• Emma Borden’s jaunt to Scotland

    October 30, 2008 /

    Lizzie Borden: Past and Present by Leonard Rebello mentions one trip Emma Borden made in 1906 to the United Kingdom- Scotland in particular.  It is believed Andrew Borden’s family originally had roots in that country, and is sometimes a speculation as to why Lizzie had Scottish thistles on her Maplecroft library mantel.  Recently Ancestry.com made passenger manifests available and Emma does show up aboard the White Star liner, RMS Cymric, departing from Boston- a ship which was torpedoed and sunk in 1916.  Emma is listed under “American” passengers. The voyage is June 2, 1906 and Emma would have stopped in Queenstown before Liverpool.

     

    Cymric Passenger manifest in photo above.  Emma disembarks at Liverpool.

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  • The Bridget Sullivan Mystery

    October 30, 2008 /

    Bridget Sullivan’s whereabouts from after Lizzie’s aquittal in June of 1893 up until she was located in Anaconda, Montana in 1896 married to a Sullivan, has always been a source of mystery.  Did Lizzie’s attorneys give Miss Sullivan money to “get out of town”?  Did Bridget stay in the city, find work elsewhere, or go back home to Ireland to visit her family after her ordeal with the Borden family?  Naturally, Bridget Sullivan is a common name for an Irish immigrant, and we may never know her full story of those missing years.  Recently Ancestry.com made available ship passenger manifests.  A Bridget Sullivan is shown traveling to Queenstown, Ireland from Boston in June 1894, on the same Cunarder steamship, the RMS Scythia, on which Lizzie left in 1890 with her lady friends for her 19 week Grand Tour.  Bridget was obliged to be available for the witness box until after Lizzie’s acquittal-but did she have to work an extra year after to save passage money?  When did she return to America before going to Montana?  Some questions we may never be able to answer, but this entry below in the Scythia passenger list is a good possibility.  Bridget is listed as being 28 years old and bound for Liverpool with the usual stop at Queenstown first where she would have disembarked.  The ship reached Liverpool on June 19th.

    RMS Scythia (steel engraving courtesy of Norway Heritage)

    Above photo is the top of the page with information catagories.

     

    Special thanks to my sleuthing partner, Mike Poirier, for helping me with this quest.

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  • Ghost Season at Lizzie Borden’s House

    October 24, 2008 /

    Ghosts have pretty much been a year round phenomenon at #92 but never more so than the month of October when the Borden house is packed to the rafters every weekend with people toting EVP capturing machines, magnetic field detectors, thermographs, night vision cameras, and other high priced gizmos for capturing the perfect orb, groan, sigh, shadow- anything out of the ordinary.  There is a seance on Saturday night in the sittingroom in front of the black sofa, with hopeful participants waiting for a message or the levitating of a small round table used in the proceedings.  The guestbook is filled with comments of things both heard and seen by guests which run the gamut from ghostly encounters of the Third Kind to bumps and screams in the night.  All good fun- and nobody has ever been the worse for the experiences, real or imagined! 

    Recently an August 4th guest has published the experiences of her visit with her boyfriend.  The couple had won an Ebay auction for the Morse guestroom, the most requested room where Mrs. Borden had been murdered. An account of Ms. Zorn’s visit has appeared on many blogs and sites including this one today http://greglefever.blogspot.com/2008/10/more-halloween-haunted-lizzie-borden.html.

    The couple had enjoyed a quiet evening, including the usual tour of the house and had retired to their room afterward.  The rest of the guests were sitting in the parlor chatting and having coffee when two piercing screams were heard. After a time, the two screamers came downstairs declaring the light had been switched off overhead, a smaller lamp switched on, there was something “funny” about the mirror – and they both had decided to leave, suitcase in hand.  It was nearly midnight.  Another guest freely admitted to having turned off the overhead light and turning on the small lamp to conserve energy. An offer was made to cover the mirror.  All to no avail. The couple was convinced they had to go. They did, however return in broad daylight the following day for breakfast.  If you are determined to scare yourself to death at #92, you will probably succeed!

