The Trial of Lizzie Borden, page 38
the most fiendish murderer: Trial Transcript, 1755.
within the remembrance of every man I am talking to: Trial Transcript, 1755.
it is hard . . . guilty of crime: Trial Transcript, 1756.
are human like unto us . . . no worse than we: Trial Transcript, 1756.
great master[s] of human nature: Trial Transcript, 1757.
many of the most famous criminals: Trial Transcript, 1757.
the most dastardly: Trial Transcript, 1757.
lack in strength . . . more persistent?: Trial Transcript, 1756–57.
face this case as men, not as gallants: Trial Transcript, 1757.
time and time again: “Last Words in the Great Borden Trial,” Boston Globe, June 20, 1893, 1.
She lost no word . . . the whole procedure: “Last Words in the Great Borden Trial,” Boston Globe, June 20, 1893, 1.
slanderous tongues: Trial Transcript, 1758.
Gentlemen . . . the saddest duty of my life: Trial Transcript, 1758.
A blue coat does not make a man any better: Trial Transcript, 1763.
honestly, faithfully: Trial Transcript, 1762.
You will find that their conclusions are accurate: Trial Transcript, 1764.
Direct evidence is the evidence of a man who sees and hears: Trial Transcript, 1765.
Men will not tell the truth always: Trial Transcript, 1768.
Murder is the work of stealth and craft . . . obliterated: Trial Transcript, 1766.
It was circumstantial . . . but it satisfied him: Trial Transcript, 1766.
[H]e had no lawyer to tell him: Trial Transcript, 1766.
It is like refuse . . . another circumstance: Trial Transcript, 1767.
You would not hesitate . . . that river was: Trial Transcript, 1767.
discovery . . . same time: Trial Transcript, 1769.
controlling fact: Trial Transcript, 1773.
[i]t was no sudden act . . . noon day meal: Trial Transcript, 1773.
What sort of blows were they? . . . nerveless blows: Trial Transcript, 1783.
The hand that held the weapon . . . desire to kill: Trial Transcript, 1783.
This poor woman . . . heard in the other: Trial Transcript, 1790.
It was . . . malice against Mrs. Borden: Trial Transcript, 1773.
It was a living insult: Trial Transcript, 1777.
How wicked to have found fault with it: Trial Transcript, 1776.
his faithful wife: Trial Transcript, 1776.
always very kind and good to her: Statement of Bridget Sullivan to Nellie S. McHenry, August 25, 1892, in Knowlton Papers, 34. Bridget also revealed Abby’s only known instance of pique. Abby apparently complained about Morse’s visit, remarking “now he is here I suppose we will have him on our hands all summer, I don’t see why he don’t [sic] get married and go away.”
she had lost in Mrs. Borden, the best and most intimate neighbor she had ever met: “Thursday’s Affray,” FRDH, August 5, 1892, 1.
It is said that there is a skeleton: Trial Transcript, 1774.
He goes his way . . . these people day in and day out: Trial Transcript, 1778.
This was a cancer: Trial Transcript, 1780.
Conscious as I am: Trial Transcript, 1795.
Little did it occur to Lizzie Borden: Trial Transcript, 1797.
No note came: Trial Transcript, 1795.
warming up . . . the audience: “Last Words in the Great Trial,” Boston Globe, June 20, 1893, 2.
God forbid that anybody: Trial Transcript, 1799.
was killed . . . benefitted by her taking away: Trial Transcript, 1799.
looked at him fixedly and steadily with a curious, set expression upon her features: “A Plea for Life,” NY World, June 20, 1893, 7.
There was coming a stern and just man: Trial Transcript, 1793.
that a late session would be an intolerable burden: “Last Words in the Great Borden Trial,” Boston Globe, June 20, 1893, 1.
The judges are in no hurry: “Last Words in the Great Borden Trial,” Boston Globe, June 20, 1893, 1.
Tuesday, June 20, 1893
Over an hour before the time of opening: FRDG, June 20, 1893, 1.
The intensity of the crush this afternoon: “For the State,” FRDH, June 20, 1893, 1.
The Last Scene in the Great Borden Trial: “Not Guilty,” Boston Globe, June 21, 1893, 1.
an animated conversation: “For the State,” NBES, June 20, 1893, 1.
there was a restless activity about her: “For the State,” NBES, June 20, 1893, 1.
blood ebbed and flowed to her face: “For the State,” FRDH, June 20, 1893, 7.
