The Lizzie Borden Society archive

Forum URL:

1. "Where is Bridget?"
Posted by joe on Feb-19th-02 at 3:56 PM

Where is Bridget's missing testimony from the inquest?  Does FRHS have it?  Or did it simply disappear.  Seems to me there has been discussion about this on the LBS forum, but I can't locate it in the archives.

From what I understand, The Inquest Testimony of Bridget was made as 2 copies by Annie White and given to Knowlton, who like a good(?) prosecutor, sat on them for a month or so.  Meanwhile, that testimony was supposedly entered into the Preliminary transcipt.  Well, when Jennings finally raised enough stink to get Knowlton to give him a copy, it Had DIsappeared! .  No one knows to this day, why it's not in the Prelim., or where the 2 copies got to.  If you find it, let us know...plus you'll be FAMOUS!

Ammendment;
Hoffman, in Yesterday In Old Fall River says:
"Miss White was also called by the defence to QUOTE from the inquest testimony of Bridget Sullivan, who had stated that Lizzie was crying when she first realized her father was dead..."

-how they thought they knew this, I can't say.  Apparently, tho, only parts of Bridget's Inquest Test. were read into the Prelim. minutes, which are STILL missing from that source item...

(Message last edited Feb-19th-02  11:27 PM.)

Joe, Lizzie's Inquest testimony is also missing from the document. The one that the FRHS prints is a Kent version of the one printed in the New Bedford Evening Standard. Terence and I worked on this very question in our article for the LBQ in October of 2001 titled "Will the Real Inquest Testimony of Lizzie Borden Please Stand Up?"

As a matter of fact, now that you asked, you can find the most accurate transcription of the New Bedford Evening Standard of 12 June 1893 for free on my website as a download pdf file.

Like Kat says, if you find Bridget's testimony, why then, you would simply be famous! ----lizzie's is probably in there too!