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Assumed names

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:33 am
by InterestedReader
Help. I don't know where to find this now. But I've several times read that Lizzie would use an assumed name for travelling.

Does this idea have any warrant in fact? Or any source? Has anyone actually demonstrated that Lizzie was using certain names for incognito?

I'm hoping MB or Judy might know the answer :grin: .

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 10:32 am
by twinsrwe
Well, I know that both Lizzie and Emma used assumed names. It is my understand that after Emma moved out of Maplecroft, she used an assumed name for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, I have not heard of Lizzie using an alias name when she traveled, but she did use an assumed name during her hospital stay, in 1926.

On Aug 13, 2004, Harry posted:

As for Lizzie, in Williams' Casebook, p254:

"In 1926 Lizzie entered the hospital for a gall bladder operation. She was admitted under the name of Emma Borden of the Hotel Biltmore, Providence, Rhode Island."

I could find this no where else. According to Kent, Lincoln and Rebello, Lizzie used the alias "Mary Smith Borden" for her 1926 stay at the hospital.


Source: http://tinyurl.com/hj5ybew

This thread goes into more detail of both Lizzie and Emma’s assumed names: http://tinyurl.com/ycpuafbx

Sorry I could not find the information you are looking for, Wendy. :sad: Hopefully, MB has the answer you are looking for.

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 1:59 pm
by mbhenty
Off the cuff, I do know that she used a fake name when entered the hospital on the advice of her doctor, Annie Campbell MacRae in 1926. As mentioned above, it was Mary Smith Borden.

It is also believed that she used synonyms when traveling to Washington D.C. .... remember reading that somewhere. Lizzie loved Washington D.C. Some magnitude of research would need to be done to come up with the info. I can't remember just off hand. But, I'll go looking.

But the granddaddy of all synonyms was "Lizbeth". It is commonly believed that the name was possibly given to her by Nance O'Neil. Or as Lizzie called her, Daphnis. (spelling (?) If I'm not mistaken, supposedly pet names which they gave one another.

Similar to the the pet name I give myself... Adonis :!:

:study:

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:23 pm
by mbhenty
To make myself clear about the first sentence in my post above, since it reads incorrectly. Lizzie used a fake name when she entered the hospital on her own account. Her doctor had nothing to do with it. The way it reads is that it was the doctors idea. Not true. Not what I intended to write. I meant to say that she entered the hospital on the advise of her physician. :sad: :roll: :-? :oops: :!:

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:18 am
by InterestedReader
Thanks both ever so for your input. There's Lizzie's hospital admission, yes. As to her using an alias for travel I can't remember if I was reading speculation here on past Forum posts or whether it was just my own mind speculating :-? . I think the probability is high she travelled without us knowing. I've looked for travelling movement in and out the States but wasn't having any luck finding her... Although it seems she was keen on Europe...

I did once read the material on Emma and her finding a home with Annie Connors and so on. For which we have that specific address, 203 South Main Street. It's cited in Rebello, yes, but the source appears to be anecdotal. A newspaper necrology notice does state that Emma had been living in Newmarket New Hampshire for 'about seven years', in a house owned by 'Miss Alice O'Connor'... so Emma might just show in the 1920 Newmarket Census. My memory is, I couldn't find verification.

There was an Annie C. Connor living on Main Street, at her sister Mary's house. Interestingly she was a nurse. And they did take lodgers.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH8Y-9HJ

This may well be the one, because it is Main Street - not South Main - which is identified as the address in that contemporary newspaper.
If so, it's rather sad. Emma went to Newmarket for the summer, in 1920, and then returned to live permanently with the landlady Mary Connors and the landlady's sister Anne, who becomes her companion...Would this be the case? Did Emma have no other resources for family or friends? It's desperate-seeming like her 1892 stay in New Bedford, which is weird when you really look into it.

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:43 pm
by InterestedReader
...So where was Emma supposed to be in 1910?
I see her with Lizzie in the 1900 Census, but so far I'm not spotting her in the 1910... Was she living with family somewhere?

The funny thing about Annie Connor's sister Mary - likewise a spinster - who is on the 1920 Census as the house-owner - is - I'm not immediately seeing her in either the 1910 or 1930 Census. Where Mary came from or where she goes.
Emma wasn't 'Mary Connor' was she? :grin:
Can't be...These sisters don't seem posh enough to harbour Emma.

