Victoriana
Old Fall River, nineteenth century customs and lifestyle, interiors, Painted Ladies and more
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Abby Borden’s mincemeat pies
With Christmas on the doorstep, it is good to imagine Abby Borden in a white apron in front of the old iron wood stove on Second Street making up her mincemeat pies to take on calls to her half-sister Bertie Whitehead on 4th street and Bert’s two children, George and Little Abbie. Mincemeat in the 1890’s was quite different from the Nonesuch mincemeat in jars on supermarket shelves today- it actually did have meat in it and was the perfect way to preserve and use up leftover scraps of beef, venison or other wild game meat. Heavily spiced, this type of meat-spice concoction is still popular in many Middle Eastern countries today. If you visit the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River, a little replica bottle of Abby’s secret ingredient is on display, rose water. The rose water was not used in the crust, but rather in the actual mincemeat, which contains apples and other fruits. This custom of using rose water in fruit pies is still observed in some Amish communities. Here is an old recipe for real mincemeat. The alcohol would have cooked away from the brandy in the baking, leaving the flavor – that is, if Andrew Borden allowed “spirits” in the house!
Victorian Mincemeat
4 pounds venison, wild game meat, or beef
Water
2 1/2 cups suet, finely chopped or grated*
7 1/2 cups chopped tart apples
3 cups liquid which meat of your choice was cooked in
5 cups granulated sugar
3 cups apple cider
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup cider vinegar1 Tablespoon rose water
3 cups raisins
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons ground allspice
2 tablespoons ground nutmeg
Juice of 2 lemons
Juice of 2 oranges
1 cup brandy or sherryFrom Sullivan’s Goodbye Lizzie Borden, page 20 from information supplied by Abby Whitehead Potter, Abby Borden’s niece:
“”Mrs. Abby Potter recalls those visits and the little gifts which her aunt brought to the far less prosperous Whiteheads; especially she recalls her aunt’s freshly baked mince pies, into which Mrs. Borden had sprinkled rosewater to make them more tempting to taste and smell.”
Abby trundling along Second Street, turning at Rodman and continuing up to Fourth Street with pie basket in hand, sure in the knowledge of two appreciative little faces waiting for pie at journey’s end is a pleasant thought at Christmas or at any other time of year.
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Whiskey Lizzies
Even if you are not a fan of fruitcake, this old-fashioned Victorian cookie recipe is moist, keeps well and is a great cookie for the holidays. Emma Borden and the Temperance ladies would not approve of this recipe as a considerable amount of liquor is essential to the flavor. Good whiskey, bourbon, brandy or cognac can be used. The original “Lizzies” used whiskey, which soaks into the fruit and nuts for a memorable flavor. It was a special favorite of the gentlemen. Southern ladies made “Georgia Lizzies” which featured peach brandy.Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies.
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1 t vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
3 t baking soda
1/8 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. ginger
1 lb raisins (golden or dark, currants may also be used)
1 lb dried fruits ( a mix of dried cherries, apricots, figs, cranberries, pineapple, or dates). If you use candied citron from the supermarket, wash in a strainer with hot water first in order to remove the syrup coating on the dried fruit.
4 cups nuts (use a mix of pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, slivered almonds).
1/2 cup cognac or good quality whiskey or brandy
The night before you bake the cookies, soak the fruits in the liquor of choice.
Blend the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and spices in a large bowl. Stir in the baking soda, then add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until fully combined. You should have a sticky cookie dough. Fold in the fruit including any leftover liquid, and add the nuts. Mix until well combined and the dough looks chunky with fruit and nuts. With a teaspoon, scoop up the dough and drop on a lightly greased cookie sheet, patting the dough slightly into a rounded shape and bake at 325F for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a rack. They may look a little moist and shiny on top but they will keep for weeks in a tightly closed cookie tin stored in a cool place.
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W&W’s Top 10 Borden Case Errors
Axe or hatchet? – Most likely a hatchet or a short-handled axe.
Top Ten List of Most Often-Quoted Borden Case Errors
1. Lizzie was found guilty by jury of the murders of her mother and father.
Actually Lizzie was acquitted on all three counts, the murder of her father, her stepmother and both at the trial in New Bedford, June 1893.
2. Lizzie Borden was a redhead.
According to her passport she had light brown hair.
3. Lizzie’s father cut off the heads of Lizzie’s pet pigeons with a hatchet.
Andrew Borden did kill the pigeons, but by wringing their necks, according to Lizzie’s inquest statement.
4. Lizzie decapitated Abby Borden’s tabby kitten.
We have only the interview of Abby Borden’s niece, Abbie Whitehead Potter stating that Lizzie killed a kitten. The Whitehead family, with reason, had very little sympathy towards Lizzie, and this tale cannot be validated.
