1. "Just wondering....."
Posted by njwolfe on Oct-31st-03 at 3:49 PM

I was wondering things like: 
  who took possession of Lizzie's belongings after her death?
I read somewhere that she kept a scrapbook, also she loved books,
where are these things? Also wondering how did the Borden's do
holidays, a big Thanksgiving dinner? A Christmas tree, exchanging
presents, did they celebrate? 
  The frustrating thing about this case is how very little we know.
It is baffling that not ONE person ever came forward to give another
glimpse into this family, no tidbits, nothing.  It is all just
bland facts.  Even though Fall River shunned her, still
they protected her, even after death. 
  And Bridget, so bland and ungiving of any extra information,
just amazing.  Victoria Lincoln, being a native of Fall River, still
couldn't get anyone to talk. The mystery seems deeper to me because
of this. 
  And the Nance O'Neill connection, are there any quotes from
Nance or any theatre people regarding LIzzie?  All we have are the
flat facts "Lizzie had a big party".
  Just wondering why noone shared any personal things about Lizzie!

Nancie -- Here's an interview Nance O'Neil gave after Lizzie's death, in case you haven't read it --

New Bedford Standard

ACTRESS SURE HER OLD FRIEND WAS GUILTLESS

Tall Tragedienne Remembers “frail, Little Gentlewoman” Met in 1904

SPEAKS RETICENTLY OF SECLUDED WOMAN

Tells of Few Friends Who Were Golden Rift in Leaden Life

By MINNA LITTMANN
(Standard Staff Correspondent)

New York, June 4 *** --  From the time Lizzie Borden was accused in 1892 of the murder of her father and stepmother to the hour of her lonely death last week at her home in Fall River, few strangers came into her life as friends to replace those who had dropped away from her, chilled by the cloud of suspicion which the court verdict of not guilty could not dispel.

Friends in Memory.

But there were a few, among them Nance O’Neil, famous actress of tragic roles.  When Miss O’Neil played in Boston in 1904 her personality and emotional power so gripped Miss Borden that she stepped out of the bonds of her habitual reserve and sought the acquaintance of the actress, then the idol of the city for her brilliant playing in Magda Leah the Forsaken, and other tragedies of her repertoire.  They became friends and remained friends, though only in memory, for they never met again after Miss O’Neil finished her season in the East and went on a tour.
Miss O’Neil, the stately, eloquent voiced woman New Bedford remembers from the three weeks she played with the Hathaway stock company in 1912, spoke, with sincere affection and admiration of Miss Borden when I brought up the subject during a brief call at the actress’s luxurious apartment in 55th street this afternoon.  She spoke also with reticence.

Actress Loath to Speak.

Miss Borden shrank so from publicity in her life, she said, that she could not feel free to speak in more than a general way of her after her death, despite the fact that her only recollections are favorable ones.
It was an unconscious tribute to the compelling power of Lizzie Borden’s personality that after all these years a woman of the impressive caliber of Miss O’Neil should say “I don’t believe Miss Borden would like it.”
But Miss O’Neil did not hesitate to say warmly that Miss Borden was not the sort of person one could believe guilty of such a crime as that with which she was charged.  It was not the unemotional, grim, stocky and stalwart Lizzie Borden of popular conception that Miss O’Neil knew and remembered, but a quiet, reserved, frail little old-fashioned gentlewoman.

Distinctly Attractive.

Miss O’Neil, being unusually tall herself, is perhaps inclined to see persons smaller than others do.  She found the reserved little gentlewoman, with her gray eyes and graying hair and her unmistakable air of refinement and intellect, distinctively attractive.  She was exceedingly well read, conversant with the best literature, and spoke interestingly of her travels abroad, which Miss O’Neil recalled as extensive.  With her intellectual qualities she combined kindness and thought for others and a great fondness for animals.  She was a life member, Miss O’Neil recalled, of the Boston Animal Rescue league.
The outstanding recollection, the actress mentioned, however, was that Miss Borden seemed utterly lonely.  She was obviously always depressed by the shadow of some tragedy, the nature of which Miss O’Neil did not know until some time after their brief friendship began.  A note from Miss Borden expressing admiration for the brilliant acting of the star and asking permission to call on her, was the beginning of their acquaintance.  With it came a bouquet of flowers.

