Lizzie Didn't Do It!. William Psy.D. Masterton
Andrew Borden had extensive holdings in real estate. His proudest possession was a three story commercial structure in downtown Fall River, built in 1890, which he modestly named the A. J. Borden building. Fifty years after his death it would be a major stop for every tourist bus that came to Fall River. Beyond that, Andrew owned several tenements. Reportedly he adjusted the rent to the financial status of the tenant, but only in one direction. Anyone who received a promotion or salary increase could look forward to having his rent raised.
Through foreclosures, Andrew picked up two farms in nearby Swansea. To make them more profitable, he sold farm produce on the streets of Fall River and even at 92 Second Street. Charles Sawyer, the man pressed into service as a guard on August 4, said he was familiar with the house because he had gone there to buy "vinegar and other stuff" from Andrew.
To state the obvious, Andrew Borden was obsessed with the acquisition and retention of money. The idea that spending money could be more enjoyable than making it never occurred to him. As a Fall River Globe article pointed out:
"He rarely, if ever, visited places of amusement; Providence and Boston were the limits of his traveling experience. He dressed poorly and, for a man of his means, shabbily . . . In his own peculiar way he undoubtedly derived much pleasure from [money]. His wealth was his theater, excursions and all kinds of amusements, embodied in the one thing. It was his pleasure to add to it, to scrape together, multiply, and see his great mass doubling and redoubling."
Andrew Borden's miserly ways made him many enemies. Among them was Hiram Harrington, married to Andrew's sister Lurana., who told the following story:
"Mr. Borden was an exceedingly hard man concerning money matters, determined and stubborn; when he got an idea nothing could change him. He was too hard for me. When his father died, he offered my wife the old homestead on Ferry Street for a certain sum of money. My wife preferred to take money from Andrew instead. After all the agreements were signed, he wanted my wife to pay an additional $3 for water tax upon the homestead."
Small wonder that three different authors, all of them Fall River natives, said that the predominant reaction in Fall River to Andrew Borden's death was, "Well, somebody did a good job!"
Figure 2.1 Andrew Borden
Figure 2.2 Emma Borden and mother, Sarah
An early photograph of Abby Borden suggests that she was an attractive young woman. By 1892 she weighed over 200 pounds and her charms had faded; living with Andrew had taken its toll. However, she had something in common with Sara Lee confectioneries. "Nobody didn't like" Abby Borden (except perhaps her stepdaughters; more about that later). A friend of Lizzie referred to Abby as "a kindhearted lovable woman who tried, but ineffectively, to win the love of her stepdaughters." Mrs. Southard Miller, who lived across the street, described Mrs. Borden as, "the best and most intimate neighbor I ever met." Bridget Sullivan said that when she considered going back to Ireland, Mrs. Borden said she would be lonely without her. "I didn't have the heart to leave her," Bridget added.
FIGURE 2.3 Abby Borden
The reaction to Abby's death differed considerably from Andrew's. Several people, including Joseph Lemay's weirdo (Chapter 1), referred to, "poor Mrs. Borden." No one mentioned, "poor Mr. Borden" which would have been the ultimate oxymoron. The same Fall River Globe article which took a dim view of Andrew had this to say about Abby Borden:
"She had a kindly disposition . . . and was a model helpmate for her somewhat eccentric husband. She was opposed to pretentious appearances and dressed neatly and plainly; neither was she fond of amusement but rather preferred the surroundings of her home . . . Her memory will be cherished."
From the autopsy results, it appeared that Andrew and Abby Borden had been in excellent health. They did, however, have a severe gastrointestinal upset on Tuesday night before the murders. The next morning Abby went across the street to consult with Dr. Bowen. She told him that she and Andrew had vomited several times between 9 P.M. and midnight. Lizzie was less affected, Bridget apparently not at all.
Abby expressed to Dr. Bowen her fear that they had been poisoned, perhaps by some baker's bread they had eaten for supper. Bowen doubted that but advised a stiff dose of castor oil to be washed down with a little port wine. Later he decided that the neighborly thing to do was to go across to 92 Second Street and see how the Bordens were doing. Andrew greeted him with a warning that he didn't intend to pay for an unrequested house call. Same old Andrew, always looking for ulterior motives. Just for the record, Dr. Wood found later that the stomachs of the victims did not contain poison.
The Accused: Lizzie Borden
We really know very little about Lizzie's life prior to the murders. She was one month shy of being five years old when her father married Abby Gray. She had no recollection of her own mother, Sarah Morse Borden. As a child, Lizzie called Abby "mother"; later that changed. Lizzie said once, "I had never been to her as a mother in many things. I always went to my sister because she was older and had the care of me after my mother died."
Lizzie was an indifferent student, about average in intellectual ability. Teachers remembered her as a lonely girl with few friends at school. She dropped out of high school in her junior year, apparently for lack of interest. Lizzie gave her high school ring to her father; Andrew wore it on his little finger for the rest of his life.
In 1890 she crossed the Atlantic to tour Europe. No one knows what countries she visited or what impressions she brought back to Fall River. It has been suggested that Lizzie's trip abroad made her realize how dreary life was at home; that would be understandable.
About five years before the murders, Lizzie became active in the Central Congregational Church. She was the only member of her family to be involved in church work; in August 1892 she was secretary-treasurer of Christian Endeavor. As a member of the Fruit and Flower Mission, she visited the sick, the poor and the shut-ins. For several years she taught a mission class of Chinese men; later she worked with a group of young girls employed in the cotton mills.
For a woman, Lizzie was about average in height (5'4") and weight (135 lb). A photograph taken in the early 1890s suggests that she was attractive. No one ever called her beautiful, perhaps because of a certain "heaviness" in her lower face. Many said that Lizzie's best feature was her hair; the phrases used to describe it ranged from "mousy brown" to "auburn tinged". There was disagreement about her eyes as well:
"She had dreadful eyes, colorless and soulless like those of a snake" "Her large, light eyes were by far her most attractive feature"
"The eyes themselves were huge and protruding, the irises ice-blue" "She had large brown eyes"
FIGURE 2.4 Lizzie Borden, circa 1892
What kind of a person was Lizzie Borden? That depends upon whom you listen to, the Lizzie lovers or the Lizzie haters. There are, however, some areas of agreement; we'll concentrate on those.
Lizzie resembled her father in many ways. She was stubborn, assertive in maintaining her rights, and forthright in expressing her opinions. She was a stoical person who never (well, almost never) showed emotion in public. This was the quality that got Lizzie