Lizzie Borden took an axe;
And gave her mother forty whacks;
When she saw what she had done;
She gave her father forty-one!
Call me morbid, but every August 4th, I like to put up a little tribute to Lizzie Borden, because on this day in 1892, her father, Andrew Borden, and step-mother, Abby Borden, were found davagely bludgeoned to death in the family home in Fall River, MA.
Lizzie was tried for the murders, but acquitted. To this day, however, it is widely believed that she was, in fact, the killer. Lizzie inherited her father's fortune and eventually set up her own estate, Maplecroft, in Fall River.
Why my fascination? Because Lizzie had two servants who managed Maplecroft for her, Henry and Elizabeth Sears. And their daughter, Anna, remembers how the "sweet, old lady Miss Borden" (Lizzie never married and died a spinster) would invite her and her childhood friends to sit with her on the porch for lemonade and cookies on a hot August day, to delight in each other's company.
Anna Sears was my maternal grandmother, and told me that story directly. She also said that her father maintained until he died that "Lizzie did it." Did Lizzie reveal the truth to her trusted servants as the end of her life drew near? Unfortunately, that piece of knowledge lies with Henry at St. John's Cemetery in Fall River . . .
4 comments:
I would be interested in any more stories or ephemera your family has shared with you about Miss LIzzie. I am the editor and publisher of The Hatchet and webmistress of LizzieAndrewBorden.com. Please feel free to contact me at lizzieandrewborden@mac.com. Thank you! Stefani
Well of course she did it, who else could or would have. What a great story--your maternal grandmother was Anna Sears--that is so cool.
Ha-ha... I wonder if my mom knew she and Lizzie "shared" an important day in common.
Fascinating story. I betcha she did it too. I just love it that it was considered at the time that a woman couldn't possibly have been that brutal. I bet she laughed all the way to the bank.
I remember being traumatized when that story made it to tv moviedom in the 70's....Elizabeth Montgomery in the lead, n'est-ca pas?
Post a Comment