We are called upon to prove that the thing was done: Trial Transcript, 1801.
The malice was all before the fact: Trial Transcript, 1805.
[W]e cannot tell . . . that hot summer: Trial Transcript, 1805.
there was a jealousy which was unworthy of that woman: Trial Transcript, 1805.
the dead body . . . to a parricide: Trial Transcript, 1806.
it is a grateful relief: Trial Transcript, 1808.
When the deed was done: Trial Transcript, 1807.
It was not Lizzie Andrew Borden: Trial Transcript, 1807.
The Commonwealth is charged . . . not why: Trial Transcript, 1808.
suggests to him . . . lie down upon the sofa and rest: Trial Transcript, 1811.
She had begun her work . . . at the outside: Trial Transcript, 1813.
simply incredible: Trial Transcript, 1820.
We must judge all facts: Trial Transcript, 1820.
not within the bounds of reasonable possibilities: Trial Transcript, 1820.
it was not only the hottest place . . . not have known what took place: Trial Transcript, 1824.
All the disasters of your life: Trial Transcript, 1834.
cool to a degree of coolness: Trial Transcript, 1818.
that the absence of tears . . . consciousness of loss: Trial Transcript, 1833.
agitation of a man: Trial Transcript, 1836.
All I propose to make of that incident: Trial Transcript, 1836.
How could she have avoided the spattering: Trial Transcript, 1838.
solitude of the house with ample fire on the stove: Trial Transcript, 1838.
I cannot answer it: Trial Transcript, 1838.
clear eyed, intelligent, honest daughter: Trial Transcript, 1839.
When Mrs. Bowen raised her hand: Trial Transcript, 1843.
It was not where the officers could find it: Trial Transcript, 1848.
That dress . . . made against her: Trial Transcript, 1854.
Supposing she had told wrong stories: Trial Transcript, 1857.
It is absolutely necessary . . . cross examination: Trial Transcript, 1858.
There is . . . no better test: Trial Transcript, 1858.
I am not quite so willing to dismiss: Trial Transcript, 1858.
Puritan conscience: Trial Transcript, 1855.
My distinguished friend . . . various hatchets that have been produced in this case: Trial Transcript, 1862.
this unfortunate woman: Trial Transcript, 1871.
handle was broken off not as axe handles: Trial Transcript, 1873.
We do not say that was the hatchet: Trial Transcript, 1874.
The recesses and mysteries of that house: Trial Transcript, 1863.
The very fact that no hatchet was found: Trial Transcript, 1875.
never would have gone into the streets: Trial Transcript, 1875.
We find a woman murdered by blows: Trial Transcript, 1879.
We get down now to the elements of ordinary crime: Trial Transcript, 1881.
What’s the defense: Trial Transcript, 1881.
I submit these facts to you: Trial Transcript, 1883.
What shall be your reward?: Trial Transcript, 1884.
rank[ed] with the ablest advocates of the day: “Not Guilty,” Boston Globe, June 21, 1893, 1.
big burly man: “Last Words in the Great Borden Trial,” Boston Globe, June 20, 1893, 2.
the same pride of bearing . . . from New York to Chicago: “Not Guilty,” Boston Globe, June 21, 1893, 1.
The magnificent figure of the speaker . . . people silent and still: “Pleas in the Borden Case,” NY Sun, June 20, 1893, 2.
Down to the opening . . . in favor of a disagreement: “Last Words in the Great Trial,” Boston Globe, June 20, 1893, 2.
It is your privilege to add any word: Trial Transcript, 1885.
I am innocent: Trial Transcript, 1885.
she added to her extraordinary gracefulness a surprising dignity: “Lizzie Borden Free,” NY Sun, 1893, 1.
Your decision can properly rest only on the law: Trial Transcript, 1887.
Proof beyond reasonable doubt: Trial Transcript, 1887.
the defendant’s character has been good: Trial Transcript, 1891.
You are not . . . ways of life: Trial Transcript, 1891.
imputing a motive to the defendant: Trial Transcript, 1893.
Unless the child be destitute of natural affection: Trial Transcript, 1892.
intense expression: Trial Transcript, 1894.
[C]onsider whether or not they do not often use words: Trial Transcript, 1893.
Suppose some person in New Bedford: Trial Transcript, 1923.
What motive . . . had she to invent a story like this?: Trial Transcript, 1903.
contemplate the possibility: Trial Transcript, 1903.
Is there anything in the way and manner of doing the acts: Trial Transcript, 1908.
as to the way in which they think the blows were inflicted: Trial Transcript, 1908.
