The End of the Preliminary

The prosecution and defense have wrapped up the Preliminary on Sept. 1, with Phebe Bowen being the last to give testimony on August 31st. There is a lot to be learned from the Preliminary transcript, especially useful as it is very close in time to the actual crime. Bridget’s testimony is especially thorough and we learn a lot about her past from it: She has worked for the Bordens 2 years and 9 months. Washing, ironing, cooking, scrubbing and sweeping the front hall were her duties. Sweeping was done every other Friday. She had come to Abby from Mrs. Remington’s up in the north end on High St . where she had lived for 7 months. Before that she had spent 15 months with Mrs. Reed on Highland Ave., also in the north end. Before that Bridget was in South Bethlehem, PA for a year doing housework for the Smiley family. When she came over from Ireland she landed in New York but headed north on a steamer and got off in Newport, R.I. where she worked for the Perry House hotel doing kitchen work, and lived with the Sullivans until she got a place. Bridget gives a good amount of detail about the day of the murders and before, in great detail and seems to be a good witness , calm and thorough in her accounting. Of course maybe on the inside she was nervous. Many believe Bridget could have told more about the family dynamics if she had chosen to do so.

Her testimony alone is worth the price of buying the transcript! No matter how many times you read it, something new always seems to pop out to consider.