrogate family to Emma Borden when she departed forever from her sister, Lizzie in 1905.

On December 11, 1914, Henry Augustus Gardner (the patriarch of the family) and his wife, Caroline Cole Mason Gardner, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at their home “Riverby” in Touisset.  They had put together this little commemorative booklet (from my collection) for each of their guests which included Emma Borden as she attended and received such a booklet.

(Click on all images below for larger views)

x

Emma attended this event and her signature can be seen 4th down on the left side.  Little Hamilton Gardner, son of William, left his “mark” on the bottom of the right side.  At the top you see Doris Gardner’s name and her mark.  Having parallel lives, she and Hamilton ended up husband and wife.  More on her later.

William Wilson Gardner and son, Hamilton

(and was he a little cutie or what?)

When Hamilton’s father died, he was raised by his uncle, Orrin Gardner.  Emma was particularly fond of and close to Orrin.  And from evidence of her including him in an income trust and mentions elsewhere, she was also fond of Hamilton, who was a teenager when Emma died.

Emma, in fact, attended birthday parties, clam boils, weddings, funerals, and holidays with many of the people and their children shown in the oval picture below.  If you study the names and compare it to the guest signatures above, you’ll note most of them attended this event, as well as many of their offspring.

Father William Gardner (standing), Grandfather Henry Augustus Gardner, and Grandson Hamilton Gardner

“Riverby” about 1914

Here is a full account of the event as reported in the newspaper.

The quote of Henry Augustus speaking of how the area was when he first moved there to the “present” (i.e. 1914) is particularly interesting.

As stated above, this was not the only Gardner family event Emma attended.  My collection includes other documentation of Emma’s surrogate family and travels.  She spent a lot of time with Preston Gardner’s wife, Mary and their daughter, Maude, all of whom she favored in income trusts and her will.

 

Did She or Didn’t She? Emma Borden and the Boston Sunday Post Interview

Click on image for larger view

Emma Lenora Borden, sister to our gal Lizzie, has long been cited as the subject of an interview in the Boston Sunday Post of April 13, 1913.  The by-lined reporter, one Edwin Joseph McGuire, however, has never been confirmed as a reporter, let alone the validity of the interview itself.  The interview came just one week after an extensive article by Gertrude Stevenson of the Boston Sunday Herald who wrote of what life was like for Lizzie twenty years after the crimes.  It has been speculated *that* article encouraged Emma to come forward from her self-imposed exile and speak for the very first time, ever, publicly – and “Lucky” McGuire got the gig.

Reference to this astonishing interview with Emma was, however, flatly denied by her through the “Buck family”.   The Buck family (once headed by that revered Reverend Edwin Augustus Buck who had died a decade before on March 9, 1903) was apparently now led by his spinster daughters, including Alice Buck, who was the closest to Emma.

Click on image for larger view and to read inserted article.

We don’t know for certain if it was Alice Buck who was the member of the Buck family who said the McGuire article was “not authentic”, though it very well could have been.  But the point is this:  McGuire’s article is mentioned in so many books of the “first generation” authors and so little is mention, even with contemporary authors on the case, as to the subsequent denial of its authenticity.

Why in the world would Emma agree to such an interview after more than 2 decades of silence?   Were there events before or close in time to the interview that influenced or motivated her?  Let’s check.  Let’s go back to a little more than one year previous:

March 1, 1912	John Vinnicum Morse dies in Hastings, Iowa at the age of 79.
April 15, 1912	White Star liner Titanic sinks on her maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg; 1,500 die.
June 10, 1912	Grisly axe murders of 2 adults and 6 children, all while they sleep, in Villisca, Iowa.
July 19, 1912	A meteorite with a mass of 19,000 kg landed in the town of Holbrook, Navajo County, Arizona.
July 29, 1912	Lizzie writes letter to Stomell & Co. requesting “B” be engraved on her suitcase “toilet items”.
December 30, 1912	Rufus B. Hilliard (FR Chief of Police) dies.
1913	Woodrow Wilson is President of the United States.
1913	Ford develops first moving assembly line.
1913	Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form the Congressional Union to work toward the passage of a federal amendment to give women the vote. The group is later renamed the National Women’s Party.
March 10, 1913	Harriet Tubman dies of pneumonia in Auburn New York.
1913	Louis McHenry Howe becomes Chief of Staff to FDR who is appointed Asst. Secretary to the Navy.
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.   (Was this a hoax?

