Case Personalities
People and personalities in the case
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Bridget’s Story
The Borden Case Fitchburg Daily Sentinel August 27, 1892
FALL RIVER Aug. 27.—The examination of Bridget Sullivan was continued
in the Borden hearing, this morning, Witness said that Mrs. Borden told her she and and Mr. Borden were sick on Tuesday night. They had been vomiting and looked sick when Lizzie came downstairs. Lizzie said she had been sick, but witness did not notice that she looked unwell. Witness had never seen Lizzie in tbe barn. She recognized the laugh in the upper hall way, spoken of yesterday, as that of Lizzie Borden. The night before witness ate some of the mutton soup that had been warmed over several times, and next morning felt a little sick. She went out into the yard to vomit; it was at that time that Lizzie was eating breakfast.
Witness said Mrs. Borden told her, Thursday morning, after breakfast, to wash the windows, that morning. Witness was sure Lizzie had coffee and cake for breakfast She did not read any, that morning; witness drank some milk; don’t know whether others did or not, but do know Mr. Borden had some of it on his toast in the morning.
Since the tragedies occured, she had never seen Miss Borden crying. At the conclusion of District Attorney Knowlton’s questioning, Lawyer Adams began his Cross-examination of witness. An official who stands high in the government that he has no hesitation in saying he believes Lizzie Borden guilty of the murders. He bases his judgment largely on the evidence of Bridget Sullivan at the examination, yesterday afternoon.
Bridget’s testimony and witness statement don’t do much to alleviate the suspicion of Lizzie’s guilt. The article above records some interesting statements. The pressing question is, of course, why did Bridget change her mind about hearing Lizzie laugh at the top of the stairs when Andrew Borden came in the front door? At the Grand Jury Trial, Bridget will claim “I don’t know where the girl was.” It would also be interesting to know who the official “high in the government” was who, thanks to Bridget’s testimony, was convinced Lizzie was guilty. And then, there is the great revelation that Andrew Borden was a “milquetoast” as he saturated his toast with milk. Perhaps it was stale- along with the mutton soup.
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More Lizzie in 2009 !
We’re back in 2009! Hope your holidays were happy and filled with Good Things. 2009 promises to be a great year for Bordenites with several new Lizzie B bios, a re-enactment of the 1893 trial in New Bedford for the 150th anniversary of the Bristol County Courthouse, a few television specials about Lizzie and the case on the boards and in production, and more. Lizzie Borden Live will be playing in the Providence-Fall River area in March and a few surprises are in store for the upcoming year. If you missed the big news last month, a new photo of Emma Borden was located by Hatchet editor, Stefani Koorey http://www.heraldnews.com/town_info/history/x1720687532/A-new-development-in-Borden-history very exciting !
There are a few new things going on at 92 Second Street as well- stay tuned. The house is open daily for tours but only open on weekends this month and next for overnight guests. The mammoth courthouse across the street is building up full tilt and makes quite an impact on Second Street.
A new blog link just added here, “Slip into Something Victorian” has posted a nice story on a visit in December to Second Street- http://slipintosomethingvictorian.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/lizzie-borden-sensational-victorian-murder/ Enjoy!
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Emma Borden’s jaunt to Scotland
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
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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New from Garden Bay Films
Bridget’s Run, filmed May 2008 Lizzie Mini #4
Q. Did she say anything when you got down stairs?
A. She said “go for Dr. Bowen”. I ran ahead, I did not know what was the matter. She told me to “go quick and get Dr. Bowen.”
Q. What did you do then?
A. I went right over to Dr. Bowen’s.
Q. Who did you find there?
A. Mrs. Bowen.
Q. You told her what had happened?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Dr. Bowen was not there?
A. No Sir.
Q. Then what did you do?
A. Came back.
Q. Dr. Bowen lives right across the street?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Who was there when you came back?
A. Nobody but Miss Lizzie. I told her he was not in. I told her what Mrs. Bowen told me. She told me to go after Miss Russell.
Q. What did you do then?
A. I went after her.
Q. Where does she live?
A. On Borden street.
Q. How far away is that?
A. I do not know, it is a good ways away. I could not tell you exactly how long it is.
Q. Did you find Miss Russell?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Had anybody else come in when you came back there, telling that Dr. Bowen was not there?
