The Most Factual Telling on the Lizzie Borden Case Has Not Yet Been Produced

• 

  Frank Warren Knowlton
  

One specific letter in The Knowlton-Pearson Correspondence pretty well sums up where we are today relevant to the most interesting book on this case.  Written 35 years after the murders by the son of the prosecuting attorney to the prolific true crime writer who published the first widely read book on the murders we have this:

                         Knowlton to Pearson October 28, 1930

It was only six years after Studies in Murder was published but over three and a half decades since the Superior Court Trial when Frank Knowlton wrote to Edmund Pearson that: 

         “The really interesting book About the Borden case has not yet been     written,”

He could be saying that today, 128 years later.   Knowlton says most of what has been written relates to the circumstances and tries to reason back to find the cause.  He posits that it should be a psychological study of Lizzie imagining her life, comprehensive and in depth.  (We get a shadow image of that through Parallel Lives – Fall River Historical Society – but even that was limited to her society and not the psychology or dynamics of Lizzie and her household).  If a book did deal precisely as Knowlton suggests, we would have a completely different image of this most enigmatic character of American unsolved crime  – now evolved into a bloody icon of almost epic status in the occult pop culture.

What we have today is represented by the very latest of Lizzie Borden t.v. docudramas with an emphasis on the paranormal.  It’s the “Curse of Lizzie Borden” premiering this date but I do not recommend it nor provide any information to promote it.  But like so many that have come before it, it has a “hook”.


“Demons” is the hook with this one. When renewed interest in the paranormal exploded in the early 1990’s, the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast became a recurring focal point for “investigations”. As books, documentaries, films, and t.v. programming grew, so did the need for program content. Productions metastasized and distribution poured into various entertainment programming channels. The caveat is always “entertainment” but the minions of those interested in the occult usually accept the productions as fact. Lizzie Borden, due to her mystique as a person and the case being a classic unsolved crime, was a natural for exploitation. Regurgitation of misinformation has necessitated “hooks” to sustain an audience eager to be thrilled and shriek  with things that go bump in the night.

Spin-off websites and podcasts are part of the metastasizing process. Lizzie Andrew Borden’s evolution from the virginal, church-going middle class daughter of a well-to-do banker and real estate investor, has morphed into a crazed axe-wielding psychopath who haunts 92 Second Street. Thus, the parade of paranormal investigators and their followers continue. “If you build it, they will come.” Alas, we live in an America where half believe in the falsities media presents to them. The subject of Lizzie Borden is a simple case in point to this cancer among us.

 

Lizbeth-A Victorian Nightmare

Ric Rebelo, award winning documentarian and Fall River resident, created this film over 11 years ago. This week he posted the film and promos on YouTube, making it available for the first time to the general public. He also posted my 16-minute interview bonus feature, “Tattered Fabric” in which I tell of my theory as to how the murders were committed.

The Special Feature is HERE.

The full, 56-minute film is HERE.

When Mr. Rebelo completed this project he gave me CD’s of the raw footage of each of the people interviewed. I’ve enjoyed these over the years. I hope you will enjoy the finished product.

 

LIZZIE BORDEN – FICTION vs. FACT

On her veranda at Maplecroft, circa 1922

The information below was provided by Michael Martins and Dennis Binette
August 2013:

Fiction: Abby and Andrew Borden were killed by 40 and 41 whacks. Fact: The actual number of blows was 19 to Abby and 11 to Andrew.

Fiction: Abby and Andrew Borden were killed by 40 and 41 whacks.
Fact: The actual number of blows was 19 to Abby and 11 to Andrew.

Fiction: Andrew Borden forced his family to eat rancid mutton stew for days leading up to the murders.
Fact: According to the testimony of their maid, Bridget Sullivan, at the preliminary hearing, the Bordens had actually had a menu that included fresh swordfish, pork steaks, cakes, cookies, and johnnycakes, along with cold mutton and soup, in the days leading up to the murders.

Fiction: Skinflint Andrew Borden deprived his family by forcing them to live in substandard conditions.
Fact: On the contrary. The Borden house had city water immediately after it became available on Second Street (and before many families on the Hill). There was also a pan-type water closet in the basement of the house that was fed by city water, so there actually was an indoor flush toilet. And, the house was centrally heated, as evidenced by radiators in photographs. The fact that there were no gas or electric lights was not uncommon at the time, especially in that neighborhood.

Fiction: A maniacal Andrew Borden slaughtered Lizzie’s pet pigeons with a hatchet, thereby planting a bloody seed of discontent.
Fact: Although pigeon keeping was a popular hobby in nineteenth century Fall River, there is absolutely no evidence to document that Lizzie ever maintained a loft. During the inquest, Lizzie was questioned by Atty. Hosea M. Knowlton regarding “any killing of an animal” that may have taken place on the Bordens’ Second Street property. Her rather matter-of-fact reply was that her father “killed some pigeons in the barn last May or June.” When asked “With what,” she said, “I don’t know, I thought he wrung their necks.” The birds were subsequently brought into the house, presumably the kitchen, where Lizzie noticed “all but three or four had their heads on.” She asked her father, “Why are these heads off,” to which he replied, “they twisted off.” Asked by Knowlton if the heads were “cut off or twisted off,” she stated, “I don’t know, I didn’t look at that particularly … the skin, I think was very tender.” The somewhat vague exchange of words on the topic of the pigeons, coupled with the unemotional manner in which the responses were delivered, differ from the reaction to be expected from a woman recalling the massacre of her pet birds. The fact that the birds were brought into the house make it apparent that they were likely a utility breed, raised for culinary use, and customarily killed by wringing their necks. It appears that the Bordens were simply going to enjoy a meal of squab.

Fiction: “Lizzie Borden took an axe…”
Fact: The murder weapon was probably a hatchet, not an axe, and, following Lizzie’s acquittal, no perpetrator of the crimes was ever found.

Fiction: The hatchet in the collection of the Fall River Historical Society, that was brought into the courtroom as evidence, was the murder weapon.
Fact: This hatchet, found in the cellar of the Borden house, was never proven to be the murder weapon. No blood was found on it, and the single strand of hair on it was animal, not human. Also, flecks of gold were found in Mrs. Borden’s brain matter at the autopsy. This led the examining doctors to believe that it was a new hatchet that was used to kill her. (New hatchets had gold foil along the edge of the blade, and the manufacturer’s label was also stamped in gilt on the blade – any loose gold would come off with the first use.) No gold was found in Mr. Borden’s wounds. The hatchet found in the Borden cellar was not new at the time.

Fiction: Andrew Borden was a mortician and embalmed bodies, some say in the cellar of the Borden house.
Fact: Andrew Borden never embalmed bodies; in fact, there were no embalmers listed in the Fall River city directories until the 1880s, well after he had retired. As many furniture dealers did, Borden served as an undertaker. In the 19th century, many dealers sold burial furnishings and “undertook” the arrangements for funerals and provided supplies – rented chairs, shrouds, coffins, and transportation from the home to the cemetery. Existing receipts in the collection of the Historical Society clearly detail the services provided by Borden, Almy & Co., and embalming was not among them.

Fiction: Andrew Borden was one of the wealthiest men in Fall River.
Fact: At the time of his death in 1892, Andrew Borden’s estate was worth approximately $250,000 to $300,000. By comparison, Mary Brayton Durfee Young (B.M.C. Durfee’s mother), upon her death in 1891, left an estate worth “in excess of ten million dollars.” There were many individuals in Fall River whose fortunes far exceeded that of Andrew Borden.

Fiction: Lizzie Borden was, in her later life, a friendless recluse.
Fact: As is evidenced by recent research done by the Historical Society, Lizzie had a considerable number of friends, both in Fall River and elsewhere, who were extremely loyal to her. The children of these friends consistently referred to her as “Auntie Borden.” To this day, the descendants of these people still hold her in high esteem.

Fiction: As a child, Lizzie Borden was a peculiar child who was kept out of circulation by her father.
Fact: Thanks to the recent discovery of the diaries of Louisa Holmes Stillwell (“Lulie”), there is the first indication as to what life was like for Lizzie Borden as a teenager. Lulie was a contemporary of Lizzie’s and the two attended high school together and socialized. Through mentions in Lulie’s diaries, we see that Lizzie’s adolescence was no different than that of other girls her age.

