1. "The Milk"
Posted by augusta on Jun-15th-02 at 4:29 AM

Dr. Dolan testifies at the Preliminary Hearing that the milk from Wednesday night and Thursday morning were taken Thursday and sent for analysis.  How in the world would that help to find out if the Bordens were poisoned, since they took sick on Tuesday? 

Bridget had a glass of milk late Wednesday night and said she was sick Thursday morning out in the yard.  She woke with a sick headache, but paid it no mind because she often or sometimes got one.  Her yard barfing puzzles me.  Firstly, if she was not just trying to jump on the "I've Been Poisoned Too" bandwagon, she would have gotten sick pretty quickly after drinking 'poisoned' milk.  And it's funny that after she threw up that one time she was fine.  She made no mention of feeling sick while yukking it up with the Kelly's girl across the fence or while washing the windows.  She did go up to lie down, but that was her habit to do if she had finished her morning work before she had to get lunch.  Nobody saw Bridget being sick out in the yard.  All this time I've accepted that, but when you think about it we just have her word on it.  And it's on the flimsy side.

Lizzie only said she was sick.  Nobody saw her or heard her barf.  And Bridget said Lizzie looked okay.  Bridget's "poisoning" to me is equally suspicious as Lizzie's.  When they tested the milk from Wednesday, nothing was found in it. 

Why would Bridget say Lizzie looked okay - whether Bridget was actually sick or not?  She could have easily said "Well, she did look a might peaked."  I don't get it.  Was she trying to tell the truth?  And when she "lied" on the stand, it was more a lack of understanding the questions?  There are several places where Bridget misunderstands the questioning. 

Some excellent points, Augusta.

Several times I've read how Bridget liked Abby and how kind Abby was to her. Bridget says she would have left several times but for Abby. It seems to me that if Bridget was really not feeling well she could have gone to Abby and told her so. What was the great need to have the windows cleaned that day? I know in the movie "The Legend of." she does and is turned down, but that is the movie version.

The other point about Bridget's understanding the questions is something to take serious. Sometimes you're never quite really sure she does.

I've often questioned Bridget's tale of being out in the yard being sick for 10 or 15 minutes.

Take a look at the time frame:
Morse has left at 8:45
Sometime about 5 of 9 Lizzie comes down to the kitchen and has a breakfast of cookie and coffee, which she lies about later.
Bridget and Lizzie are alone in the kitchen for a minute, then supposedly Bridget goes outside to be sick. 
While she is outside, 2 important things happen:
Andrew leaves  and
Lizzie disappears.
She then gets her orders to wash windows
Then Abby is killed.

It's awfully convenient for Bridget not to see Andrew leave, not to see Lizzie anymore till 9:30, and to last see Abby in the dining room dusting as she is about to go upstairs to die.
That means Bridget is the last person that we know of to see Abby Alive, and you know what the old criminology adage is ABOUT THAT!

It's just possible the good doctor was conducting an experiment.

If the milk tested either Wednesday or Thursday showed the presence of poison, it's a pretty good chance that Bridget, Lizzie and Abby were telling the truth when they said they were poisoned by Tuesday's milk.

The fact that no poison was found in the milk for Wednesday or Thursday proves nothing, one way or another.

And remember, the story that Bridget would have left several times if it weren't for Abby begging her to stay comes from one source (that I am aware of)---the questionable letter from Mrs. McHenry in the Knowlton Papers. The letter purports to be an interview conducted by Nellie. I have my doubts as to the veracity of this letter as we must be suspicious of anything connected to either McHenry or Trickey.

Now the milk. Milk was delivered in a container that was used and then left out to be picked up and an different container was left for the new delivery. Testing the milk that was delivered for Wednesday and Thursday would not detect trace remains from Tuesday's milk as it would be an entirely different container, would it not? I guess the police were covering their butts with this one. If poison was in the Wednesday/Thursday milk, then the story of the poison could be substantiated. But as William says, not finding poison in that delivery proved nothing, EXCEPT maybe that Bridget's supposed barffing was not connected to the milk, but to something else. Maybe the beer from the night before? Morning sickness? Oh, my.