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  • Ghostly Happenings

    October 10, 2008 /

    The month of October has always been an especially busy one at the Borden House, with Halloween night selling out nearly a year in advance.  The following blog has has some great photos of an overnight stay in 2007 by a newly-wed couple, Hans and Rebecca, who managed to “meet” most of the Borden family and capture some orbs and other curious things before their check out the following day.

    http://rebeccashott.com/26.html

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  • Happy Birthday Nance O’Neil

    October 8, 2008 /

     

    One interview most Lizziephiles would loved to have had is with Lizzie’s close friend, actress Nance O’Neil.  Their intense friendship from 1904-1906 has aroused much speculation over the years.

    Born Gertrude Lamson on October 8, 1874 in Oakland, California, Miss O’Neil would enjoy great success on the stage.  She played at the Academy Theatre in Fall River and was a guest at Maplecroft.  Her estate in Tynsboro, Massachusetts is now a convent and school.  The two parted company in 1906, with Miss O’Neil always giving favorable comment about her old friend.  Nance died in Englewood, NJ in a home for aged actors in 1965.  Her ashes are deposed with those of her husband, actor Alfred Hickman (who died in 1931) in California.  These are her film credits, courtesy of International Movie Database.

    1. False Faces (1932) …. Mrs. Finn
      … aka What Price Beauty? (UK)
    2. Okay, America! (1932) …. Mrs. Drake (replaced by Virginia Howell)
      … aka The Penalty of Fame (UK)
    3. Westward Passage (1932) (uncredited) …. Mrs. von Stael
    4. Secret Service (1931/I) …. Mrs. Varney
    5. Their Mad Moment (1931) …. Grand Mere
    6. A Woman of Experience (1931) …. Countess Runyi
      … aka Registered Woman
    7. Transgression (1931) …. Honora ‘Nora’ Maury
    8. The Good Bad Girl (1931) …. Mrs. Henderson
    9. Resurrection (1931) …. Princess Marya
    10. Cimarron (1931) …. Felice Venable
    11. The Royal Bed (1931) …. Queen Martha
      … aka The Queen’s Husband (UK)
    12. The Eyes of the World (1930) …. Myra
    13. Call of the Flesh (1930) …. Mother Superior
    14. The Florodora Girl (1930) …. Mrs. Vibart
      … aka The Gay Nineties (UK)
    15. The Lady of Scandal (1930) …. Lady ‘Ducky’ Trench
      … aka The High Road (UK)
    16. The Rogue Song (1930) …. Princess Alexandra
    17. Ladies of Leisure (1930) …. Mrs. Strong
    18. His Glorious Night (1929) …. Eugenie
      … aka Breath of Scandal
    19. The Mad Woman (1919)
    20. The Fall of the Romanoffs (1917) …. Czarina Alexandra
    21. The Final Payment (1917) …. Nina
    22. Hedda Gabler (1917) …. Hedda Gabler
    23. Mrs. Balfame (1917) …. Mrs. Balfame
    24. The Seventh Sin (1917) …. Alma
    25. Greed (1917) …. Alma
    26. The Seven Deadly Sins (1917) …. Alma (Greed) & (Seventh Sin)
    27. The Iron Woman (1916) …. Sarah Maitland
    28. The Toilers (1916) …. Jane Brett
      … aka Those Who Toil (USA)
    29. The Flames of Johannis (1916) …. Zirah/Marika
      … aka The Fires of Johannis
      … aka The Fires of St. John
    30. The Witch (1916) …. Zora Fernandez
    31. Souls in Bondage (1916) …. Rosa Brenner
    32. A Woman’s Past (1915) …. Jane Hawley
    33. Princess Romanoff (1915) …. Princess Fedora Romanoff
    34. Kreutzer Sonata (1915) …. Miriam Friedlander
      … aka Sonata (UK)
    35. The Count of Monte Cristo (1913) …. Mercedes

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