Fiction: Andrew Borden was tyrannical and suppressed his daughters.
Fact: By all accounts, Lizzie and Emma were allowed to come and go as they pleased. Both were active in various charitable and social organizations. Lizzie’s proposed fishing trip to Marion indicates that she likely was in the habit of attending house parties, as Emma was, and, of course, Andrew Borden sent Lizzie to Europe on the Grand Tour. Again, Lulie’s diaries show that Lizzie engaged in the same social activities as her contemporaries.

Fiction: Andrew Borden’s strict, penny-pinching ways left his family deprived of any luxuries.
Fact: The Borden family appears to have been well provided for. All existing photographs show the Borden women to be well dressed, and Lizzie and Emma were each provided with allowances from their father. Also, Andrew Borden employed a live-in domestic, Bridget Sullivan, even though there were three adult women who did not work living in the household; if he were as unreasonable as he is made out to be, he could have foregone the expense and forced his family to do all of the housework, cooking, and laundry. Recent evidence recently uncovered by the Historical Society shows that Andrew Borden was also in the habit of hiring outside help on a per diem or weekly basis.

Fiction: Lizzie Borden was a kleptomaniac.
Fact: One story concerning Lizzie shoplifting at Tilden-Thurber in Providence appeared in select newspapers, but only for a couple of days’ duration. Then, the story disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, with no evidence to substantiate the claim. It was also rumored that she stole things from Fall River stores, but no evidence has ever surfaced to indicate that this was true. Top

 

The Daylight Robbery – Something New Revealed

On this date, August 4, 2020, the 128th anniversary of the Borden murders, the Fall River Historical Society has posted something new on the case on their Facebook Page. It is a stunning revelation that puts a different light on who was in the house doing what when it happened. You can read it all

HERE

If you cannot access Facebook, here it is in it’s entirety.

BREAKING NEWS: 128 YEARS LATER
The Daylight Robbery As Recalled By Emma L. Borden:

In recognition of the 128th Anniversary of the Borden murders, the FRHS is releasing this interesting tidbit of new information … the story continues to get curiouser and curiouser!

In 2011, two red leather notebooks were bequeathed to the FRHS; the volumes are extremely fragile. The first is a journal of defense team notes, with excerpts culled from interviews with various individuals conducted in 1892, recorded in preparation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Lizzie A. Borden. The second is a collection of newspaper clippings, marked in ink with cross-references to the journal.

Time-consuming research and transcription in preparation for publication by the FRHS is ongoing.

The volumes descended in the family of Andrew Jackson Jennings (1849-1923) a prominent Fall River attorney and a member of the defense team for Lizzie Andrew Borden (1860-1927). Following Jennings’ death, they passed to his daughter, Mrs. Marion (Jennings) Waring (1887-1973), and then to her son, Edward Saunders Waring (1924-2011), who bequeathed them to the FRHS.

Following is an interview with Emma Leonora Borden (1851-1927) regarding a burglary that occurred at the Borden house on June 24, 1891. The text has been slightly edited for readability, as indicated in square brackets.

The Burglary at Borden House –

“$75 or 80 in money [and] some horse car tickets [was] the only thing of fathers [that was stolen,] – though his desk was ransacked. Good watch & chain, breast pin & earrings [of] plain Roman gold, no stones, shawl pin with ball at each end, & some other little things [that belonged to Mrs. Borden].

[The] first I knew of it I was sitting in front room. Heard father knock on door of my [bed]room – now Lizzies – he called me. I unlocked [the] door & went in – everything was thrown about. He said he found [the] door to hall open & [a] nail in [the] lock. Put it in hands of officers – asked us to say nothing about it. We talked about it.

[I] remembered we were all shelling peas in [the] dining room in [the] morning, L[Izzie] & father & [my]self, with dining room [doors] shut.

Officer took up piece of chain [and] showed [it] to Mrs. B[orden, and she] said it did not look like hers.”

Why is this important?

The “daylight robbery” at the Borden house was brought up at the trial of Lizzie Borden as an example of an event where someone snuck into the home and left without anyone in the family, or neighborhood, knowing about it. Such a situation might work to Lizzie’s advantage as she claimed innocent of the charges and if true, someone came into the house that day and murdered two people without notice.

The report filed by Captain Dennis Desmond Jr. (1854-1926) and relayed to District Attorney Hosea Morrill Knowlton (1847-1902) in preparation for the trial relates details of this incident (The Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Lizzie A Borden: The Knowlton Papers, 1892-1892, Fall River Historical Society, 1994, page 74-75, see below). This document is a bit at odds with Emma’s statement to Attorney Jennings above. Additionally, it is believed by some that Andrew and Abby had been at the farm in Swansea that day and only discovered the burglary upon their return home. Emma’s recollection differs in this regard, which could very well lead us to a different context for this crime, occurring the year before the murders.

Interesting? We think so.

Captain Desmond’s report.
The following is transcribed from the original document and has not been edited.

On or about the 24 of June 1891 I was called into City Marshal’s office. Marshal Hilliard said “Mr Desmond, Mr Borden says his house has been robbed. You go with him, and see what there is to it.” Mr Borden and myself left the office and went direct to Mr Borden’s house Second St. I found there Mrs Borden, Emma Borden Lizzie Borden & Bridget Sullivan.

On the 2nd floor in a small room on north side of house I found Mr Borden’s desk. It had been broken open. Mr Borden said “$80.00 in money with 25 to 30 dollars in gold, and a large number of H,car tickets had been taken. The tickets bore name or signature of Frank Brightman.” Brightman was a former treasurer of Globe St. railroad co. Mrs. Borden said “her gold watch & chain, ladies chain, with slide & tassel attached, some other small trinkets of jewelry, and a red Russia leather pocket-book containing a lock of hair had been taken. I prize the watch very much, and I wish & hope that you can get it; but I have a feeling that you never will.” Nothing but the property of Mr & Mrs Borden reported as missing.

The family was at a loss to see how any person could get in, and out without somebody seeing them. Lizzie Borden said “the cellar door was open, and someone might have come in that way.” I visited all the adjoining houses, including the Mrs Churchills house on the north, Dr Kelly’s house on the south, Dr Gibbs house & Dr Chagnon’s house on the east, who might have seen someone going, or coming from Mr Borden’s house; but I failed to find any trace.

I did get a 6 or 8 penny nail which “Lizzie Borden said she found in the Key hole of the door,” leading to a sleeping room on 2nd floor, east end of building. So far as I know this robbery has never been solved.

P.S. Mr Borden told me three times withing two weeks after the robbery in these words “I am afraid the police will not be able to find the real thief.”

(Note: “Capt. Desmonde” and “Robbery Case” handwritten in lead and ink respectively on reverse side of document.)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Officer Desmond’s report is shown here in the FRHS “The Knowlton Papers”. Now, just pause and think about all the subsequent books stating “Andrew and Abby” were at the Borden farm in Swansea. Well, if Emma was telling the truth, Andrew was not in Swansea at all.

Andrew, Lizzie, and Emma sitting at the dining room table shucking peas. What an image. And that “knock, knock” by Andrew on the door leading from (then) Emma’s room to he and Abby’s room. Fraught with dramatic tension. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I were writing a whole new screenplay. I’ve expressed my gratitude to Michael Martins and Dennis Binette, curators of the Society, for making this gem public at this time.

Oh, the jewels they must salivate over in those private donor archives.

 

Lizzie Borden “Murder Most Foul” Podcasts by James Sutanowski

                                                

James Sutanowski, in his recent Murder Most Foul podcasts, interviewed Fall River Historical Society Curator, Michael Martins, and Assistant Curator Dennis Binette.   Listening closely, even I gleamed tidbits of new information, particularly about these three women:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ricca Allen            Nance O’Neill           Hannah B. Nelson

These are excellent and informative interviews by the foremost experts on Lizzie and her Fall River.  Truly.  And I cannot recommend those wanting to know more about the REAL Lizzie Borden to listen to both these podcasts.

Part I

Part II

                                      Michael Martins, Dennis Binette and moi

Parallel Lives – A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River, edited by Michael Martins and Dennis Binette, curators of the Fall River Historical Society.  I wrote a comprehensive Amazon Review and did a cut and paste HERE.

