Lizzie Borden : Warps & Wefts

As Mr. Moody for the Prosecution dramatically expounds on hatchets and grisly details, and a glimpse of two skulls in a leather case, Lizzie slumps over in her chair. Was it the heat or the ghastly descriptions?

So, how was Lizzie after her fainting spell yesterday? You may be surprised to read just what a resilient gal she was! (Boston Globe)

The following article is from the Sioux City Dispatch and gives a good idea of Lizzie’s day during the trial. It was said, perhaps due to her recovering from bronchitis, that she slept up on the second floor of the Warden’s house after her first night in the infirmary. and not on the cell block.

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At the end of the day, we take a moment to note that June 6th was also the date of Abby & Andrew’s anniversary. I wonder if Lizzie thought about that while sitting in the courtroom today?

In suffocating heat, William H. Moody opened the session today with a two hour summation of the Commonwealth’s case views, and a shocking reveal of hatchets and a glimpse of skulls. So, were Moody’s opening tactics and dramatics meant to shake Lizzie up? Or was it just the heat? We’ll never know!

Lizzie’s carriage pulls up to the back door. She is helped out by Deputy Sheriff Kirby. In the background you can just see Mr. Perry’s stable where the telegraph crew has set up for the trial. Today will be jury selection.

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And old time friends and twilight plays

And starry nights and sunny days.

Come trooping up the misty ways

When my fire burns low.

Whatever you believe about the guilt or innocence of Lizzie Borden, I have always believed film makers do a great injustice to the story by not beginning at the beginning- the death on March 26, 1863 of the first Mrs. Borden. In the dying moments of Sarah Morse, Emma takes on the weight of the care of her little sister, not yet three years old. Emma herself was just 12 on March 1st. Emma has seen her mother suffer for a long time, seen her pain and loss of little Alice Esther. Emma is old enough to understand it all. Lizzie cannot realize what is happening to her mother but Emma will bear the grief of this moment her entire life. It will influence her feelings towards her father for remarrying and her actions toward her new stepmother in 1865. Being sent away to school does not alter Emma’s opinion, Her attitude will influence her younger sister. It is a story as old as time- and it is the beginning of the Borden story which has captivated so many throughout the decades.

The good-looking thirty-seven year old gentleman handling the reins behind the glossy matched pair pulling the spanking-new carriage drew the attention of more than one feminine eye.  Pacing down French St. at a sharp clip, the lady next to him, dressed neatly in a tailor-made suit with the latest in millinery fashion, smiled up at her coachman. Behind the lace curtains on the Hill section of Fall River, tongues were wagging about the unseemly pair. Lizzie Borden, acquitted of double homicide just six years earlier had come into her money and also her style of spending it on the good things in life.  Just what was going on between Lizzie and that coachman, unchaperoned and traveling together all around town?

Chief among those who disapproved of the new coachman was sister Emma, who had been perfectly satisfied with Mr. Johnson, the former coachman who had managed their father’s Swansea farm. This new addition to the house on French St. was far too “at home” and casual for Emma’s proper standards. He did not behave sufficiently as a servant who ought to know his place. His presence in their home was causing gossip and attention, a deplorable situation for the retiring, modest older sister. Handsome Joe would have to go and Emma made sure of that in 1902 after three years of Joe’s service to the Borden sisters. Lizzie was not well-pleased with the dismissal.

Ever since Emma Borden packed her bags and left French St. for good in 1905, friends, neighbors and now historians wonder what caused the split between two sisters who had been so close all their lives. Much has been made of the passing and short friendship Lizzie formed with actress Nance O’Neil as a possible cause of the rift, as well as “theater people” in the house and strong drink. Most likely it was a combination of things but one thing was for sure- Emma’s dismissal of the good-looking young coachman whom Lizzie had hired to drive her around town was a factor.