Circle of Warm Friends.

Nance O’Neil received Miss Borden, as she did hundreds of others who sought her, in her dressing room at the Tremont theater.  Thereafter, however, they met at each other’s homes.  Miss Borden was accustomed to come frequently to Boston, to the Bellevue, to enjoy plays and concerts and the company of a few friends, among whom Miss O’Neil recalled Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, and a brilliant woman novelist and her husband, who were not merely friends, but warm companions of Lizzie Borden.

Not Slightest Difference.

The Borden murder trial had been history for 10 years, but it was still vivid in public memory, and some one soon told Miss O’Neil  that her new friend whom she knew only as Lisbeth A. Borden, was the woman who figured in it.
“That made not the slightest difference to me,” said the actress, looking out earnestly from the shadow of great black hat which shaded her face, cameo-like above a clinging black gown, illuminated by a single vivid scarlet tassel hanging from the waist.
“I want to make that clear.  It did not alter our relations in the least.  Of course, the tragedy itself was never mentioned between us; never was there ever so much as an  allusion to it.  I simply felt a great sympathy for her, and a great deal of admiration for the way she carried on.  She was always so alone.”

Golden Rift in Leaden Years.

To have heard Miss O’Neil pronounce in her vibrant contralto, the words alone and lonely as they recurred in her almost reluctant reminiscence of her friend was to realize for the first time with any vividness the extent of the loneliness which must have engulfed Miss Borden, despite the distractions she could purchase with her wealth.  The friendship of the actress must have been a golden rift in a stretch of leaden years, though that Miss O’Neil did not intimate.  She mentioned that Miss Borden was once a guest for a few days at her country place at Tyngsboro, not far from Lowell.  Reports that she had spent some time at the Borden home in Fall River, or that she had ever met Miss Emma Borden, she characterized as in error.
Asked point blank whether Miss Borden ever seemed to her a person who could possibly be associated with such a crime as the murder, with which she was charged, Miss O’Neil’s face as well as words answered in the negative.  Not in the least could she associate such a thought with the Miss Borden she knew.

Poor Correspondent.

No letters were exchanged in the nearly quarter of a century which has elapsed since Miss Borden and Miss O’Neil bade each other good-by.
“I am afraid I am a rather poor correspondent,” said the actress, flicking an ash from her cigarette into a tray of red Chinese lacquer stand--gorgeous Chinese lacquer and carvings, embroideries and jade dominated the whole room.
“We were like ships that pass in the night and speak each other in passing.”


*** June 4, 1927


(Message last edited Oct-31st-03  6:07 PM.)

Thanks Tina Kate,  very interesting reading I had not read that
before. Still, pretty sketchy wouldn't you say?  The writer of that
article was good though.  Did Lizzie have some kind of "power" over
people to implore them to keep their mouth shut? 

Super post Tina-Kate!  Some of it is in Rebello but I have never seen it before in its entirety.  Thanks!

Do you have the paper itself or was it from a book?  The Source book?

Yes, Sourcebook, 345-346.
That was good, Tina Kate.
I thought you would recount to whom Lizzie gave her possessions, by Will.

We have to wonder at what kept the servants quiet the many years after Lizzie's death. 

Those that worked for her were reputed to be be well paid but money can go only so far in accounting for all of the silence.  And once she was dead the weekly pay check stopped.  Some of them were included in her will but those were the ones who were with her a long time.  Were there any that stayed but a short time, one year? two years?

She must have very good to them (besides money) to inspire that kind of loyalty. If she had died today her life at Maplecroft would be for sale to the highest bidder.

Wow, thanks, Tina-Kate.  I never read that before, just that sole line at the end about the ships that pass in the night.  It sounds like Lizzie was genuinely warm and kind to people and also seen as a figure of tragedy by them.  Because of this they probably felt a protective instinct and wouldn't say a bad word about her or even really a nice one.  Wish more people talked about her, something, anything. 

Harry:

I have a Xerox copy of the original article in the newspaper.
Tina-Kates version is complete and verbatim.

That is true. It is also true that a gossipper would not help his or her job prospects, then or now. Until they retired, and needed the money. Like that ex-MI6 agent who spilled the beans after he retired to Australia; they cheated him out of some of his pension ("Spycatcher").