Are these views correct?: Trial Transcript, 1908.
You have a right to reason and judge . . . seems to be reasonable: Trial Transcript, 1908.
the guarded language of the statute: Trial Transcript, 1916. Prior to 1866, criminal defendants were not permitted to testify at their own trials in Massachusetts. For a discussion of the background to this reform, see Alan Rogers, Murder and the Death Penalty in Massachusetts (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2008), 116–17.
If she were required to explain: Trial Transcript, 1917.
She may be asked questions: Trial Transcript, 1917.
with impartial and thoughtful minds . . . reason and law: Trial Transcript, 1926.
may express in its results somewhat of that justice: Trial Transcript, 1927.
a plea for the innocent . . . circumstantial evidence alone: “Not Guilty,” Boston Globe, June 21, 1893, 1.
The silence became impressive and fearful: “Free Woman!,” FRDH, June 21, 1893, 3.
At no time . . . hear her doom: FRDH, June 21, 1893, 3.
which might have been heard half a mile away: “Lizzie Borden Acquitted,” NYT, June 21, 1893, 1.
as if she was shot: “Lizzie Borden Free,” NY Sun, 1893, 1.
Every man of them was as pale as a corpse: “Not Guilty!,” FRDH, June 21, 1893, 1.
reasonably deliberative: FREN, June 20, 1893, 4. This was reported in multiple newspapers.
as a matter of courtesy: “Lizzie Borden Free,” NY Sun, June 21, 1893, 7.
warned by the counsel . . . dignity of the court: “Free Woman!,” FRDH, June 21, 1893, 3.
He might as well have given directions: “Free Woman!,” FRDH, June 21, 1893, 3.
never saw the people rising in their seats: “Lizzie Borden Is Acquitted,” NYT, June 21, 1893, 1.
Tears gushed from hundreds of eyes: “Lizzie Borden Free,” NY Sun, June 21, 1893, 1.
put his arm around the now strengthened girl . . . much loved daughter: “Free Woman!,” FRDH, June 21, 1893, 1. Elizabeth Jordan similarly described the scene in familiar terms: “Presently his left arm slipped round her waist and, like the father he has been to her, he raised her up.” “Lizzie Borden Free,” NY Sun, 1893, 2.
The extraordinary and visible affection: “Free Woman!,” FRDH, June 21, 1893, 1.
one wasn’t enough: “Lizzie Borden Free,” NY Sun, June 21, 1893, 2.
with a fatherly interest in his kindly eyes: “Lizzie Borden Is Acquitted,” NYT, June 21, 1893, 1.
still moving like a lot of convicts out for exercise: “Free Woman!,” FRDH, June 21, 1893, 1.
her warmest greetings being given to Julian Ralph: “Free Woman!,” FRDH, June 21, 1893, 1.
Part 3
VERDICT
Chapter 11: The Old Place
The suspected witch was in the dock . . . parrot-like police testimony: “Lizzie Borden Free,” NY Sun, June 21, 1893, 1. Ralph’s articles on the case frequently alluded to the Salem witch trials. For a discussion of this trope, see Roggenkamp, Narrating the News, 68–70.
The acquittal of the most unfortunate and cruelly persecuted woman: Editorial, NYT, June 21, 1893, 4.
I want to go home: “Not Guilty,” Boston Globe, June 21, 1893, 1. Lizzie turned to her sister and said: “Now take me home. I want to go to the old place and go at once tonight.”
Telegrams of congratulation are also arriving: “Lizzie Borden Arrives in the City,” FRDG, June 21, 1893, 7.
a jolly crowd: “Twelve Jolly Jurors Freed Lizzie Borden,” New Bedford Sunday Standard, June 8, 1919, quoted in Parallel Lives, 513.
faithful friends and deliver[ers]: Letter from Lizzie Borden to Frederick Wilbur, July 14, 1893, quoted in Parallel Lives, 514.
She said she had no other place she cared to go: “Verdict Was Righteous,” Boston Globe, June 22, 1893, 5.
No matter where she goes: “Miss Borden’s Chaperone,” FRDH, June 20, 1893, 7.
surprise, bordering on indignation: “The News at Fall River,” NBES, June 21, 1893, 3.
The line . . . case: “Lizzie Borden Free,” NY Sun, June 21, 1893, 2.
