Lizzie Borden

Lizzie Borden

Lizzie Andrew Borden was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ostracism from other residents Borden spent the remainder of her life in Fall River. She died of pneumonia at age 66, just days before the death of her sister, Emma.

About Lizzie Borden in brief

Summary Lizzie BordenLizzie Andrew Borden was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ostracism from other residents Borden spent the remainder of her life in Fall River. She died of pneumonia at age 66, just days before the death of her sister, Emma. The murders and trial received widespread publicity throughout the United States and, along with Borden herself, they remain a topic in American popular culture to the present day. Lizzie was born July 19, 1860, to Sarah Anthony and Andrew Jackson Borden. Her father, who was of English and Welsh descent, grew up in very modest surroundings and struggled financially as a young man. He eventually prospered in the manufacture and sale of furniture and caskets, then became a successful property developer. He directed several textile mills and owned considerable commercial property; he was also president of the Union Savings Bank and a director of the Durfee Safe Deposit and Trust Co. At his death his estate was valued at USD 300,000. Despite his wealth, Andrew was known for his frugality. For instance, the Borden home lacked indoor plumbing although that was a common accommodation for wealthy people at the time. Tension had been growing within the family in the months before the murders. After their stepmother’s sister received a house, the sisters had demanded and received a rental property which they purchased from their father for USD 5,000.

A few weeks before the murdered, they sold the property back to their dad for USD 1. For the next several days, the entire household had been violently ill. Some writers have speculated that their conversation, particularly about property transfer, may have aggravated the situation. A family friend speculated that the cause was mutton left on the stove to use in meals over several days. The Bordens’ 25-year-old live-in maid who had immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland, testified that Lizzies and Emma rarely ate meals with their parents. In May 1892, Andrew killed multiple pigeons in his barn with a hatchet, believing they were attracting local children to hunt them. The wealthiest residents of Fall River, including Andrew’s cousins, generally lived in the more fashionable neighborhood, \”The Hill\”, which was farther from the industrial areas of the city and much more homogeneous racially, ethnically and socioeconomically. After returning to Fall River a week before the murder, Lizzy chose to stay in a local rooming house for four days before returning to the family residence. After the murders the Bordens and Andrew, Abby, and Bridget Sullivan were present, where they chatted for nearly an hour. Andrew and Morse went to buy a pair of oxen to buy for his niece in a nearby town. The next morning, Andrew, Abigail, and the BordENS, which Andrew, Lizie and the maid called ‘Maggie’ were at the home of John Vinnicum Morse, the brother of Abby’s deceased mother, to discuss business.