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:15 pm
by InterestedReader
On Emma's death certificate the address is '203 Main Street'. But not South Main.

This Annie Connor did have a sister Mary, I've found. Mary K Connor died the 6th March 1921, and I wonder if it was then that Annie and Emma Borden came to their arrangement.

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:54 pm
by mbhenty
You will discover, with a little research that Emma Borden was probably living in Providence, Rhode Island in 1910 with her cousin Preston Gardner. Emma was a bit of a vagabond. For someone with lots of money in the bank she never owned her own home and always lived with someone. She lived with the Buck family on Prospect street in Fall River for a short time after and before leaving Maplecorft. After that it is believed she moved in with her cousin the Gardners, in Providence. Then, she was back at the Buck residence by 1914 and remained there until.... I want to say 1917 or 18.

In the early twenties Emma had her own place at Minden Apartments in Providence, Rhode Island. By the middle twenties she had moved to New Market, New Hampshire, but not certain to how long she lived there before her death.

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:12 am
by InterestedReader
Sorry, you can tell I've never as yet got much interested in Emma :smile: .
Yes, those Gardners. She was there in 1910, in Providence Rhode Island:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MP62-3V3
It says 211 Hope Street. Banker. Big house.
Emma shaves a full ten years off her age. 59, and saying she's 49.
Some months ago I did look for her living with the Buck daughters but that wasn't caught by a Census.

It seems a weirdly-unwanted kind of life. If the above Annie Connor is the right one, then she and her sister Mary are the unmarried daughters of Irish immigrants - which makes it hard to see them as pre-existing 'friends' of Emma Borden. I imagine that when Mary died Annie - a nurse - gave over the house to Emma's care for the income.
But did Emma Borden in fact buy Annie another house?

1920 - Annie and Mary live at 46 Main St.
1921 - Mary's death certificate says 'Main Street'.
1927 - Emma's death certificate says '203 Main Street' (and that Emma had been a Newmarket resident for '6' years).
So did the house-numbering change? Or did Emma provide a bigger, more expensive house in exchange for Annie Connor's services? Before Emma comes along, Annie and her sister do not at all look like wealthy people, quite the opposite. (In 1920 their boarders are two cotton mill workers, one their nephew.) Within months of Emma's death (according to Rebello) Annie sells the house. She returned to her family just outside Newmarket.

The idea of Emma hiding behind an assumed name - is that fictional? Is it Spiering? The 1927 newspaper article says only that the Newmarket inhabitants didn't realise who she was. The crime was a generation away in the past.

As to Emma's money, who got it? The Gardners? or all various people? I seem to remember she did her will back in 1920.

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:55 am
by mbhenty
It is interesting to note that when Emma died, her estate was worth $100,000 more than Lizzie's, which reflected Lizzie's spending life style. With the exception of Maplecorft, Emma never spent her money. She probably received good advice from her cousin Preston who was a banker.

Upon her death Emma was very generous with her givings. The biggest benefactors were the Gardner family. Not only in money but in personal items like furnishings, photographs, personal effects, etc. As for her sister, Emma only left her $1000 in money but relinquished her interest in Maplecroft to Lizzie had she died first.

Even Charles Cook, the fellow who took care of her father's properties, and hers for a short period, received $1000 more than Lizzie.

Now, there's an important commentary here about Emma's personal items. When Emma died she was in possession of the large formal portraits of her mother, Sarah and her father, Andrew. The fact that she ended up with them could revel something about how she and Lizzie felt about their parents. Of course, there could have been duplicates of similar portraits which were left with Lizzie. Or Emma could have just taken them. But it is important to note that the portraits discovered in Swansea by Stefani Koorey were donated to the town by the Gardner Family, which in turn were left to them by Emma.

It is also interesting to note the the largest amount given to any one person or organization was given to the Fall River Animal rescue shelter.

How interesting, would you not say :?:

Below is a portion of who Emma left her money to. To say she thought of everyone and was very generous would be the truth. I left out a lot of other people, but this gives you a good idea of her magnanimity and kindness.