I think Bridget's relationship with Abby may be one of the few things Trickey-McHenry got right. This was in the Evening Standard some 2 months before their infamous article:

"Fall River, Aug. 9. --- This morning the servant girl, Bridget Sullivan, was summoned to the central police station.  She walked down in company with officer Doherty and talked quite freely on the way.  She looked very much worried and was quite pale as compared with her appearance last Thursday morning when seen first by a reporter.  She told the officer that it was hard to be watched so closely and to have one's private affairs torn to pieces.  She was willing, however, to have the police or anyone else examine her every action since the time she arose Thursday until she was asked to go to the police station with the officer.  She did not care to talk very much about the details of the family relations.  She allowed that she wanted to leave two or three times, but she was urged to remain by Mrs. Borden, of whom she spoke very kindly."

Then in the next day's paper, August 10th:

"For the last three years she has lived with the Borden family, and for some time past has been threatening to return to Ireland.  She says that Mrs. Borden was a very kind mistress and that she was much attached to her.  Mrs. Borden used to talk to her about going home to Ireland, and used to tell her that she would be lonely without her." 

Yea. But....

Yea, but WHO wrote those 2 articles?  hmmm

If it was in the Evening-Standard, it was NOT E H Porter (?).
Wasn't that the newspaper that was favorable to Lizzie?

And vomiting after breakfast should point to that meal, not the night before. What is your experience with food poisoning? About one hour or so?

(Message last edited Jun-17th-02  10:33 AM.)

Somewhere in a Borden book or article I read of an older woman at Oak Grove Cemetery standing by and weeping for Abby. I'm not sure if it was at the time of the funeral or later. This lady was identified as a former domestic employee of the Borden family who was very fond of Abby. Does anyone else recall mention of this incident?

Regarding the delivery of milk to the Borden house, I am not clear as to whether each morning delivery of fresh milk was poured into an existing milk can kept on the porch by the family (then emptied into smaller household containers and the milk can perhaps rinsed out) or whether a different or "new" container with fresh milk was provided with each delivery, and the previous or "old" container taken away. Fresh milk was delivered in bottles during the 20th century but I don't know whether this method was used by dairies in the 1890s.

I have also read the story about the old former servant at Abby's grave.  It certainly makes a touching story, if nothing else.  I don't recall where that's found, and I've spent about all the time I can afford researching Borden matters today.  I do believe Bridget described, in her trial testimony and perhaps elsewhere, the process of rinsing out the old milk "can" and leaving it for the milkman, who would bring a different "can" full of milk and take the empty away.   I have no idea whether the entire "can" was refrigerated or whether the milk had to be poured into smaller containers to fit into the icebox.

Rebello, 104:

At the graveside, "...There was a pause of perhaps five minutes, during which the carriages kept their places and no one stirred toward the grave except an elderly lady in plain dress, who was about to kneel in reverence before it, when she was moved away by an officer and went to the fence around the ground, where, with back to the crowd, she buried her head in tears.  It was whispered that she had been employed long ago by the Bordens."
Fall River Evening News, Saturday, Aug. 6, 1892: 1.

--Sounds like it's straight out of Charles Dickens...

About the milk...isn't it delivered from their own farms?

(Message last edited Jun-17th-02  8:43 PM.)

Am I correct in assuming it was raw milk? Illegal to sell today, and for some years. It must be pasteurized (avoid germs, TB, etc.) and mostly homogenized (fat globules broken up for an even distribution).

I remember relatives on their farm boiling milk; it changed the taste a bit. No longer like store-bought milk.

If the milk was delivered every day, how much would be consumed by four adults? 2-4 quarts tops? What is your own experience and opinion?

TRIAL, pg. 990, Ed Wood had samples of milk from Wednesday, Aug.3rd (of which Bridget drank Wed. nite upon returning home), and milk of Thursday, Aug. 4.
Bridget was sick the morning after her glass of milk.
Wood said the samples were in a sorry state by the time they got to him & his lab and he was ready for testing.

