Since the publication of this 1916 photograph in the Fall River Herald, there has been much discussion about every detail shown in the picture, from furnishings to Lizzie’s dress, and the little dog she is holding.  Boston Bull Terriers were admitted to the Kennel Club in 1893, and looked quite different from the familiar black and white version seen today.  Some were even brindle-colored.  Lizzie would have three in her lifetime, and the one she holds here is more reflective of the Victorian version of the breed.  For more about this fascinating topic for the animal-loving W&W readers, visit this link http://www.victorianbostonbulldog.com/breed-history.html

Christmas came early this year for those who enjoy Fall River history and have an interest in the Borden case and the enigmatic Miss Lizzie.  Parallel Lives was released this morning to the public. By 11: 30 a.m. a long line snaked its way down the pavement toward Maple Street and there was a feeling of restless expectation in the air as the noon hour approached. .  A man came around the corner bearing two copies of the coveted tome as heads swiveled to catch a glimpse.  A spontaneous outburst of appreciation went up from the crowd followed by many comments as to the  SIZE of the massive tome.

No preview copies were released for reviewing to anyone, so it was with enormous excitement today’s release was anticipated.  Beginning on Friday, the benefactors of the publication enjoyed a special gathering, followed by Saturday night’s annual Christmas Open House for members, and capping off an extraordinary weekend with today’s public release of the book, viewing of a special exhibit of materials featured in the book (cards, letters, gifts Lizzie presented to friends, etc.) and a tour of the Christmas decorations, always an annual treat.

The authors held court in the front parlor at a beautifully decorated table with a red rose Christmas arrangement, signing autographs and having photographs taken with visitors.  On the lawn, on the stairs, and anywhere one could sit, people clutched their volume, looking eagerly through the pages. From all corners came appreciative little shrieks of excitement as never-before-seen photos were discovered, especially those showing Lizzie herself. Even those who vowed not to ruin the surprise until they could sit at leisure soon gave way to overwhelming curiosity and were soon leafing furiously through the pages. Some had driven hours to pick up their copies.

It would be presumptuous to attempt any sort of review of this major work until the whole was digested, therefore the Warps & Wefts review will be forthcoming in the near future.  Suffice it to say, Parallel Lives is as plummy a Christmas pudding as anyone could ever wish for, chock full of juicy morsels, delicious facts and photos, fascinating history, surprises and many hours of enthralled reading.  To reveal too much would be to ruin your own Christmas surprise- so-

Just spring to your sleigh, to your team give a whistle,

To Rock Street fly like the down of a thistle.

Parallel Lives is the gift sure to please, so take heed,

Happy holidays to all, and to all a good read!

The sweet-faced lady on the piazza holding her pet is a far cry from the caricature of the raging homicidal spinster so often portrayed as being Lizzie Borden.  The bobbleheads, tee shirts, and cartoons may have to undergo a re-do.  Parallel Lives, the long-awaited biography of Lizzie and her times has released this amazing photograph of Lizzie with one of her Boston bull terriers (Laddie Miller), said to be taken around 1916 on the back porch of her French St. home, Maplecroft.

Followers of the Borden case will be drinking in every detail of her dress, her furnishings, her expression. A picture is worth a thousand words. The thick volume, studded with over 500 photos may be pre-ordered  from the Fall River Historical Society.  For the full story and link to order click on this link http://www.heraldnews.com/features/x464394189/Historical-Society-announces-first-true-biography-of-Lizzie-Borden

So will this photo and new bio change your mind about Lizzie?

Although Fall River may not have enjoyed the annual Easter Parade famous to Fifth Avenue, New York, Easter Sunday morning was a grand opportunity for ladies to promenade down the aisle in their new chapeau at church, and later in the many parks in the city.  Hats were de rigeur during Lizzie’s entire lifetime and she no more would have left the house without a hat on, than have left uncorseted.  Hats and gloves were the mark of a lady.  Lizzie even mentions that on August 4th, the day of the murders, when she returned from the barn loft looking for lead to make sinkers, she put her hat down in the diningroom before discovering her father on the sofa.