....................................................................................................


I give and bequeath to my cousin, Orrin A. Gardner, of Touisset, Massachusetts, the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000), and all of my household furniture and furnishings, including all books, pictures, ornaments and personal effects not otherwise disposed of in this will, if he shall survive me.

I give and bequeath to Mary E. Gardner and to Maude Peterson Gardner, of said,
Providence, the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000), to be equally divided between them, and if either shall not survive me then said sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) to the survivor. I also give and bequeath to said Mary E. Gardner and to Maude Preston Gardner such jewelry as I may own at the time of my death.

To the Fall River Branch of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, for the purpose of carrying on the work of the Ninth Street Day Nursery of Fall River, and if it shall cease to exist then for any similar work, the sum of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000) to the Rescue Mission of Fall River, Massachusetts, the sum of two Thousand Dollars ($2,000); to the Children's Home of Fall River, the sum of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000); to the Fall River Women's Union, of Fall River, the sum of Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000); to the Home for Aged People in Fall River the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000); to the Association for Community Welfare in Fall River, the sum of Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000); to the Animal Rescue League of Fall River, the sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000); to the Fall River Deaconess Home of Fall River, the sum of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000); to the Young Men's Christian Association of Fall River, the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000); to the Salvation Army of Massachusetts, Incorporated, to be used and applied only in its work in city of Fall River, Massachusetts, and in that vicinity, the sum of Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000); to the Massachusetts Girl Scouts, Incorporated, to be used and applied only to the Local Council of Fall River for work in and about Fall River, the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000); to the District Nursing Association of Fall River, the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000). Bishop Stang Day Nursery of Fall River, the sum of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000); to The Saint Vincent's Home Corporation of Fall River, the sum of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000); to the Boys' Club of Fall River, the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000); and to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, incorporated in 1878, for the use of its Fall River District, the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000).

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 8:21 am
by InterestedReader
So all that hoarded money she released to good causes?
And Emma had tons more than Lizzie because Lizzie just blew through it?

...I think the clue to the portraits is in the medium. They may well be studies, which is to say, adjuncts for portraits in oils. They're certainly the work of an artist of calibre - money was spent on them - but no signature is apparent (to my eyes at least), which is odd for the finished work but often seen in preparatory studies. The one you call Sarah, is patently achieved from a photograph; I wonder if Andrew commissioned it after his first wife's death, or from an artist who was not living thereabouts. But as I've squeaked before, I find the date of the clothing problematic, for Sarah. A good art historian will be able to date them.

In short, there might well be finished works, and Lizzie had them.
Or the study (and photograph) is Abby, so Lizzie didn't want 'em :grin: .

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 9:13 am
by InterestedReader
...Chugging through old posts - Yes, Emma is in the Providence Directories as having that Minden appartment - certainly 1920 to 1924. Praps she shuttled between Providence and Newmarket. But I can't for the life of me see her in the 1920 Census... well, not yet.

I think I'll refocus on Lizzie, who probably had most need of a pseudonym.
Even 'Lizbeth'... Do we know the date of her first recorded use of 'Lizbeth'?

Daphnis and Chloé lived on the idyllic island of Lesbos - which sounds good and like it's going to be Sapphic but Daphnis was a boy...

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:17 am
by mbhenty
I have embraced and adopted a belief by a Lizzie historian friend of mine who brought to light some insight on how Lizzie got her name Lisbeth.

Now no one knows for sure and it is assumed or believed that it was given to her by Nance O'Neil. This may very well just be an assumption.

But let us consider Hannah Nelson. Lizzie's beloved housekeeper. She was Swedish. And in Sweden Lisbet or Lisbeth is short for Elisabet, thus, Elizabeth, or even Lizzie. One can imagine the maid calling out to Lizzie, "Oh! Lisbet, Lisbet." With her Swedish roots and accent. Also, it makes a lot of sense. In turn Lizzie could have taken the name from this calling. Lisbet or Lizbeth... This is a very plausible deduction and one just as valid as any which exists in popular culture.

Boy, InterestedReader, we make conceivable discoveries every day here on LAB. Eh?