Lizzie and her sister will leave no stone unturned: “In Their Own Home,” Boston Globe, June 22, 1893, 5. Similarly the New York Sun reported that the Borden sisters would devote their energies to “ferreting out the murderers of the old couple.” “Lizzie Borden Free,” NY Sun, June 21, 1893, 2. The following month, the Fall River Daily Globe noted acidly, “It has always seemed singular . . . that so little apparent effort was made by the Borden sisters or their friends to locate the real murderer.” “Little Effort,” FRDG, July 11, 1893, 7.
She will lead her old life: “Her Old Home,” Boston Globe, June 22, 1893, 1.
that she may go and be Lizzie Andrew Borden . . . so many years: Trial Transcript, 1750.
happenings at the French Street house: “Guilty?—No! No!,” Boston Sunday Herald, April 13, 1913, 25.
a fine looking young: “Lizzie Borden Left by Sister,” Boston Sunday Herald, June 4, 1905, 11.
the greatest tragedienne: FREN, October 21, 1904, quoted in Parallel Lives, 723.
unbearable: “Guilty?—No! No!,” Boston Sunday Herald, April 13, 1913, 25.
Great Wrong Is Righted: “Great Wrong,” FRDG, August 4, 1905, 1.
to be laid at my Father’s feet: Funeral Instructions of Lizzie Borden, quoted in Parallel Lives, 980.
It may seem marvellous . . . the tinge that saddens it: Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009), 77–78.
Chapter 12: The Enduring Enigma
The Borden case is without parallel: Edmund Lester Pearson, “The Borden Case,” Studies in Murder (New York: Macmillan, 1924), 3.
famous citizen of Fall River: Edmund Lester Pearson, letter to Frank Knowlton, November 22, 1923, FRHS.
There are in it all the elements: Pearson, “The Borden Case,” 3–4.
the extraordinary fascination of this case: Pearson, “The Borden Case,” 4.
found texts for columns in her looks . . . and everything connected with her: “Not Guilty,” Boston Globe, June 21, 1893, 1.
a literary hoax: Edwin D. Radin, Lizzie Borden: The Untold Story (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1961), 175.
was willing to blight her life: Radin, Lizzie Borden, 254.
If today woman has come out of the kitchen: Charles Samuels and Louise Samuels, The Girl in the House of Hate (New York: Aeonian Press, 1953), 143.
the skeleton in our cupboard: Victoria Lincoln, A Private Disgrace: Lizzie Borden by Daylight (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1967), 23.
She really was a complex character: “Maplecroft Officially Sold to Owners of Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast,” Fall River Herald News, February 2, 2018.
a Halloween tchotchke: Sarah Miller, The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century (New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2016), 253.
rousing smash-the-patriarchy piece: “Chloë Sevigny’s Lizzie Borden Biopic Isn’t the Ax Murderer Movie She Originally Imagined,” Huffington Post, January 22, 2018.
Will the whole truth ever come out?: Pearson, “The Borden Case,” 129.
Coda: The Defense File
stricken with paralysis: “Ex-Gov. Robinson Dead,” NYT, February 23, 1896, 9. Other newspapers described it as “apoplexy,” most likely a stroke. “Robinson Dead,” Boston Herald, February 23, 1896, 1.
In order to promote freedom of consultation . . . client’s consent: Wigmore, A Treatise on the System of Evidence in Trials at Common Law (1904), vol. 4, § 2291, 3196.
work product . . . wits borrowed from the adversary: Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 516 (1947).
abhorrent: Telephone interview with Jeffrey McCormick, March 4, 2018. McCormick did not share any details about the contents of the file or its storage. All of the information cited came from a published interview with the firm’s former office manager. Paul Edward Parker, “Lizzy [sic] Borden’s Legal Papers Found,” South Coast Today, April 14, 1998.
Selected Bibliography
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Inquest upon the Deaths of Andrew J. Borden and Abby D. Borden. Annie M. White, stenographer. Fall River, MA, August 9–11. Collection of Fall River Historical Society.
Preliminary Hearing: Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Lizzie A. Borden, August 25–September 1, 1892. Judge Josiah C. Blaisdell, presiding. District Court, Fall River, MA. Annie White, stenographer. Collection of Fall River Historical Society.
Trial of Lizzie Andrew Borden upon an Indictment Charging Her with the Murder of Abby Durfee Borden and Andrew Jackson Borden Before the Superior Court for the County of Bristol; Mason, C.J., Blodgett, J., and Dewey, J., presiding. Official Stenographic Report by Frank H. Burt, 1893.
