Bridget Sullivan—NOT—Bridget Sullivan

[mbhenty]

Nice day to go sailing. Think I'll do just that. But before I go........

There's been some unfounded if not down-right inaccurate information on Bridget Sullivan circulating on line; on internet sites, Facebook Lizzie sites, Fall River Sites, etc. And they got it all wrong. And many are believing it. Not so.

The false information is in the post below. It comes from the George Winston historical home in Anaconda, and of course many have attached themselves to it and posted it on different places on line.

George Winston was a lawyer and judge who had a maid named Bridget Sullivan. But it is not the Bridget from Fall River. It's a different Gal.

Still, some have reposted it as the truth. Spreading falsifications and gossip.

To the spreaders of misinformation and those at the George Winston house, I bid you to do your research. It's not that difficult.

Bridget Sullivan of Fall River gave her age, at the time of marriage as 35. This was in 1905. In 1910 Bridget would be around 40. At the same time the Bridget Sullivan living at Judge Winston's home, as a domestic, was 28 in 1910. Also the 1910 census has her listed as 28 and Single.

Bridget Sullivan of Fall River could not have been living at two places. With her husband, John, and with George, the Judge.

Not our Bridget, everyone.

And as for what Bridget said on her death bed.... how can we believe that? Who did she say it too? Where did this bit of information come from? Where's the proof? Is it from the fellow who got the two Bridgets mixed up? Death-bed confession are things of movies and fiction. It is rare that they exist or happen often, or very little, or at all. Where are the documents? Where is the proof?

Good story, though!

Below is the post which is making its rounds at the moment, along with the 1910 census of George B. Winston and Bridget Sullivan, his domestic maid or servant. Easy to find. But easier to run with gossip. And sometimes more fun or profitable.



Nope, not our Bridget.

[camgarsky4]

Thanks for the post and documentation!

I chose early in my Borden 'career' to avoid all the Bridget/Montana stuff. It all feels so very squishy, unproven and 'unprofessional' (whatever that means).

MB -- since you posted the topic, reminds me....any updates on if Stefani is going to writeup her Bridget/Ireland research? I think you mentioned she dropped it a couple years ago, but would love to read anything she has on that topic, because if she writes it, my confidence on her findings being well sourced is 100%.

[Steve887788]

Oh the old lady probably had to make something up for effect. Maybe she was a little drunk - she did love her wine - they say. I don't think her testimony evasive or non would have given her the acquittal.

I am still fascinated at the Green story when she had pneumonia and she thought she was going to go to meet her maker - so she summons a friend. ------ Then recovers and says nothing. She seems to me like a drama queen - and yes they had them at the turn of the century.

My take on this is - that she was greedy mean old lady in the end.And being one of the closest to Lizzie and the second person on the murder scene - maybe she thought Lizzie was her golden goose.

[mbhenty]

Again, who is Minnie Green. No one knows if that's her real name and no one can really prove she really existed.

The story is made popular by Radin and Lincoln's accounts.

I would expect that they got the story from a newspaper.... perhaps, or the librarian in Anaconda who claimed to know this Minnie. But no one ever mentioned who Minnie is, where she lived, who she was married too, who her people were, or even find her grave. etc. Was Minnie her real name? Minnie could be a diminutive for a girls name, like Margaret, Minerva, Mary or Wilhelmina. Or it could have been Minnie, if in fact she ever existed. All we have is a story told by a librarian to an author.

Historians I have known have never been able to track down Minnie Green's background. The story about Bridget, supposedly, was told by Minnie to the librarian. The Librarian told the story after Minnie and Bridget were dead. And the story teller, this librarian in Anaconda, is also long dead, and all of it written down by authors who are all dead, etc.

Could be that they are all colorful rumors and luscious tales pumped down the grapevine of inquisitiveness, and given life by dubious writers who carpetbag scandal and chronicle dirty wash for profit and fame. Could be, heh?

There's no record of Bridget mentioning her friend Minnie to anyone. Bridget never spoke of the murders to anyone. As far as I'm concerned it is all gossip, chatter, and in laymen's terms, Bull-poop. Consider who made the story popular. Authors! Radin and Lincoln. Sensationalism and juicy fodder for a book. We can't say that any of this really happened. Now, I never researched the Minnie-Bridget connection and don't know enough about it, but I have read enough to deem it all "she said, he said", with a librarian thrown in for good measure. Is any of it true? Could be. Can we prove it? No. So why talk about it like it really happened?

