1. "Lizbeth vs Emma"
Posted by harry on Feb-8th-04 at 10:17 AM

The following speaks for itself so I won't elaborate:

From page 257 of Joyce Williams' Crime and Family in the 1890's:

"In May, 1923, Lizzie Borden appeared in the Probate Court at Taunton, Mass., in an effort to obtain an equal distribution of the property known as the A. J. Borden block, in Fall River, which she owned jointly with her sister. This was her first known appearance in a court room since her acquittal thirty years before."

And from Rebello, page 307:

"Lizzie Borden Files Probate Petition," Fall River Daily Globe, May 11, 1923.
"Files Action in Probate Court / Lizzie A. Borden for Partition of the Property at Corner of South Main and Anawan Streets," The Evening Herald, Fall River, MA., May 11, 1923.
.............

Lizzie Borden filed a petition in Probate Court in Taunton, Massachusetts, claiming certain real estate located on South Main Street in Fall River. The land in dispute was owned jointly by the petitioner and her sister, Emma Borden, and was part of an estate inherited by the sisters when it was settled for $50,000 in 1894.

"Lizzie Borden Asks Division of Fall River Block," Providence Evening Bulletin, May 12, 1923.

Lizzie wanted Probate Court to make an equal distribution of the A. J. Borden Building. She wished to dispose of her share of the property."

From what I can gather from Rebello, page 558, Emma sold her half interest. To whom? Jacob Dondis? I don't understand what this is about since Rebello states it was Lizzie who wanted to sell. Was Lizzie trying to force Emma to sell to her?  On her death Lizzie still owned one-half. In her Will Lizzie left one-half of her ownership each to Helen Leighton and Grace Howe. So I assume someone (Dondis?) owned the other half. Does anyone have any more info on this?

Below is a 1907 photo of the Probate Court in Taunton. You would think that Lizzie would have wanted to stay away from Taunton.

(Message last edited Feb-8th-04  11:08 AM.)

I would think so, but at this point nothing Lizzie did would surprise me. I could read that she walked down Main Street in the buff and my reaction be, "Is there a picture of that somewhere?",   but I wouldn't be shocked.

Can someone compare how much $ Emma left when she died, as to how much Lizbeth had left?
Probably some of that was Emma's share of the AJBorden Building which she did sell.
I have felt that that building, with her father's name on it, meant a lot to Lizzie.  When Emma sold, she was selling her birthright to go hide in oblivion.
Look at the scandal involved with the WCTU having to leave the building, after the inheritence.  The papers blamed Lizzie.

Grrr...just when I don't have my stuff around.  I don't know but I think Emma had more assets than Lizzie overall @ the end.

From what I've read it seems Lizzie died worth a million
bucks, and Emma only about 150,000. 
The Borden Bldg alone was worth 341,000
and as Harry said, Emma sold her share to Jacob Dondis in 1923.
It seems Emma paid a lot for her life in NH, caregivers? 

Replying to my own post #1.  I checked in Lincoln and there is the usual misinformation. This from Lincoln (p314 paperback):

"Fall River's fifty-year-old life as a prosperous mill-town was nearly over. The big textile crash was just around the corner. Emma was far enough away to face up to it, as most of Fall River could not. So far as she could, she pulled out and reinvested. She wanted to sell her share in the Andrew J. Borden Building, the big downtown granite monument to Andrew's acumen as a real-estate man, which he had constructed shortly before his death. She knew that its value would be lost in the inevitable slump.
The bare idea struck Lizzie as sacrilege, and she started litigation. It got their names in the papers again, and a reporter sought Emma out. This frightened her into deeper hiding; she dropped her idea of selling the Borden Building and disappeared into New Hampshire, where she spent the rest of her life, only coming out of hiding twice a year, to take her fur coat to be cleaned and stored in Boston and to pick it up again."

Emma did sell her share to Jacob Dondis and in 1924 Lizzie formed a partnership (Rebello,p56) with Dondis on the building.

The wording in Rebello on p307 makes it sound like it was Lizzie who wanted to sell.  Since it is a sentence cut out of the article it appears out of context and probably means it was Emma who wanted to sell. That would make more sense.

This is an interesting thread.  Is there any reliable information as to what caused the final break between Lizzie and Emma?  These posts make me think that their bitter split in the final years of their respective lives might have been financially related.  However, that does not seem like enough of a reason.  Is there any other information which would shed light on the reason why Emma and Lizzie had such a bitter break?  One other question:  Does the Borden Building described in the above posts still stand in Fall River?  Is his name on the structure?

(Message last edited Feb-8th-04  7:04 PM.)

I always read that Emma was worth about twice what Lizzie was at their deaths---But maybe this was just cash assets?

I agree Harry, I think page 307 of Rebello is missing the whole
quote and it is Emma who "wishes to dispose of her share of the property".
Jim I find the Question of "why really did Emma leave under
such an 'untolerable sitution'" as intriging as the murders. 

I looked in the Land Transactions in the back of Rebello's book but can't find a final figure which Emma would have recouped for her 1/2 of The AJBorden Building.
If it was half of that $50,000, that would be $25,000.
I'm trying to find $100,000 tho, which seems to be the difference in the estates left by Lizzie and Emma, respectively.

Pgs. 349 & 341:
Emma  $447,099
Lizbeth $347,930

We know Lizbeth paid Emma her share of the use of Maplecroft while Emma did not live there, and included all insurance (and taxes?)
Those might be expenses Emma did not have while boarding with others or living in an apartment.
Also Lizbeth traveled to Washington and New York and Boston and liked the theatre and eating out.  She also paid servants and probably gave treats to their familys.  She owned cars as well, and that costs gas and upkeep, not to mention the remodeling costs and building a garage.

We can guess that Lizzie had more fun than Emma!

But shouldn't have Emma have had more than she had , given her frugal and retiring ways?  Her only splurge seems to have been the Scotland trip, and I suspect she didn't go 1st class then.  Do you suppose she was giving her money away before her death out of guilt?

--Lyddie