1. "The key to the front door?"
Posted by Jimmy Windeskog on Mar-30th-04 at 2:49 PM

Lizzie was the last person go come through the front door and tha one who locked it on aug 3, rigth?

And she was supposed to lock up the front door on aug 4, rigth?
As she always did, rigth?

So, did she have the front door in her room or was it in another place (and what would that be?)?

And how many keys was it for the front door (should at lest be more than one), and who had a chance to use it?

Jimmy, from the sounds of it, Lizzie had a front door key and so did Andrew.  Abby's was taken away from her, no reason given, perhaps it was so Emma could have a front door key while she was away?

I would imagine that Lizzie had a keyring that she kept on her person as she stated that she locked her door to her bedroom whenever she left it.  She also had the key to the dress closet over the front stairs.

I could be off on this, will have to check on it, but, it sounds like there was one lock on the inside of the door that you used a key to lock, one spring lock; which I imagine was the one you could unlock from outside of the house, and then there was a deadbolt.

I imagine once Andrew was home for the day, he didn't go out.  Lizzie did on occasion go out in the evening, so, it would make sense that she was the one to lock-up the front door for the night.  I recall reading that it was Andrew's thing to unlock the night locks in the morning.  Hope that helps you some. 

Preliminary
Morse
155
Q.  You told Mr. Knowlton that that front door of the house fastened with a spring lock?
A.  Yes Sir.
Q.  Was there any other lock or bolt upon it?
A.  Yes Sir.
Q.  What?
A.  There was a common lock that is in most of doors, and then there was a bolt.
Q.  Beside the spring lock?
A.  Yes Sir.
Q.  Do you know whether those locks or bolts were used at all?
A.  They have been used nights since I have been there. I do not know what they did with them before. I suppose they were used before.
Q.  At night they not only had the spring lock, but used the other lock and the bolt?
A.  They did when I was there; I do not know what they did before; when I am not there I do not know.
Q.  Before you went away that morning, had anybody gone out the front door to your knowledge?
A.  No Sir.
..............
262
Q.  Do you know whether the door was locked up that night before, or not?
A.  I do not know.
Q.  You did not hear anybody do it?
A.  No sir.
Q.  Do you know whether it is usually locked at night?
A.  Yes sir it is.
Q.  That is more than the spring lock, and was then of course?
A.  Yes sir.
Q.  How other than by the spring lock was it usually locked at night?
A.  By the bolt, and then they turned the common key in the lock.
  (263)
Q.  Assuming what was usually done was done that night for the purpose of this question, did you hear anybody unbolt that bolt, or do anything to the lock the next morning?
A.  No sir.
Q.  That is, opening the extra bolts?
A.  No sir.
Q.  You did not hear anything of that kind?
A.  No sir.
...........

Prelim
Bridget
189
Page 189   (19)

Q.  You was then in the sitting room washing the windows?
A.  Yes Sir.
Q.  What did you do?
A.  I went and let him in.
Q.  It was Mr. Borden was it?
A.  Yes Sir.
Q.  Have you any idea what time that was?
A.  It might be later than half past ten; I could not tell.
Q.  What locks on the front door did you find locked when you let him in?
A.  The bolt and a common key that I turned on both sides.
Q.  Anythingelse?
A.  No Sir.
Q.  A spring lock?
A.  Yes Sir. He had a key.
Q.  He unlocked that from the outside?
A.  Yes Sir.
Q.  Was that spring lock set to lock the door up when it was shut?
...........
Inquest
Emma
114
Q.  Was it the habit to keep the front door locked with the spring lock?
A.  Yes Sir.
Q.  How about the bolt and the big lock?
A.  We used those only when we went to bed.
Q.  When did they get unlocked in the morning?
A.  Usually when my sister or I came down stairs, one or the other unlocked them.
.......
Trial
Bridget
Q.   To do any work of any kind?
A.   No, sir, I went to the front door on Wednesday.

Q.   What was the occasion of going to the front door on Wednesday?
A.   I let Dr. Bowen in.

Q.   Was that in the morning or afternoon?
A.   It was in the morning.

Q.   Did you go to the door again on Wednesday after you let Dr. Bowen in?
A.   No, sir.

Q.   How was the door when you let Dr. Bowen in on Wednesday?
A.   The spring lock had the key in it.

Q.   Sprung locked, was it?
A.   Yes.

Q.   Did you say you had no occasion to go to that door again on that day?
A.   No, sir.
..........

Q.   Did you hear the ringing of any bell?
A.   No sir, I don't remember to hear any bell.

Q.   When you got to the front door what did you find the condition of the locks there?
A.   I went to open it, caught it by the knob, the spring lock, as usual, and it was locked.
      I unbolted it and it was locked with a key.

Q.   So that there were three locks?
A.   Yes sir.

Q.   What did you do with reference to the lock with the key?
A.   I unlocked it. As I unlocked it I said, "Oh pshaw," and Miss Lizzie laughed, up stairs. -- Her father was out there on the door step. She was up stairs.

Q.   Up stairs; could you tell whereabouts up stairs she was when  she laughed?
A.   Well, she must be either in the entry or in the top of the stairs, I can't tell which.