A. No Sir, I did not see anybody.
Q. Where was Miss Lizzie when you came back from Mrs. Bowen’s?
A. Where I left her, standing at the door.
Q. At that time when you went out after Dr. Bowen, did you find the screen door locked?
A. No Sir.
Q. Shut up?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Did you come back with Miss Russell?
A. Ahead of her.
Q. When you came back, who did you find there then?
A. Dr. Bowen was ahead of me, he stepped out of his carriage as I came up Second street. Dr. Bowen went in ahead of me.
Q. When you got in, who did you find there?
A. I think Mrs. Churchill was in when I got in there.
Q. She is the next door neighbor?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. She was in when you got back?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. What was said when you got back?
A. I cannot tell.
Q. Where was Miss Lizzie when you got back?
A. She was there.
Q. Wherebouts?
A. I could not tell you where, I think she must be in the kitchen; I think she was in the kitchen.
Q. Who else was there besides Mrs. Churchill?
A. That is all I remember, Mrs. Churchill and Dr. Bowen.
Q. Did you then see the body?
A. No Sir.
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Pear Essentials Players launch new blog
Over the years since the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum opened, many staff employees and their friends have undertaken the task of bringing the Borden story and Lizzie to life via annual August 4th re-enactments. All have shared a passion for the story, and a pleasure at sharing it with others. Some have taken their show “on the road” to local schools, libraries and civic groups. Since 1996, when the B&B opened, the roles of the Borden family and other personalities in the case have been assumed by many professional and amateur actors. The new site will feature photos and anecdotes about the 12 years of “bringing Lizzie to life” for visitors and guests at #92 and other places. Perhaps you have met one of the troupe on a visit to the house. If you were a member of the cast in 1996-2007, we’d love to hear from you!
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August 11th Autopsies
It was on this day in 1892, 127 years ago, that the bodies of Abby and Andrew Borden were removed from the holding tomb where they had reposed for a full week, and transported to the Ladies Comfort Station just inside the gates of Oak Grove Cemetery. It was here that the heads of the victims were removed from the bodies.
The holding tomb was a fixture in all cemeteries in the North where extreme winters made gravedigging impossible until the Spring thaw.
The Ladies Comfort Station, which is now a break room for the cemetery grounds staff, consisted of two rooms, one white-tiled with sinks and lavatories, the other paneled in dark wood wainscotting.
Andrew Borden: Aged 69 years. Autopsy performed by W. A. Dolan, Medical Examiner, assisted by Dr. F. W. Draper. Witnesses F. W. Draper of Boston and John W. Leary of Fall River. Clerk D. E. Cone of Fall River. Time of Autopsy 11.15 A.M. August 11th, 1892, one week after death.
Abby D. Borden, aged 64 years. Thursday August 11, 1892. at 12.35 P.M. One week after death.The Autopsy was performed by W. A. Dolan, Medical Examiner, assisted by Dr. F. W. Draper, and witnessed by F. W. Draper of Boston, and J. H. Leary of Fall River. Clerk of Autopsy D. E. Cone of Fall River.
Preliminary Testimony by Dr, Dolan describing the skull removal.
Q. He told you to remove the skulls?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. The Attorney General?
A. The Attorney General of this state, yes sir.
Q. I do not assume the Attorney General of any other state has anything to do with this case. You did so?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. What did you do with them?
A. I cleaned them.
Q. You cleaned them?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Do you mean to say these bodies are now buried without the heads?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Where are these skulls?
A. In my possession.
Q. Where?
A. At my office.
Q. Has it been said to any member of this family, or any friend, that these people were buried without their heads?
A. I do not know.
Q. Have you said it, or caused it to be said?
A. No Sir.
Q. Did you photograph them, or cause them to be photographed?
A. Yes Sir.
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Undertaker Winward
James E. Winward was the man Lizzie Borden wanted immediately to undertake the funeral of her father. On the day of the murders, just a very short time after Lizzie said she found her father on the sofa, she requested the services of Mr. Winward, who at the time had his business address at 13 South Main Street. Even before the body of Abby Borden was found on the second floor, Lizzie was voicing the opinion that she would be the one to go down to Oak Grove Cemetery to arrange her father’s funeral and burial. This may be construed as a curious statement as Mrs. Borden would have had this task herself-did Lizzie already know Mrs. Borden was lying dead upstairs?
Young Mr. Winward (aged only 38 on the day of the murders) came as requested, and was to find not one, but two bodies at #92 Second Street. He and his assistant had the grisly task of removing the heavily blood-stained sofa from the sitting room later in the day.
