Forum Title: LIZZIE BORDEN SOCIETY Topic Area: Life in Victorian America Topic Name: Bridget And Abby's Work Week  

1. "Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Susan on Jan-27th-04 at 10:02 PM

While doing a search trying to find out what Tina-Kate's "widget" was for, I came across this site.  I found it interesting as Bridget and Abby seemed to follow this plan for their housekeeping.


MONDAY

Monday was "Laundry Day", also known as "Blue Monday". "Soaking" had already begun well before, as early as Saturday night for those whose religious beliefs forbade them from any type of work or labor on Sunday.  The Utility Room contained no electric washer or dryer, no detergent powder, no liquid bleach, no boxes of softner sheets, nor any cans of spray starch.  Instead, the laundry room shelves would have been stocked with bars of strong yellow soap, cubes of hard-packed blue powder, called 'bluing"--the bleaching agent of Victorian days, a scrub brush, the washtub with a corrugated metal washboard braced inside, and finally, a wringer. 

On Monday morning, after the "rinsing", each article of wash was fed through the huge rubber rollers of the wringer, while the woman used one hand to turn the gigantic iron wheel.  The laundry was then put through two washings on the corrugated washboard.  Next, the laundry was boiled for 20 minutes in a third tub of soapy water before being transferred with a wooden "fork" to a tub of water for a "cold rinse".  After a final rinse in clear water that was tinged lightly blue from the "bluing cube", the laundry was once again passed through the wringer.

If any items needed to be starched first, they were set aside to be dipped in and rubbed with a solution that was so hot, a tub of cold water was always nearby so that the woman could continually dip her hands into it to prevent scalding.

Finally, the clothes were taken to the backyard and hung with wooden pegs from clotheselines to dry.  On especially cold or rainy days, the laundry was taken upstairs to the attic where lines were strung from wall to wall.

While the clothes were on the lines to dry, lunch could be set out.  Monday's meals were intended to involve as little preparation as possible since the day was already so busy.  Large Sunday meals usually provided leftovers for Monday, or perhaps something roasted in the oven could be served, along with potatoes and carrots, a canned vegetable, and a simple dessert, such as baked apples, or cookies.  This would allow the woman time in the afternoon to scrub porches and to clean the laundry area/scullery floor with the left over wash water. 

It would be late afternoon before the clothesline could be emptied, and the items (except for towels) would be sprinkled and rolled, ready for ironing the next day.  With all traces of 'Blue Monday" cleaned up, the evening meal could then be served.

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

Thursday and Friday were general house-cleaning days.  The Victorian housewife was conscientous about her home, and she took pride in her clean and tidy domain.  The full cleaning usually began by draping dust covers over the furniture and then opening the windows to expose any hidden dirt.  Curtains, mirrors, and picture frames could be brushed with a feather duster, but the ornate carvings on Victorian furniture and moldings might have called for the use of small bellows to blow out the dust.  Carpets were swept, but in order to keep dust from flying all over the room, dampened tea leaves, coffee grounds, or sometimes, freshly cut grass was first sprinkled on the carpet.  When dusting and sweeping was completed in one room, the dust covers were removed from the furniture, taken outside and shaken, then carried to the next room where the process began again.

In the kitchen, the black iron stove would be cleaned thoroughly, using soft soap and a flannel cloth, then polished to a glow with stove polish.  The sink and drain were flushed with carbolic acid, then it was time to clean the floors.  If they were painted, they were simply mop-rinsed.  Varnished floors, besides the mopping, also received a rub-down with kerosene on a flannel cloth.  Should a cooking-grease stain have appeared on a wooden floor, the housewife would saturate the spot with heated lye, then scour it with ashes, using a stiff-bristled brush.  Finally, the wood floor would be cleaned all over with hot water, and then rinsed.

Most all Victorian families kept the same routine.  Rugs and draperies were shaken and aired twice a month, even in rooms that were seldom used.  Carpets were sponged clean several times a month.  Windows were usually washed once a week.  What's more, time needed to be set aside for other duties and tasks, such as making butter, shopping, making soaps and shampoos, and sewing the family's clothing.  Clothes were primarily made at home, so there was always some sewing project going on.  If it was not time to be making new clothes, then there were always exisiting clothes that need repairs, or some darning that needed to be done.