The little article above about McGuire’s article not being “authentic” was included in a packet of material on the case from Orrin Augustus Gardner.  Contents of the packet can be found in the Swansea Historical Society’s research nook at the Swansea Library.  Orrin Gardner was a close to Emma all her life and was a major legatee in her Will.

This image shows Orrin Gardner far left, wearing hat, on outing with school boys and was taken about the time he donated that package.

 

LIZZIE BORDEN “ALONE” PAINTING AT MAPLECROFT

See also: https://phayemuss.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/lizzie-borden-alone-painting-at-maplecroft/ UPDATE: NOTE THE LATEST COMMENT WHICH IDENTIFIES TO WHOM LIZZIE GAVE THIS PAINTING. PERHAPS HIS NAME WILL BE IN THE BOOK, PARALLEL LIVES.

UPDATE: “ALONE” ARTIST IDENTIFIED My stepbrother (who was so cool to give me a brand new Garmin GPS tracker for Christmas) was looking over my blog today and came across this entry and said: “Hey! I know that artist!” Well it turns out its Herman Alfred Leonard Wahlberg, a Swedish artist born in Stockholm February 13, 1834 and died October 4, 1906.   Nordic landscape painting was popular during those years, and this Swedish landscape is typical of the Dusseldorf version of wilderness paintings. Known as just “Alfred Wahlberg” you can see a picture of him here. 

(Original post follows): There are numerous known and unknown people all over Fall River and environs who have “stuff” that belonged to Lizzie. On my last visit while shopping at an outlet store at the Durfee Mills I chatted with the store owner who told me she had an old rocking chair that belonged to Lizzie and if I came back she’d show me a picture of it. I never made it back but we did exchange addresses and I’ve yet to write her. Meanwhile, here’s something I can relate and show now.

(Original post from 2007) Some months ago, Jeff Masson of Somerset, MA noticed an elderly gentleman admiring the house he lives in and Jeff, his mother and this man got to talking. Eventually the subject of Lizzie Borden came up (Jeff is a frequent visitor to the Lizzie Borden B&B and has a keen knowledge of the Bordens and others buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River.) During the conversation the gentleman, Elliott Barrows of Somerset, related that he had a painting that was given to his grandfather by Lizzie Borden.

The story goes that Lizzie had some work done at her house she named “Maplecroft” #7 French Street (now 306) in Fall River, and it was Mr. Barrows’ grandfather who did the work – “handyman” kind of work, not major construction. The painting below apparently hung in Lizzie’s house and Lizzie, so the tale goes, gave Mr. Barrows the painting as partial payment for his labor. Just exactly when this occurred is not known. Mr. Barrows subsequently brought the actual painting back to Jeff’s house and allowed him to keep it for a while and to photograph it, which are the images you see here. Remarkably, Mr. Barrows stated the painting had been appraised for $8,000.

The handwritten notation on the back of the painting reads as follows:

“This picture framed for the house of Lisbeth and Emma Borden, 306 French St. Fall River, Mass whose father Andrew Jackson Borden and stepmother, Abby Durfee Gray Borden were murdered at their house, 92 Second St., Fall River, Mas, Aug. 4, 1892. The trial was held in June 1893.”  (and below) “Alone” by (unreadable) Art Supplement to the New York Recorder Sept 30th, 1894. The Knapp Co. Str.  N.Y. Famous Paintings of Europe.” 

It is very hard to distinguish the lettering in the name of the artist but it appears to be an “L” or “F” and then “V” and Rberg or Aberg. I believe this is a swedish artist.

There is a rather famous painting by Dawn Parkinson titled “Alone” showing a lone seagull soaring past a white chaulked cliff. Searching through various artbooks, Googling the name in assorted variations yielded no results. Unfortunately Mr. Barrows was not available for an interview on my most recent visit to Fall River. I’m currently awaiting follow-up from “Cemetery Jeff”. I know several people pursuing this find further as well, so maybe more information will be forthcoming.