5. Lizzie Borden was a big, mannish woman.
Lizzie was 5 ft. 3 inches tall according to her passport, average for the times. She had put on weight during the ten months she was incarcerated in Taunton jail. Her face did have a heavy lower jaw and was described by one newspaper as a face with attributes very common to the region.
6. Lizzie and her sister sold the house where the murders took place on Second Street after Lizzie was acquitted in 1893.
The sisters held on to the property until 1918.
7. Lizzie was a kleptomaniac.
Legend has it that she shoplifted at local Main St. stores and that the bill for what she had pilfered would be sent to her father to pay. Shoplifting was surprisingly not uncommon among ladies of the period. There is no documentation at present in existence that Lizzie was a kleptomaniac and that Andrew paid the bills. The only corroborating bit of evidence is of a documented thievery of a porcelain wall ornament which went “missing” from the Tilden and Thurber jewelry store in Providence. When the item was taken back to the store for a repair, the owner was questioned about its provenance only to be told Lizzie Borden had been the gift giver. This matter was eventually settled privately. It is possible that Lizzie was a shoplifter in younger years, but not proven so.
8. Andrew Borden was a mortician.
Andrew Borden was trained as a carpenter and then went into business as a furniture and household goods retailer. He invested wisely in real estate, including two small farms, all of which would bring him a good financial return, and as a sideline, he was an undertaker. Undertaker in 1890 parlance meant a person who would supply items needed for a funeral. He was neither a funeral director, embalmer, nor mortician. An invoice has been found for his services and for a casket, signed by Borden. It was not uncommon for furniture retailers to supply wooden coffins and caskets and have a showroom or warehouse facility containing these items.
9. Lizzie committed the two murders in the nude.
Thanks to the 1975 film starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Lizzie, the nude murderess scenario has its supporters. In 1890, the thought was put forth that the killer must be saturated with blood, and it should have been impossible to hide or escape without the telltale blood evidence being detected. In fact, the killer need not have been covered from head to toe with blood, or could have worn, then later destroyed a protective covering garment. It would be unusual for a lady in the era of corsets and petticoats to have stripped bare twice on a sunny morning and walked around the house in broad daylight , then to clean up in between in a large tin basin in the cellar. Not impossible- just unlikely.
10. Lizzie Borden killed her stepmother and father.
So often assumed as fact , – in fact, nobody will ever have the final answer to this one. Based on the evidence given to the jury then, and in re-examinations of the trial evidence now, Lizzie is acquitted. Her inquest testimony, prussic acid evidence, and dress-burning evidence were not allowed at the trial. The fact that a side door remained open for almost an hour, and that an intruder could have entered the house and concealed himself, allows for reasonable doubt. And therein lies the fascination with this case.
Got a favorite oft-quoted but unsubstantiated Borden case statement to share? Please leave a comment!
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Bristol House Tour
Saturday, December 11th17th Annual Home for the Holidays House Tour, Bristol
11:00am–5:00pm. Linden Place, 500 Hope Street. The tour includes several select historic homes, including Linden Place Mansion, that open their doors to showcase their unique holiday decors and beautiful interiors. $20 in advance; $25 at the door. Call (401) 253-0390.
Visit the Linden Place web site to learn more about the Colt Family history and high Victorian society in Bristol.
http://www.lindenplace.org/tours.htm
Also, while in Bristol, plan on stopping by historic Blithewold, decorated for the season with special events and holiday teas.
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Annual House Tour 2010
Tickets are on sale for the popular annual event. The Borden House will once again be participating in the event, which is only about a month away! This is one not to miss.
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October Mutton Eaters is now Online
October seems the right time to publishThe Victorian Celebration of Death
The Borden Funerals
Those Victorians sure knew how to mourn and how to keep Loved Ones around for years after the funeral through Memento Mori. To find out more about the customs of the era, and the Borden funeral in particular, visit the link for October Mutton Eaters online. Why did Lizzie wish her grave “bricked over”. What is a mort-safe?
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Nance at The Players Club
With Nance O’Neil off-Broadway until October 9th, playgoers may like to know that the famous Players Club has a full-length portrait of Nance as Lady Macbeth in the diningroom. See link below to the Player’s Club and a link to a mixed review of Nance as Lady Macbeth here below as a pdf file: -
Another Hatchet Job
There must be something in the Massachusetts water supply- or is it all about the hot days of August in New England? This story by Joan Patrakis of the Andover Historical Society comes from the Andover Townsman Online and tells of another local lady who went on a rampage with a sharp -edged tool, this one in August of 1895. Not most people’s ideal of Victorian Motherhood.“Saddest of all is the story of Mrs. Beard whose shocking case rivals that of Lizzie Borden. In 1895 she was declared insane after she viciously attacked her daughter and friend with an ax. The victims survived but the incident rekindled suspicion of her guilt in the deaths of her two young sons who had died in a tragic house fire 20 years earlier. Mrs. Beard was brought before a jury at that time but the case against her was dropped despite there being possible evidence of arson and questions about her sanity. She lived out her life in a Maine asylum.”