1900 census listing Joe, Annie Smith (housekeeper) Lizzie and Emma

So, where did he come from and what became of Joseph Tetrault (also Tetreau and Tatro)?  Born on February 9, 1863 in Kingston, R.I. of French Canadian parents, he worked as a hairdresser/barber on Second Street in Fall River at one time.  Later we find him living a short distance away on Spring Street at a boarding house owned by Lizzie and Emma after the murders in 1892. His parents, Pierre Tetreau dit Ducharme and  his mother,Almeda Fanion were from Rouville, Quebec and had moved to Kingston, Rhode Island. Pierre worked in a woolen mill and had nine children with his first wife, Marie Denicourt, and six more with  second wife, Almeda. The last six included :

Edward Peter 1861-1940

Joseph H.  1863-1929

Mary Elizabeth “Mamie” 1865-1956

Frederick A. 1871-1947

Francis “Frank” 1875-1935

Julia E.  1877-1973

We can only imagine the conversation between Lizzie and Emma about Joe Tatro – the arguments put forward, even heated discussions, but in the end, Lizzie had her way and in 1904 rehired Joe to resume his duties on French Street.  Added to Emma’s unhappiness about Nance O’Neil and other factors, Emma and Lizzie parted company in 1905. Joe remained driving Miss Lizzie until 1908, and for whatever reason, decided to move on. The 1908 directory lists him as “removed to Providence”.

Joe never married. Perhaps he remembered his childhood in a house full of siblings and half siblings and parenthood never appealed to him. He decided to try his luck out in Ohio where his youngest sibling, Julia, had gone, now married to Alfred Lynch and where eventually all his full siblings would find their way. Al Lynch worked as a supervisor in a machine works in East Cleveland and he and Julia had two sons, Alfred Jr. and an oddly -named boy, Kenneth Borden Lynch.  One has to wonder about this last name.  Lizzie had two beloved horses, Kenneth and Malcolm. Was this a connection to Joe’s happy past on French Street where he had driven that team of horses?  Lizzie presented Joe with a handsome heavy gold watch chain when he left her in 1908.  The watch fob had an onyx intaglio inset of a proud horsehead to remind him of their days on French St.

Joe’s youngest sibling Julia, who married Al Lynch. She was the mother of two sons including

Kenneth Borden Lynch

Sadly, Kenneth Borden Lynch was to marry, produce one son, and one day while attending to his motor vehicle, was run over by a passing Greyhound bus.

Kenneth Borden Lynch, Joe’s nephew

Joe Tatro developed cancer of the stomach and died at the age of 66 ½ from a sudden stomach hemorrhage on August 10, 1929.  His last occupation was one of a restaurant chef.  He was a long way from those carefree Fall River days. 

He was buried in Knollwood Cemetery on August 12^th from S.H. Johnson’s funeral home. His last address at 1872 Brightwood St. in East Cleveland is today just a vacant lot in a tired old residential neighborhood. He shared the home with another married sister, Mary R. Tatro Asselin.

 There are still a few direct descendants of his immediate family alive, and they are aware of his connection to Lizzie Borden. Whatever memories of her, Joe took with him to the grave.

(Photographs courtesy of Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, The Cleveland Plain Dealer and Zillow.com)

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Lizzie Borden Warps &

Stop by this week as we explore what happened the week before the murders, Emma and Lizzie’s getaway to Fairhaven and New Bedford, and new imagery which will help to tell the story. The pears are almost ripe, August 4th is coming fast, and thoughts begin to turn to that house on Second Street once again. Follow us at https://www.facebook.com/lizziebordenwarpsandwefts/ !

Wouldn’t you love to have interviewed Lizzie’s physician, Dr. Nomus S. Paige from Taunton, the jail doctor, ? He found her to be of sane mind and we can now confirm that he had Lizzie moved to the Wright’s quarters while she was so ill after her arraignment with bronchitis, tonsilitis and a heavy cold. We learn that she was not returned to her cell as he did not wish a relapse so close to her trial. Dr. Paige was a Dartmouth man, class of 1861. I have yet to produce a photo of him but stay tuned! His house is still standing at 74 Winthrop St, corner of Walnut in Taunton. He was married twice, with 2 children by his second wife Elizabeth Honora “Nora” Colby and they had 2 children,Katherine and Russell who both married and had families. Many of the Paiges are buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Taunton. Dr. Paige died in April of 1919- I bet he had plenty of stories to tell about his famous patient in 1893!! He was a popular Taunton doctor at Morton Hospital and had a distinguished career. Dr. Paige refuted the story that Lizzie was losing her mind being incarcerated at the jail, a story which was appearing in national newspapers just before the trial.

Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Taunton, courtesy of Find A Grave.

74 Winthrop St., corner of Walnut, home of Dr. Paige, courtesy of Google Maps

Obituary for Dr. Paige, Boston Globe April 17, 1919

Included in yesterday’s trip to Fall River was a stop at Miss Lizzie’s Coffee shop and a visit to the cellar to see the scene of the tragic demise of the second Mrs. Lawdwick Borden and two of the three little children in 1848. I have been writing about this sad tale since 2010 and had made a previous trip to the cellar some years ago but was unable to get to the spot where the incident occured to get a clear photograph. 

The tale of Eliza Borden is a very sad, but not uncommon story of post partum depression with a heartrending end. You feel this as you stand in the dark space behind the chimney where Eliza ended her life with a straight razor after dropping 6 month old Holder and his 3 year old sister Eliza Ann into the cellar cistern. Over the years I have found other similar cases, often involving wells and cisterns, and drownings of children followed by suicides of the mothers. These photos show the chimney, cistern pipe, back wall, dirt and brick floor, original floorboards forming the cellar ceiling and what appears to be an original door. To be in the place where this happened is a sobering experience. My thanks to Joe Pereira for allowing us to see and record the place where this sad occurrence unfolded in 1848. R.I.P. Holder, Eliza and Eliza Ann Borden. Visit our Articles section above for more on this story.

The coffee shop has won its suit to retain its name and has plans to expand into the shop next door and extend its menu in the near future.

On June 15, 1892, roughly seven weeks before the Borden Murders, Lizzie was helping with the dishes after a social function at church in one of the front parlors. The dumb waiter which went to the kitchens was loaded with dishes and somehow the pulley to lower it slipped and the entire unit came crashing down across Lizzie’s wrists and forearms. The pain must have been excruciating but Lizzie remained calm. It was first thought that her arms were broken but later found to be only badly bruised. Here are several articles which give more detail about the incident. Naturally one wonders if the injury might have prohibited the use of her arms on August 4th in any kind of a violent attack on Abby and Andrew Borden.

Boston Globe, August 15, 1892

The Boston Post August 6, 1892 mentions the incident but has the time wrong. The accident happened in June- not “last winter”.

On October 16, 1900, the Fall River Daily Herald reported an incident at Maplecroft. Lizzie took a tumble from a step ladder while adjusting a picture on the wall. Dr. Stephen Masury Gordon set the broken wrist. Dr. Gordon lived at 165 Rock St. and was a Harvard graduate. One has to wonder why Lizzie did not have one of the servants or her handy man doing the chore.

Dr. Gordon

There was big excitement in late Spring of 1980s when the Silvias, who had owned Maplecroft since 1948 decided to sell. Lt. Col. Kraft and his brother had plans to buy the property priced at $80,000 but financing fell through. (Boston Globe, June 14, 1980).

It would appear the City Council entertained the notion of buying Maplecroft as well. Perhaps it might have been a house museum open to the public today. (Boston Globe April 24, 1980).

Here’s a great article form the Boston Globe dated dated April 30, 1980 with an interview with John McGinn who owned Second St. #92.

Well here is a nice bedtime story about chubby Mrs. Miland who fell through the floor of her ramshackle backyard shed and found – a hatchet wrapped in bloody newspaper. Her house fronted Spring Street, which is very close to the Borden home. You can guess what happened next! St. Louis Dispatch, June 7, 1903. It was a sensation!

The Boston Post also ran the hatchet story on June 1, 1903.