The painting certainly evokes melancholy sadness and makes us wonder what it meant to Lizzie. I can not think it meant a great deal because to just give it away as partial payment to a handyman is not what one would do with a piece of art for which they had a strong emotional attachment. Perhaps this painting was a gift she received rather than a purchase made. Perhaps gazing upon it evoked emotions for an already sad and depressed woman to be even sadder. Maybe it clashed with that garish wallpaper of Victorian times. Who knows. But it’s a great little story, isn’t it?

 

LUTHER’S MUSEUM HAS LIZZIE BORDEN CHAIRS

(Recycled)

From today’s Fall River Herald News – click HERE.  (Also, click “Swansea” on the Categories listing to the right to see more posts about Luther’s Museum).

Jul. 2nd, 2007

Luther’s Museum is home to the Swansea Historical Society. For over 100 years known as “Luther’s Four Corners”, it is where Uncle John Morse had his evening meal on Wednesday, August 3, 1892. Uncle Morse had retrieved some farm-fresh eggs at Andrew’s Swansea farm on Gardner’s Neck Road, not far away. And it makes a body wonder why left over mutton was served when fresh eggs were on hand that fateful Thursday morning.

If you ask about them, the operators of the Museum will let you see and photograph some chairs purported to have come from the farm house and owned by Lizzie. They have accommodated many people who’ve heard about the chairs and delight in having their picture taken with “something that belonged to Lizzie.”

Above images from (click here)
The images below are my own.

The “Luther Museum” structure has an engraving outside which explains the history and importance of the Luther family to Swansea.

Tags: faye musselman, gardner’s neck road, luther’s museum, swansea

 

John Morse – Echo Post 1909

Often named as complicit in the murders of Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother, Uncle John Vinnicum Morse is pictured here in this article posted before.  Morse was the brother of Lizzie & Emma’s mother, Sarah Morse Borden.

The Vinnicums and Morses‘ were the genealogical link to the Gardner family.   Most of those pictured, and their offspring, were a major part of the Borden sisters lives, particularly Emma Borden when she split from Lizzie in 1n the spring of 1905.

Emma left much of  her estate, including personal property toOrrin Gardner.

When Orrin died, Hamilton Gardner (pictured below) son of Orrin’s brother William whom Orrin raised, inherited what was left of Emma and Lizzie’s possessions which were at the “Riverby” home.

When Hamilton died, his son, now living, received and still keeps these possessions.  (The scattering of their property near the time of Orrin & Hamilton’s deaths will be addressed in the next post).  These included the  “missing” photo albums of the 9 known to exist, 7 of which are resident with the Swansea Historical Society housed in their alcove at the Swansea Library.

Anyway, I don’t think old Uncle John had anything to do with the murders.  But I think he came to suspect  it was Lizzie.   An observant and cautious man, he knew when best to keep secrets known to himself.

 

eBay Auction on Orrin Gardner Photo

A little over a week ago I spotted this assortment of cabinet card photos on eBay and recognized Orrin Gardner, Lizzie & Emma’s cousin from Swansea who was a primary legatee in Emma Borden’s Will.  The Seller said she got it at a flea market many years ago where there were dozens in a box and she picked these out at random.

I didn’t bid because I already have it and had included it in a previous blog. It is, in fact, Orrin’s high school graduation picture.  Original issues are in a Gardner family album archived at the Swansea Historical Society in Swansea, MA.

Perhaps a cabinet photo of Lizzie, many years post Trial, is now residing in a box or tray on some dusty shelf at an antique store still unrecognized by the many eyes who finger through it.   Oh well, we’ll have plenty to salivate over when the Fall River Historical Society’s Parallel Lives is published.

 

Lizzie Borden’s Will & the Robinson Brothers

Lizzie Borden’s Will left money to four of her relatives:  her second cousin Grace Hartley Howe, and three of the four Robinson brothers.  The Robinson brothers have such a thin bloodline link to Lizzie that I’m just not sure how to state them as cousins.  (Grace was, of course, a second cousin as both she and  Lizzie had grandfathers who were brothers).

Lizzie’s 21st, 22nd, and 23rd bequests are stated as follows:

“21. To my cousin George E. Robinson, of Swansea, Massachusetts, the sum of one thousand dollars.