Apparently Alice told Lizzie Wednesday night that (T. 376) ..."if they put anything in the can the farmer would see it." [poison]

Checked Bridget's Preliminary and Trial testimony and she does not say the BORDEN'S farm supplied the milk.  I don't know now where I ever gained that impression...

I believe the milk did come from the Borden's farm. I have read in several newspaper articles that when Andrew wanted eggs from the farm his practice was to tie a note requesting them on the empty milk can.

I just watched "Case Reopened" last night on The Learning Channel. It stated in there that the farmer normally brought the eggs over in the morning but did not have to the morning of the murder because Morse had brought them back the night before.

This is also mentioned in the Adilz article, "An Armchair Solution...", which ran in the LBQ about five years ago.

"On the day before the murders he (Morse) came on an unannounced visit. After conversing with Mr. & Mrs. Borden for a little more than an hour, he hired a horse team and proceeded to the Borden farm at Swansea and brought back some eggs to the Bordens. If he had not done this, the man in charge of the farm, Mr. Frank Eddy, would have delivered the eggs himself on the following day (the murder day) arriving at 11 o'clock or shortly before."

If the note on the empty milk can story is true then I assume the eggs and the milk came from the same farm. Probably a regular schedule for the fresh milk was established and an as-you-need them one for the eggs.

So how many quarts of milk, and how many eggs were delivered each day for their consumption? Were there other stops on the route?

I doubt that Andy would want his man to spend hours to deliver to just one house.

Thanks Harry.
I am glad to know where this information came from
The Witness Statements tell of the egg pick-up by Morse, and that otherwise the man from the farm would have showed up Thursday...but they don't mention the milk.
But now I'm thinking if the eggs were delivered Thursdays usually, and the man says 11 a.m., then he obviously doesn't at the same time deliver the milk, because Bridget, Alice and Lizzie all say the milk comes about 4-5 a.m. (? per Ray)

The time of the delivery of the milk was also discussed between Lizzie and Alice the night before the murders.  Alice told her that it was light when the milk was delivered and someone would have seen if anybody would have tampered with the milk. I remember questioning Terence whether it was light enough at 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. in the morning for anybody to see clear enough.

You are probably right Kat. The eggs may have come once a week or when Andy attached a note that he wanted them earlier.

This also from "Forty Whacks" by Kent, page 13:

"She (Bridget) had come down the backstairs from her room at 6:15 and, bringing up wood and coal from the cellar, had started her breakfast fire. As she did every morning, she took in the milk can from Mr. Borden's Swansea farm and put out the pan to receive the iceman's morning delivery."

Then on page 101:

"She arose, she said, at 6:15, with a sick headache. The first thing down, she took in the daily milk can from the back stoop and put out the clean one, along with a pan to receive the iceman's daily 25-pound cake of ice. By 6:30, she was building her fire of wood and coal and preparing a breakfast of mutton soup, reheated mutton (for the third time), johnnycakes, cookies, bananas, and coffee."

It's funny but I don't think we've ever heard anything about the iceman before. For that time of year that was an extremely important delivery.


(Message last edited Jun-21st-02  7:09 PM.)

In Preliminary, pg. 3, Bridget mentions the ice man:

"About a quarter of seven I opened it (screen door) for the ice man to come in."

--he actually comes IN?

Q:  After the ice man came in did you hook it again?
A:  I can't say, I don't remember
.................

Q:  Did anybody else come in at the back door, that you know of, that morning besides the ice man, and you going out to get the milk, and coming in?
A:  I do not remember

--I'll bet you already knew her answer to THAT question...

--I think the Evening Standard has a small almanac notice around the 6th?  that shows sunrise at 4:44 a.m.?

Replying to my own post. There is one line in that last paragraph that doesn't make sense.

"....she took in the daily milk can from the back stoop and put out the clean one, along with a pan to receive the iceman's daily 25-pound cake of ice."

That would mean that the empty, cleaned milk can would be there all day and should have been there the morning of the murder. That would be strange. She would have had to put the empty out before the morning delivery not after. I can't believe the farm hand came back just for the empty can.