Mr. Winward enjoyed a successful career in his field, and fitted the ideal of a funeral director in every aspect of appearance and decorum. A photograph of Mr. Winward is soon to be published. At the end of his life, Mr. James E. Winward lived in a prosperous section in the north end of the city on Madison Street. He is buried with his wife Annie, his daughter Helen Winward Brown and his son-in-law in the cemetery where he spend so many years organizing funerals for so many city clients- Oak Grove.
The role of Mr. Winward was ably performed by funeral director Andrew Correia for the recent August 4th re-enactments at # 92 Second Street.
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August 4, 2008
Re-Enactment Cast 2008
Lizzie Borden- LeeAnn Wilbur
Abby Borden -Shelley Dziedzic
Andrew Borden – Jeff Massan
Bridget Sullivan- Kathleen Troost-Cramer
Emma Borden- Barbara Borden Morrissey
Mrs. Churchill- JoAnne Giovino
Mrs. Bowen- Susan Hauck
Mr. James E. Winward, Undertaker- Andrew Correia
Miss Manning from the Fall River Herald- Lorraine Gregoire
Dr. Dolan- Ted Gregoire
Detective Seaver- Ben Rose
Little Abbie Whitehead- Kathryn Woods
Alice Russell- Colleen Johnson
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August 4th is coming to Second Street !
Bed and Breakfast co-owner LeeAnn Wilber starring as
Lizzie Borden for August 4th
Sure signs it must be August are the heat and humidity- and the Fall River newspapers and local television channels talking about Fall River’s most infamous native daughter. This year, as in every year since the B&B museum on Second Street opened, there will be a recreation of the Borden story on August 4th. There is a new script again this year, this time with the largest cast ever assembled. The production, which was sold out by noon last year, will feature new characters, some for the first time ever. Naturally visitors want to meet the family, Abby and Andrew, Lizzie and Irish maid Bridget- but this year sister Emma, several of the neighbors, ( Mrs. Churchill, Mrs. Kelly, Mrs. Bowen) Dr. Dolan, Little Abbie Whitehead, and even the undertaker, Mr. Winward will be making an appearance at #92 Second Street. Visitors to the house will “find” the body of Mrs. Borden upstairs, listen to Dr. Dolan’s preliminary observations on the body of Andrew Borden which is covered with a sheet on the sofa, hear about the funeral plans, and help to search for a possible weapon in the cellar! Tours will take place between 11 and 3:30, approximately on the half hour. Tickets may be purchased in the barn gift shop behind the Borden house.
“She’s not my mother- she is my step-mother.”
“It all depends on your idea of cordiality.”
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Eli Bence’s New Bedford Pharmacy
One of the most interesting witnesses for the prosecution must surely have been young Eli Bence, the pharmacy clerk who testified that Lizzie Borden had asked for a dime’s worth of deadly Prussic acid on the morning before the murders. Mr. Bence denied her request without a prescription, but remembered her face and voice, and would later identify Lizzie, as did two other men in the store at the time, as the lady who visited the store that Wednesday morning.
Bence’s evidence was a godsend to the prosecution and stood firm until it reached the higher court. There it was ruled too remote in time from the killings -and no poison was ever found in the stomachs of the two victims. Eli’s evidence, had it been heard by the jury, may have had serious consequences. Miss Borden denied going to the pharmacy and even knowing where it was located on Main Street, only two blocks south of her house.
Bence left Fall River and started his own pharmacy in a residential section of New Bedford in 1894 at the corner of Russell and Fourth Streets. His wife died in New Bedford, but Bence remarried in 1904, to a Fairhaven woman, and the pair with his young son Roy Sydney Bence, moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts to establish another pharmacy. The couple had two children, Priscilla and Maxfield. Bence had a successful career and rose to the top of his profession. His name in print was always followed by a mention about the part he played in the famous Borden trial, even in his obituary. This medicine bottle, minus its cork stopper was recently found in a New Bedford antique store and reads Eli Bence Pharmacy, New Bedford.
For more on Eli Bence visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlJumWmayLc
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The portraits of Rochelle Pettenati
Capturing the characteristics of a person in a portrait is never easy, especially when the subject is as well known as Lizzie Borden. From late 1995-1996, Rochelle Pettenati, sister of the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum office manager offered her abilities and talent to create individual portraits for the house which was undergoing renovations to become a bed and breakfast under the management of Martha McGinn and Ron Evans. Antique oval frames were found and Rochelle got to work producing portraits for all of the rooms which were named for various key figures in the Borden Case. Particularly pleasing are the two portraits of Lizzie, who has never quite been adequately captured by other artists over the years. Rochelle painted the Swansea Farm, Uncle John Morse, Hosea Knowlton, and other incidental art around the house. Rochelle also appeared in the media dressed in Elizabeth Montgomery’s size 4 Lizzie Borden acquittal gown on loan to the house from Paramount Pictures and worn in the 1975 film.
