The front door key lock

[Harry]

This is a portion of Bridget's trial testimony (page 233+):

"Q. Will you describe what you heard which attracted your attention?
A. Well, I heard like a person at the door was trying to unlock the door and push it but could not, so I went to the front door and unlocked it.
Q. Did you hear the ringing of any bell?
A. No, sir, I don't remember to hear any bell.
Q. When you got to the front door what did you find the condition of the locks there?
A. I went to open it, caught it by the knob, the spring lock, as usual, and it was locked. I unbolted it and it was locked with a key.
Q. So that there were three locks?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What did you do with reference to the lock with the key?
A. I unlocked it. As I unlocked it I said, "Oh pshaw," and Miss Lizzie laughed, up stairs, --- Her father was out there on the door step. She was up stairs."

Am I reading it correctly in that there was a key in the lock? And if so, whose key was it?

When they locked the door from the inside at night, they left the key in the lock?

[mbhenty]

Yes Harry: Depends on what sort of lock she is talking about. Let us say that she is describing a lock which has it's key hole right under the door knob through a lock plate which surrounds both the key hole and door knob.

Many of these were very ornate along with the keys that fit them. Of course you remember, the keys were usually called a SKELETON KEYS; a simple round shaft with a flat plate at the end with two or three square teeth. Very easy locks to pick. As a matter of fact, all you need is a bent nail in most cases to pick the lock. Some were more difficult to pick if the key was left in the lock. But with a thin long needle nose pliers, I have been able to lock and unlock these locks from the opposite side of the door by pinching and griping the end of the key.

(But, on busy Second street, I doubt anyone would try picking a lock on a front door, at least not during the day.)

I have seen many today still being used. Most are inside a bedroom or such and the key is left in and lock, used as a dead bolt.

Perhaps that lock was used as a dead DEAD BOLT LOCK, only locked from the inside when someone was at home? Perhaps they had a more complicated "main" lock installed and still used the old lock in unison as a back up? No?

[Harry]

Thanks mbhenty, that sounds right. I've seen those locks where the key is left in them.

In this, the only known photo of the 1892 door, it shows the 3 locks. I believe the top one is the spring lock, the bottom one the bolt leaving the middle one for the lock holding the key.

[diana]

"How other than by the spring lock was it usually locked at night?
By the bolt, and then they turned the common key in the lock." (Morse:Prelim)

Q. How was the door when you let Dr. Bowen in on Wednesday?
A. The spring lock had the key in it.
Q. Sprung locked, was it?
A. Yes. (Bridget Trial, 200)

I'm not very good at this -- I always thought there were three locks -- and Morse's testimony seems to follow what Harry and mbhenty have outlined here. But I'm particularly confused by Bridget's testimony -- it's almost as if she's saying there's only two -- a bolt and a spring lock, and the spring lock had a key in it?

[Harry]

At times reading Bridget's testimony is very confusing. She does say there are 3 locks though.

My impression of a spring lock is a lock that is just turned by hand to lock and unlock it from the inside. It requires a key to open or lock it from the outside. Am I close?

[stuartwsa]

Harry: I can't tell from the above photograph, or by the copy of it in Arthur Phillips' "On Defence Of Lizzie Borden", but it almost looks like a ring of keys hanging from the middle lock.
Am I the only one seeing that? (I've seen a larger, clearer version of that photo, but I can't remember where!)

[stuartwsa]

Found the answer myself in Spiering's book. The ring of keys is there, and looks like regular keys, not skeletons.
(Thank God Spiering is good for SOMETHING!)

[diana]

You're right, Harry. Reading Bridget's testimony can be quite confusing. Here's some more.

"What locks on the front door did you find locked when you let him [Andrew Borden] in?
The bolt and a common key that I turned on both sides.
Anything else?
No, Sir.
A spring lock?
Yes sir. He had a key.
He unlocked that from the outside?
Yes Sir.
Was that spring lock set to lock the door up when it was shut?
Yes Sir." (Bridget, Prelim.)

Here, she almost leaves out the spring lock altogether until reminded of it. And what does she mean when she says she turned the common key "on both sides"?

[Harry]

Great find, Stuart!

