1. "Who Is Ellen Eagan And What Is She Doing On Second Street?"
Posted by Kat on Jan-24th-03 at 4:17 PM

http://www.arborwood.com/awforums/show-topic-1.php?start=31&fid=27&taid=1&topid=1053

Post #38--Diana asks about Ellen Eagan and what Philip Harrington has to do with *brushing aside a mystery* that involves Ellen Eagan.

Diana quote:
"And it was also Harrington who investigated the Lubinsky sighting -- and according to the Boston Herald (August 11, 1892:2 /from Rebello p. 129)"brushed aside the mystery" and revealed that Ellen Eagan was the woman Lubinsky had seen as he drove past the Borden's that morning.

I wonder at what point he cleared up this mystery?  There is no mention of him interviewing Ellen Eagan in the Witness Statements -- and Harrington was not called at the Inquest.  So how could the press report this on August 11? "
...............

After reading and re-reading the account to which you allude in Rebello, as to Harrington, the quote is that he "brushed
Aside the mystery"...which means to me, that Harrington gave the reporters the name of Ellen Eagan, which is a name that was withheld from them for whatever reason.  The beginning of the new piece, at the bottom of 128, states there is a  witness "whose name was not given out"...so I think what was meant by the writer of the news article, was that Harrington gave them her name, which was a 'mystery.'
That's all I got from that citation.

However you have raised the question of WHY this Ellen Eagan
statement does not appear in our copy of the Inquest...and makes us wonder who else should have been included but wasn't, and who makes that determination?

Witness Statements, 14:
"I then summoned Mrs. Churchill, Hiram C. Harrington and Allen Eagan to appear in court at 4. P.M."--This is a note from Harrinhton/Doherty, 10 Aug.--as Harrington is specified by the papers as being with this witness, then it probably was he who escorted her.  The name *Allen* appearing in the document, is probably a misnomer, "Ellen" being one vowel off.

....................
Rebello, pg. 129  (referring to Inquest, probably Aug. 10, per Witness Statements):

"Mrs. Eagan was put on the stand and after the first three questions had been asked her, the authorities were satisfied that her evidence had no bearing on the case.

She answered all the queries directed at her with a bluntness, however, which caused a smile to pass around among the officers, the first tinge of levity which has appeared on this terribly serious case so far.

In the first place, she was not sure whether or not it was Borden's yard from which she emerged on the fatal morning, and a little questioning satisfied the district attorney that, instead of from Borden's she had come out from the yard of Dr. Kelly, who lives in the house above the Borden homestead.

Her reason for her appearance there was a most natural one. She had been feeling unwell for a day or two preceding the murder, and on Wednesday last had experimented on herself with a few pills.

On Friday [Thursday] morning she had occasion to go down to make some purchases, and was taking the Second Street route when she began to feel the effects of the pill. She
hurried into Dr. Kelly's yard and accosted a servant girl who was washing the windows, and who directed her to a place nearby.

When she came out of the yard the little peddler saw her but she passed down the street, performed her errand and then returned to her home, totally unconscious of the-fact that she was to become quite an important personage in the eyes of clew hunters. After Mrs. Eagan had testified, the inquest was adjourned until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning ...",Boston Herald, August 11, 1892: 2.
------------------

KNOWLTON GLOSSARY

"EAGAN, JOHN J.: son of Owen and Catherine Eagan. First listed in the Fall River, Massachusetts, city directory in 1888, he was employed as a clerk by P. F. Millea, Provisions Dealer, 54 Spring Street, in 1892. Working as a clerk for various firms in that city, he is last listed in 1939 as an employee of A. Yoken and Sons, Grocers. Present on Second Street the morning of the murders, he provided a statement to the Fall River police. He did not testify."

--Rebello cites John Eagan as married to Catherine and that Ellen was married to their son, Owen. (129).  Dr. Hoffman, cites John as married to Catherine,  Knowlton Papers cite OWEN as married to Catherine.
--In the Witness Statements (20), there is this little bit of mystery:

"John Eagan, No. 20 Pearl street. 'Drove up and down Second street several times between 10.30 and 11.15.' "

--Is this Ellen's father-in-law?  Who may be the John Eagan who lived on Pearl Street?
And if Ellen was on Second Street that day, at that time, and within the vicinity of the house, whether Kelly property or Borden, what was she Doing there?



--Ellen Eagan lived at Hope & Mulberry St.  Second Street does not seem to be *on her way* to anywhere!
Any shops, post office or bank would be on Main Street, South. or North. Maybe she was visiting a doctor?  Maybe she was *casing* the street?  She seems to have a good character and so also, the Eagan family she married into...
Also note, tho, that this location is close to Ferry Street area, the Borden *Homestead*.

___________

This is a wider view to show the relative distances and locations of both Mulberry St. and Second St.