22. To my cousin Edson M. Robinson, of said Swansea, the sum of one thousand dollars.

23. To my cousin, Percy V. Robinson, of said Swansea, the sum of two thousand dollars.”

I found the connection while researching the Vinnicum files at the Swansea Library in the small back room where the Swansea Historical Society keeps their archives.

On December 31, 1945, Mabel L. Vinnicum penned a multi page handwritten letter to the then curator of the Swansea Historical Society, the formidable Marion Riley who passed away several years ago.  Mabel had given the Swansea Historical Society a photo album of the Vinnicum-Morse families in October of that year and was now writing about their genealogy.   I found two specific pages relevant to identifying the lineage of the Robinson brothers and that can be seen by clicking here——> JohnVin1st and here —–>Vinnicum-Robinson

Okay, I’ll try and sort this out and keep it simple.  Remember, we’re addressing the Vinnicums and Masons of Swansea, Mass:

Susannah (aka Susan) Vinnicum (b. March 1807, died August 29, 1895) and Sally Vinnicum (born March 14, 1809, died March 16, 1888) were sisters. Their parents were John Vinnicum the 2nd and Bethany Kinnicutt (his second wife) who married on January 11, 1805.

Susannah married Zephaniah Mason and they produced 3 children:
Caroline Cole Mason, Ann Francis Mason and William Mason. Caroline Cole Mason married Henry Augustus Gardner (they produced Orrin, Frank and William).  Caroline’s sister, Ann Francis married William Morse who was brother to Lizzie & Emma’s uncle John Vinnicum Morse who was himself brother to  Sarah Anthony Morse who was, of course, to marry the doomed Andrew Jackson Borden.  Anyway, Ann Francis Mason Morse and William Morse, by their marriage, contributed to the Vinnicum-Mason-Gardner-Morse-Borden connection and then  moved to Minnesota where they lived all their lives.   Whew.  I’m tired already.

So now we turn to Susannah’s sister Sally Vinnicum.  Sally married a man named Benjamin Mason, son of Job Mason on March 25, 1830.  Before Benjamin died on March 10, 1878, they produced Edson, Lemura, and Hannah Francis.  Okay, now we’re gettin’ somewhere.  The youngest daughter, Hannah Francis Mason married Rufus Robinson.  Hannah and Rufus had the following children:

George Ernst Robinson, born November 22, 1872, died November, 1944.

Edson Mason Robinson, born May 19, 1874.

Charles Luther & Clara Wheaton Robinson (twins) born April 5, 1876.  (Clara died on August 16, 1876).

Percy Vinnicum Robinson, born September 25, 1878.

So there’s the lineage of the Robinson brothers.  Why brother Charles was not mentioned in Lizzie’s bequests can only be speculated upon.  Perhaps he died before Lizzie wrote her Will.  Perhaps he displeased her.  Who knows.  But apparently the other brothers George, Edson and Percy did not.  Percy received $2,000 whereas his brothers only received $1,000.  Perhaps Lizzie favored the youngest.  Who knows.  But why these cousins and not the Gardner cousins?   And why did Emma favor the Gardner cousins and not these cousins?  Who knows.  (Am I getting redundant?)  Who cares.

At the time of the Borden murders George was 19, Edson was 17, and Percy was 14.  At Lizzie’s death, George was 55, Edson was 53, and Percy was 49.  See how time flies?

And for what it’s worth, which probably aint much, none of the three brothers ever married.

These three Robinson brothers lived at the farmhouse on Birch Swamp Road in Warren, Rhode Island, just as their parents had, and just as *their* parents had. (Perhaps when Lizzie took long drives into the countryside she visited these three bachelor cousins).

P.S.  You may have caught the name Tripp in the genealogy.  Tripp was the maiden name of Susanna who married John Vinnicum the 1st.  It might turn out that the Tripps whom Lizzie visited just a few days before the 1892 murders were relations as well!  So much breeding.  So few surnames.  Circle of life.

Peace out.

 

LUTHER’S MUSEUM – SWANSEA, MASS.