Although the attack itself occured in Old Orchard, Maine, where the Andover woman had a summer cottage, Mrs. F.R. Beard was from Andover where she maintained her primary residence. The attack occured on the morning of August 26th , with grievious wounds inflicted upon the body of her daughter, Josephine Beard, a Boston school teacher who was in bed at the time of the attack. A college friend from Andover, Miss Winona Graffen who was rooming with the Beards, received two serious flesh wounds. Mrs. Beard recovered her composure apparently, and accompanied the two girls to the hospital in Portland. (source, NY Times August 26, 1895)
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August 6th Funeral of Abby & Andrew Borden
The Funeral Service of Abby and Andrew Borden
Private funeral services for the deceased victims began at the house on Second Street at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning. The streets surrounding the house were packed with over 2500 people anxious to get a glimpse of the proceedings. Services were conducted by the Rev. A. Buck, William Adams, D.D. gave the invocation and read passages from the Bible. The bodies were each placed in a cedar coffin covered with black broadcloth and bore three silver handles on each side. The names of the deceased were engraved on a plate on the lid. On the casket of Andrew Borden was an ivy wreath, on Abby Borden’s a wreath of white roses, fern and sweet peas tied up with white satin ribbon. The bodies were exposed for viewing.
Family and neighbors attending the home service included Abby’s half-sister Sarah Whitehead, Mrs. Gray (Abby’s stepmother), Hiram Harrington (brother-in-law of Andrew Borden), Mrs. J. L. Fish (sister of Abby Borden), Dr. and Mrs. Bowen, Southard Miller and son, Mrs. Addie Churchill, Mrs. Thomas Cheetham, several cousins, neighbor Mrs. James Burt, Mrs. Rescomb Case, and Mrs. John Durfee. Over seventy-five in all were received at the home. 
Miss Lizzie Borden was attired in a black lace dress with jet bead trimmings and wore a bonnet of dark material with small, high flowers. The funeral procession traveled north on Second Street, to Borden Street, on to South Main, and passed by the Andrew J. Borden Building. It continued north to Cherry Street, to Rock Street, and turned East on Prospect Street to the entry of Oak Grove Cemetery. The cortege arrived at the burial site at 12: 20 where several hundred people were assembled for the graveside services. The crowd was contained by a dozen policemen. None of the funeral party descended from their carriages except John Morse, Lizzie’s uncle, the bearers and the clergy. The tops of the graves were covered with branches of fir and the sides lined with cloth. 
Pallbearers included John H. Boone, businessman, Andrew J. Borden, Merchant Manufacturing Co. (same name as the deceased), Jerome Cook Borden, cousin, Richard A. Borden, prominent businessman, George W. Dean, businessman, Abraham Hart, treasurer of Union Savings Bank, and James Osborn, a member of the Central Congregational Church. For Abby Borden: Frank Almy, John Boone, Henry Buffinton, Simeon Chace, James Eddy and Henry Wells. The bodies were not buried until after a cemetery autopsy on August 11th when both skulls were removed and a complete autopsy took place. 
- information above courtesy of Leonard Rebello, Lizzie Borden Past and Present and the Fall River Daily Herald
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Richard Behrens at the Fall River Public Library
Richard Behrens,author of Lizzie Borden, Girl Detective gave a reading at the Fall River Public Library on August 3rd. Some of the character actors from the Borden house museum’s Pear Essential Players came dressed 1892 style for the occasion.This year’s cast featured Kathryn Woods as Nellie Drew, budding girl detective and fan of Miss Lizzie’s sleuthing adventures!
Abby Borden (Shelley Dziedzic) on the arm of
Uncle John V. Morse (Joe Radza) at the library (photos by Jack Faria)
click on link to view video : Lizzie Borden, Girl Detective
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August 4th means Lizzie Borden in Demand!
Those interested in the Borden Case will have a week ahead chock-full of things to see and do. It has been a long time since the conference at Bristol Community College and many who are fascinated with the case and needing a good dose of Bordenalia are heading to Fall River this week to take in as much as possible. Great weather is predicted!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. -
An Omen in the Night Sky
In 1835, the year Samuel Clemens, writer, reporter, and publisher was born, Halley’s Comet passed over. Twain vowed that he would not die until he saw the famous comet again. Then, just before Twain died, Halley’s Comet passed over. He died the next day–April 10th, 1910 at 6:30 p.m. For all the fame Twain enjoyed, his life was greatly marked by failures and heartrending deaths and tragedies in his family. As Twain lay dying under the tail of the comet, the Titanic was laid down and building in Belfast. The ship would have a sad and notorious end.