That would mean the empty would have had to be put out the night before for the farm hand to pick it up at 4 a.m.  Would Andrew allow a milk can to be out on the steps all night long and risk that somebody would walk off with it?

Man, I got to stop reading this case.

Good question, Harry!  I never noticed the discrepency before, but, there it is.  Bridget would have to have put the can out for the milk the night before.

And Kat, whats with the ice man coming in?  Every book on the Borden case that I have read says that Bridget puts out the milk can and ice tray first thing in the morning.  Now, you have a source that says that the ice man definetly came into the house?  Wow, 2 new finds!  Way to go you two!!! 

That's pretty funny, Harry!

We had a decorative stenciled milk can on our porch here, which is a deep, enclosed area.  It lasted about 2 weeks, before it disappeared, in a fine middle class suburb.

I'll bet no Ice Man came inside Maplecroft!

I've had limited experience with iceboxes that required that ice be put into them; however, I know a big chunk of ice (that's the way it came in those days)was very heavy.  Maybe the iceman would set it in the pan to avoid drips and then take it into the house and put it into the "fridge."  All of the inmates of chez Borden were either female or elderly or both, after all.

That totally makes sense, Edisto.  But, I just never have seen it listed anywhere that the day of the murders that the ice man came into the Borden kitchen.  I know its incidental to the case, just an interesting find! 

The first paragraph in message #20 indicates a daily 25 lb. cake of ice. That would be hard for Bridget to carry inside while trying to hold the screen door open. I would think the iceman would bring it inside.

We had an "ice box" when I was a boy and I remember the iceman carrying the ice on his shoulder, on top of a burlap bag, and putting it the ice compartment. And we lived on the third floor!

According to this site I just read, a 25 lb. block of ice wasn't really that large, that bigger familys had bigger ice boxes and a 100 lb. block of ice was used.  Thats a big chunk of ice!!!  So, it sounds like the Bordens had a smallish ice box, or do you think that there was always a 25 lb. block of ice in there and the new one was added along side of the old melted one?  Plus, don't forget to empty the drip pan!!!

From where do they get this ice in August?
Iceburgs?

Icehouses, like the one located behind the Borden's property. 

But from where do they get it?

My understanding is that in the winter, ice is cut from ponds or lakes where the water freezes substantially.  It is placed in the Ice houses which are well insulated against outside temperatures.  I believe sawdust is used.  And in turn, the inside of the Ice house becomes a big refrigerator of it's own, it keeps itself cold enough with all that ice so that it doesn't melt.  People also made use of wells to keep their perishables in as the water stayed fairly cool deep down in the earth.  Here is a site which shows how they used to harvest ice long ago and can still do today.

http://www.conknet.com/~r_cutting/iceday.htm

WOW!  That was Really COOL! 

Thanks for the research.

I suppose all those people are standing around making sure THEIR block of ice is NOT the one the horse "went" on!

Picture #4 showing the designated, outlined blocks was very informative.
Thanks again!

It's so cold up here that we have ice year-round!  But I remember not too many years ago having to haul ice from the ice-house to fill the icebox. You are absolutely correct, Susan.  It was cut with huge saws into blocks of 100-200 lbs. each and hauled to the ice house.  Ice houses were everywhere when I grew up. We had a 6X10 card that was divided into 4 squares (front and back) and labeled 25, 50, 100 and 150.  It was put in the window with however many lbs of ice the iceman should bring in.  The guy would carry the ice over his shoulder by "ice tongs".  I still call our frig an "ice box".  It really sucked for keeping stuff cold in the summer, though.  And there was a large pan underneath the icebox that I had the nasty job of emptying.  It was always filled to the top, and usually spilled before I could dump it.

On another note, Andrew sold refrigerators!  And I think I read in Rebello that they had a frig in the house. So the icebox was just supplemental.

jc

More good first hand info!

What's the difference between an icebox and fridge?  Did fridges need electricity?