This book sells on Amazon from a low of $225 to a high of $900+, but one can still purchase it through the FRHS Gift Shop for its original price of $49.99.  A bargain, let alone an investment.   If you could have only one book about Lizzie Borden, this would be it.

So take some time away to improve your knowledge about this heretofore most enigmatic woman.

 

Lizzie Borden – One Book, Lots of Good Reads

 

Lizzie Borden’s Meatloaf Recipe

This article in the Fall River Herald News today by Deborah Allard includes several informative links (see my Timeline) and gives us the super bland recipe for Lizzie Borden’s meatloaf.

 

Chloe Sevigny Interview on Lizzie Borden

In this very recent Town & Country mag interview Chloe Sevigny admits her film “Lizzie” is fiction but it’s what she says about Lizzie the person where she gets it all wrong.

First of all let me say that whenever I ready ANYTHING about Lizzie Borden where it states unequivocably that an “axe” was used (instead of a hatchet), a red flag goes up in my critical, case purist mind.  Alas, it was mentioned almost immediately.   The trouble with the content of  remarks made in this interview is that urban legends are reinforced once again.

Sevigny maintains Lizzie Borden was stifled under her father’s rigid control and had no outlets to vent her frustrations.  Truth be told, Lizze at age 32, was just on the cusp of joining the core of that society she so craved.  For the past 7 years she had been active in the Congregational Church, taking part in almost all it’s departments, i.e., Fruit and Flower Mission,  also Reverent Buck’s Mission where she taught Chinese children, Womens’ Board of the Fall River Hospital, etc. etc.  She pretty much came and went as she pleased, entering and existing by the front door as her sister, Emma, did while her father and stepmother used the back door.  Lizzie went out frequently to make calls but most of her social engagements involved the Central Congregation Church.  And just the year before she had gone a 16 week Grand Tour to Europe.   She was no captive of her father’s doman, that’s for sure.

I have repeatedly said Sevigny’s film is soft porn.  Just as there are books with hooks there are films produced for targeted audiences.  This film is no exception.  But I’ll still go see it.  And I’ll keep buying those books.

 

New “Lizzie” Movie – Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart

 

The Reviews are now out on this long anticipated indie film showing at Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival..  I labeled it soft porn (not that there’s anything wrong with that) long ago and, thus, the hook.  Sounds like slop pails will be needed for Borden case enthusiasts viewing both the new and regurgitated misinformation.  Salacious and simply wrong on almost all counts as I can conclude according to the reviews.

The REAL story, the TRUE story has enough emotional tension, suspense, mystery, historical significance, and much more that it seems to me Lizzie Borden’s story still screams out to be made.

Meanwhile, check out this new chat board to voice your opinion and read the reviews below of the latest rendition.  Poor Lizzie.

http://africanuniondiaspora.org/index.php/2018/01/20/chloe-sevigny-on-the-totally-unexpected-carnal-nude-scene-in-her-lizzie-borden-drama-sundance-2018/

http://www.sundance.org/projects/lizzie#/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/lizzie-review-1076232

http://filmhaimdb.xyz/news/ni61878462

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lizzie Borden’s Dying Act of Kindness

 (Originally published in June 1st, 2010)

 

Lizzie Borden died 84 years ago today.  She died at 8:30 pm on June 1, 1927  (a Wednesday) in her home in Fall River, MA.  She had been lingering all day, surrounded by her chauffeur and two servants:  Ernest Terry, Ellen Miller, and Florence Pemberton.  There were others who came to the house as well.

The Reverend Cleveland from the nearby Church of Ascension – a few doors down from Central Congregational  Church on Rock Street – would execute the wishes Lizzie had written out on March 31, 1919.   Vida Turner would come in and be instructed to sing “My Ain’ Country”, tell no one she had been there and then leave immediately.

The reporting a few days later of Lizzie’s Will was regional front page news and appeared in many newspapers across the country recounting the horrific hatchet murders of August 4, 1892, and Lizzie’s subsequent arrest, trial and acquittal.

Her Will was probated for 6 years with four separate Probate Court Accountings submitted by the executor of her estate, Charles Clarke Cook (as shown below from Men in Progress-1896):

                                     Photo credit (cropped):  Fall River Herald News

 

Probate of Lizzie’s Will.

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 FinalAccounting	Nov. 28, 1932 – March 3, 1933	March 24, 1933(Attleboro)

The primary reason for the long probate was Mr. Cook’s failure to include the house/property at 328 French Street known as the “Henry House” which was situated directly east of “Maplecroft”.

Mr. Cook claimed the house was his as a gift from Lizzie.   However, Grace Hartley Howe and Helen Leighton, the two major legatees in Lizzie’s Will, were having none of it.  They claimed fraud and the matter went to court – Probate Court – in several sessions.   The testimony in those proceedings are rich in insight into Lizzie’s character as gleamed from those who testified, including Winifred F. French, who was to receive $5,000 as a bequest from Lizzie.  What the witnesses on behalf of Grace & Helen had to say was insightful, but the most provacative was this:

So here we have Lizzie dying and she knows she is about to die but what is on her mind?  She is remembering her promise to Ernest Terry to pay for his house repairs and tells him to write a blank check, which she signs and which he takes to the bank.  She may or may not have remembered she left him and his wife money in her will, but she wanted this to be extra.   A blank check – reluctantly approved by Cook, but cashed at the bank.    And Cook, dear man, tried to convince Mr. Terry that that check of $2,500 was to be considered part of the $3,000 cash bequest from Lizzie.  What a guy.

Ultimately the court ruled in favor of Helen & Grace and the proceeds from the sale of the property was considered a part of Lizzie’s estate.  Although he was judged not guilty of fraud or had bad faith in carrying out the terms of the Will, Judge Mayhew R. Hitch of the Probate Court made Cook accountable for that $10,000 (which was the amount he had sold it for but not yet pocketed) plus interest.   Cook made this right in the Final Accounting.  I find it amusing that he also included the cost of services from the attorney who represented him, Arthur E. Seagrave.  The court approved it.  His submittal of the heating bill for the Maplecroft garage where he parked his car, however, was not approved.  (Good try but too bad, Charlie).

So as she lay dying on this day 83 years ago, Lizzie Andrew Borden made no deathbed confession (and had she, I probably wouldn’t be writing this blog) but she was focused on a potential financial hardship to her faithful driver and friend, Ernest Terry.   Her last documented act was to issue a blank check.

Yes, there were many acts of kindness that Lizzie Borden did throughout her life, particularly the second half of her life when she had the money to use as she wanted.  We will most likely read more about them in Parallel Lives and perhaps finally see a photograph of Ernest Terry (I’ve never seen one and the book is to have well over 500 photographs – yep, you read that right).

I would like say, on this day:  “Rest in peace, Lizzie Borden.”

But we all know that ain’t gonna happen.

                                                                                             xxx

 

Note:  Here’s the full article to that posted above as well as the follow -up explaining Charles Cook being exonerated of any fraud in that pesky purchase and sale of the Henry House next door to Maplecroft.  (Catherine MacFarland, btw, mentioned in this article, was also a beneficiary in Lizzie’s Will.)

Added Note:  More information on Charles C. Cook can be found HERE   (Representative Men and Old Families) and from Men in Progress 1896 HERE.

 

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

(Originally posted in 2006)

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

 

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

Tauton Jail as it was during Lizzie’s incarceration

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

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

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

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

Lizzie, a Fall River resident, won hands down for most popular “School Teacher”. Lizzie courteously rejected hers suggesting it be given to another, as it was. (It is believed, however, Lizzie subsequently attended the 1893 Columbian Exhibition (Chicago World’s Fair) towards its end run after her acquittal.)

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

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

Mary Livermore 1820-1905

 

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

Crowd gathering outside New Bedford Superior Court – June 1893

Well, maybe not so much later.

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

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

So….    Altogether now:       

“WE LOVE YOU, LIZZIE – OH YES, WE DO!”

 

 

McWHIRR’S DEPT. STORE – WHERE LIZZIE WENT A-THIEVING

RECYCLED FROM JULY 27, 2014  and FROM ORIGINAL IN 2008

Mea Culpa Notice:  I was in error. McWhirr’s Dept Store, as shown here was not inside the Cherry & Webb Building.   It was a separate structure subsequently torn down and another building in its place.  The Cherry & Webb building, however still stands as indicated below.