So now, anyone who Googles Swansea Historical Society, Lizzie’s chairs, Swansea farmhouse, etc. and live a remote distance from Swansea will hopefully land here and get a FREE peek at the chairs and inside the Luther’s Museum. But nothing beats being there, absorbing the ambience and touching these historical artifacts so indigenous to early American history and specifically the history of Swansea and its farming families.  (Additional info follows with the link at the end of the slide show).

On August 3, 2007, Kristin Pepe and myself went to Swansea to visit Luther’s Museum at Luther’s Four Corner’s. For over 20 years I’ve been going past 160 Old Warren Road often stopping to take exterior pictures but never inside. Carl Becker, who lives only a block or two away, offered to open it up any time during my 5 day stay in Fall River.

The historical significance to Borden buffs is that Uncle John Vinnicum Morse stopped off at “Luther’s” after getting some farm fresh eggs at Andrew’s upper farmhouse at 217 Old Warren Road. (And hey, if they had farm fresh eggs on Wednesday night, why did Abby order 5 day old mutton for breakfast? Maybe Andrew wanted them to peddle for a penny more on the street.)

Hearing Mr. Becker relate the history of the area and the people over the decades who came to this store to talk and exchange information, purchase and trade necessities, Swansea comes alive with it’s rich history of the Gardners, the Luthers, the Braytons, etc. It’s much bigger inside than it looks from the outside….the second story is loaded with old furniture, tools, sewing machines, antique photographs and paintings of prominent families of eras gone by.

It is said that the two cane seat and wood chairs pictured here once belonged to Lizzie Borden, but the provenance is a little weak. I have a letter from a minister who knew the Borden girls obtained from his copy of an original Porter (Fall River Tragedy, 1893). In the letter he remarks about Lizzie, post 1905, going to the Swansea farm to see the horses, afterwards sitting in a chair for a while before her driver would take her back to “Maplecroft”. Pretty slim. But maybe they are. I was more impressed with the chair President George Washington sat in, as well as many other objects housed in this unique and wonderful museum operated by the Swansea Historical Society. THANK YOU MR. & MRS. BECKER!

Next time visiting Fall River or the area be sure to visit Luther’s.

(Slide cursor over image for comments. Pause by clicking pause icon.)

FOR MORE ON LUTHER’S MUSEUM

 

The Three Lizzie Bordens

Spooky Southcoast Radio with Tim Weisberg, Matt Costa and Matt Moniz did a special show just prior to the 118th anniversary of the Borden murders and again invited me to be a guest.   This was their teaser for the show: CLICK

In this July 31, 2010 broadcast I talk about the three Lizzie Bordens.  The first is the Lizzie from her birth to 1890 – the one often described as odd and sulky, the one who quit high school her junior year.   The second is the post Grand Tour Lizzie Borden who came back  after 19 weeks abroad a changed woman, steeled in her reserve to get more, i.e., the things her father’s money could buy.  The third Lizzie is the post acquittal Lizzie who lived the entire second half of her life up on the “Hill” in a home she named “Maplecroft”.  This is the Lizzie shunned by most in her society that knew Lizzie 1 and Lizzie 2 , but whose loyal friends (including servants and travel companions)  would  all speak of or document her kind and gentle nature.  They only knew the third Lizzie.

I also reveal for the first time some documented proof concerning a theory of motive.

You can listen to the program immediately by clicking HERE.

 

Henry & Caroline Gardner and Riverby

Henry Augustus Gardner and his wife Caroline Cole Mason Gardner were the progenitors of three subsequent generations with solid ties to Lizzie Borden and especially her sister, Emma.

Henry & Caroline about the time they married in 1864.

Caroline Cole Mason was the 3rd child of Zephaniah S. Mason, (born Jan. 27, 1804, died Nov. 11, 1844) and Susan Vinnicum.  Her brother Willlam was born in 1831, and her sister Ann Frances born in 1834.  Caroline was born December 12, 1839.  She married the handsome Henry Augustus Gardner on December 11, 1864.  Although younger than her sister, Ann, she married first.

Ann married William Morse – brother of Sarah Anthony Morse and John Vinnicum Morse – therein sealing the bloodline connection between Emma Borden and her sister Lizzie and the Morse family.

Henry Augustus Gardner, born Sept. 12, 1835, lived the early part of his life at the old homestead in Swansea, and then near Touisset Station, “Riverby – property that was originally in his wife’s family.