Q.  Was there any talk passed between you and Mr. Borden as he came to the door?
A.  No sir, not a word.

Q.  I am reminded that one question was unanswered. How many locks on the front   door were unlocked as you went there, -- locks and bolts, I mean?
A.  There was a bolt and there was a spring lock, and there was a key.

Q.  And those were all locked?
A.  Yes sir.

Q.  During the morning hours, usually, was that door kept locked otherwise than by the spring lock?
A.  I don't know anything about the door; I didn't have nothing to do to it.
.........
Trial
Reference to:
Lizzie

MR. MOODY.              It has been suggested that it may appear hereafter on the testimony of Miss Lizzie Borden that it was her habit to unlock the door in the morning and leave the door on the spring lock only.
.....
Lizzie
55
Q. Which door did you come in at?
A. The front door.
Q. Did you lock it?
A. Yes sir.
Q. For the night?
A. Yes sir.
Q. And went right up stairs to your room?
A. Yes sir.
......
55&56
Q. Did you have a night key?
A. Yes sir.
Q. How did you know it was right to lock the front door?
A. That was always my business.
Q. How many locks did you fasten?
A. The spring locks itself, and there is a key to turn, and you manipulate the bolt.
Q. You manipulated all those?
A. I used them all.
Q. Then you went to bed?
A. Yes, directly.
........
68
Q. After he went out, and before he came back; a large portion of the time after your father went out, and before he came back, so far as you know, you were the only person in the house?
A. So far as I know, I was.
Q. And during that time, so far as you know, the front door was locked?
A. So far as I know.
Q. And never was unlocked at all?
A. I don't think it was.
Q. Even after your father came home, it was locked up again?
A. I don't know whether she locked it up again after that or not.
Q. It locks itself?
A. The spring lock opens.
Q. It fastens it so it cannot be opened from the outside?
A. Sometimes you can press it open.
Q. Have you any reason to suppose the spring lock was left so it could be pressed open from the outside?
A. I have no reason to suppose so.
Q. Nothing about the lock was changed before the people came?
A. Nothing that I know of.
....











(Message last edited Mar-30th-04  11:49 PM.)

My reading is this:
The common lock was like we had over 50 years ago on the old house. Ordinary skeleton keys would unlock it in most cases. "Locks keep out honest people." The spring lock could be opened from the outside as well, or by just turning a lever. Both at the old house.

BUT the deadbolt could only be opened from the inside. So it was never opened that morning, or, somebody came in who locked it again.

Thanks, Kat.  That was all the info I was going to check into for Jimmy. 

We're not talking about your house Ray.
This says the spring lock was what locked the door when the other locks were off during the day.

Emma, Lizzie and Morse tried to say that sometimes the spring would not catch.

Morse says he had the lock replaced but Emma says differently.  If he found the spring lock faulty "within a day or two" of the tragedy, we can assume he would have it replaced then.  Emma, at the Inquest, after dinner, Wednesday, August 10th, says it had not been repaired.  Morse had from Friday to Wednesday to have it fixed, but did he?
Inquest
Emma
114
Q.  How about the front door?
A.  We locked that with a spring lock.
Q.  Did the spring lock work?
A.  Once in a while we would find it did not, but very seldom.
Q.  The few times it did not work, did it not come from the fact the door was not slammed too enough to catch the spring?
A.  I suppose that must have been it.
Q.  You had not had it repaired?
A.  No Sir.
Q.  It is in the same condition now it had been?
A.  Yes Sir.

..........

Trial
Morse
149
A.  Well, if you shut the door hard, the spring lock would catch; if you didn't, it would not.

Q.  Then if it did not catch----
A.  You could open it without any trouble.

Q.  Push it, or turn the ordinary knob, and it would come right open.  And when had you noticed that?
A.  That was after the tragedy.

Q.  Did you specially examine it to see about that?  Was your attention called to it?
A.  It was not called especially to that.  I went to try the door, and it was unfastened, and I found afterwards by slamming  it hard it would catch and if you didn't it would not; and I took the lock off, had it fastened back so it would catch, and a new one was put on while I was there.

Q.  A new one was put on?
A.  I had it put on.

Q.  And do you recall now that the old lock is there and a new latch also?
A.  Yes, sir.

Q.  And you are now referring to the one that was on August 4, and did not work?
A.  Yes, sir.

Q.  Now if I understand you, it was simply by mere accident that

Page 149 / i170

you discovered that the lock behaved so?
A.  On my part?

Q.  Yes.
A.  Yes, sir.

Q.  And then,  having discovered that it did not lock unless the door was slammed, did you try it again?
A.  I did.

Q.  And what was the result?
A.  The same; you could open it and go out without any trouble.

Q.  Did you try it more than once?
A.  Yes, sir, I tried it several times.

Q.  And that, you say, was after the tragedy?
A.  Yes, sir.

Q.  Do you recall about how long?
A.  Oh, within a day or two.

Q.  And do you recall also whether any other person was present at the time,---at the time it was tried, either when you---
A.  I don't think there were when I tried it.

I was informing you of my own experiences with similar locks from 40-50 years ago. Nobody (?) uses those old-style locks anymore, at least by themselves. The key in doorknob seems universal, with lockable dead-bolts as the second lock. Those spring locks on the inside of the door can easily be broken by kicking in the door.