In Lizzie’s day this was McWhirr’s Department Store, an upscale department store where anybody who was anybody shopped. Shown in this photograph, the name “McWhirr” can be made out on the top of the white building in the background.

The Cherry and Webb Building (so stated on the front of the building) is located at 139 South Main and is now the UMASS-Dartmouth Professional and Continuing Education Center a learning center for professionals, night students and other students. On the ground floor is the Café Arpeggio. Bristol Community College has recently leased space for special courses for special needs. Baker Books, once there on the ground floor in April 2007, gone by August 2007. Darnit.

Previously “one of the city’s most underutilized downtown structures”, Mayor Lambert is credited with its current public use.When I spoke to security, building maintenance technicians, administrators and students, one of the things I learned is that this facility is being used to assist with GED education for a number of the nearly 900 employees who lost their jobs by the closing of Quaker Fabric. I also learned that the only interior “original” to this building is the grand staircase shown below.

There was a time when the building was known to all Fall Riverites as “McWhirr’s”. Imagine Lizzie in her blue India silk bengaline inside this store moving about amongst the crowd. Imagine Lizzie taking a five fingered discount of oh, say, a pansy broach and sliding it up inside her so conveniently fitted gloved hand. Then, with a casual grace and the deportment of “a Borden” strolling towards this staircase and ascending to the second floor.

Without batting an eye nor turning her head to see if she’s being followed, she would maintain a steady but lady-like gait as she faked interest in nearby displays of hats, porcelain figurines, and petite carved bottles of French perfume. With a skill only acquired from experience, she would be diligently aware of any store employee watching her from a near distance.

Her heart beating to the exhiliarating thrill of this familiar challenge and satisfied no one was following, she would turn back to the stairway and begin her descent, one lady-like step at a time. Below her she would survey the vast array of glass table top and standing shelved display cases, filled with products from near and abroad. Men, women and children busy shopping, strolling and admiring all the goods. Busy store clerks packaging purchases and preparing sales slips. Busy, busy, busy. She would survey it all, calmly determined in her objective.

One gloved hand on the railing, the other modestly angled upright, her fashionable cloth purse looped over it. Posture perfect, a lady of some stature, she would have looked straight ahead, a seemingly blank stare masking a steeled will. She would descend, slowly, each step measured with her resolve and comforted in the fact her broach not the least bit detected as it nestled securely inside her modestly priced but exquisitely stitched leather glove.

Pausing at the bottom step, brazenly she would hold up that gloved hand with its secret deposit and there she would act as if only adjusting the fitting. Only a moment, but pause enough to quickly ascertain once more with a quick scan if any authoritative and watchful eyes were upon her. They are not. Only a fresh-face counter girl who looks directly at her and says: “Good morning, Miss Borden”. She would respond with a tilt of the head, a forced, kindly smile, and she would begin her walk towards the front door. A slight turn to the left and she would be on her path, curving here, curving there passing the cases, dodging a small child, brushing skirts against other ladies. Closer, each step closer. The front door now in sight.

Only 32 paces,…. now 20, and the heartbeat accelerates,….. now 12, and the breathing more pronounced…..now 9, and a slightly fevered brow…..now 7 and a quivering chin….the uniformed doorman sees her approach… now 2 steps, two steps only as the doorman pulls upon the door and tips his hat…the step across the threshold…, now daylight. No arm upon hers. No hand upon her shoulder. Big exhale. The quivering chin ceases to quiver, the pulse rate subsides, the fevered brow cools in the bright sun. A liberating wave of relief engulfs her. She feels…. a profound sense of…..special achievement by way of genetic entitlement.

Actually, considering the fashions of the day, forget the broach. She could have concealed a Virginia ham under those skirts. And many of the “ladies who went a-thieving”, in fact, did just that. But not at McWhirr’s.

 

Regarding that Chloe Sivigny-Kristen Stewart Film on Lizzie Borden

Prepare yourself for another grossly fictitious telling of the Lizzie Borden story – this one showing her as having a lesbian affair with the maid, Bridget Sullivan.  Read about it HERE.

Aside from the two female stars, everyone else now attached to the project are pretty much unknowns.  Sadly, the work of the Director tells us a lot about the genre and qualilty of this yet to be produced film.

When, oh, when will we ever have a true depiction of this most compelling case?

Sigh.  And so it goes.

Meanwhile, enjoy this “Then and Now” image depicting the Sitting Room at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum in Fall River.

photo credit Joey Razda

 

 

 

 

REVIEW – CHRISTINA RICCI AND THE LIZZIE BORDEN CHRONICLES

On April 2, three days before the Lizzie Borden Chronicles aired, I posted this on my Facebook “Lizzie Borden Chat Page”:

“The Lizzie Borden Chronicles is the new Sharknado. It will have as much to do with the post Trial life of Lizzie Borden as Sharknado has to do with marine biology. Yet their common denominator is ratings. And high ratings create sequels. They are both comedic, tongue in cheek, fraught with blood and guts and appeal to those that favor this genre.

“I concede the Chronicles may have a little entertainment edge because of its campy soundtrack and the sexual component of Christina Ricci’s portrayal of the much maligned Lizzie Borden. I plan to watch it, not only to credibly critique afterwards but hope to see Ricci fly through the air above Fall River, chain saw in hand, slicing off the bell towers of all those long abandoned mills– with Nine Inch Nails playing in the background of course. It could happen.”

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

I didn’t get around to watching it until late Monday afternoon, and posting a Review has not been a priority in my life.  Even when Deborah Allard-Dion, resident writer of all things Lizzie for the Fall River Herald, contacted me for what I thought I could not bring myself to respond right away.  However, I now post my impressions.

Nielson ratings showed it to garner only 1.1 million viewers – pretty much at the bottom of the heep for the week’s ratings of shows ending on that Sunday night.

The first two episodes were sent out to TV critics to review and after last Sunday’s (April 5, 2015) airing of the first episode, the general consensus is that it should get the axe.  The Hollywood Reporter calls it “unexceptional trash”.

Introducing real name characters who died prior to the 1892 murders (William Almy) and yet are resurrected as some avaristic business partner who “wants it all”.  So far fetched I moaned out loud “Kill me quick, Bill.”

I didn’t expect Christina to play the role of Lizzie Borden with the nuances of a Meryl Streep but I also did not expect her to go so far off the rails.  It was like Anna Nichol Smith’s stupor meets Baby Jane Hudson’s vengeance. Her portrayal reminded of Dorothy Parker’s famous one-liner review of Tallulah Bankhead, “Her acting ran the gamut of A to B.” 

We can at least feel sorry for the real life Anna Nichol Smith and the fictional Baby Jane.  We can even find a way to rationalize T.V. “Dexter’s” acts has having some social redemption.  But with Ricci’s Lizzie?  Not so much.  She plays her as  totally self-serving for the sake of self preservation.  Not an attractive quality we  want to see in our Villains.

And the music?   More appropriate would have been Miley Cyrus’ “I came in like a Wrecking Ball”.   What?  No money budgeted for Billboard Top 100 royalties? Seems the budget was blown on costumes, that big orange house (supposedly “Mapelcroft”) and all the TV promos to generate excitement for the first episode.

Casting name/face actors, i.e., Jonathan Banks fresh off Breaking Bad and appearing regularly on Better Call Saul, is just a ploy to get people to watch.  He’s probably gonna be killed before Episode 3.

There was no rhythm or pace to sustain any suspense or intrigue – more like Scattershot and Soundblaster, symbolically making our eyes and ears bleed.

I doubt it will make much of an impact on driving tourism to Fall River or the B&B certainly not like the notoriety of ghost-hunting and paranormal investigations shows have done in the past. Had they used Fall River backgrounds/locations or even 92 Second Street exteriors as POV’s it would have enticed viewers and resonated because it would be showing the actual location. People like to visit places, occupy the same space in a different time, where actual history or something infamous took place.  They like to ooooh and awww and be simultaneously thrilled and reflective about being there.  But I imagine there may be people going up and down Second Street in Fall River looking for a blue and white house. or driving up and down French Street looking for an orange mansion.

Richard Behrens, author of the smartly written series Lizzie Borden Girl Detective, commented about the program with this added post script:  “P.S. You are trying to tell me that the police searched the Borden house and didn’t find the dead baby in the basement? And when they searched the barn looking for Billy Borden, they didn’t climb up the ladder to the second floor? There were gaps in the plot logic you could park your car in.”