--I am befuddled tho, at not being able to find anything else on this woman!  Why would her presence on Second Street be discounted?  Other's who were there at times not important to us spoke, and were recorded.
Why was A  John Eagan going up & down Second Street...was he waiting for someone?  was he waiting for Ellen?
Pearl Street, this Eagan's address, is one street below S. Main, which might be considered by us in this investigation as a dividing line between life on Ferry Street, and life on Second Street.

Sources:  Knowlton Papers, Dr. Hoffman, Rebello, Witness Statements.  Newspapers checked: Evening Standard, Rochester Papers, "Various Papers", items not directly transcribing the trial...all newspapers created by Harry.  Also, Panoramic Map of Fall River, 1877, and some questions and answers by Diana.


(Message last edited Jan-24th-03  4:20 PM.)

I haven't sifted through all of this yet, and frankly that map is so "busy" that I have to get my much larger version to look things up.  Just want to say one thing.  If I check several sources about anything having to do with the Borden case, and if one of the sources is Hoffman, and if the sources conflict, I always discount Hoffman.  He got quite a thrashing on the old LBMB from someone most of us know, about all the mistakes in his book.  On that one occasion, I had to agree with the thrasher, although I think it was wrong to take him to task in a public forum.  I had expected a better and more reliable book from someone with his credentials.  I don't remember what Arnold Brown says about Ellen/Ellan Eagan's family connections.  Although I disagree with his "Billy Borden" premise, he might well have been in a position to know a good deal about Ellen.  This account sounds as if Ellen had need of a privy.  I know the Bordens had one behind the barn.  Was the same true of the Kellys?  (I find this thread very interesting!)

As I remember from the book, Ellan Eagan was on her way back from shopping. (I could not follow the map of her trip; she could also have been visiting someone, and this is not mentioned.) Ellan Eagan felt sick to her stomach after passing the Borden house. (I wondered if it was morning sickness?)

AR Brown nailed the solution in his book, because it is the best solution to the crime. Explains the mysteries of this case. Note that Ellan Eagan NEVER met WS Borden, and Henry Hawthorne NEVER passed by that day. Yet it is still 'the best evidence'.

In the past some doubted even the existence of E Eagan. Not only did she exist, but she testified at the trial (not in AR Brwon's book).

I was hoping we could find out more without resorting to Brown.
But if that's the only way, Brown will be looked at.  Thanks Edisto.
You're probably right.  ( I wondered how this compared to him, but I didn't even look)...

Ray, Ellen is not recorded anywhere officially--no statement other than the Newspaper citation Diana gave in her post.
She was not at the trial, Prelim. or recorded at the Inquest.  She may have been at the grand jury but it's doubtful, seeing the response to her call to Inquest originally where they smiled and discounted her.

In these maps, just imagine Main St., North and Main St. South, as the dividing line.
Ellen lived below that line of demarcation.
As far as I can imagine, Second Street was too far above this line to be a route TO anywhere where she might have had an errand.

That's also why I checked the location of Pearl Street.  I thought that might be on her way wherever...but it too is below that dividing line of Main.

Maybe she was visiting the Church?  but that is quite a distance.  Weren't there Catholic churches nearer to where she lived and where her husband owned a variety store?
I had thought of her as pregnant because she had 5 children by 1901, but it doesn't even say she vomited.   So where did this come from as well?
It could very well be that she either needed a *necessary*, or she was up to something sinister.  How better to explain her presence in someone's yard, and get sympathy to boot!

(Message last edited Jan-24th-03  5:27 PM.)

According to Brown, Ellan(sic) Eagan was the mother-in-law of Henry Hawthorne.  In 1978, at the age of 89, Hawthorne wrote down his story about Lizzie "when he knew death was near".  A former Cape Cod policeman, Lewis Peterson, passed on these writings to Brown and they form the basis for Brown's theory involving William Borden. (Brown, intro xiv)

Brown says that Ellan Eagan saw a strange evil-smelling man when she was in the Kelly yard vomiting.  She tried to tell Officer Mullaly about the man on Wednesday Aug. 10, 1892 ­ but was thoroughly intimidated by his attitude and was only able to say she was in the yard. 

Then, according to Brown,[although this does NOT appear in the Witness Statements)]  Harrington and Doherty interviewed Ellan later that afternoon and "went directly from the interview to the court house where the inquest was in progress. They reported their findings to Marshal Hilliard, who was trying to show that Lizzie was in the house while her father was murdered.

'If this Mrs. Eagan was the woman Wilkinson's man saw, then Miss Borden has no one to back up her story about being outside the house when Mr. Borden was murdered, right? And if no one saw her outside and no one but that senile Dr. Handy saw anyone else outside, then it's all over. She hasn't got a leg to stand on! Good work, men. I'll remember it.'