Yes, what did the Borden "fridge" run on?  Remember, they had no electricity.  I don't think they had gas piped in either.  I think Bridget called it a "refrigerator," but I think it was really an old-fashioned icebox.

Exactly my point too, Edisto.  Believe it or not, I did some more research, apparently refrigerators have been around since the 1870's!!!  I found out on this site below.  And apparently, most homes did not have one until the 1920's.  But, the originals could be run on electricity, gas, or as used in abundance in the Borden home, kerosene!

http://www.electrolux.com/node229.asp

Rebello, pg. 53.
Ad for Borden, Almy & Co.'s
Refrigerators!
Just Arrived ...

Fall River Evening News, May 25, 1870: 3.


I just did a Word-Search of the Inquest (all), & Bridget's Prelim. and Trial testimony using code words:
"frige"
"fridge"
"refrigerator" &
"ice box"

Bridget's TRIAL testimony returned a FIND of "REFRIGERATOR", but don't have the page #, sorry.
"...coal was kept and there is a sink room there where a refrigerator was."

--Do not know in what context she is using this word.
--That was the ONLY return on any of those words.

(Message last edited Jun-23rd-02  10:14 PM.)

Here Bridget describes her return to the house Wednesday night (page 203 of the trial) and how the milk was handled. She also refers to the "ice chest".

Q.  Did you go directly to bed?
A.  Yes, sir; I went and took the lamp off of the table and went to the ice chest and took a glass of milk. That was all.
Q.  Just before you went to bed?
A.  Yes, sir; that was all I did; I went upstairs.
Q.  What milk was it that you took?
A.  Well, I guess it was the milk we had that day.
Q.  The Wednesday's milk?
A.  Yes, sir.
Q.  Did you use milk every day?
A.  Yes, sir.
Q.  From time to time. What time in the morning did the milkman come, if he came in the morning?
A.  I couldn't tell. The milk was always left. I guess probably five or half past five; I can't tell.
Q.  Before you got up?
A.  Yes, sir.
Q.  And how was it left?
A.  Left in the can outside the door.
Q.  The night before what did you do about the can?
A.  I put the can out the night before on the doorstep.
Q.  That is, you washed the can yourself?
A.  Yes, sir.
Q.  And put it out?
A.  Yes, sir.
Q.  And then in the morning was that same can filled?
A.  No, that can was taken and there was another can left.
Q.  There was an exchange each morning?
A.  Yes, sir.
Q.  You had two cans?
A.  Yes, sir.
Q.  One of which was with the milkman all the time and the other at home?
A.  Yes, sir.

Didn't Andrew make or sell furniture at one time?  I would guess an ice box was a form of cabinet or furniture.  But, isn't it fascinating that all these things that we think of as "modern" actually had their infancy long, long ago!  In fact, I recall reading somewhere that in the 1890's they had the technology to make Television!  I think that is when the first one was created, just amazing! 

The Borden family owned an icebox, not a refrigerator as we know it today.  A dictionary of the period provides the following definition for a refrigerator: "A box or room for keeping food or other articles cool by means of ice."

Strangely enough today's dictionaries supply a secondary definition for a refrigerator whereby it is called an "icebox!" As you can readily observe, the terms "refrigerator," and "icebox" have been employed interchangeably for more than a century.  My dad called our refrigerator, "the icebox" until the day he passed away -- old habits die hard.

Electrolux acquired a Swedish companuy in 1925 and began the manufacture of refrigerators in the U.S.  G.E. got into the act in 1927. Family ownership of a refrigerator in the 1920s was unusual.
By the middle 1930s, however, most middle class families had one in their homes.  By 1936, Electrolux had sold a million units.

Thanks, William.  That tallies with my recollection.  My South Carolina paternal grandparents lived on a lowcountry plantation (farm) and didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing until the time they died in the 1940s.  They were too far out to have ice delivered, so somebody had to drive to a store and bring some home.  Milk wasn't delivered either, except by cow.  By contrast, my North Carolina maternal grandparents lived in a small town and had many modern conveniences.  No "seven rooms and path" for them!

Yes, thank you for your info, William!  As always, much obliged for your input.