The Serious Issue of Why I’m So Against This Series

The primary reason I dislike this series is not so much for its lack or even a feeble attempt at any historical accuracy whatsoever, but the irreputable harm the Lifetime Channel has already done to the factual Lizzie Borden.  Now another new generation who Tweet more than they read believe the characterization of Lizzie Borden – to a considerable extent anyway – as is portrayed.

All those goofy legends and misinformation have been further imbedded in the uneducated viewing public’s mind. As Michael Martins said, the FRHS will be further challenged in correcting the misconceptions and false perceptions of the case – as will the staff at the B&B. As to the LB Chronicles as entertainment value – I enjoyed Sharknado more. As to any artistic quality of the series, I think American Horror Story and Bates Motel do a better job.

Lizzie has long been portrayed as a one dimensional psycho sociopath wielding a bloody axe.  She has been cemented in the minds of the general public via that inaccurate quatrain; she has been depicted in hundreds of online images so far removed from the actual Lizzie when there is an abundance of easily accessible sources from which to learn the truth about this woman.  Lifetime Movie Channel and the Lizzie Borden Chronicles can only add fodder to further regurgitations of gross misiniformation.

I want people to know the real Lizzie Borden and the best book on that subject is the Fall River Historical Society’s Parallel Lives – A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River.

I want the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum to stay in business, not just because its the best bang for the buck of any B&B, but because people can occupy the same space where Lizzie lived and reflect upon how her life at the time she lived there.  The furniture and fixtures are immaculately maintained and so closely resemble how the rooms were in Lizzie’s time that it invites your imagination to transport yourself to that era.

I would love for people to explore the Fall River Historical Society about the world Lizzie lived in and her town’s history.  They have the world’s largest collection of Lizzie Borden related material, including objects of evidence presented at her Trial. The  staff will now have to exert an even greater effort in correcting all the “wrongs” shown in the Lizzie Borden Chronicles to all those that call and visit with their questions based on what they’ve seen in the series.

On Sunday evening last, same day the Chronicles aired, person(s) unknown defaced the Andrew J. Borden monument.  While understandable outrage has been expressed, no one has remarked on the subliminal symmetry represented here.  By that I mean here you have a grotesque “artistic” expression plastered over the “Borden family”.  The same could be said for the series, in my opinion.

Below is the monument a few days after the story broke in the Fall River Herald News. ” Blast Off Surface Restoration, a Fall River company that specializes in coating removal, including headstone cleaning.  Company owner Jeremy Larkin cleaned up the Borden monument at no cost to Oak Grove Cemetery” reported Deborah Allard Dion..

If this were a forgiving review I would like to think of the cleaning of the monument as further symbolism — sort of  like wiping the slate clean of a dismal Episode 1, giving us hope for Episode 2..    Not likely.  Not very likely at all.

 

Much Out of Whack With The Lizzie Borden Chronicles

Get a jar and label it “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles – Things That Could Not Have POSSIBLY Happened After Her Trial.” The first nugget to put in that jar is illustrated above from my Historic Timeline book.  The fact William Almy portrayed by John Heard in tonight’s airing of The Lizzie Borden Chronicles (I live on the Pacific Coast so it hasn’t been broadcast yet) died in 1885, Lizzie could NOT HAVE POSSIBLY had any relations, business or otherwise, with him in her post-Trial life.  That’s just for starters.  When historical fiction touted as “what could have happened” transcends all possibilities of actually happening it not only trips the light fantastic it fantastically falls on its face.

I expect this series to be campy, cheesy, titillating, musically creative, fraught with gross misinformation, and absolutely nothing to do with Lizzie Borden at ANY point of her life.

It’s traditional for production companies and networks to give out copies of early episodes to TV critics so they can get a jump on writing their reviews.  This has been done in the case of the LBC and critics are repeatedly using phrases such as “female serial killer”, “crazed murderess”, “axe murderess” and the like.  The common thread of many of the reviews is the transparency that the writers themselves know very little of the case.  Worse yet, they write with a false knowledge of previous misinformation that they regurgitate as fact.  I have found only one review with any merit and that is Caitlin Gallager’s piece posted today.  It SHOULD BE READ and can be read HERE.

For those viewers who have Googled Lizzie Borden or The Lizzie Borden Chronicles and landed on this blog, I’m going to post excerpts from my Timeline blog book to help put things in focus.   It was created to provide significant events in Lizzie’s life, but also the history of Fall River and significant events regionally, nationally and world wide.  It is within this focus we get a good view of what was happening in the town and in the world in which she lived. As you watch The Sharknado Chronicles, excuse me – the Lizzie Borden Chronicles – keep in mind what could NOT possibly have happened.

I still maintain the series should have been called The Lizzie Schwartz Chronicles, but who ever heard that inaccurate quatrain “Lizzie Scwartz took an axe….”  Hence, Lifetime’s pimping out of Lizzie Borden.

The above is nearly 200 pages and loaded with essays and blog posts mostly based on historical fact and a generous serving of my special brand of humor.  Available at the Fall River Historical Society Gift Shop. I’ll have more nuggets after I have a chance to view the first episode myself – but after Mad Men.   But hey, I’m confident you’re gonna need a bigger jar.  😉

 

To Haunt or Not to Haunt – The Lizzie Borden B&B

(Originally posted October 6, 2011 – See related posts at bottom).

The reputation of the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum being haunted has escalated over the years due to its exposure from the many television  paranormal “entertainment” shows.  Unlike the made-for-t.v.documentaries that focus on Lizzie herself, the town of Fall River, her sister Emma and Uncle John, these ghostly presentations are served up in abundance.

Spin-off and copy cat shows recycle, repackage and replicate attempting to satisfy the masses who can’t seem to get enough.  The popular Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures are only two of the many paranormal/investigative sub genre.  But let us not forget these programs are pure theater  They ARE entertainment.  They ARE produced, programmed and broadcast by companies that are in business – and the purpose of ANY business is to make a profit. Some productions are better than others, but most are like Howdy Doody on steroids.

Before the crush of competitive paranormal and ghost hunting shows there were the lesser known features.  This early one, featuring my long time friend Martha McGinn is one I particularly like because it has many of the original employees of the B&B.  Eleanor Thibault, who tells of the “smoke” holds the distinction of having the record for the longest, continuous employee.  She is the wife of Ed Thibault who has been featured in so many documentaries playing Andrew Borden.

So now we have autumn and the Halloween season upon us.  Expect to see repackaged repeats of the haunted Lizzie Borden House.  Yech.  Is it haunted?  I don’t think so.  But if you sell it, they will come.  And they have; both production companies and those seeking the paranormal experience.

Oh, Lizzie.  You never really liked that house, but you wouldn’t believe it now.

Happy Halloween, darlin’.  And try not to let those treading footfalls around your headstone disturb you too much.  Pretend it’s Princess Summerfallwinterspring come to play Magda.  Or maybe it’s just Clarabell the Clown – wearing a hockey mask.

About these ads

Occasionally, some of your visitors may see an advertisement here.

Tell me more | Dismiss this message

Edit

2 CommentsPosted by phayemuss on October 6, 2011 in 92 Second Street-Then & Now, Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast, TV, Theatre & Film

 

GHOST ADVENTURES AND LIZZIE BORDEN

From top:  Liz, Nowicki, Lee-ann Wilbur, Eleanor Thibault, and Zac the Hunk

More nonsense tonight on Ghost Adventures relative to the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA. i know the first 3 people: Liz since 2005, Lee-ann since 2004, and Eleanor since 1998.   They believe. One attempts to remain prudently unbiased; one has a reputation to protect, and one tends to believe in all things paranormal.

When your audience involves both those who are into true crime (specifically unsolved murders) and those who are captivated by the occult or paranormal, you have to keep re-inventing the product.  Getting talking heads to serve up the fodder is easy because they enjoy the broadcast celebrity or, if they have vested financial interest in the location, they know such broadcasts result in increased business.  And producers, always budget conscious on these “formula” productions, love getting their input for free.

