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Busy days for Lizzie Borden & Co.
The snows did fall and the wind did blow, but the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast had a busy winter and the month of March is jammed- packed with activities too. The first Murder Mystery Weekend was held over the Valentine’s Day weekend, followed by the Dead of Winter paranormal event with Chris Moon. The news, posted here earlier, detailing B&B visitor Chloe Sevigny’s proposed upcoming project of an HBO mini-series about the Borden case filming this summer was icing on the cake.
Last week, those who work at the house were thrilled to learn the TODAY show will be making a visit the end of the month to shoot a special on the fascination with the case. The timing could not have been better for the release of the eagerly-awaited Parallel Lives from the Fall River Historical Society. The authors will also be appearing on the morning televison special segment. The Second Street Irregulars will be descending on the 31st for a jammed-packed 3 days at the house and on the road, with some special guests and stops along the way. It looks like 2011 will be another banner year for Lizzie & Co.
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Oddity in the Borden Kitchen
Many visitors at the Borden house are delighted to capture video and photos of peculiar phenomena while on tour or spending the night. In the photo above, it is clear that the glass door knob and brass lock above it are merely smears, perhaps from motion of the camera while the picture is being taken. Even the round “orb” at the top center might be explained as dust or moisture. What is very odd, however, is the appearance of a wooden handle which seems to appear springing from the middle of the door. Do you see anything peculiar in this photo which was taken August 4, 2010? Maybe the missing hatchet handle is making an appearance at last! -
Victorian Murder and Mayhem
Available now at Amazon.com. For more about the book seehttp://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2011/03/11209/ “women murdering make better copy”- we agree!!
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Nance O’Neil’s Lux Soap Ad
Lizzie never lived long enough to see Nance’s winsome smile and 1932 endorsement for a bar of Lux soap and its magical properties for maintaining youthful complexions!
Nance’s autograph 
and personal stationery monogram -
Andrew Borden’s Barber, Pierre LeDuc
photos courtesy of JoAnne Giovino
Andrew Borden’s final morning, leading up to the time of his murder was witnessed by many people as he made his usual rounds around the city. A creature of habit, his daily pattern of barber, post office, banks, and check-in at properties he owned on South Main Street were predictable. He was noted by Abram G.Hart at the bank, encountered by store renter Jonathan Clegg on the street across from old City Hall, engaged in conversation by Mathers and Shortsleeves while checking on a window near the corner of Spring St. and South Main, and observed around 10:45 a.m. by neighbor Caroline Kelly coming around the corner of his house and going up his front steps, attempting to gain entry. Mrs. Kelly would be the last non-family member to see him alive.
Pierre LeDuc is listed as a “hairdresser” along with his partner Joseph LeDoux in the 1891-2 city directory, with their establishment on the second level over Wood and Hall’s shop, which was a furniture store that also had a side line in undertaking, a common practice at the time, supplying things for a funeral and offering wooden coffins for sale in their showroom.
Born of an English father (according to one source) and a French Canadian mother in May of 1864, the family came to America in 1870. The stone marker in Notre Dame Cemetery does not list Pierre’s date of birth, only his death date. The 1900 census has his birthday as May 1864, but the marker has him aged 68 in 1928 which would have made his birth year 1860, the same as Lizzie Borden’s. On April 14, 1890 he married Marie at Saint Anne’s.
Below: City directory entries:
Pierre Leduc 1889-1891 City Directory Location 1: 8 Pleasant Location 2: boards 2 Sixth-and-a-half Occupation: hairdresser Year: 1889
City: Fall River State: MA Pierre Leduc Location 1: 5 Main Location 2: boards 2 Sixth-and-a-half Business Name: Leduc & Ledoux Occupation: hairdresser Year: 1890
City: Fall River State: MA Pierre Leduc Location 1: 5 Main Location 2: boards 2 Sixth-and-a-half Business Name: Leduc & Ledoux Occupation: hairdresser Year: 1891
City: Fall River State: MA 
(click on image above to enlarge to full size) The 1910 census shows Pierre and Marie now living at 160 Robeson Street and they have adopted a daughter, Catherine. With no children appearing since their wedding at St. Anne’s in 1890, twenty years later adoption completed the family. Catherine was born in Massachusetts. Pierre is listed as a barber. Interesting to note that while Pierre’s speaking language is English, Marie’s is listed as French. In other census listings, Pierre and Marie Americanize their names to Peter and Mary LeDuc. And what happened to Pierre’s partner, Joseph LeDoux? In 1930 he is still barbering as an old man and living on Spring Street. If you are fortunate enough to have a copy of Judith A. Boss’ book, Fall River. A Pictoral History (1982 and available on Amazon), you will see a young Pierre LeDuc posing in a jaunty boater hat and crisp white barbering smock in front of Whitehead’s grocery store. He is young and slender. There is only the Fall River Globe’s account that Pierre gave Andrew Borden his last shave and trim the day of the murders. LeDuc probably never thought this is what he would be remembered for in the future. -
Happy 160th Emma Borden!