Lizzie said either she or Emma unlocked the door in the morning so maybe they just kept the key in the lock.

I've read Spiering (ugh!) but don't have the book.

[Kat]

I thought it looked like a door knob and a keyhole.
I never saw keys hanging there in that picture we're familiar with- the one Harry posted.
I looked at the one in Phillips and I can't tell.

Could Spiering have highlighted something he did not know about?

[Harry]

Diana, I can't even imagine what she means by "both sides". Unless she tried the key upside down and had to turn it over.

Would "common key" mean skeleton key? But Stuart says it looks to him like regular keys.

Bridget mixed up the lock on the side door with the hook on the screen door. At times she doesn't appear to understand the question but answers anyway.

[Kat]

Here is the pic in Spiering. How do I get rid of the lines?
It is more clear in the book, as to what Stuart says he sees. (paperback)
How bad does this look?

[Kat]

Modern pic from web site
http://lizzieandrewborden.com/Galleries ... ndStP2.htm

[Harry]

Lizzie's Inquest testimony seems to clear it up (page 55+)

"Q. How did you know it was right to lock the front door?
A. That was always my business.
Q. How many locks did you fasten?
A. The spring locks itself, and there is a key to turn, and you manipulate the bolt.
Q. You manipulated all those?
A. I used them all.
Q. Then you went to bed?
A. Yes, directly."

That to me is 3 separate answers. "and there is a key to turn" does not refer to the spring lock but to the middle lock.

Bridget's answer is totally confusing.

[Kat]

That would be the key "they" took from Abbie. Does this mean an exterior key to that lock is the same as an interior one to that lock? A person couldn't get in if the key was in the lock on the inside, right?
That might mean that the key was not left in the lock at all, on those days that Lizzie unlocked it- which was most mornings.

j. Mrs. Dr. Bowen--called and said that on Tuesday of the murder she was walking up the street with Mrs. Borden and (spoke?) and (B saw?) said L wasn't up yet but Mrs. Bowen had seen someone come away so she knew she was and went over there with Mrs. Borden.

Mrs. Borden said she couldn't get in the front way 'for they had taken her key.' So she and Mrs. Bowen went in by the back door.
--
The Legend 100 Years After the Crime--
A Conference on the Lizzie Borden Case
Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA
Aug. 3-5, 1992
"The Hip-Bath Collection," Barbara Ashton, p211+

[Susan]

Kat, I think the key "they" took from Abby was for the spring lock which was left locked during the day.

If it comes through, heres a facsimile of the Borden's spring lock and the info on how it works:


Victorian rim night latch in decorative cast iron, circa 1860. This type of keyed latch has a beveled latch not a straight dead bolt, so they automatically lock into the place when the door is closed unless the latch is retracted and locked in the open position. The latch is retracted by turning the round operating knob, and can be locked in the retracted (open) position with the toggle seen on the left center of the latch body. Mounts on the surface of the door and has only keyed access from the exterior.

And a pic for the outside and info:


This photo from the back shows the double keyholes positioned for reversing the latch so that it can be mounted for either handing. (In other words, so it can be used on either the left or right side of the door, depending on which way it opens.)

And though it wouldn't be visible as its inserted into a pocket cut into the door, this is what the lock under the doorknob was, a mortise lock, which could be opened with a key from both sides. But, that is a good question, if this lock was still locked and the key was still in the lock on the inside of the door, could someone with a key to this lock then open it from the outside?

[Harry]

Thank you, Susan. I hunted high and low for a lock like that.

Bridget testified that she rarely answered the front door. She said Mr. Borden always answered it when he was home. If he was not, normally Mrs. Borden answered it. There's no record of Bridget having her own key to the front door although she did have one to the side door.

I can't see any reason for having a key on the inside for the spring lock when all you had to do was turn the knob. This is supported by Morse's testimony at the trial (page 148)

Q. I will ask you whether you have observed anything in the use of the front door in regard to the spring lock, Mr. Morse?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What is that? State it plainly so that we can hear it. You do not speak quite loudly enough, if you will let me say.
A. Well, if you shut the door hard, the spring lock would catch; if you didn't, it would not.
Q. Then if it did not catch----
A. You could open it without any trouble.
Q. Push it, or turn the ordinary knob, and it would come right open. And when had you noticed that?
A. That was after the tragedy.
Q. Did you specially examine it to see about that? Was your attention called to it?
A. It was not called especially to that. I went to try the door, and it was unfastened, and I found afterwards by slamming it hard it would catch and if you didn't it would not; and I took the lock off, had it fastened back so it would catch, and a new one was put on while I was there."

