About Me
Thanks for the great picture, Olsen Twins, you two are the best! I was born July 19, 1860 in Fall River, Mass. I was charged with murdering my stepmother and father. My trial became a national sensation in the United States.
My mother died in 1862 leaving two daughters. My father, Andrew Borden, an affluent businessman, was only interested in money. He was worth $500,000 in gold but refused to install plumbing in our home. He was strict with others and tight with his money. Father married spinster Abby Durfee Gray, 38 in 1865, when I was three and Emma was 12. Abby rarely left home except to visit her half-sister.
I have never dated men. I was well liked and active in civic and charitable work. I taught Sunday school at Central Congregational, was an officer of the Christian Endeavor Society, and member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Emma 42, rarely went anywhere except to visit another nearby spinster, Alice Russell.Both Emma and I were upset about our father withdrawing our inheritance for Abby. Emma and I were constantly upset with them, usually over financial matters. Five years before the murders, when Father put a rental house in Abby's name, Emma and I were so enraged; father bought each of us a house of equal value as Abby's. Emma and I quit eating with our parents and referred to Abby as "Mrs. Borden." Bridget Sullivan, 26, a recent Irish immigrant, had been in the Borden's' service for nearly three years. She would testify that the Borden's never raised their voices to one another.Father and Abby knew I stole his cash and her jewelry but still ordered a police investigation. Abby bolted her door to my room. Andrew' put a strong lock on the master bedroom, but kept the key on the sitting-room mantelpiece.Neither Emma nor I spoke to Uncle John because he was planning to reduce our inheritance and Abby would put the farm in her name and make John's brother-in-law, John Morse, the caretaker.A week before the murders, to escape the heat, Emma went to Fairhaven while I stayed at Buzzards Bay. The five friends sharing a beach house with me noticed I was unhappy and distant. I left Buzzards Bay and my friends early to return home.On the day preceding the murders, August 3, I tried to procure illegal prussic acid. In the trial, the pharmacist's testimony was excluded. On the same day, for the first time in five years, I had lunch with Abby and father. That evening I visited Alice Russell where I recounted stories about my father's enemies before returning home and going straight to my room since Uncle John was spending the night.Thursday morning, August 4, 1892, Bridget and Father were the first ones up. Breakfast was mutton soup, sliced mutton, pans, bananas, pears, cookies, and coffee. Uck!Uncle John and Father left home to carry out separate business.Bridget ran out to the back yard and vomited. Showing no compassion towards Bridget's illness Abby instructed her to immediately wash all the windows inside and out. Abby was preparing to go to the bank to sign the deed for ownership of the farm. She did not want Bridget in the house hearing her argue with me about it.Abby was blitzed in the guest room making Uncle John's bed at approximately 9:00 A.M. Father was murdered about 2 hours later (died 1-2 hours within each other). During this time I ironed handkerchiefs, sewed, visited with Bridget, and read. Father was napping on the sofa after he returned home at 10:30. Bridget was resting in her room.At 11:15, Bridget heard me scream that my father had been murdered. I sent Bridget for Alice Russell and Dr. Bowen. A neighbor, Mrs. Adelaide Churchill heard and responded to my cries and asked about my stepmother. She felt my stepmother had been killed too. Bridget returned with Miss Russell and Dr. Bowen, who pronounced my father dead. After a brief search, Bridget and Mrs. Churchill found Abby's mutilated body upstairs. Dr. Bowen sent a telegram to Emma in Fairhaven. Evidently, in no hurry, she did not return home until that evening.I was in the barn (with the tools and water pump) when I returned to find my father dead. Witnesses who saw me after the murders testified there was no blood on me. I was menstruating though at the time of the murder.Uncle John returned for lunch and became the first suspect. Bridget who adored me for my kindness was the only other person in the house during the murders.A detective saw a foot-long stick in the flames. He found a hatchet head washed and rolled in furnace ash in the basement.Henry Trickey, a Boston Globe reporter paid a private detective, Edwin McHenry, used by police $500 for affidavits they published then discovered were bogus. Trickey was indicted for obstruction of justice and The Globe apologized.I was arrested and tried for both murders in June 1893 but was acquitted, due to a lack of substantive evidence. During the entire ordeal, I showed self-confidence and composure. My attorney was George D. Robinson, a former Massachusetts Governor. The jury was sequestered for 15-days and took one hour to make a decision.Most refused to believe a wealthy Sunday Schoolteacher would kill her parents. Major newspapers, feminists groups such as "The Bloomer Girls," the Women's Christian Temperance Union and clergy criticized her arrest.I inherited half of my father's estate and bought a mansion for myself and Emma in Fall River's best neighborhood. I was no longer welcome at Central Congregational. The citizens of Fall River no longer accepted me. In 1913, Emma abruptly moved and never spoke to me again.I lead a reclusive life but in 1904, I was caught shoplifting.I love the theatre and am a fan of actress Nance O'Neill. we developed a close friendship after meeting at a hotel.
My old house. Where the murders took place. Maplecroft, My new house(crib). Emma and me before the murders...