March 1, 1851 marks the date of Lizzie’s sister’s entry into the Borden family. Lizzie’s birthday anniversary usually gets all the attention in July.
March 1 was also the date Uncle John V. Morse exited this world, taking whatever he may have known or suspected about the Borden mystery with him.
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Villisca on Netflix and Facebook
If you missed it before, one of the best documentaries on the Villisca case is available on Netflix and Amazon.com for $19.99. Visit the website affiliated with the film at http://www.villiscamovie.com/story_01.htm and join in discussions on the Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Villisca-Living-with-a-Mystery/53695253512?v=wall -
Fall River Herald News follow-up
Here’s an interview and follow-up to the Chloe Sevigny story posted here earlier this month. Hopes are running high for an historically accurate script which will include John Morse this time around. The HBO mini-series, slated to run two nights, may be released at the end of 2011.
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A new Victoriana blog debuts: Crime and More!
From the blogger of Murder by Gaslight, and in the style of the old Police Gazette, have a look at the new sister blog, The National Night Stick . Best of luck with the new enterprise!
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Feature on Fall River Police Department
Denise Noe has compiled a fascinating array of facts in this recently released online article for Men’s News Daily about the Fall River Police force, focusing on the men in charge during the 1892 Borden case. City Marshal Rufus Hilliard and Fleet are prominently featured. The article first appear in a 2009 issue of The Hatchet.
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2011/02/20/the-story-of-the-fall-river-police-department/#
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Lizzie Borden’s Servants
Cropped images courtesy of Ancestry.com, click on image to enlarge.
1900– Annie Smith, aged 29 born in Massachusetts, parents from Ireland
John H. Tatro (Tetrault) 37 coachman, born in Rhode Island
1910: Housekeeper Mary S. Boucher aged 35 born in New Jersey , Mary A.J. Reynolds aged 32, English
1920 Helen Smith aged 36 born in Scotland, came to America in 1909, Ellen “Nellie Miller” aged 30, English, came to America in 1891
Nellie Miller and Hannah Nelson remembered in the names of Lizzie’s Boston Bull Terriers -
Lizzie Borden’s Housekeeper
From 1893 until 1927 when Lizzie Borden died and was waked at her impressive home at 306 French Street, she was never truly alone at Maplecroft, even after sister Emma left suddenly and without full explanation being known. Along with Lizzie’s beloved canaries and Boston bull terriers was the constant presence of a housekeeper, which at times, must have been the only other human presence walking through the spacious halls. Maplecroft saw a parade of handymen, carriage drivers, chauffeurs, delivery and service people, and men to do odd jobs and repairs. But surely it was her housekeeper, who slept on the third floor, within easy call of Lizzie’s second floor bedroom which provided a secure and reassuring presence when winter nights closed in early.
Hannah Nelson was born in Sweden on August 24, 1870, the daughter of Philomena and Phi Nelson. She was ten years younger than Lizzie, and when she came to work at Maplecroft in 1903, she was the same age as Lizzie when Lizzie was acquitted of double homicide in a New Bedford court. It would be Hannah who lived through some difficult times when Emma disagreed with Lizzie’s way of life at Maplecroft, and it would be Hannah who stayed on with Lizzie in the big house long after Emma had quitted it forever and the two sisters parted company.
Hannah stayed on until her death on July 3, 1908. She died at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence at the young age of 37. Lizzie had written worried letters to friends about Hannah’s declining health and welfare, and in the end, Lizzie would be the one to step forward to tend to Hannah’s care and burial.
The spot chosen to lay her to rest is located on a peninsula of land with a view of a little cove and river and to the east, a winding estuary. Ancient Little Neck Cemetery, in Riverside is secluded, private, and filled with fascinating historical figures of the Past. Some stones there pre-date the 1700’s, the official date of the cemetery being given as 1755. The headstone is invisible to anyone who travels down the narrow lane as it is located on the other side of a fieldstone wall, on the slope of an embankment. Only the zinc headstone of the Tillinghasts can be seen from the road above it. The view of the little estuary is Hannah’s outlook for eternity. A small child’s headstone is in the same little square plot and has names of several children, who are not related. Hers is a single grave, hidden in a secret place. What is most memorable is the one word on the top of the stone- SISTER.