According to Bridget's family she never ever spoke about the trial. Few if any people would have connected her with the trial or murder. Like I mentioned earlier, there were many Bridget Sullivans. Though it was written that Bridget mentioned the Bordens to her family, it is also written that she never spoke of the murders.

Minnie may have known something or she may not.

.As for death bed confessions..... Haha, ha, etc. etc.

My take on it is if you believe Bridget was a drunk, that she was a greedy mean old lady, and a drama queen, then perhaps you should write a book about it.

That she liked to have a drink, and perhaps one too many, does not make her a bad person, a drama queen, greedy or mean.

It is almost certain that Bridget knew the truth. It is also almost certain that she wanted to get as far away from it as possible. The fact that she never spoke to anyone about the crime and moved way out west is proof that she wanted to place it all as far behind her as possible.

Now, I don't discount that she was given some money by Lizzie. We don't know. However, as for a golden goose? Allow me to raise the flag for Bridget and the Irish, for which I have known many. There may have been a muddy duck or a sullied gander, but a golden goose is the last animal Bridget would have chased. Murder and the rich were way over Bridget's lowly immigrant's head, nor do I believe any such notion as extortion would live in her simple heart. I would think she was a hard working, perhaps, hard drinking, good hearted and uncomplicated person. And if she drank as much as some believe she did it is a wonder she never spilled the truth. But then again, who said she knew anything? Another author?

[camgarsky4]

887788 -- I am not aware of any contemporary documentation involving Bridget and whether she enjoyed a good drink or not. Is this from one of the 20th century books (Radin, Lincoln, Brown, etc)? or something you've found in contemporary (1890's) newspapers? That would be an interesting piece of the puzzle if true.

How do you see Bridget viewing Lizzie as her Golden Goose? Are you meaning at the time of the case or during her 2nd life in Montana?

[Steve887788]

The story is made popular by Radin and Lincoln's accounts.

The first time I read the story was from Lincoln's book then another time - somewhere else. It sounds made up. But just the same its a popular one - just to think about.

[mbhenty]

Yes, Steve. These things, these stories, they do take on a life of their own, and when first read come across as very interesting and juicy.

But we give authors too much credit at times. Like priests and doctors. Those in the know and containing vital truths. But not always so. It is very hard and tricky to get it right and print candor. That is why I write fiction. The more you get wrong the better the story. And you can enjoy it, while at the same time not believe a word of it.

[KGDevil]

887788 -- I am not aware of any contemporary documentation involving Bridget and whether she enjoyed a good drink or not. Is this from one of the 20th century books (Radin, Lincoln, Brown, etc)? or something you've found in contemporary (1890's) newspapers? That would be an interesting piece of the puzzle if true.

How do you see Bridget viewing Lizzie as her Golden Goose? Are you meaning at the time of the case or during her 2nd life in Montana?

A quote that Bridget "liked her wine", sometimes a bit too much, came from her alleged niece Agnes Holm. Agnes (Sullivan) Holm was the daughter of Mary Sullivan of 112 East Woolman street. The quote appeared on page 18 of The Montana Standard on October 28, 1984.

[camgarsky4]

Thanks KG. I have an incredibly unsophisticated method of judging 'descriptor' type of newspaper quotes. Dramatic = ignore. Subtle = worth noting.
Both of those filters assume very little background info to provide more context.

These quotes definitely feel subtle, which lends credibility to me. Mrs. Holm could have readily gotten more attention by adding hints or innuendos that she knew secrets her auntie had shared. Of course, I like my wine also, so that is not a really a criticism.

Article is a nice little bit of new info for me. Yeah.

[mbhenty]

The newspaper clip was from an article written by Sally Campbell in 1975 or 76. It was published many, many times over the years and from it comes much folklore.

Sally Campbell lived in Anaconda. She just died last June. She was well into her nineties. She was an author, journalist, and editor of the Leader, a newspaper in Anaconda, Montana. Hometown of Bridget Sullivan of Fall River.

Back in the seventies Ms Campbell wrote the article about Bridget. After all, her and Bridget both lived in Anaconda. When Bridget died Ms. Campbell was in her twenties.

The article can be found in The Hatchet Magazine, a Journal of Lizzie Borden and Victorian Studies. Not certain what issue, but you can look it up.