The twist here is being “assaulted” by the spirit, ghost, energy (take your pick) of Andrew Borden.   Time has rendered us a rather transparent evolution of experiences by these people.  What was once a mysterious mist becomes a cold hand upon the shoulder.  What was thumping upstairs when no one WAS upstairs, becomes a slap across the face and what was a slap upon the face becomes….wait for it……Rape.  Yes, you read that right.  You can’t keep taking the same girt to the Proms unless she changes her dress.  These shows have a target audience that keeps oooohing and ahhhing – so they continue to regurgitate with “variances on a theme”.    Enough with the metaphors.

Remember, these shows ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT VALUE. It’s the Travel Channel – not PBS.

See More

Aftershocks: Lizzie Borden & Black Swan Inn : Ghost Adventures

Zak Bagans reopens investigations at the iconic Lizzie Borden House and Black Swan Inn. Zak listens to bold claims of sexual assault at the Borden House, and believes that the slandered…

travelchannel.com

 

The Impact of “The Greater and Lesser Bordens” on Andrew and Lizzie

Abraham Borden – first born son of Richard Borden and Patty Bowen Borden

“In 1860, Colonel Richard Borden was deemed the richest man in town, worth $375,000, (the equivalent of $8,122,011 in 2006). His wife was head of Central Congregational Church sewing circle.” -Spinner Magazine

Just pause and think about that fact for a moment (which most people won’t get).  It’s the year Lizzie is born, 1860.    Andrew is still living on Ferry Street in one half of that double house his father owns.  His own sister and her husband live there too,  And he has this relative…this uncle of his own father.  The man who persuaded his paternal grandmother to give up her water rights and that mill…the man who influenced the court – the man who got her to settle for much less.  Consider that Andrew, at age 38, living next to his father, HAD to know the story and was keenly aware.  So keenly aware he had already vowed he would not be a poor relation as his father was.  So keenly aware he was already well on his path of accumulating money. 

Andrew was only 2 years old when his grandfather, Richard, died, but he must have smarted in his early years growing up, reading, seeing, hearing about all his wealthier relatives and how some of them got that way.  Bitter?  I think so.  .  Determined.  You bet.

    

Young Andrew Borden fell in love with Sarah Anthony Morse of Swansea and they married on Christmas Day, 1845.  Before he began to make money in his later partnership with William Almy, Andrew worked as a carpenter.  At the age of 23, he helped Southard Miller build the Charles Trafton House located at 92 Second Street.  Twenty seven years later, in 1872, Andrew would buy that house for $10,000 and move in with his two daughters and second wife, Abby.

Borden and Almy furniture business on Main Street near Anawan.

And Emma surely knew and if Andrew didn’t pass the knowledge on to her then Emma did.  But they knew.  They knew what it meant to be a Borden and that they should have been a RICH Borden.  And then to know they WERE rich but didn’t LIVE rich.  Lizzie bitter?  You bet.  Yeah, that Colonel Richard Borden…he was something all right, and yet he is written in the annals of Fall River history as  a glorified kingpin of its mercantile growth and prominence. 

Oh yes, how Andrew must have smarted.  And THAT attribute WAS passed on to his youngest daughter.

 

Leonard Rebello is Dead!!!

“OH, NO!!  LEONARD REBELLO IS DEAD!!!”

Leonard Rebello, Fall River native and author of Lizzie Borden Past & Present

Leonard Rebello has been proclaimed dead by certain Lizzie Borden Forum sleuths from the Lizzie Borden Forum.  I kid you not.   It has to do with the silver cup Mr. Rebello’s states was a gift from Abby to Lizzie.

The posting exchanges evolve from speculation that the claim is not authentic and the veracity of Rebello is questioned because he did not give a provenance to the cup, to the cup being meant for another “Lizzie” by another “Borden” and ends with the assertion that no wonder he couldn’t cite his source of the cup because he is dead!  (BTW, he is alive and well).

Now what I find excruciatingly funny is that these sleuths, laboring over layers of minutia to solve the case, fail to apply the most readily available techniques and processes for verifying facts.  For example, they could Google Mr. Rebello and look for his death certificate or newspaper reports of his unexpected passing, or even called the Fall River Herald News.  Instead, they remain fixated on the misspellings and even assert such a cup would only be presented to a person of the Jewish faith because of the decorative engraving on the bottom!

See for yourself:  I have underlined key sentences in this evolution of error.

Re: Breaks in the Pattern

by Curryong » Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:30 pm

Back to breaks in the pattern! In court Emma did a good, very equivocal job on her sister’s behalf didn’t she? Skate, skate over the very uncomfortable truth (as Lizzie did at the Inquest) that neither of them called Abby ‘mother,’ or that they went nowhere with her unless they had to, and that, for the last five years of Abby and Andrew’s life, the tension in the home was getting worse.

Incidentally, hadn’t Andrew stopped going to Church? I can’t remember the details but it was something to do with having to pay some tax and he objected so much he didn’t go anymore, as the man who imposed the tax was a Church elder he would have to meet every Sunday. So Andrew became a heathen!

by debbiediablo » Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:56 pm

Andrew seems to have worshiped at the Altar of the Almighty Dollar.

by Mara » Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:00 pm

Sorry, Curryong, my trail stopped there! I wasn’t ab;e to determine what a “youth cup” was used for. At first, I thought maybe a punch cup of some sort. I don’t know. I’m swamped with work right now, but I’ll put this on my list for something fun to do this weekend. 🙂

by Curryong » Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:01 am

I’ll look forward to it! It sound like the sort of thing that might be handed over, unengraved, of course, as a Sunday School prize, or something of that sort. I got the book ‘What Katy Did’ once, but a cup sounds nicer!

by PossumPie » Thu Mar 06, 2014 6:39 am

I still think we need to exercise caution. First it could be another Lizzie and Abbie. Leonard Rebello who presented the cup (as far as I can tell) never proves beyond reasonable doubt that it is BORDEN. 1868 date strengthens the claim, BUT it is easily added later, or the whole engraving may be forged. Most of the time items like this come with a letter of authenticity, often tracing who owned it, showing a relationship to the original owner. If Rebello could show HOW the current owner came to be in possession of it, I would be less skeptical. Either way, it’s authenticity does nothing for the case.

by Curryong » Thu Mar 06, 2014 6:54 am

Isn’t Mr Rebello dead, or have I got hold of the wrong end of the stick? I thought he died some time ago.

by Mara » Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:09 pm

The only youth/child cups I’ve been able to find that have a grapevine or grapes motif are intended for Jewish children’s use at the formal Shabbat meal celebrated weekly in observant homes, or for the special Passover Seder. (Children are given watered down wine.)

Further enlightening us along Jewish traditional lines, “Abbie” can be a Hebrew name, either on its own or short for Abigail (which was the name of one of King David’s wives). It can also be a male Hebrew nickname (think Abbie Hoffman). Some of you might remember “Abie’s Irish Rose,” about a cross-cultural romance.

So I think this cup was a gift to a Jewish young lady/girl named Lizzie by a family friend, beau or sibling named Abbie in a Jewish household in 1868, rather than from our Abby to our Lizzie.

by Curryong » Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:19 pm

Wonderful work, Mara! Well done! So the cup (probably) isn’t our Lizzie’s after all. No wonder Rebello couldn’t answer questions about the provenance. There wasn’t any!

By the way, Mara, I posted a link with information on your favourite girl, (Nance,) on the ‘Life after Murder’ link!

by Mara » Thu Mar 06, 2014 7:04 pm

I see that, Curryong, thank you!

by twinsrwe » Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:45 pm

Good job, Mara! I agree with you; I think this cup was a gift to a another Lizzie, from another Abbie. If our Lizzie disliked Abby as much as we are led to believe, then I highly doubt she would have kept the cup for sentimental reasons.

by Catbooks » Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:40 am

i didn’t know mr. rebello had died 😦

he was so meticulous about being accurate, it surprises me he’d include the cup in his book if there wasn’t good reason to think it was lizzie’s. but i thought it odd that in the other thread apparently people had or were going to contact him about it, and then nothing more was said.

the only thing i can think of is perhaps the owner or donor of the cup was absolutely convinced it really was lizzie’s, and mr. rebello didn’t want to offend him or her, so included the photo in the book. without a caption, just the photo itself.

thanks for all of your detective work, mara 🙂

by PossumPie » Fri Mar 07, 2014 1:12 pm

As I said earlier, for something that vague (two first names) to be included in the book, one would almost have to be able to trace it’s ownership back. If we were told that it came from the grandson of a known friend of Lizzie, THEN we could be more sure. But a cup without a “pedigree” is meaningless.