From this site:  http://www.geocities.com/victorianlace10/chores.html


2. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by njwolfe on Jan-28th-04 at 8:45 PM
In response to Message #1.

Thanks Susan, isn't it incredible the work those women did? 
From the diary I read from the time, it was the exact same thing,
just endless chores.  UGH, I'd so much rather go to work and be
paid for working!   My house gets a vacuum and dusting once a week,
windows? ha maybe twice a year!  


3. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Tina-Kate on Jan-28th-04 at 8:46 PM
In response to Message #1.

Thanks for the on-going Widget Search, Susan.  I'm beginning to despair of ever finding out what the heck that thing is!

That abbreviated schedule made me tired just reading it!  I'm thinking Victorian maids/housewives must have had very strong arms.


4. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Jan-29th-04 at 2:08 AM
In response to Message #1.

Thanks Susan!
I finally got a chance to read your whole offering!
Looks like they had some days off, huh?  Wednesday, Sunday?

It sounds a bit like our family growing up.
We had daily chores like the dishes (no dishwasher) & weekly chores, and that included dusting the furniture and polishing it, cleaning the bathroom and cleaning up our rooms and putting things away.
Lawn work, as well.

In the laundry department we did not use fabric softeners or anything fancy.  We did have a machine tho.
Our mom sewed all our clothes and mended them as well.

I wonder if those duties that site  described were done by all the females in the family, or the servant?  Having a large family provides more hands to do the work!


5. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Susan on Jan-29th-04 at 4:12 AM
In response to Message #4.

Yes, NJ, just reading that list of chores that were supposed to be done made me want to go curl up in a corner in the fetal position.  Its mind boggling to think that this was a daily week for a housewife or maid, how they crammed all this work in a day is beyond me!


Tina-Kate, I haven't given up searching on your "widget" yet, it is most intriguing!  I feel like there may be part of it missing, like perhaps there was a small shelf that had pegs that slipped into those holes and it was at that lower level for people to put their feet up on it to button those high-button boots.  It was in the front hall, wasn't it?


Kat, wasn't Wednesday Bridget's half-day?  It sounds like the Bordens ate quite a bit of store bought baked goods, so, Wednesday may not have been the usual big baking day for Bridget. 


6. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Jan-30th-04 at 1:42 AM
In response to Message #5.

I think Bridget's 1/2 day is Thursday- and that was part of *the plan*.
But she did get to go out Wednesday evening after supper, the 3rd.
I don't know if that was usual?

btw:  I bet TK's computer is packed, and we ought to make bets as to how long it takes for her to unpack it after her move!


7. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Susan on Jan-30th-04 at 4:19 AM
In response to Message #6.

Thanks, Kat.  Well, it sounds like Bridget may have had an easy Wednesday then, I wonder what her normal work was for that day?  It couldn't have been too difficult if Bridget had the energy to go out for a few hours that night.

Hmmmm, Tina-Kate's computer....I give it about a day and a half, we should hear from her that evening on the half day. 


8. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by lydiapinkham on Jan-30th-04 at 11:43 AM
In response to Message #6.

Kat, could Bridget's 1/2 day account for the lack of discussion of food for the day?  Maybe Abby planned to have Bridget serve leftovers for dinner, then market for some yummy concoction of her own for supper.  Strange that Lizzie didn't use marketing as an excuse for Abby's "absence" instead of the sick note.  Do you suppose the Whiteheads had sent for her, then suppressed the fact rather than contribute to Lizzie's aquittal?


9. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by raymond on Jan-30th-04 at 4:36 PM
In response to Message #8.

An interesting question that no one can definitely, factually answer.
I say they didn't, and not just because of AR Brown's book.
IF Lizzie suspected this, she would probably not have given them the deed to their house. (I suspect Lizzie knew more about this note than she testified.)


10. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by njwolfe on Jan-30th-04 at 7:43 PM
In response to Message #9.

Wasn't Andrew still around when the deed was given to Whiteheads?
Lizzie had no control of anything as long as Dad was alive.


11. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Jan-30th-04 at 8:00 PM
In response to Message #10.