Recently astonomers, thanks to a painting by Frederic Church, finally figured out what phenomenon Walt Whitman and others witnessed in the night sky in July of 1860 and mentioned in Leaves of Grass. http://www.aolnews.com/science/article/walt-whitman-meteor-mystery-solved-by-astronomer-sleuths/19502614?icid=main|htmlws-main-w|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fwalt-whitman-meteor-mystery-solved-by-astronomer-sleuths%2F19502614
As Sarah Morse Borden lay upon her birthing bed in the house on Ferry St., on July 19th, high above in the sky, a massive meteor was hurtling toward earth. The New York Times, Smithsonian, and Harper’s Weekly all covered the event, with Scientific American calling it “the largest meteor that has ever been seen.”
Breaking into many smaller pieces, it produced a parade of fireballs in the sky on the evening of July 20th as Lizzie Borden lay in her cradle on her first day of life. She would also become- notorious.
Walt Whitman died in 1892- the year of the Borden murders. Here is the poem, “Year of the Meteor”-
Year of meteors! brooding year!
I would bind in words retrospective some of your deeds and signs,
I would sing your contest for the 19th Presidentiad,
I would sing how an old man, tall, with white hair, mounted the
scaffold in Virginia,
(I was at hand, silent I stood with teeth shut close, I watch’d,
I stood very near you old man when cool and indifferent, but trembling
with age and your unheal’d wounds you mounted the scaffold;)
I would sing in my copious song your census returns of the States,
The tables of population and products, I would sing of your ships
and their cargoes,
The proud black ships of Manhattan arriving, some fill’d with
immigrants, some from the isthmus with cargoes of gold,
Songs thereof would I sing, to all that hitherward comes would welcome give,
And you would I sing, fair stripling! welcome to you from me, young
prince of England!
(Remember you surging Manhattan’s crowds as you pass’d with your
cortege of nobles?
There in the crowds stood I, and singled you out with attachment;)
Nor forget I to sing of the wonder, the ship as she swam up my bay,
Well-shaped and stately the Great Eastern swam up my bay, she was
600 feet long,
Her moving swiftly surrounded by myriads of small craft I forget not
to sing;
Nor the comet that came unannounced out of the north flaring in heaven,
Nor the strange huge meteor-procession dazzling and clear shooting
over our heads,
(A moment, a moment long it sail’d its balls of unearthly light over
our heads,
Then departed, dropt in the night, and was gone;)
Of such, and fitful as they, I sing–with gleams from them would
gleam and patch these chants,
Your chants, O year all mottled with evil and good–year of forebodings!
Year of comets and meteors transient and strange–lo! even here one
equally transient and strange!
As I flit through you hastily, soon to fall and be gone, what is this chant,
What am I myself but one of your meteors? -
145 Years ago today
Happy Anniversary
June 6, 1865
June bride, Abby Durfee Gray, aged 37 took Andrew Jackson Borden, aged 43, on this day 145 years ago. For better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death they would part. Who could imagine on that day, how the last pledge would have been fulfilled.
Miss Gray during the Civil War period, much as she might have looked on her wedding day.
Was it a love match or a wedding of convenience for Andrew Borden and his two daughters? Only two will ever truly know.
The Oliver Gray house originally on 4th St., now moved back on Spring St. facing Fourth St., venue for the Wedding Day Reception of Abby & Andrew Borden
A lavish Civil War Wedding, Godey’s Lady’s Book
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A Reading at The Fall River Historical Society
This coming Saturday, June 5, from noon to 2:30 p.m., come and meet the author of Lizzie Borden: Girl Detective, Richard Behrens. The reading selection will take place from 1- 1:30. Come and enjoy an afternoon of fiction and light refreshments! “It’s Nancy Drew meets Victorian Fall River!” Copies available at the historical society giftshop.
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Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day to Mothers, Stepmothers, Mothers-to-Be, Like-a- Mother and Mothers-in-law EVERYWHERE!
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Fall River- City of Opportunity
Here is a little brochure extolling the benefits of locating manufacturing and other business concerns to the City of Fall River. This publication is connected to T.R. Vestal at 31 Bedford Street. For more about the Vestal family, please click on the tab above “Another Side of Lizzie Borden”. This little brochure is a wonderful look into the many assets of the city at the turn of the century.
“The ratio of failures in business is said to be less in this city than any other one in this vicinity”. Click on each thumbnail image above to see full -sized page.
Courtesy of Jack Faria, the Vestal Collection
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What’s new on Second Street?
Lizzie’s has another brand new sign created by Ray who now works in the gift shop. The hatchet is made of a waterproof foam material.
A new green velvet diamond-tufted Victorian settee has pride of place on the third floor. Bridget would have loved it.
Lizzie’s piano gets a new globe lamp.
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Easter Greetings
With all good wishes for a Happy Easter!
