October 30, 2008 – Lizzie Borden : Warps & Wefts

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.

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.