After the Borden murders, and after the Trial and acquittal, Emma & Lizzie transferred the rest of the Whitehead house to Abby's heirs:  Priscilla and Sarah.
Priscilla already had 1/4 of the property and Sarah had 1/2 (her own 1/4 and the 1/4 deeded by Abby and Andrew).  The remaining 1/4 was Abby's portion of the house from her father, O.Gray.

Rebello, 278+
"Levi Elmer Wood of Fall River petitioned the court on Friday, September 9, 1892, to be administrator for the estate of Abby Durfee Gray Borden. Abby Borden died intestate. Abby's estate, as determined by Probate Court, would be distributed to Priscilla S. Fish (wife of George H. Fish of Hartford, Connecticut) sister; and Sarah B. Whitehead (wife of George W. Whitehead of Fall River, Massachusetts), a half-sister. The petition was agreed to by both parties."
........

"The appraisal of the estate was attested and approved December 6, 1892."

"Abby Borden's Estate

The estate of Abby Durfee Gray Borden ordered dispersed to Sarah B. Whitehead ($788.83) and George H. Fish ($788.84), November 2, 1894."

"Note: No information was listed as to the undivided half of the house at 45 Fourth Street, as Emma and Lizzie inherited the property. Emma and Lizzie later sold their half interest to Sarah and George for $1.00 after Lizzie was acquitted. (see Appendix C, Land Transactions of Emma and Lizzie Borden.)"


"Gave a Deed / Mrs. A. J. Borden's Property Transferred to Her Next of Kin by Emma and Lizzie Borden "... Fall River Daily Herald, July 15, 1893: 8.

"Emma and Lizzie transferred their half interest at 45 Fourth Street property, personal belongings and bank deposits of $4,000 to the heirs of Abby Borden, Mrs. Whitehead and Mrs. Fish. The transfer was made August 13, 1893, under the direction of Emma and Lizzie Borden through Levi E. Wood, administrator. Mr. Swift was counsel for Mrs. Whitehead."


(Message last edited Jan-30th-04  8:01 PM.)


12. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Jan-30th-04 at 9:24 PM
In response to Message #8.

Evening Standard, Saturday, August 6, 1892:2

"Mrs. Emery states that Mr. Morse came to her house 'not long after breakfast,' and that he stayed there until about 20 minutes after 11.  She invited him to dinner, but he declined, saying he had an engagement.  She fixes the time by saying that she had some trouble with a lock of the door when he went out.  That immediately after he had gone she went for her hat to go to the store to make a purchase for dinner.  It was half past 11.  At the store she again looked at the clock there, wondering how much time she still had left to get dinner.  The store clock said 11:40."
____
Mrs. Churchill at Inquest:
126
Q.  Were you at home that Thursday morning?
A.  I was down street. I went from the house near eleven o’clock to do my marketing.
Q.  Do you know where the Bordens marketed?
A.  I dont. I think to Whitehead’s, I am not sure.
Q.  Who usually did the marketing for the Bordens, Mr. or Mrs. Borden?
A.  Mrs. Borden went a good many times out. I dont know that, I dont know their private affairs at all.
....

127
Q.  What was the first thing to which your attention was attracted?
A.  I was coming down Second street, I had been to Hudner’s market. I got about half way between Mrs. Burts house and mine, and I saw Bridget going from Dr. Bowen’s door over to the Borden House, running, and she looked as if she was scared.
Q.  That was the first?
A.  Yes Sir.
..............
Q.  What time, as near as you can judge from everything, was that?
A.  I dont know, I think it was about eleven o’clock when I started out of the house, somewhere in that vicinity. I knew I had got to get down street and get back time enough to get potatoes for dinner, so to have them at twelve o’clock. I only gave a short order, did not stay long there, and came right back.
_______

These ladies seem to anticipate their daily shopping and want to get out of the house around 11 a.m.  Mrs. Emery actually sounds as if Morse kept her over her usual leaving time.  She got her hat  "Immediately" and left  after he left and she kept checking the time.
Mrs. Borden usualy did the marketing and it might be safe to speculate that her usual time to shop for fresh supplies might be around the same time as Emery & Churchill, since they seem to all share a dinner schedule of noon.

Stefani and I have debated the question:  That there was a possibility that Lizzie did not just tell her father Abby had gone out to shop, because he would know where she shopped and he would know when she would eventually return.
He could send for Abby if she was late and he was worried, or needed her.