Henry had two brothers – also quite handsome ( “oval picture”) and one sister.  For all their lives they remained extremely close – helping one another and helping to raise each others’ children.  Henry had been a shoemaker but his life’s occupation was farming.

Henry and Caroline were Republicans, and members of the First Christian Church of Swansea.

They had four children:

(1) Orrin Augustus, born July 21, 1867

(2) Frank Henry, born Jan. 16, 1869,

(3) William Wilson, born Jan. 2, 1875,  and

(4) Mabel, born Aug. 16, 1876, died Sept. 2, 1876.

Orrin Gardner

Frank Gardner

William Gardner and Hamilton Gardner, father and son

(Emma remembered all of these people in her Will and/or other Trust investment funds.  Lizzie mentioned none of them in her Will and that is significant and will be explained in a later post.)

When Henry died he passed on to his oldest son, Orrin, the family possessions, including bibles, documents, albums, etc.  Orrin passed much of this  on – along with most of the things he acquired from Emma’s estate – to the boy he raised:  Hamilton, son of his deceased brother William.  There had been some albums, photographs, autograph albums, portraits, etc. which he turned over to the Swansea Historical Society in the years when he was long retired and in ailing health.   Hamilton Gardner, whom
Emma had known  since he was born and until her death, would end up selling some of these things but did pass down to the 4th generation some of what remained.

After 50 years of marriage in1911.

“Riverby” was a place that Emma visited often, in addition to  visiting Swansea and the people from the “oval picture” and their offspring.  Riverby was, in fact, the last place she visited prior to her interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.  When Emma died in 1927, only nine days after her sister Lizzie, her cousin Orrin Gardner, son of Henry & Caroline, had her remains brought to Riverby for service (her wake)

The house and grounds looked much like this in the mid to late 1920’s.

Caroline can be seen standing in the top photograph; below is the fireplace in the first floor sitting room.

Borden case enthusiasts will cruise by “Riverby” to see where Emma was taken and snap pictures from the roadway, never imagining how much the landscape has changed.  Little is left by way of documentation to know of its true history and the richness of the two generational “band of brothers” connected with it.

This is how it looks today:

Although Gardners were prominent among the founding families of Swansea, none of their bloodline remain in that town today across the bay from Fall River.  Many of their homes still stand and their graves can be found at Mount Hope Cemetery but none of their descendants live in Swansea.  Virtually all of the descendants of the original Gardners long ago moved on – not unlike the Bordens of Fall River.

But I take a moment here to pay homage to Henry Augustus Gardner:  He lived a long (to age 96) and decent life – a truly devoted husband, father, brother and friend.  His character and morals were passed on to his children and grandchildren.  When we speak about quality of character, when we speak about the fabric of America and the honest, hard working salt-of-the- earth types – we speak of men like Henry Augustus Gardner of Swansea and Touisset.

More to come on this inspiring family – their aunts, uncles, cousins – and of course, Lizzie and Emma.

Sources:  History of Swansea; estate records of Henry Augustus Gardner; emails from Gardner descendants; letter from great grandson of Bailey Borden; correspondence with great grandson of Henry Augustus Gardner.

 

The Genealogy Link of the Gardners of Swansea to Emma and Lizzie Borden

(Click on image for larger view: The home of Henry Augustus Gardner, called “Riverby” in Touisset, can be located on the very bottom left of the above map).

Across the Taunton River in South Swansea and adjacent to Mount Hope Bay in Touisset, Ma. lived a branch of Swansea’s founding Gardners who became relatives through marriage to Emma and Lizzie Borden.

Emma would be the one to maintain relationships – and very close ones – with her Gardner cousins after “The Trial” and her 1905 separation from her sister.  Indeed, she knew all of those in the picture below.  Their own children were her contemporaries and some would become helpful guides in her later life and benefit from her financial legacy after her death.

From my collection on the Gardners, here’s an old group photo.  I’ve placed their names onto the photo for quick identity reference.

The Gardners of Swansea and Touisset, MA

(Click on image for larger view)

Handwritten names found back of oval picture shown above.