Here's another example of Uncle John (remember he had the clothes and other evidence buried in the yard) tampering with the evidence.

[Kat]

I wonder when Uncle John had that lock changed? I've always wondered that. Emma, who gave her testimony Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 10, at the Inquest says:
Q. How about the front door?
A. We locked that with a spring lock.
Q. Did the spring lock work?
A. Once in a while we would find it did not, but very seldom.
Q. The few times it did not work, did it not come from the fact the door was not slammed too enough to catch the spring?
A. I suppose that must have been it.
Q. You had not had it repaired?
A. No Sir.
Q. It is in the same condition now it had been?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. You have lived there since the tragedy; you are still living in the house?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. It works as well now as it did; there is no difference in it?
A. So far as I know, it does.
Q. Was it the habit to keep the front door locked with the spring lock?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. How about the bolt and the big lock?
A. We used those only when we went to bed.
Q. When did they get unlocked in the morning?
A. Usually when my sister or I came down stairs, one or the other unlocked them. (114)

--Because she is asked :"You had not had it repaired?" has seemed to me that the questioner is taking into account that he heard it had been changed, fixed or repaired (by Morse).

Thanks Susan! You have confused me. Now we say 2 keys were needed to get inside the front door from outside, as long as the bolt was not shot? And as long as no one had freed the spring lock for the day.

Anyway, Stuart said he thought he saw a key or ring of keys in the door in that photo. We haven't answered that yet.

[Susan]

You're welcome, Harry, it think it helps to have pics of the locks in question.

Sorry for the confusion, Kat. No, not two keys, just one for the spring lock. According to all who were asked that knew about the habits of the front door, during the day the bolt wasn't shot, nor was the lock under the doorknob (the mortise lock) put into use, just the spring lock. The key to the mortise lock sounds like it was left in place on the inside of the door. So, the only key needed by family members to unlock the door would be for the spring lock.

The spring lock wouldn't need to be freed in order for someone to use a key to unlock it from outside, but, if someone wanted to open it from the inside, they would need to turn the knob on it to free the latch, just like when you turn a doorknob to open a door. If you turned the knob on the spring lock and pushed the toggle like on the example pic I posted, then the lock would be open; you wouldn't need a key to open it from the outside, nor would you then need to turn the knob again on the lock to open the door. The toggle sets the spring lock in the open or unlocked position and then anyone could come in off of Second Street. Andrew would not be happy. Did I just add more to your confusion? Hopefully not. If so, maybe someone who is more mechanically inclined can explain it more simply?

[Harry]

Thanks again, Susan. That's my understanding as well.

When Jerome Borden visited the house the day after the murders he simply turned the knob on the front door and walked in. However, he didn't notice how the spring lock was set or if it was in proper working order.

Certainly the hook on the screen door offered no protection from a determined burglar or assassin. The occupants of the house seemed willing to suffer a great deal of inconvenience for very little protection.

[Angel]

Certainly the hook on the screen door offered no protection from a determined burglar or assassin. The occupants of the house seemed willing to suffer a great deal of inconvenience for very little protection.

I think the mentality of that time was different, although I certainly cannot understand the reasoning. Even back when I was a child my mother used to leave the main door open and lock the screen door on hot nights before she went to bed to let the air in, thinking that was enough protection. It used to drive me crazy.

[RayS]

I have relatives in rural upstate New York. They never lock their doors, since anyone could just break a window to get into an empty house.
Their dog would bark.
But that was years ago, its different in their new house in their city.

The film "Niagara" shows how things were in the early 1950s. When renting a room in a motel, they are told "the key is in the lock".

Reading other stories from the 1940s they tell about hotel rooms not being locked, and homes too.