:study:

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 12:41 pm
by InterestedReader
Our Queen was called 'Lilibet' as a child, and still is, within her family. But we don't have 'Lizbeth' here, I think.
The online resources say it's an American baby name most popular in the second half of the C19th. And that like 'Elizabeth' and all variants it means 'God is my oath'. (From Hebrew derivation.)
Do you think Lizzie might have decided 'Lizzie' sounded a bit common?
I'd assumed she'd given it a twist to try and disguise its notoriety.
I wonder what and when is the first recorded example of 'Lizbeth'..?

Would the housekeeper be using the mistress' christian name? In this snobby old country she'd have been sacked for that :smile: .

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:52 pm
by mbhenty
So little is known about the real Lizzie Borden, thus, assumption and conjecture are the ingredients we blend in our endeavors to discover the true Lizzie.

So, please allow me to speculate. As we all know it is safe to "ass-u-me" that Lizzie dealt with loneliness and loyalty on a regular basis. And what better friendship and loyalty to groom then someone you pay to attend to you?

Living under the same roof, day after day... it is probably a good guess to theorize that Lizzie and Hannah became somewhat friends, were on first name bases, and exercised what may be seen by some as an uncommon intimacy between employee and a somewhat sovereign employer. (this may be true about Lizzie's other domestics)

Lizzie must have been very fond of Hannah. Her pup named, Royal Nelson was almost certainly named with Hannah Nelson in mind. (As was her other pooch Laddie Miller... Ellen Miller) Could it be a coincidence that both her dogs had the same name as two of her house domestics? Unlikely, but not certain.

Hannah could have called Lizzie, Miss Borden, or Miss Lizzie, or even Lizbeth. We don't know. Such is the fodder used by writers who claim to have knowledge and pump out books to express what many of us see as 'reliable inside knowledge". (Inside their heads, that is)

In the end we must research, research, and research and even then there is no assurance that the truth is there for the knowing.

:study:

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 9:23 pm
by InterestedReader
Of all the staff working at Maplecroft, did none leave material which casts light on Lizzie? Servants' letters to family, or photographs and such. I know it takes terrier instinct to track these things down but there seems to be an unnatural dearth of them in Lizzie's case. I agree, it is likely she would look to her staff for friendship - and all the more likely they might retain letters or souvenirs.

(...You were talking about Tetrault on another thread and I recall KG Devil was unhappy with current attempts even to trace Tetrault after Lizzie.)

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:21 pm
by mbhenty
Yes, the problem with Tetrault is that there are many Joseph Tetraults when one goes looking. Tetrault was a common French surname and the Southeastern part of New England was well stocked with French immigrants in Lizzie's day. The common pronunciation in my dealings with the name is that it is pronounced Tetro or Tatro. Thus Joseph Tatro could be a misspelling of his name by some know-it-all public servant who spelled it that way, thus, we find records of Joey's name as Tetrault and Tatro.

My gut feeling is that Mr. Tetrault could very well have been a bit of a 'Lad'. At one time I even found a Joseph Tetrault in Providence who was a hairdresser and arrested for lewd behavior. We know Joseph lived in Providence.... but that means nothing. There were too many Joseph Tetraults around in Lizzie's day. Just another John Smith. In any event, Joseph Tetrault, his comings and goings, his true relationship with Lizzie, secret or otherwise, is a well established illusion. He is a true mystery.

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:45 am
by mbhenty
The absorbing thing about the Borden case is that there's always someone coming up with a new angle to who did the murders or who was involved.

So let me throw one of my own out there.

Joseph Tetrault killed Andrew and Abby Borden.

Hey, why not... what the heck.

consider this:

Did you know that around the turn of the century a Joseph Tetrault, who was a hair dresser, had his place of business a block or two from 92 Second street, and his residence on Spring street just 200 feet from the Borden place, lived that close to the murder house at one time? Coincidence or subject? :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Now no one's ever looked that that one, eh?

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 11:45 am
by mbhenty
Above I talk about how government officials and how they may have been responsible for getting Tetrault's name wrong.

On a personal level, I lived on Webster and Raymond Streets for 4 years and governments officials missed two of them, and had no evidence that I ever lived on Webster Street. So city directories and officials are not fallible.