###

What are the odds a woman named Abby would be giving a silver cup to both a Lizzie AND an Emma in 1868?  In any case, I know Mr. Rebello.  I’ve known him for almost 20 years.  I’ve been to his home.  He showed me the cup.  Mr. Rebello is an expert on the case, fastidious, generous, and completely honest.  He did not cite his source for the cup – which he owns – as it was a condition of anonymity by the person from whom it was acquired.  (Much like items that have been donated to the Fall River Historical Society).

There is a unique dynamic intrinsic to internet forums.  Cliques are formed. The desire and need to be included in the clique makes one conform to opinions of the others, even to the extent of making judgements of others without all known and available facts.  It reminds me of high school.

Within the irony is the humor.  It is ironic the people posting are supposed to be “investigating” the Borden case.  The humor is that they would appear to share the same gene pool as Inspector Clouseau.  😉

But good lord!  LEONARD REBELLO IS NOT, REPEAT, NOT DEAD!!  GET A CLUE, LADIES!

 

An Assessment of the Lizzie Borden film by other experts who know the facts

Poor Lee-ann Wilber, manager of the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast.  She and her staff are left with the mop up duties due to all the misinformation and urban legends contained in the Lifetime Movie Channel’s Lizzie Borden Took An Axe, starring Chrsitina Ricci.

As I predicted, awful production has only served to perpetuate the myths and untruths about Miss Borden and the case itself.  Too bad the LMN’s target audience are breeders more than readers.

“Lizzie Borden film:  A Hatchet Job” – by Deborah Allard, Fall River Herald News, interviewed local Lizzie Borden affcionados and moi.  Read it HERE.

Richard Behrens, who authored Lizzie Borden, Girl Detective – a clever and astute non-fiction book, posted this on a chat forum – and I completely agree:

“There must have been a corporate meeting at Lifetime where they planned everything exactly because they were aiming for a specific audience. If the women wore hats, the 20-something Twilight fans would think it’s old fashioned. If they used period music, they won’t download the soundtrack from iTunes. If they cast a teenager-looking actress, the teenagers in the audience will assume she is a teenager. If they show stuff about Fall River and the textile mills, they’ll flip the channels to another station. If they don’t show Lizzie hacking up bodies, the movie will be boring. In short, no ambiguity, no subtlety, no grown-up issues. Let’s make a movie about a 32 year old woman who is really a trouble teenager who wants to smash open people’s skulls like they do in the zombie and vampire movies.”

 

• Historians: ‘Lizzie Borden’ film a hatchet job

• “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax,” at least when it comes to those who know the intricate details of the crime and case, presented glaring historical inaccuracies from start to finish.

– See more at: http://www.heraldnews.com/article/20140127/NEWS/140126634/?tag=2#sthash.vNKjppF5.dpuf

•  0
• 

   Zoom

  Submitted PhotoLifetime’s “Lizzie Borden Took An Ax” on Jan. 25, starring Christina Ricci as the famous Fall River murder suspect.

  »  RELATED CONTENT
• LINKS
  • • Fall River fails to get a cut of Lizzie movie hype
  • • Lizzie Borden aficionados catch Lifetime’s ‘Took an Ax’ p…
  • • Christina Ricci Takes a Whack at Lizzie Borden for Lifetime
  • • It’s a Lizzie party: Fall River bar capitalizing on new L…
• Deborah Allard
  Herald News Staff Reporter
  Posted Jan. 27, 2014 @ 7:24 pm
  Updated at 7:28 PM

  FALL RIVER — The reviews are in.

  “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax,” at least when it comes to those who know the intricate details of the crime and case, presented glaring historical inaccuracies from start to finish.

  Local historians and Lizzie experts hated the rock music, Lizzie Borden’s wardrobe and the absence of several main characters.

  Leonard Rebello, a local historian and the author of “Lizzie Borden: Past & Present,” said it was “difficult to watch.”

  “It leaves myths and legends for a new generation,” Rebello said.

  The biggest historical inaccuracy, according to Rebello, was when officials performed an autopsy on Andrew and Abby Borden on the dining room table, after the couple had been bludgeoned to death by an ax (actually, a hatchet).

  “That did not happen at all,” Rebello said.

  The autopsies were completed in the house, but Rebello said they were performed on undertaker boards. Andrew Borden was in the living room, and Abby Borden in the dining room.

  There were other historical errors, as well, such as when Lizzie Borden burned her dress in a cauldron outside for all to see.

  Rebello said it was hard to watch after spending six years researching the facts of the Borden murders and case.

  “Overall, it was not very well done,” Rebello said.

  The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, the actual site of the Borden murders at 92 Second St., is in “damage control” mode, according to curator and manager Lee Ann Wilber.

  She said she and her tour staff will be “setting everyone straight” for years to come, separating fact from fiction and rumor from truth.

  The film did spark a renewed interest in the Borden murder mystery. Wilber said the B&B has seen an increase in visitors all weekend. Each hourly tour on Sunday was attended by 15 to 20 curious visitors.

  Michael Martins, curator of the Fall River Historical Society, which displays the largest collection of Borden artifacts and crime scene items, was put off by the film.

  “The film was inaccurate in all aspects — from historical facts, to costuming and sets,” Martins said.

  Martins said the society has for years been at the forefront of researching the Borden story, uncovering new material and presenting that material to the public.

  Martins and assistant curator Dennis Binette recently published “Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden in Fall River,” which shed new light on Borden and the murders.

  “It is unfortunate that they chose not to utilize the resources available here,” Martins said. “Visitors repeatedly tell us that that is one of the things that sets the Historical Society apart — fact, not fiction.

– See more at: http://www.heraldnews.com/article/20140127/NEWS/140126634#sthash.qrUgGY3G.dpuf

• NEWS NOW
  • Flanagan: Deal between Fall River, Foxwoods to be announced Tuesday       …
  • Our View: Modernizing Massachusetts’ election system       …
  • Police searching for missing 51-year-old Fall River man       …
  • Flanagan: Deal between Fall River, Foxwoods to be announced Tuesday       …
  • Our View: Modernizing Massachusetts’ election system       …
  • Police searching for missing 51-year-old Fall River man       …

    

     

• Historians: ‘Lizzie Borden’ film a hatchet job

• “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax,” at least when it comes to those who know the intricate details of the crime and case, presented glaring historical inaccuracies from start to finish.

•  0
• 

   Zoom

  Submitted PhotoLifetime’s “Lizzie Borden Took An Ax” on Jan. 25, starring Christina Ricci as the famous Fall River murder suspect.

  »  RELATED CONTENT
• LINKS
  • • Fall River fails to get a cut of Lizzie movie hype
  • • Lizzie Borden aficionados catch Lifetime’s ‘Took an Ax’ p…
  • • Christina Ricci Takes a Whack at Lizzie Borden for Lifetime
  • • It’s a Lizzie party: Fall River bar capitalizing on new L…
• Deborah Allard
  Herald News Staff Reporter
  Posted Jan. 27, 2014 @ 7:24 pm
  Updated at 7:28 PM

  FALL RIVER — The reviews are in.

  “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax,” at least when it comes to those who know the intricate details of the crime and case, presented glaring historical inaccuracies from start to finish.

  Local historians and Lizzie experts hated the rock music, Lizzie Borden’s wardrobe and the absence of several main characters.

  Leonard Rebello, a local historian and the author of “Lizzie Borden: Past & Present,” said it was “difficult to watch.”

  “It leaves myths and legends for a new generation,” Rebello said.

  The biggest historical inaccuracy, according to Rebello, was when officials performed an autopsy on Andrew and Abby Borden on the dining room table, after the couple had been bludgeoned to death by an ax (actually, a hatchet).

  “That did not happen at all,” Rebello said.

  The autopsies were completed in the house, but Rebello said they were performed on undertaker boards. Andrew Borden was in the living room, and Abby Borden in the dining room.

  There were other historical errors, as well, such as when Lizzie Borden burned her dress in a cauldron outside for all to see.

  Rebello said it was hard to watch after spending six years researching the facts of the Borden murders and case.

  “Overall, it was not very well done,” Rebello said.

