Lizzie Didn't Do It; Emma Did!
by
Elaine E. Watson
Copyright 2011 Elaine E. Watson,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by Branden Books
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-0-8283-2279-9
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Classic photo of Emma Borden from the collection
of the Fall River Historical Society and used with
their permission.
The outside of the Borden house at 92 Second Street.
(Used with permission of Fall River Historical Society)
Forward
Thousands and thousands of words have been written about the Lizzie Borden double murder case that took place in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892. In addition to the printed page, there are hundreds of web sites online where one can examine all the evidence, take a virtual tour of the murder house, and read the trial transcripts, etc.
In spite of all this, here is another book about the case. But this book is different. Yes, the evidence is the same, the testimony of the witnesses is the same, and the victims are the same. But I am going to take you through the case and bring you to a different conclusion.
I am going to bring you face to face with the real murderer. Helping me arrive at this solution to the case has been my sister, Diane E. Watson, who has spent many hours in research. I thank her for that and for her encouragement. I could not have written this book without her help. I want to thank Dennis Binette, the Assistant Curator at Fall River Historical Society, for giving me permission to use photos from their web site.
Also, I thank my cats, Chummy, Cookie, Cody and Pulsatilla, for sleeping during the hours I worked on these pages. Finally, I thank you, the reader, for once again traveling to Fall River to the house at 92 Second Street. I think you will enjoy this trip.
E. E. Watson, Gettysburg, PA.
Introduction
On a warm summer morning, August 4, 1892, in the town of Fall River, Massachusetts, Mrs. Abby Borden of 92 Second Street was dusting in the upstairs guest bedroom. Some time between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m., a person or persons unknown crept up behind her and struck her in the head 19 times with a hatchet-type implement, killing her.
At about 11:00 a.m., almost one hour and a half later, that same person or persons attacked her husband, Andrew Borden, as he lay resting on the couch in the downstairs sitting room. He was struck about 11 times in the head with the same hatchet-type implement. Only known individuals present in the house, or about the property, during the times of the attacks were Lizzie Borden, daughter of Andrew Borden and step-daughter of Abby; and the family maid, Bridget Sullivan. Circumstantial evidence led to the arrest of Lizzie Borden, who was eventually found not guilty of the crime. As of today, the case is still open and the crime unsolved. But this is not the whole story of the Lizzie Borden case. It began long before the murders happened, almost 30 years before in fact. It began the day a mother lay dying and asked her daughter to promise her something.
The daughter made that promise, and no matter the circumstances that came her way throughout her life, she kept that promise. It was her passion; it was her reason for living. She determined that nothing would keep her from the fulfillment of that promise, not even if it meant someone had to die. Using actual court testimony from the trial transcripts, some newspaper accounts of the double murder, and research into other theories set forth, I present the following solution to the Lizzie Borden case.
Chapter One: The Borden Family and Household
Andrew Jackson Borden - Andrew Jackson Borden was born September 13, 1822. He was the 8th generation of Bordens who had lived in Fall River. The past generations were considered to be part of Fall River high society.
By August of 1892, he was well known in Fall River and served in various positions in the town. He was president of the Union Saving’s Bank, and was on the board of directors at several other banks. He also owned real estate in town and was the director of three major cloth mills in Fall River. Mr. Borden was very wealthy and loved having money; however, he hated to spend it, even on his family. The Borden house did not look like the home of wealthy people. There was no indoor plumbing, and no “convenient source of hot water”. Mr. Borden’s first wife, the mother of Lizzie and her older sister Emma, was Sarah Anthony Morse, born September 19, 1823. She and Andrew were married on Christmas Day of 1845. She died March 26, 1863 of spinal disease and other medical problems. Mr. Borden remarried on June 6, 1865. Everyone in town knew Mr. Borden. No matter the weather or season of the year, he could always be seen wearing his double-breasted Prince Albert black suit and string tie. Mr. Borden was 70 years old at the time of his death.
Abby Durfee Gray Borden - Abby Durfee Gray Borden was born on January 21, 1828. The daughter of a push cart peddler, she was the second wife of Andrew Borden. They married in June 1865. Her friends said she was seeking respect and social status by marrying Mr. Borden, but she was well liked by her friends and neighbors. Emma was about 13 years old, and Lizzie was almost five when their father brought the new Mrs. Borden home to be their step-mother. But the three of them never had a good relationship. “Less than loving” was the description of their relationship according to witnesses at Lizzie’s trial. The second Mrs. Borden was 64 years old at the time of her death.
Emma Leonora Borden - Emma Leonora Borden was born on March 1, 1852. She was the older daughter of Andrew Borden and was about 11 when her real mother died. She became mother to her two-year-old sister, a position she took very seriously.
Not a lot is known about Emma as a person and there are very few pictures of her. It seems she never had much of a social life. She was quiet, plain and was most satisfied just to be left in the background of life. However, at one time, she did take a stand against her father. He wanted the two daughters to stop being friends with Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Harrington. Mrs. Harrington was Andrew’s sister, but Andrew never got along with his brother-in-law, Hiram, who was a “loud, powerfully built” blacksmith. Lizzie gave in to her father and dropped the friendship. But Emma defied her father and kept right on being friends with her aunt and uncle. Emma and Lizzie had a close relationship with each other, maybe because Lizzie had looked to Emma as her “mother” for many of her childhood years. And even when Lizzie became an adult, Emma continued her duty of watching over and protecting Lizzie.
Emma always called her step-mother by her given name. At Lizzie’s trial, Emma testified that “we never thought she was much interested in us”. According to the testimony of the maid, Bridget Sullivan, the two daughters almost never ate their meals with