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Death Certificate-Eli Bence
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Dr. Michael Kelly
The Borden house was surrounded by doctors on the average day. Dr. Chagnon lived behind #92, back on Third Street but was not home at the time of the murders. He had been called away and Lucy Collette sent to his offices to tell patients he could not attend them on the morning of August 4th. Dr. Bowen who lived across the street from the Bordens was making his rounds when Bridget Sullivan, the Borden’s maid knocked frantically on the door. Just next door-one house south on Second Street was Dr. Michael Kelly, a specialist in pediatric medicine, who was also not home that morning. Andrew Borden was, in any event, well beyond the ministrations of any doctor by the time his body was discovered.
The Kelly house still exists, and is currently for sale. Dr. Kelly and his young wife Caroline, who was expecting a baby at the time of the murders, became much-beloved figures in the city’s social circles. By 1906 they were living on Third Street. The Kellys are buried in Saint Patrick’s Cemetery.
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Lizzie’s Spurned Friend
Alice Russell, the former Borden neighbor and close family friend who testified about Lizzie burning a dress in the kitchen woodstove the day after the funeral services for Andrew and Abby Borden, lived very close to French Street and Maplecroft years after the acquittal. Miss Alice Russell, who was a bookkeeper, clerk and sewing teacher over the course of her employed years in the city, moved into the house above, #18 Hillside, with her mother in 1909 and continued to reside in the two-family home until 1929.
Hillside is perhaps two blocks from French Street and Lizzie’s Maplecroft home. Lizzie and her sister Emma moved into Maplecroft in September of 1893, the autumn after Lizzie’s acquittal. Lizzie resided there until her death in 1927. Older sister Emma left Maplecroft and her sister for reasons not entirely known in 1905, and is rumored never to have been in her sister’s physical presence again.
Alice Russell earned Lizzie’s contempt after giving the damaging testimony about the burnt dress, and was no longer one of Lizzie’s intimate friends forever afterward. With the two ladies living in such proximity, there must have been some awkward moments as they passed on the street over that eighteen year period.
Alice Russell spent her days from 1930 until she died in 1941 at the Home for the Aged, now The Adams House, on Highland Avenue. She is buried in Beech Grove Cemetery in nearby Westport.
Adams House today on Highland Avenue
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Friends of Oak Grove in the News
Yesterday’s Fall River Herald News featured a story on the new Friends group which has begun a program of planting trees at the historic Victorian cemetery.
http://www.heraldnews.com/town_info/history/x1565510740
Oak Grove was begun in 1855 with a 47 acre parcel purchased from Dr. Nathan Durfee who sold it to the city for $200 per acre. The entry arch was erected in 1873. The site http://oakgrovecemetery.wordpress.com features the Borden-Almy plot, Borden-related gravesites, and information on the Borden’s funeral. Over 500 “hits” have come in over the past 24 hours to the site, with a lion’s share of visitors reading about how to become a member- with the Borden-related information a close second. Lizzie still holds a fascination among the city’s population.
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New photo joins other “Lizzies”
The recently-found photograph of a young Lizzie in a straw hat has joined the other known photos on the bookshelf in the sitting room at the Borden house. The room also contains the most famous one of Lizzie in Newport after the acquittal posed standing behind a chair- the only photo where she looks directly out at the photographer.
Some say she looks like the cat that swallowed the canary. The Swansea Historical Society houses the new photo of little Lizzie, which is the youngest photo of Lizzie found to date.
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Emma’s Great Escape
Lizzie’s quiet older sister Emma kept a great deal to herself and was of a retiring nature. The reason for her sudden 1905 departure from the shared domicile of Maplecroft is not known for certain but there is much speculation it had to do with Lizzie’s entertaining of theatre people including rising stage star Nance O’Neil, and possibly the frivolity at Maplecroft which might have included alcoholic beverages at these theatre party soirees. Emma lived in Fall River and Providence for the years following their separation, and just perhaps her trip to England and Scotland in 1906, which followed hard upon their split, was to get away from the unpleasantness on French Street. The passenger list gives her age as 55 at the time of the voyage- certainly mature for a first visit away from the country. There is no record found to date of any other foray into a wider world for quiet Emma.
The White Star liner Cymric