Lizzie could easily afford a personal milliner when she moved to Maplecroft.  Mr. Bump, accompanied by his little daughter, would visit Maplecroft with trims and hat forms when Lizzie needed something new and stylish. She may have subscribed to The Delineator to keep up with all the styles.  Fun to think of Lizzie smiling over French ribbon, Italian straw boaters, felt cloches, and boxes of silk flowers and feathers in the comfort of her beautifully-appointed home on the Hill and making her choices for the season’s head adornments.

April 15, 1912 was a morning the world awoke to the seemingly impossible news that the new White Star liner, the latest word in ship-building technology, was on the bottom of the North Atlantic.  At Maplecroft, in the comfort of her breakfast nook off the kitchen, or perhaps in her blue, floral-papered dining room, Lizzie Borden must surely have read the news in her Providence Journal or Fall River Herald and was as shocked and disbelieving as the rest of the world.  The sinking would be the talk in every city, town and village for many months to come.

With the great city of Boston so close to Fall River, some passengers aboard the ill-fated liner were Boston-bound after the ship was to have docked in New York city and some Fall Riverites knew or had connections to some of the lost and survivors.  Some passengers called Massachusetts home, some were coming to Massachusetts from the old country for a better life.

 The last first class survivor of the disaster, Marjorie Newell Robb, lived to  be 103 and passed away on Highland Avenue at the Adams House in Fall River.  She was a girl of nineteen on the ship and was returning home with her father and sister to their home in Lexington, Massachusetts. http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/the-titanic-sisters.html 

Her son, Newell Robb, was curator of the Fall River Marine Museum for a time, and the family made their home in nearby Westport.  Mrs. Marjorie Robb had lived near the water at Westport Point until she was unable to live alone.  She was a frequent speaker at area schools, churches and civic groups.  She attended several conventions of Titanic societies and held audiences spellbound with her clear recollections of the disaster.

Today the Fall River Marine Museum has an excellent display of Titanica, as well as the  28 foot model of the ship used in the Barbara Stanwyck film from the 1950′s, TITANIC. The museum is a part of the Battleship Cove complex and houses many fascinating artifacts of the Fall River Line and Andrea Doria.  http://www.marinemuseum.org/home.html

1900- Annie Smith, aged 29 born in Massachusetts, parents from Ireland

John H. Tatro (Tetrault) 37  coachman, born in Rhode Island

1910:  Housekeeper Mary S. Boucher aged 35 born in New Jersey , Mary A.J. Reynolds aged 32, English

1920  Helen Smith aged 36 born in Scotland, came to America in 1909, Ellen “Nellie Miller” aged 30, English, came to America in 1891

Nellie Miller and Hannah Nelson remembered in the names of Lizzie’s Boston Bull Terriers

Who was Donald Stuart?  Another mystery.

From 1893 until 1927 when Lizzie Borden died and was waked at her impressive home at 306 French Street, she was never truly alone at Maplecroft, even after sister Emma left suddenly and without full explanation being known.  Along with Lizzie’s beloved canaries and Boston bull terriers was the constant presence of a housekeeper, which at times, must have been the only other human presence walking through the spacious halls.  Maplecroft saw a parade of handymen, carriage drivers, chauffeurs, delivery and service people, and men to do odd jobs and repairs.  But surely it was her housekeeper, who slept on the third floor, within easy call of Lizzie’s second floor bedroom which provided a secure and reassuring presence when winter nights closed in early.

Hannah Nelson was born in Sweden on August 24, 1870, the daughter of Philomena and Phi Nelson.  She was ten years younger than Lizzie, and when she came to work at Maplecroft in 1903, she was the same age as Lizzie when Lizzie was acquitted of double homicide in a New Bedford court.  It would be Hannah who lived through some difficult times when Emma disagreed with Lizzie’s way of life at Maplecroft, and it would be Hannah who stayed on with Lizzie in the big house long after Emma had quitted it forever and the two sisters parted company.

Hannah stayed on until her death on July 3, 1908.  She died at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence at the young age of 37.  Lizzie had written worried letters to friends about Hannah’s declining health and welfare, and in the end, Lizzie would be the one to step forward to tend to Hannah’s care and burial. 