  The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, the actual site of the Borden murders at 92 Second St., is in “damage control” mode, according to curator and manager Lee Ann Wilber.

  She said she and her tour staff will be “setting everyone straight” for years to come, separating fact from fiction and rumor from truth.

  The film did spark a renewed interest in the Borden murder mystery. Wilber said the B&B has seen an increase in visitors all weekend. Each hourly tour on Sunday was attended by 15 to 20 curious visitors.

  Michael Martins, curator of the Fall River Historical Society, which displays the largest collection of Borden artifacts and crime scene items, was put off by the film.

  “The film was inaccurate in all aspects — from historical facts, to costuming and sets,” Martins said.

  Martins said the society has for years been at the forefront of researching the Borden story, uncovering new material and presenting that material to the public.

  Martins and assistant curator Dennis Binette recently published “Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden in Fall River,” which shed new light on Borden and the murders.

  “It is unfortunate that they chose not to utilize the resources available here,” Martins said. “Visitors repeatedly tell us that that is one of the things that sets the Historical Society apart — fact, not fiction.

– See more at: http://www.heraldnews.com/article/20140127/NEWS/140126634#sthash.qrUgGY3G.dpuf

• NEWS NOW
  • Our View: Modernizing Massachusetts’ election system       …
  • Police searching for missing 51-year-old Fall River man       …
  • Flanagan: Deal between Fall River, Foxwoods to be announced Tuesday       …
  • Our View: Modernizing Massachusetts’ election system       …
  • Police searching for missing 51-year-old Fall River man       …
  • Flanagan: Deal between Fall River, Foxwoods to be announced Tuesday       …

    

     

• Historians: ‘Lizzie Borden’ film a hatchet job

• “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax,” at least when it comes to those who know the intricate details of the crime and case, presented glaring historical inaccuracies from start to finish.

•  0
• 

   Zoom

  Submitted PhotoLifetime’s “Lizzie Borden Took An Ax” on Jan. 25, starring Christina Ricci as the famous Fall River murder suspect.

  »  RELATED CONTENT
• LINKS
  • • Fall River fails to get a cut of Lizzie movie hype
  • • Lizzie Borden aficionados catch Lifetime’s ‘Took an Ax’ p…
  • • Christina Ricci Takes a Whack at Lizzie Borden for Lifetime
  • • It’s a Lizzie party: Fall River bar capitalizing on new L…
• Deborah Allard
  Herald News Staff Reporter
  Posted Jan. 27, 2014 @ 7:24 pm
  Updated at 7:28 PM

  FALL RIVER — The reviews are in.

  “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax,” at least when it comes to those who know the intricate details of the crime and case, presented glaring historical inaccuracies from start to finish.

  Local historians and Lizzie experts hated the rock music, Lizzie Borden’s wardrobe and the absence of several main characters.

  Leonard Rebello, a local historian and the author of “Lizzie Borden: Past & Present,” said it was “difficult to watch.”

  “It leaves myths and legends for a new generation,” Rebello said.

  The biggest historical inaccuracy, according to Rebello, was when officials performed an autopsy on Andrew and Abby Borden on the dining room table, after the couple had been bludgeoned to death by an ax (actually, a hatchet).

  “That did not happen at all,” Rebello said.

  The autopsies were completed in the house, but Rebello said they were performed on undertaker boards. Andrew Borden was in the living room, and Abby Borden in the dining room.

  There were other historical errors, as well, such as when Lizzie Borden burned her dress in a cauldron outside for all to see.

  Rebello said it was hard to watch after spending six years researching the facts of the Borden murders and case.

  “Overall, it was not very well done,” Rebello said.

  The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, the actual site of the Borden murders at 92 Second St., is in “damage control” mode, according to curator and manager Lee Ann Wilber.

  She said she and her tour staff will be “setting everyone straight” for years to come, separating fact from fiction and rumor from truth.

  The film did spark a renewed interest in the Borden murder mystery. Wilber said the B&B has seen an increase in visitors all weekend. Each hourly tour on Sunday was attended by 15 to 20 curious visitors.

  Michael Martins, curator of the Fall River Historical Society, which displays the largest collection of Borden artifacts and crime scene items, was put off by the film.

  “The film was inaccurate in all aspects — from historical facts, to costuming and sets,” Martins said.

  Martins said the society has for years been at the forefront of researching the Borden story, uncovering new material and presenting that material to the public.

  Martins and assistant curator Dennis Binette recently published “Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden in Fall River,” which shed new light on Borden and the murders.

  “It is unfortunate that they chose not to utilize the resources available here,” Martins said. “Visitors repeatedly tell us that that is one of the things that sets the Historical Society apart — fact, not fiction.

– See more at: http://www.heraldnews.com/article/20140127/NEWS/140126634#sthash.qrUgGY3G.dpuf

• NEWS NOW
  • Our View: Modernizing Massachusetts’ election system       …
  • Police searching for missing 51-year-old Fall River man       …
  • Flanagan: Deal between Fall River, Foxwoods to be announced Tuesday       …
  • Our View: Modernizing Massachusetts’ election system       …
  • Police searching for missing 51-year-old Fall River man       …
  • Flanagan: Deal between Fall River, Foxwoods to be announced Tuesday       …

    

     

• Historians: ‘Lizzie Borden’ film a hatchet job

• “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax,” at least when it comes to those who know the intricate details of the crime and case, presented glaring historical inaccuracies from start to finish.

•  0
• 

   Zoom

  Submitted PhotoLifetime’s “Lizzie Borden Took An Ax” on Jan. 25, starring Christina Ricci as the famous Fall River murder suspect.

  »  RELATED CONTENT
• LINKS
  • • Fall River fails to get a cut of Lizzie movie hype
  • • Lizzie Borden aficionados catch Lifetime’s ‘Took an Ax’ p…
  • • Christina Ricci Takes a Whack at Lizzie Borden for Lifetime
  • • It’s a Lizzie party: Fall River bar capitalizing on new L…
• Deborah Allard
  Herald News Staff Reporter
  Posted Jan. 27, 2014 @ 7:24 pm
  Updated at 7:28 PM

  FALL RIVER — The reviews are in.

  “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax,” at least when it comes to those who know the intricate details of the crime and case, presented glaring historical inaccuracies from start to finish.

  Local historians and Lizzie experts hated the rock music, Lizzie Borden’s wardrobe and the absence of several main characters.

  Leonard Rebello, a local historian and the author of “Lizzie Borden: Past & Present,” said it was “difficult to watch.”

  “It leaves myths and legends for a new generation,” Rebello said.

  The biggest historical inaccuracy, according to Rebello, was when officials performed an autopsy on Andrew and Abby Borden on the dining room table, after the couple had been bludgeoned to death by an ax (actually, a hatchet).

  “That did not happen at all,” Rebello said.

  The autopsies were completed in the house, but Rebello said they were performed on undertaker boards. Andrew Borden was in the living room, and Abby Borden in the dining room.

  There were other historical errors, as well, such as when Lizzie Borden burned her dress in a cauldron outside for all to see.

  Rebello said it was hard to watch after spending six years researching the facts of the Borden murders and case.

  “Overall, it was not very well done,” Rebello said.

  The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, the actual site of the Borden murders at 92 Second St., is in “damage control” mode, according to curator and manager Lee Ann Wilber.

  She said she and her tour staff will be “setting everyone straight” for years to come, separating fact from fiction and rumor from truth.

  The film did spark a renewed interest in the Borden murder mystery. Wilber said the B&B has seen an increase in visitors all weekend. Each hourly tour on Sunday was attended by 15 to 20 curious visitors.

  Michael Martins, curator of the Fall River Historical Society, which displays the largest collection of Borden artifacts and crime scene items, was put off by the film.

  “The film was inaccurate in all aspects — from historical facts, to costuming and sets,” Martins said.

  Martins said the society has for years been at the forefront of researching the Borden story, uncovering new material and presenting that material to the public.

  Martins and assistant curator Dennis Binette recently published “Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden in Fall River,” which shed new light on Borden and the murders.

  “It is unfortunate that they chose not to utilize the resources available here,” Martins said. “Visitors repeatedly tell us that that is one of the things that sets the Historical Society apart — fact, not fiction.

– See more at: http://www.heraldnews.com/article/20140127/NEWS/140126634#sthash.qrUgGY3G.dpuf