Just yesterday I was doing some research for the Fall River Historical Society, who just had a book about Fall River history published and released this week, and discovered an error by happenstance.

Listed was an assistant treasurer, Cyrus Roundsville, from the Shove Mills who was listed as living at 364 French Street in the nineteen twenties. Immediately, I recognized that there is, and never was, a 364 French Street. (generally because I live in the 300 block of French Street) The last house on French Street is the Hooper House and that is 344. So they got Mr. Roundsville address wrong. Not only that, but one year they even got Mr. Rounsville name wrong, calling him 'Townsville'. Years later corrections were made.

Though corrections were made, get your name wrong at the checkin desk at Ellis Island or any other entry port, chances are you are stuck with it.

:study:

So just because it's listed in a newspaper, directory, or census report, doesn't make it necessarily so.

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:01 am
by KGDevil
mbhenty wrote:The absorbing thing about the Borden case is that there's always someone coming up with a new angle to who did the murders or who was involved.

So let me throw one of my own out there.

Joseph Tetrault killed Andrew and Abby Borden.

Hey, why not... what the heck.

consider this:

Did you know that around the turn of the century a Joseph Tetrault, who was a hair dresser, had his place of business a block or two from 92 Second street, and his residence on Spring street just 200 feet from the Borden place, lived that close to the murder house at one time? Coincidence or subject? :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Now no one's ever looked that that one, eh?
Actually, MB, in my research on Tetrault I did research the hairdresser on Second Street. I included him in my thread on this subject. He is listed as having his business on Second Street and always consistently named as Joseph H. Tatro, never Tetrault, in city directories from at least 1897 - 1900. Earlier, if my memory serves. In fact, he's listed at this address in 1899-1900 when Tetrault was known to have been employed, and residing, at Maplecroft. So, I discount him. Also, the barbers have been traced in Rhode Island as well. Both married with children in Rhode Island at their times of death. And, as an aside, if the Joseph Tetrault of Borden fame had moved to Rhode in 1908, as the story goes, either he had a son, or his father's name was also Joseph H. Tetrault.

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 5:30 pm
by mbhenty
Yes KGdevil:

I have read many of your posts. You appear very knowledgeable on the case and some of your research is right on the money and very thorough.

Of course, I jest when I mention Tetrault as the killer. And you are right. The fellow on Second and on Spring Streets was named Tatro. (In all honesty, I had to investigate that one myself) What is interesting is that the year Tatro, the hairdresser on Second Street, disappears from the FR directory, Joseph "Tetrault" makes his first appearance. To play the odds with any favoritism we would have to assume these are two different people.

The coincidence is appealing though and cheers one on to do more research. But we just don't know. Could Tatro have changed his name. If I had to bank on it I would have to say probably not, and that it's all happenstance. Not enough proof. Just circumstantial serendipity.

When my grandfather first came to this country he used a different name. He dropped his last name and in turn used his middle surname as his Last Name. My grilfriend's father did something similar when he came over to the US from the middle east. So such uncertainty in one's name was more common than we could surmise. Another friend of mine told me that his real name was O'Sullivan, but when his father came over from Ireland he dropped the "O'". So, I imagine that this happened a lot and I suspect that there could be some degree of error with Tetrault's name, intentional or otherwise.

Or perhaps not. (?) In any event studying such matters keeps our historical juices flowing as we infiltrate every corner and historical records in our attempt to understand this crime, Llzzie's life, and those around her in general.

In the end I was wrong in my conjecture in reference to the spelling of Tatro and Teatrault, the one at Maplecroft and the one on Second and Spring Streets. I was certain and in error to assume the spellings were the same. :roll: :oops:

:study:

Re: Assumed names

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2018 4:24 pm
by Interested1
Hi. I just joined, so my ‘two cents’ might be redundant. I do a lot of genealogy. My ancestors were mostly French Canadian (FC) . Most men were named Joseph Something Something. LastName. So, I have found that if Joseph is the only first name you are working with, it’s not very helpful.
Also, FC’s frequently had a’dit name’ which is difficult to explain its purpose. It’s not exactly an alias in the sense that we would think of it today, but it was to differentiate from others with that same last name.
In addition, as far as different spellings of FC last names... even within families there were variants. That makes everything more difficult.