The spot chosen to lay her to rest is located on a peninsula of land with a view of a little cove and river and to the east, a winding estuary.  Ancient Little Neck Cemetery, in Riverside is secluded, private, and filled with fascinating historical figures of the Past.  Some stones there pre-date the 1700′s, the official date of the cemetery being given as 1755.  The headstone is invisible to anyone who travels down the narrow lane as it is located on the other side of a fieldstone wall, on the slope of an embankment.  Only the zinc headstone of the Tillinghasts can be seen from the road above it.  The view of the little estuary is Hannah’s outlook for eternity.  A small child’s headstone is in the same little square plot and has names of several children, who are not related.  Hers is a single grave, hidden in a secret place.  What is most memorable is the one word on the top of the stone- SISTER.

The granite is of the best variety- “Rock of Ages” from Barry, Vermont.  The stone is plain and unremarkable but for the one word on the top.  Was Hannah like a sister to Lizzie after her own sister Emma had left?  Was Hannah a companion and comfort as well as a housekeeper?  Yet one more mystery about Lizzie Borden and what really transpired behind the shuttered doors of Maplecroft. 

Hannah was also remembered by Lizzie in the naming of one of her beloved pet terriers, Royal Nelson, buried in Pine Ridge pet cemetery at Dedham.

Thanks to Michael Znosko, a font of knowledge on the history of this part of the world, and a recent story http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/141281.html about paupers graves in the Ancient Little Neck Cemetery, Will Clawson (photographer), and Len Rebello (Lizzie Borden Past and Present) for assistance and biographical material.

Cast members from the Pear Essential Players enjoyed a tour of Maplecroft on August 4th . An article about what they saw can be found  above at the tab August Online A Visit to Maplecroft

or

click on this link to go directly to the feature.

http://lizziebordenwarpsandwefts.com/august-online-a-visit-to-maplecroft/

The cast enjoyed a great day at the Lizzie Borden  Bed and Breakfast Museum as they, for the 14th year, adapted the facts of the case for performance to the public.  Tickets were sold out well before the afternoon, with starting times on the half hour this year.  An exit poll was given to the visitors and over 60 % of those who filled out the form decided Lizzie was the guilty party, with Uncle John Morse coming in a distant second.  There was a drawing at the end of the day for a gift certificate to the popular B&B.  Some of the cast is shown above after the day was ended, before being treated to a tour of all floors of Lizzie’s home on French St., Maplecroft.   It was a big day for all things Lizzie with the new exhibit also debuting at the Fall River Historical Society. For more about the day visit the Fall River Herald site article http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x84685033/Fall-Rivers-infamous-Borden-murders-reenacted-on-118th-anniversary

More script details and cast photos coming soon!

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

1.  The Fall River Public Library is hosting a book reading with author Richard Behrens, reading from his new book, Lizzie Borden, Girl Detective beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 3rd.  Costumed cast from the annual Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum August 4th performances, The Pear Essential Players, will attend in character with a few words to say about Wednesday, the 4th on Second Street.

2.  The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast will have daytime tours on the hour from 11 a.m. -3 p.m. on August 3rd.  Don’t miss the gift shop! Advance tickets are on sale for August 4th performances of CSI Lizzie Borden.  Richard Behrens will also be autographing his book on the 4th in the gift shop. A drawing will be held at the end of the day for a night’s stay for two at the house.  Program GPS devices for 230 Second Street or 230 2nd Street. 

3.  Oak Grove Cemetery has convenient black arrows on the pavement from the office gate to the Borden plot and is open from early morning until dark. Many other case personalities are buried in the historic Victorian cemetery.

4.  The Fall River Historical Society will be open with a special augmented Borden exhibit, featuring some items which are generally not on display all the time  This is a must-see on the list for visitors coming to Fall River for the day. The society can be found at the corner of Maple and Rock streets.  There is also a great gift shop selling Lizzie Borden merchandise and books.

5.  A little drive around the city in the late afternoon might be a great way to end the day.  The Andrew Borden Building is still standing on the corner of Anawan St. and South Main, Lizzie’s little school can also be found in the South End on Morgan Street, and Maplecroft is convenient if you plan to see the cemetery as it is only a short drive from Prospect to French Street. There is much beautiful Victorian architecture to be seen on The Hill and some fantastic restaurants in which to sample the local cuisine for dinner at the end of your day.