The stone is plain and unremarkable but for the one word on the top. Was Hannah like a sister to Lizzie after her own sister Emma had left or did her brother wish “Sister” to be placed on the stone? Was Hannah a companion and comfort as well as a housekeeper? Yet one more mystery about Lizzie Borden and what really transpired behind the shuttered doors of Maplecroft.Hannah was also remembered by Lizzie in the naming of one of her beloved pet terriers, Royal Nelson, buried in Pine Ridge pet cemetery at Dedham.
Thanks to Michael Znosko, a font of knowledge on the history of this part of the world, and a recent story http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/141281.html about paupers graves in the Ancient Little Neck Cemetery, Will Clawson (photographer), and Len Rebello (Lizzie Borden Past and Present) for assistance and biographical material.
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Robert Flynn Obituary
Sad news just learned today of the passing of Bob Flynn, a well-known name in Borden circles. His reprinting of several Borden case titles back in the 1990’s provided many interested in the case with great resource material. The following is the obituary which appeared Feb. 12th in area newspapers.
Robert A. Flynn, 88
CUMBERLAND — Robert Anthony Flynn, of Cumberland, died peacefully at Roberts Health Center in Wickford, R.I., on Feb. 8, 2011.
He was born in Fall River, Mass., on June 23, 1922, the son of James H. and Jane E. Flynn. Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the beginning of World War II and served for the duration of the war on the USS Markab in the Pacific. He was recalled for the Korean conflict and again served for the duration as a Chief Petty Officer.
In 1946, he married the love of his life, Anita C. (Boissoneau) Flynn who predeceased him in 2006, after 60 years of marriage.
After World War II, he attended Bryant College and received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He started his career as a Sales Representative for Texaco, Inc., and eventually was promoted to be the Northern New England Manager for Texaco. At the time of his next promotion and transfer out of state, he decided to stay in Maine. He was named the Executive Director of MOHEDA (now the Maine Energy Marketers Assoc.) and then took a position as the Southern Maine Manager for Webber Oil Company, from which he retired.
During retirement, he and his wife Anita traveled extensively throughout the world. They both shared a passion for history and antique books, which resulted in his serving as President of the Maine Antiquarian Book Dealers Association. His passion for books and history also led him to establish the King Phillip Publishing Company. Under its name, he wrote and published several books on the history of the Fall River-Lizzie Borden murder case. Bob appeared on the History Channel, as he was considered a leading expert on the subject.
Since the passing of his beloved wife, Anita, he continued to pursue his passion for knowledge by enrolling in the Maine Senior College at the University of Southern Maine. He was a devoted, caring and loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and was particularly proud of the fact that all of his children and grandchildren graduated from college.
Bob was predeceased by his wife Anita; his sister, Dorothy Pelland, and brother, Charles Flynn. He is survived by his daughters, Ann Parkhurst and husband Steve of Cape Elizabeth, and Janet Rouslin and husband Mark of Wakefield, R.I., son, Robert V. Flynn and wife Julie of Richmond, Maine; grandchildren, Jessica Gagne, Amanda Rouslin, Jason Rouslin, Sherwin Parkhurst, Skyler Parkhurst, Seth Flynn and Ethan Flynn; sisters, Madeline Tozlowski of Massachusetts and Eileen Griggs of North Carolina, and brothers, James Flynn of Virginia, Leo Flynn of Florida, Earle Flynn of Rhode Island, Harold Flynn of South Carolina, Roy Flynn of South Carolina and Kenneth Flynn of Texas. He is also survived by four great- grandchildren, Gabriella, Sophie and Niko Gagne and Chloe Flynn.
A memorial Mass will be held at St. Pius X Church, 492 Ocean Ave., Portland, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12. There will be no visiting hours. Interment will be at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in the spring.
Robert A. Flynn -
Debut of cover art for Parallel Lives
Today the Fall River Historical Society has released the working cover art for its long-awaited volume, Parallel Lives, a history of Lizzie Borden’s Fall River. The cover features an expanded view of the famous “pansy brooch” portrait of Lizzie, with her dress tinted in a rich shade of burgundy and was designed by Charles S. Medeiros of Burnt Toast Graphics. It is a rare treat to see colorized photographs of the well-known black and white images so familiar to students of the Borden case. The rich hue used for the dust jacket is one which perfectly reflects Victoriana. Lizzie truly comes to life. The photograph in black and white featured in the background is of the wedding day of the William Lawton Slade Braytons, June 18, 1913.
For all the latest on publication date, follow the historical society online at http://www.lizzieborden.org/ParallelLives.html and on Facebook. The volume is currently in final revision with a publication date soon to come- and not a minute too soon for the many eager enthusiasts and historians who are eager for the new photographs of the Bordens and more than 500 photographs in all.