[Kat]

What I'm really asking is after exploring the locks we find that the spring lock uses a key and the doorknob regular lock (with keyhole) needs a key. (Not what was usual or what the Bordens did or did not do daily.) But that 2 keys were needed if the bolt was not shot, to get in- say if you were Sharky Mark living there in future- not a Borden with regular habits.
I understand the regular habits.

[Susan]

Yes, you are correct, Kat. It would take two keys. Who is Sharky Mark?

[Kat]

From my article in The Hatchet, Vol. 2, Issue 3, "Demolition Begins", pg 34:
In 1949, the paper reports, carpenter Victor Aubrey found an ax in the ruins of the chimney in the cellar. It is not clear if this was the one hidden by John McGinn, he of the “lively blue eyes” and a “chain-smoking habit.” The timing suggests that it is.

John may have been given the idea by an act perpetrated by a previous owner, Mandel Mark. “The guy who owned this place before me, one hell of an athlete in his day, Sharky Mark, used to keep that hatchet around…Whenever he was short of money to buy a few – you know what I mean- he used to have people come here for a fee and he’d drag out that old hatchet, swearing it was the one that Lizzie used.” McGinn was quoted. Since legend has it that the original hatchet was never found, previous owners of the house could have a bit of fun with it’s duplicate.

Further along, I give a separate census breakdown of the people I could find who had lived in the Second Street house, pages 38-39. Mandel Mark is listed in the 1930 census with his wife, Anne. He was 56 and she, 54. His occupation was "Proprietor wholesale toy, Russian." His wife was also Russian.

Stories have been told that he was a Bookie as well, but of course that didn't make it into the census.

Thanks Susan. I hadn't realized that the spring lock would take a key.
I guess I will have to phone the FRHS to ask them to check the photo of the interior front door to see if a ring of keys is hanging there. None of these *crime scene* photos were reproduced with any kind of quality in the previous decades.

[sguthmann]

seems strange to me that Emma doesn't seem too concerned about the lock STILL not working properly following the murders. from Morse's testimony at trial, it almost seems as if HE was the one to finally get concerned enough to have it fixed.

so it would appear that as of Aug 10th, Lizzie and Emma, living in the house where their father and step-mom have just been horribly murdered - presumably by unknown person who somehow gained access to the house undetected - are continuing to live there knowing that the front lock on the door sometimes works, sometimes doesn't...they don't appear too afraid for their own safety, do they? in fact, that's the sentiment i get when i read that passage from Emma's questioning at the inquest. granted, i'm sure they locked up tight at night, but during the day - if the door was left as was it was normally prior to the murders and taking into account that the murders did occur in broad daylight - i'm not sure how comfortable I'D be with a faulty lock. and yet by Morse's own testimony at the trial, he doesn't indicate that anything or anyone especially drew his attention to the faulty lock, but instead it was something he had just noticed and took it upon himself to fix.

this whole affair of the faulty lock is sort of reminiscent of Lizzie remaining in the house alone after having just come upon the murdered body of her father. as people then and now have asked, why would she remain in the house alone with the possibility that the murderer was still on the premises?...unless she perhaps knew she was safe?

[Harry]

That's a good point, sguthmann, about the Borden ladies staying in the house knowing that the front door spring lock was faulty.

Since that door, even when the senior Bordens were alive, could have been considered "theirs" because of its access to their rooms, you would have thought they would have had it replaced long before the crimes.

There was quite a contingent of police on guard around the house for at least the first few days and for that period 92 Second St. may have been more than safe. When the police guard began to be reduced I'm not sure without researching it.

Even with the police I'd still want the lock fixed.

[shakiboo]

Concerning the lock, I can almost hear Andrew saying"There's not a thing wrong with that lock, you just need to shut the door a little harder" . Apparently it worked more often then not.

[Kat]

good one! I can hear that too.

I figured that since Phillips took the picture, the FRHS might not have the original- the defence would have it. But Spiering credits the Fall River Historical Society. But for now we can go to The Keeley Library Online.
This is the best I can do for now: give directons to the photo and ask people to view it and see if they see a ring for keys.
(I don't believe Spiering was *good for anything* - sorry! ) I think Spiering is still misleading. You all can check your Spiering books.