      Within fifteen minutes, this summary had been shared, with Mayor Coughlin and District Attorney Knowlton. The following day, Lizzie was placed under arrest. For the first time in almost eight long days, the Fall River police could relax." (Brown p. 75)

I find it extremely odd that Ellan Eagan is not mentioned in any official documents at all.  Especially in light of those press report of August 11, 1892.

Well, here is the Second Street Route Ellen may have taken to do her errand.


The lower portion is the start place of Hope & Mulberry, Eagan's home.


The upper section is how far she went to pass by the Kelly & Borden's houses, on her route.  Her ROUTE looks suspicious to me.  Not necessarily THIS route--I'm sure you can all find a myriad of alternate routes, but this one is simple and to the point.


Again, I ask, what was she doing there?

[Thanks Stef for reducing the picture!]

(Message last edited Jan-26th-03  3:19 PM.)

Well, what do you know?
Harry tells me this is only about 1/2 a mile distant.
Sure looks like more...but...
So would that take about 10 minutes to walk there?
If a person was to walk Directly there?
Why would Ellen need a necessary after a 10 minute walk?
There is something fishy here.

This is the current way Yahoo maps recommend going from Hope/Mulberry to 230 Second St.  Of course this is by car. The same road configuration may not have existed in 1892.

Thanks Harry!
That is funny tho--the address is 1/2 a mile long on my screen!
Seriously, it is 3 screen widths long.  Strange.
I suppose the older map makes it look so much farther because we can count every little building?

AR Brown says Ellan Eagan wanted to confirm Bridget's alibi of being outside around 9:30AM (which she did). Brown also explains the reason why Bridget kept quiet about the "devil" she saw. I believe this, although it is a self-serving statement.

There is NO REASON for the police to list every action taken, only the ones needed for the trial. If the purpose of the trial was to shake down Lizzie to pay for her silence, it makes sense for the DA to not try to solve the case, and for Lizzie's lawyer to also avoid anything about a stranger. Relatives of the Bordens would probably guess at the identity of this 'devil'.

Here are some accounts of this woman, disparate information that is at odds with Itself:

"A lad who drives for Wilkinson, [the] ice cream man, said he saw a woman come out of the Borden yard about 10:30 o'clock Thursday."

" She went into the first yard she came to, but it was Dr. Kelly's yard, which is next to the Borden house, and the boy was mistaken."
Fall River Daily Herald, August 11, 1892: 4.

---------------

"Mrs. Egan... who was seen to enter the Borden yard before the murders, mistaking it for Dr. Kelly's property adjoining."
Boston Daily Advertiser, August 11, 1892: 1.

"The last witness for the day, and the most inconsequential one of all, was the mysterious woman whom the little Polish peddler, Lubinsky, declared he saw coming out of Borden's yard on the morning of the tragedy..."

"...Irish woman named Emen..."

"On Friday [Thursday] morning she had occasion to go down to make some purchases, and was taking the Second Street route..."
Boston Herald, August 11, 1892: 2.
-----------------
--Don't forget she is listed in the witness Statements as "Allen" Eagan.
--We have also have her known as Emen Eagan.
--Or Emen Egan?
--Seen at 10:30 a.m.?
--Seen in the Kelly yard and the *boy* [Lubinsky] "was mistaken".
--Or she was seen entering the Borden yard mistaking it for Dr. Kelly's?
--That Lubinsky saw HER.
--She had occasion to go [there] FRIDAY.
----------------------

Now, out of these conflicting accounts how does Brown convince anyone of what really happened?

Lizzie Borden Past And Present
Len Rebello
Al-Zach Press
Fall River, MA  , 1999, pgs. 128 & 129





(Message last edited Jan-28th-03  4:24 PM.)

Of course the direct eyewitness testimony of Ellan Eagan is better than a newspaper report!!! Have YOU ever been an eyewitness to something that was later reported in your local press? How did it match what YOU saw?

That is the reason why jurors are told to avoid all media reports; it is NOT 1000% reliable.

There is no surviving direct testimony of Emen Ellen Eagan Allen Egan!

So what do you call her recorded testimony?
OK, the exact wording needs work. But it was recorded by her son-in-law (after the fact). Let us not quibble about it.

I didn't know you meant a hearsay statement second hand over 50 years later.
I suppose I should have realized what you meant, but I truly didn't.  I thought you thought there was recorded  testimony as in under oath and taken down as evidence...and I guess you didn't...though it is very frustrating to know that a person spoke at the Inquest of whom we have no surviving record...like Bridget, but not in the same league, of course.

While it may be legally binding, and more controlled than a newspaper report, testimony under oath is NOT necessarily the truth.
Remember all those cigarette officers says "I don't believe smoking causes cancer"? GOOD legal advice is to start your sentence by saying "I believe ..." which is sort of like saying "to the best of my recollection at this time ...". A legal "get out of jail free" card.

I would recomment weighing any statement, and not just believeing it because it was said under oath. YES, this is a "rubber ruler". But can humans 100 years later do any better?