The genealogical link that bound Emma and Lizzie to these Gardners was the marriage between Henry Augustus Gardner and Caroline Cole Mason Gardner.   Caroline’s sister, Ann Frances,  had married William Bradford Morse eight years previous.  William Bradford Morse was the brother of Sarah Anthony Morse and John Vinnicum Morse, Lizzie and Emma’s mother and uncle.

Henry Augusts Gardner and Caroline Cole (Mason) Gardner

Wedding certificate for Henry & Caroline – Married on December 11, 1864.  (Emma was nearly 14 and Lizzie 4-1/2 years old when they wed; her future financial advisor, Preston, nephew of Henry & Caroline, was then a one year old baby).

Ann Frances (Mason) Morse         William Bradford Morse

William married Ann, age 21, on June 8, 1856, in Excelsior, Minnesota when Emma was five years old.   It would be interesting to know how Ann’s younger sister, Caroline, came to first meet (and subsequently marry) Henry Augustus Gardner whose roots were Swansea and not Excelsior.

This is John Morse, brother of William above, and to Sarah Morse Borden.  Cara Robertson got it wrong.  (wink, wink)

 

 

A little Peek at “The Swansea Farmhouse”

Andrew Borden’s smaller “farm” in Swansea located at 1205 Gardner’s Neck Road, was built in 1790’s by Peleg Gardner.  Old Peleg (and he is quite a story himself) is buried in the very, very, old cemetery at the north end of the road.

Borden case enthusiasts have driven by and gawked at this structure for over a hundred years.  Few have been invited inside.   But here’s a little peek from this news article (1947?) of what the interior was like when Joseph French owned it.  The basic interior structure would have been the same as when Lizzie Borden’s father held title and the family used it as a “summer retreat”.  This article has it being built in 1750 but I have more confidence in Mrs. Ellis Waring’s research and her findings as indicated in the second article shown below written in 1965.

(Note: This is NOT the farmhouse that Uncle Morse went to for the eggs from Mr. Eddy.  You know the eggs.  The ones they didn’t eat on that infamous Thursday morning because there was still some leftover mutton not to go to waste).

The house is actually “historic” and would be #8 when the diagram below was made.   Swansea looms large in the Borden case.

(Click on image for larger view)

Photo taken August 2005 – the house has since been painted blue.

 

Lizzie Borden Slept Here

On April 25th I wrote a blog (scroll down) trumpeting a terrific newspaper article on the history of Gardner’s Neck Road.  I mentioned it was the first time I seen it in print that the above farm house had been built by Peleg Gardner and his sons.

Well, sometimes you get a sweet nudge from someone you met and with whom you shared your interest in Lizzie Borden.  Thanks to “Vicki”, who refreshed my memory, I can show the source of where I did, in fact, read about the sons of Peleg Gardner building the “Borden farmhouse” on Gardner’s Neck Road in Swansea, MA.

Thank you, Vicki!

Click on the email for a larger view.

I should mention my newspaper collection on the Borden case is vast – I have photo copies of the newspapers which are kept in ten 4-inch wide 3-ring binders and indexted by date and headline.  They begin with 1845 (Fall River Monitor) and continue to present time as I am constantly adding to it.  Vicky caused me to look back into my presentation package for that lecture and check the “Headline” index – and I was able to quickly find it.

The article was written by Barbara Ashton, long time Swansea historian, who, sadly, died in the late 1990’s.  She appeared in a number of Lizzie Borden documentaries.   It is a terrific article full of interesting information that any Borden scholar would relish and appreciate.   Again, click to increase size.

 

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 “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.

 

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’!

 

HUZZAH! TO KERI RODRIGUES!!

YES, SHE KNOWS ALL ABOUT LIZZIE BORDEN, BUT THIS BLOG IS FOR BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO MY FRIEND KERI WHO LANDED A GREAT JOB WITH THE BRISTOL COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE. IT’S THEIR GAIN AND WSAR RADIO’S LOSS. GOOD FOR YOU, KERI!!!

KERI’S NEW JOB IS DESCRIBED IN TODAYS FALL RIVER HERALD NEWS HERE.

KERI’S BLOG IS LOADED WITH CONGRATULATORY COMMENTS!

YOU GO, GIRL!