But I also think we would have noticed keys or a key there before(?)- wouldn't we? I see a keyhole under the doornob. Please let us look and answer this question. I would appreciate if we can prove a key there or not. That would be something new! Thanks!

Anyway, here are the directions to the original published version. I don't know if *online* is as good as the original, but this version Is better than in the Phillips volume III- at least I think so, because one can manipulate the size without losing clarity (in Adobe).

http://www.sailsinc.org/Durfee/fulltext.htm

•Fascicle III. Physiography and Natural Resources. Early Life of Inhabitants. Civic and Political Developments. Judicatures. Calamities. War Times.


Chapter XII. Notorious Local Murders, p. 95-110. (1,225K)

--4 photos after page 96.
---Opens in Adobe.
----You can adjust the size of the picture by using the percentage button: %

[diana]

I took a look, Kat -- but I couldn't find anything definitive to add. It looks like there might be a key in the keyhole under the doorknob -- but that could be because the suggestion has now been planted in my mind that there could be one .... Even enlarging the picture, I can't see the area clearly enough to make a decisive call. Sorry...

[Kat]

Thanks!
Stuart, you have successfully driven me crazy!

[Susan]

I took a look too, Kat, I see what looks like a key sticking out of the lock under the doorknob. Wish we had a clearer photo that could be blown up and not pixilate so much.

[Kat]

Well if it is there, it's a good call!
Did you guys check the shadowing on the closet door at the top? Do the shadows imply the direction of lighting for the photo and does that influence that keyhole area?
(Phillips says Jennings was in the closet when he took this picture. See him? It's funny to imagine Jennings in there.)

[stuartwsa]

No problem, Kat--that's my job!
It's funny how the objects in the two photographs look vastly different. I looked in the Phillips book, and the photo was not only too small, but cropped as well. To look at the same photo in the (hardcover) Spiering, you would SWEAR that there is a ring of keys hanging there! (Sorry, but I don't have a scanner.)
In the version that you posted, it is clear that it is a doorknob. But the odd thing about that photo is that the locks and knob seem to be retouched, perhaps outlined in black? What do you think?

[Kat]

Yes exactly. The Spiering I have is paperback. I thought it looked like someone enhanced the photo with a dark fine line. That doesn't show in the Phillips book or the online Phillips. The picture in Phillips book is what? 2 1/5 inches by 2 1/2 inches?

I will say that Harry blew it way up (the online pic) and it seemed to show something sticking out and throwing a shadow. He thinks. But I won't speak for him.

There were probably lots of people there that day conducting experiments. That may influence whether a key was left in the keyhole or not. If it was left in there it would effectively keep anyone from coming in the front door while the officials for the defense did their investigating in the front hall and upper landing.

[stuartwsa]

The thing below the doorknob could well be one of those Victorian keyhole covers, which are fastened at the top by a screw, and pivot back and forth.
But, what is the item to the right of the door? Some sort of stand or desk?

[Harry]

Yes exactly. The Spiering I have is paperback. I thought it looked like someone enhanced the photo with a dark fine line. That doesn't show in the Phillips book or the online Phillips. The picture in Phillips book is what? 2 1/5 inches by 2 1/2 inches?

I will say that Harry blew it way up (the online pic) and it seemed to show something sticking out and throwing a shadow. He thinks. But I won't speak for him.

There were probably lots of people there that day conducting experiments. That may influence whether a key was left in the keyhole or not. If it was left in there it would effectively keep anyone from coming in the front door while the officials for the defense did their investigating in the front hall and upper landing.

Here's the blow up of the Phillips photo. It's hard to tell whether or not something is in the lock. It may just be an imperfection in the film.

[RayS]

Concerning the lock, I can almost hear Andrew saying"There's not a thing wrong with that lock, you just need to shut the door a little harder" . Apparently it worked more often then not.

Could it be some slight misadjustment to the jamb? Or a sticky tongue?
YES, that sounds like Andy.