The timing may only have to do with opportunity- that Lizzie or whomever was to kill Mr. Borden, did not know their chance would come as early as 11 a.m., and therefore needed no explanation as to where Abby was when Andrew returned.

--It's a theory. 


(Message last edited Jan-30th-04  9:28 PM.)


13. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by lydiapinkham on Jan-30th-04 at 9:49 PM
In response to Message #12.

Nice data on shopping times and habits, Kat!  But if Morse was likely to get booted out around 11, that makes the time factor that much more audacious.  Am I remembering correctly that the whole household knew JVM was coming back for lunch? It really is all in the timing here.  If Lizzie did it, that lunch date might account for the hasty alarm after Andrew was felled.

Say, has anyone read my bit of light verse in the hatchet thread?  It got buried by my slightly postal response to Raymond, to whom I half-apologize--but only half: I get annoyed by the eternal refrain of "A.R. Brown says" as if it is the only book worth discussing.  It's so much nicer when we can have a free range of topics.  (I would like to know if anyone found the verse amusing.)


14. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Raymond on Jan-31st-04 at 12:53 PM
In response to Message #10.

One of the other posters said that the deed to the house, inherited by the Borden sisters, was given to the Whiteheads. I think this was a nice gesture by the Borden sisters, and not as a pay-off.
But no one can prove either motive.


15. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Jan-31st-04 at 9:19 PM
In response to Message #14.

It was a 1/4 share sold for $1.
It could be Emma & Lizzie's idea to get rid of anything to do with Abby.
And get the Fish & Whiteheads out of their lives.
PR and selfish reasons, combined- maybe.

Why else should they suddenly be altruistic, when back in the days of the Jane Gray transfer, when Sarah Whitehead could lose the house and had a young child, Abby, they kicked up such a fuss?!

(Message last edited Jan-31st-04  9:23 PM.)


16. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by lydiapinkham on Feb-1st-04 at 1:27 AM
In response to Message #15.



Also we know how they felt about maintaining rental property from their quick disposal of Ferry St.!

--Lyddie


17. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Feb-1st-04 at 2:32 AM
In response to Message #16.

You know, bringing that up- it's odd.
I double checked and the girls did hold that property from 1887 until July 15, 1892- but- they sold it to Andrew just 4 days before Lizzie's birthday, and then  just 6 days after that the girls left town together!
Maybe the date they left was contingent upon the transfer of funds to their accounts.
If you are going to kill the old man, it might be prudent to get some working capital in the bank in order to proceed- unexpected expenses may crop up- you never know!


18. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by lydiapinkham on Feb-1st-04 at 12:06 PM
In response to Message #17.

How conveeeeenient!!!!!!!

--Lyddie


19. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Feb-1st-04 at 3:47 PM
In response to Message #17.

Gawd, and if Andrew's father's house bank-rolled his murder??!!


20. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Raymond on Feb-1st-04 at 4:29 PM
In response to Message #13.

BUT the question is: what book do you consider best?
The many books had their real killer: Lizzie, or Bridget, or Emma, or mayber others. You do know which I refer to?
NOTE that they all point to one of the people know to live or visit there. Brown's book works because, in effect, he says if it wasn't one of the known people, then it had to be an Unknown Subject whose identity was kept secret. Doesn't that make logical sense?


21. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Raymond on Feb-1st-04 at 4:31 PM
In response to Message #15.

If they inherited about $300,000 then giving away $3,000 may be good publicity. And quiet any further lawsuits.
Does AR Brown suggest that this could have also quieted any rumors from them? (I'm not a lawyer.)


22. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Raymond on Feb-1st-04 at 4:32 PM
In response to Message #16.

Actually, it shows the girls could not manage that property. I'll bet Andy would have told the complaining tenants what they could do with their complaints.
Doesn't this suggest the girls were too tender-hearted to be a successful landlady? It does to me (NOT from AR Brown's book).


23. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Raymond on Feb-1st-04 at 4:34 PM
In response to Message #13.

Wasn't there some controversy about JVM's return? The testimony is from after the fact, when they circled their wagons.

I think Lizzie sent Dr Bowen there to recall JVM. Brown points out that JVM's trip on a railroad(?) was like a car dealer taking a taxi; can you believe this?


24. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Feb-2nd-04 at 2:43 AM
In response to Message #23.

Ray you have outdone yourself.
Did you read a post #13 in this topic where the member says she doesn't wish to hear /read the name of BROWN again please?  You then print and publish the name in 4 consecutive posts
Are you doing that on purpose?  If you are it is perverse.
(ie:  stubborn & contrary- will you give it a rest?)


25. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Raymond on Feb-2nd-04 at 5:53 PM
In response to Message #24.

NO, I just read the 6 to 8 works on this case.
AR Brown provided the best solution to this unsolved case.

Or, you can read Frank Spiering's book.

Or read Robert Sullivan's solution.

Or read E Radin's book.

Or anyone else who blamed only one of those who lived or visited that house.

If neither Bridget or Lizzie did it, then who else? Someone whose presence and identity was kept secret is the logical conclusion.
Unless (as some claim without any facts) it was a planned murder.
...
Does anyone claim the other author(s) are better?
I apologize to anyone who is sick of the Brown name. But ....

(Message last edited Feb-2nd-04  5:55 PM.)


26. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Feb-5th-04 at 1:07 AM
In response to Message #13.

Andrew may have known Morse was returning to dinner, but Abby was possibly in the sitting room when Morse left and may not have known and Bridget did not know:
Prelim
8
Q.  Did Mr. Borden go out when Mr. Morse did?
A.  No Sir.

Q.  He went to the door?
A.  Yes Sir, with him.

Q.  Did you hear him say anything to Mr. Morse?
A.  I heard him ask him to come to dinner.

Q.  What did Mr. Morse say?
A.  I do not know.

--Earlier in her testimony, same page, Bridget is asked where Abby was when Morse left:

Q.  Where was Mrs. Borden when Mr. Morse was let out?
A.  She was not in the dining room. I expect she was in the sitting room.

Q.  Did you see her afterwards?
A.  I did about nine o'clock.

Q.  After Morse had gone?
A.  Yes Sir.

Q.  Was that before Mr. Borden went?
A.  Mr. Borden was gone then.

--Lizzie was not down yet when Morse left and Abby was not around and Andrew is dead and Bridget did not know.  Mrs. Emery apparently did not know. as well.

It almost seems as if Morse over-stayed at the Emery's so the household would notice when he left.
He knows these women's schedules, focused on the noon meal.  Morse even gives his reason for tarrying at Borden's before setting off to Emery's as time to let the woman of that house get her morning work done!

Prelim
Morse
243
Q.  What time did you start to come away from there?
A.  I think about 20 minutes past eleven.

Q.  How do you fix the time as about quarter to nine when you left the house?
A.  Because I thought I would give them time to get their work done up in the morning. I could not go in the afternoon.

Q.  How do you fix the time you left as quarter to nine?
A.  I looked at my watch.

Q.  When you left?
A.  Yes Sir.


--Now, why does Morse say he couldn't go to see his niece in the afternoon?


27. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Raymond on Feb-5th-04 at 10:01 AM
In response to Message #26.

My assumption is that Uncle John (JVM) did not plan to return that afternoon. Lizzie knew this, and sent Dr Bowen to fetch him back. This was a crisis she didn't know how to handle!
That's why I think her first statements were the truth, before she changed it to put herself back up in the barn. By committing this perjury, JVM could argue that Lizzie could never tell with out implicating herself. (My opinion, not from any hidden recorder.)

All these testimonies came days after the murder, when they had a chance to all "get on the same page:.

Note this testimony from the Martha Stewart case. All of them telling the same story can be considered collusion (like the drugstore guys).


28. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Kat on Feb-5th-04 at 1:25 PM
In response to Message #26.

We had also figured, in previous endeavors here, to find if Dr. Bowen had time to get to Emery's -and to send a telegram- and stop to see his friend in the drugstore- and stop to see his wife and get the train schedule- (not in that order) and the answer was no.


29. "Re: Bridget And Abby's Work Week"
Posted by Raymond on Feb-5th-04 at 5:17 PM
In response to Message #28.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but is there anything about this in the published books?
If Dr Bowen was notified by 11:30, and JVM was back at noon (?), it does not leave a lot of time.