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Lizzie Borden HBO 2-part mini-series to air
It’s no secret actress Chloe Sevigny loves the Lizzie Borden story and enjoyed her recent visit to the popular Bed and Breakfast in Fall River where the crimes took place. She recently announced in an interview that she will be starring in the role of Lizzie Borden for an HBO two-part miniseries on the famous case. This is a pet project which has been initiated by the actress herself. For more on the details see the interview here. Air date is yet to be announced. http://www.thenewsgallery.com/2011/02/chloe-sevigny-talks-to-imagine-fashion.html
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Lizzie back in the Big Apple next month
“THE WORKSHOP THEATER and ALVIN OUT PRODUCTIONS present the New York premiere of Lizzie Borden at Eight O’Clock at the WorkShop Jewel Box Theater March 24th-April 3rd. The WorkShop Theater is located at 312 West 36th Street, 4th floor. Subway: A, C, or E to Penn Station. General admission tickets to Lizzie Borden At Eight O’Clock are $18, $15 for students and seniors. Also limited number of TDF @ the $9 Off-Off-Broadway rate (2 per performance). For Information / Tickets visit: www.workshoptheater.org or call 866-811-4111. The play is directed by Kenneth Tigar.THE WORKSHOP THEATER and ALVIN OUT PRODUCTIONS’ production of Lizzie Borden at Eight O’Clock, tells the chilling first person account from Lizzie Borden herself of her father and stepmother’s gruesome murders.
Decades after her acquittal, Lizzie Borden takes the podium at her local Historical Society to once and for all clear her name, or will she? With a tour de force performance by Ellen Barry (Terrence McNally‘s A Perfect Ganesh) as Lizzie Borden, Lizzie relives the compelling events that lead to the headline murders of the century. The bloody dress, the food poisoning, the broken hatchet in the basement, the mysterious bloodless-ness of the crime scenes— all clues pointed towards Lizzie for the murders. But Lizzie has an alternate explanation, and, at long last, she’s ready to tell the whole spine-tingling story. Originally produced and developed and performed at the Historic North Hall in Huntington, MA, this is Lizzie Borden At Eight O’Clock’s New York City debut.
**NOTE*** Lizzie Borden At Eight O’Clock deals with graphic material that may be unsuitable for younger audiences.”
For more about cast and crew http://offoffbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/Workshop_Theatre_and_Alvin_Out_Productions_Present_LIZZIE_BORDEN_AT_EIGHT_OCLOCK_32443_20110209
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Beautification of the Braga
For many, the first sight of Fall River dashing down 195E from Providence has been the big green Braga bridge. For what seems like years, the far right lane has been closed down which makes crossing the bridge at rush hour memorable. But the views of the city are magnificent from the top span of the bridge- truly a city of steeples and towers from the twin spires of old Saint Anne’s, the Central, and the red observatory dome on the tower of the B.M.C. Durfee High School.
Recently there was a controversy as to what color to paint the rusty Braga: tried and true green, red, orange, or blue. Maybe there was a sale on blue because blue it is. These photos were taken on February 5th as traffic crept along over the bridge. Blue will take some getting used to for many.
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A Little Death Metal?
The list of Lizzie Borden tunes grows ever-longer. Here’s the latest from death metal band, Macabre, track 10 off Grim Scary Tales. Here is what “Gruesome Greg” has to say about the album, released in 2010:
“Thematically, it’s a concept album about historical murderers. Whereas their previous work dealt with Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and the Nightstalker, here we have tunes named after Dracula, Lizzie Borden, a demented take on “The Big Bad Wolf” and a competent cover of Venom’s campy classic “Countess Bathory”. (Well, that explains Vlad the Impaler on the cover).
Third track “The Black Knight” is another one of those catchy, I-can’t-believe-I’m-singing-along-with-this songs that Macabre does so well. A driving, punky chorus alternates with slower tempos and clean, monotone singing. “Dracula” is old-school Macabre, blast-beats and guitar-synth-a-plenty. It’s also the first time on the album that Corporate Death unleashes his trademark wail—a whole four songs in! As previously mentioned, “The Big Bad Wolf” is awesome. I know I’d buy an album of Macabre singing children’s campfire songs—oh wait, they’ve already done that…
Anyways, if you’re one of those weirdos like me who worship Macabre, you’ll want this one. Although the production is a lot better and the sound slightly more modern, there are enough shades of Sinister Slaughter on Grim Scary Tales that oughtta make solid additions to their live set next time they’re in our vicinity. (I’m already looking forward to it!)”
And here you can hear Lizzie Borden by Macabre, and probably understand some of the lyrics ! Turn your volume down.