[RayS]

No problem, Kat--that's my job!
It's funny how the objects in the two photographs look vastly different. I looked in the Phillips book, and the photo was not only too small, but cropped as well. To look at the same photo in the (hardcover) Spiering, you would SWEAR that there is a ring of keys hanging there! (Sorry, but I don't have a scanner.)
In the version that you posted, it is clear that it is a doorknob. But the odd thing about that photo is that the locks and knob seem to be retouched, perhaps outlined in black? What do you think?

Key ring or no key ring? How about two different pictures taken at different times?

[RayS]

Well if it is there, it's a good call!
Did you guys check the shadowing on the closet door at the top? Do the shadows imply the direction of lighting for the photo and does that influence that keyhole area?
(Phillips says Jennings was in the closet when he took this picture. See him? It's funny to imagine Jennings in there.)

That was the argument of where a killer could be hiding, seeing but not being seen. Especially if let in from the front door.
Possible, but maybe an unused room more likely.

[diana]

I know we've moved on but -- in opposition to Morse and Emma's testimony that the spring lock would sometimes not catch if the door was not closed firmly was this report from Albert Chase, a policeman on duty at the house:

"Fall River, August 17, 1892. During the past thirteen days I have been on duty at the Borden house at the front door. During all this time the front door locked every time it was closed. No one has been ever admitted without first ringing the bell. Several times the people who were inside, have stepped out to speak to me, and the door would close, and lock them out, and they would have to ring to get in. I have tried the door a great many times, and always found it locked. Have seen a great many other people try to get in before ringing the bell, but the door was always locked. I have never seen anyone get in without being let in by someone from the inside." (Witness Statements,42)

[Kat]

Maybe Morse had changed the lock after all!
This might give us a timeline of when. (Unless I am taking this out of context?)

Thanks for the transcription, Diana!

Harry's pic makes the doorknob disappear - it's that blotch just above the keyhole.

That's interesting that it might be a keyhole cover pushed to the side. That makes a lot of sense.

What is the dark line by the glass on the left of the door? I thought it might be hinges? But I'm wondering if it's a sideways mail slot?

[Kat]

Here is the pic Harry posted on the first page.
The dark thing on the left doesn't seem to repeat. Also, it is lined up with the keyhole. In later, more modern, photos of the front door, hinges are not located where this slim dark verticle rectangle is and a mail slot is now in the door itself.

[Susan]

If you look on the right side of the door, there is another thing that is level with and appears similar to the "mail slot". Do those sidelights open? Could it be some sort of latch system for the side windows?

[Harry]

If you look at this photo of the door from the outside, where that "object" on the left would be looks like a bell button on the outside. Susan mentioned there appears to be something on the right side as well. Again the photo from the outside shows a bell button where that would be.

We know the Bordens had a bell on the front door in 1892. Could this have been where the bell was in 1892? I don't see anything over the door although we can't see all of the door on the top.

[Harry]

I have a 1948 photo from the outside which shows the door similar to the door in the Phillips book. There was no mail slot.

Then I have a 1975 photo from the outside which apparently shows a storm door.

This is a photo supposedly taken of the house about the time of the murders. Note the front door. From the outside it looks nothing like the door as seen from the inside. How do we explain that?

[stuartwsa]

I wonder whatever happened to the A. J. Borden doorplate that Lincoln mentioned in her book?
It's probably with Andrew's shaving mug from his barber shop.

[Kat]

That's very interesting about the positioning of those doorbells, Har!

OK Stuart, you are in charge of finding Andrew's shaving mug kept at LeDucs (right?)

That thing on the left of the door I mentioned in the Phillips' photo looks like it has an oval frame around it, like a plate.

Susan's view of something on the right I can see now, but it is lower, isn't it?

[stuartwsa]

Kat: What is the source of the photo you posted of the front door? I've been studying both photos and trying to figure out why there are differences between that and the Phillips photo.
It's because they are two different pictures.
Doesn't take me long to catch on. DUH!

[Susan]

I found a current photo of the front door from the LBVM&L site, there appears to be two different somethings in the same places as the old somethings. Window latches of some kind? Maybe Shelley would know?



I wonder if on Harry's pic if that is the location(s) of the old doorbell from Lizzie's day? They didn't have electricity, so, it must have been some sort of bell-pull system to ring the bell in another part of the house, some sort of wire and pulley system.