The Case of Lizzie Borden

Last updated January 21, 1998
"The law is a hocus-pocus science and the glorious uncertainty of it is of more use to the professors than to the justice of it." -- Charles Macklin, 18th century playwright and Shakespearean actor

Contents

Learning Objectives

  1. To understand some of the issues of the Gilded Age, including the Gospel of Wealth, conspicuous consumption, class differentiation, urbanization and growth, value conflicts;
  2. To understand the options available for white women in the New England area in the late nineteenth century;
  3. To understand men's perceptions of upper class female behavior.

Background

Lizzie Borden can trace her American roots back to John Borden, who came to Boston in 1635 from Kent, England. Banished along with Anne Hutchinson as an Antinomian, he moved to Rhode Island in 1638 and began acquiring farming property. His two sons eventually owned all of Fall River. Over the generations, the Bordens built sawmills and other businesses that served the small village that became the city of Fall River in 1854. As more settlers moved in, other families also added to the wealth of the community and the Bordens included upper class, middle class, and lower class families.

Lizzie's grandfather, Abraham, was a fisherman and fish peddler who had inherited property and passed it along to his son, Andrew, who also became successful as an undertaker.

In 1845, Andrew married Sarah Morse, with whom he had two surviving children: Emma, born in 1849, and Lizzie Andrew, born in 1860 (and so christened, it is believed, because her father hoped for a boy). Sarah died in 1862, and in 1864 Andrew married the 37-year-old "spinster" Abby Drufee Gray, a "poor relation" of a prominent founding family. Andrew retired in 1872 at the age of 51 and bought the house at 92 Second Street. Andrew was described by many as stern and humorless and a good businessman. He was very concerned with property matters and the distribution of property within the immediate and extended family. He had provided a gift of real estate to his daughters, then bought the parcel back from them several weeks before his death (for $5,000), arguing that they were too difficult for the women to manage. A previous gift of real estate to his wife and sister-in-law provoked Lizzie's anger and resentment. Andrew provided Lizzie, who was unemployed (and had dropped out of high school in her junior year), with money to take a long trip to Europe in 1890, as well as funds for her to purchase personal items such as tailor-made clothing. At his death, Andrew was worth between $300,000 and $500,000.

Abby Borden's father was a tin-peddler, selling goods from a pushcart. Although her heritage tied her to the wealthy founding families, Abby's family was from the lower class. She was reportedly generous, kind, and eager to please. She was also somewhat timid and clearly understood the role the male as head of the household. She maintained responsibility for keeping the household running, however, including assigning chores to the first-floor servant, Bridget Sullivan. Abby took care of of cleaning the second floor and made her own clothes in the room that doubled as a guest room--where she was murdered.

The Murders

August 4, 1892 was a very warm day in Fall River, approaching 93 degrees. It was also the day of the police department's annual picnic and clambake. Emma was visiting friends out of town. John Morse, brother of Andrew's first wife, had arrived the night before with no luggage and spent the night in the guest room. He left in the morning to visit relatives. The night before, Abby Borden went to Dr. Bowen's house complaining that she and her husband were sick. Dr. Bowen attributed their illness to poorly kept food. Bridget had also been sick the morning of the 4th and had been out in the back yard to vomit. After cleaning some windows, she retired to her room to rest shortly after Andrew Borden returned home. Between 11:10 and 11:15, Bridget was summoned by Lizzie: "Maggie! Come down here! Father's dead! Somebody's come in and killed him!"

Virtual Space

It is November 13, 1893. In June, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of three charges: matricide, patricide, and double parricide. She is preparing to move to a three-story, Queen Anne style home at 7 French Street, on "The Hill." She has changed her name to "Lisbeth" and will call her new home "Maplecroft."

In the dining room, the following are seated around the table:

Mr. H. is asking the group to provide their views on the following questions:
  1. Was Lizzie Borden really guilty of the crimes? If so, how did she kill them and destroy the evidence?
  2. If she was innocent, was there anyone else with a motive and opportunity? Who else was suspected?
  3. Did Lizzie Borden have a motive for killing her parents?
  4. Why was Lizzie Borden found innocent by a jury of twelve men in New Bedford?
Mr. H. begins by discussing some of the other significant events that have occurred in the U.S. Since last year . . .

Online Resources

  • MOOing from the Ground Up
  • University of Massachusetts course (with background)
  • Lizzie Borden Unlocked by Ed Sams
  • Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast, Fall River, MA
  • Victorian Women

    Recommended Reading List

    Jones, Ann
    Women Who Kill, pp. 210-37
    Kent, David
    Forty Whacks
    Sullivan, Robert
    Goodbye Lizzie Borden
    Schuetz, Janice
    The Logic of Women on Trial: Case Studies of Popular American Trials, pp. 61-85

    Questions to Consider

    1. What Women's organizations were active in Fall River in the late nineteenth century, and what interest did Lizzie have in them?
    2. What options did unmarried women of all classes have in the 1890s? What kinds of options did Lizzie have, and what limited her options?
    3. What works of fiction about women were popular during this period and how did they portray women and women's concerns?
    4. Why is this era called the Gilded Age? How did Lizzie perceive her family's position in society?
    5. In what ways does this case tell us about prejudices towards immigrants in the last part of the nineteenth century?
    6. Why has this case continued to be of such interest one hundred years later?
    7. If Lizzie were tried today for the same crime, would she be found guilty? What might her attorney's use as a defense today? Can you think of any similar crime (of double parricide) with similar features in recent times?