Ms. Campbell was well respected and her article, well, interesting. She speaks of Minnie Green. Though she did her research by talking to some of Bridget's relatives, she never investigated the Minnie story or looked her up even though it was right in her backyard. She just repeated and quoted Victoria Lincoln. Now Lincoln was respected for being from Fall River and knowing all things Lizzie. In reality, not so. Case in point, Lizzie was not an epileptic. But it does sell books.

The same is true of Ms. Campbell, who was from Anaconda and writes about all things Bridget, and who's research was incomplete and in one case, proven inaccurate. One would think since she was from Anaconda, a small town with less than 12,000 people when she wrote her article, that she would get it right. All she had to do was ask the right questions of Bridget's relative.

The article speculates on Bridget lying about her age. We should cut Bridget some slack. There were a whole heard of siblings in the Sullivan family. It is possible that she was uncertain of her age. It was common in large families struggling back then to loose all sense of time when endeavoring to keep the family fed.

And as for Bridget liking her wine? I believe someone got that wrong. I don't believe it was wine but beer. Let's just say there is some validity to my belief, backed by research, a source for which carries substantial weight. Think about it. An old Victorian Irish Gal drinking wine? Really?

Another case in point which proves Ms. Campbell careless: She has Bridget of Fall River working as a servant for Judge George B. Winston of Main Street, Anaconda, when in fact it was a different Bridget Sullivan. Living in Anaconda, how could she get this wrong? Proof that journalists are not historians and at times faulty emissaries of the truth. And she could have done a better job of investigation and searched out Minnie or her family, since she makes much of the tale. Ms. Campbell didn't' just live there, she was a senior captain in the community as editor of its paper. I'm certain she did her best. She was proud of her article on Bridget. The article is even mentioned in Ms. Campbell's Obituary.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not slamming Ms. Campbell, her reputation or ability to convey information. (but to be honest, yes I am) Just placing some truths into perspective. Her story can be found in the Hatchet and is called The Strange Story of Bridget Sullivan.

[KGDevil]

I'm not sure what article was written by Ms. Campbell because I haven't read it. The article I posted was submitted by John McNay and appeared in October 1984 on pages 13 and 18 of the Montana Standard. It may contain some of the same quotes, but it's not the same article.

[KGDevil]

Actually, I did go back and find that article by Sally Campbell. I found it in the Great Falls Tribune on February 20, 1977 on page 53.

[KGDevil]

Agnes (Sullivan) Holm passed away in August of 2011. He brother, Tim "Sox" Sullivan passed away in the line of duty as a police officer in 1985.

[KGDevil]

The man who wrote that article, John McNay, also wrote an article about Tim "Sox" Sullivan after he was killed in 1985. February 13, 1985 The Montana Standard.

[Steve887788]

HA HA - she liked her wine - I knew it - but I forgot the - "sometimes a bit too much" part. lol

[camgarsky4]

Ok, that got a good laugh out of me. Thanks!

[mbhenty]

Back to the serious stuff, heh?

Here's a recent article, today, by Stefani Koorey and posted on the web site MondoLizzie. Speaks to the Bridget Sullivan-not-Bridget Sullivan issue and the topic of her age, etc.

Hmmm? Nothing about the wine, though.

https://lizzieandrewborden.com/MondoLiz ... -his-maid/

[camgarsky4]

Thanks for posting the link (and the link from Mondo to the Hatchet Ireland trip story).....great information!

[KGDevil]

There's a photograph of Richard Francis Pearce from The Butte Miner on June 6,1902. It appears that he left Butte to take a position in New York at that time. By 1908, Mr. Pearce was living in Liverpool, England after having moved around quite a bit judging from the addressed listed.

[KGDevil]

This particular Bridget Sullivan, who married John M. Sullivan, is listed as "of Anaconda" in June of 1905 when they married. Their application for the wedding license also appeared in The Anaconda Standard on July 21, 1905. There are only two woman named Bridget Sullivan in the 1905 directory. There is a date stamp in back that says March 6, 1905. Which is well before the June 21rst wedding. The domestic working at 510 Main for the Honorable Judge Winston isn't her. That leaves the Bridget who worked as a domestic at 522 Locust. This was the home of James W. Johnson who was one half of the partnership of Johnson & Burke. The other half was a man named John F. Burke. Their businesses were race horses, the Turf Cafe and the Turf Exchange Saloon. This Bridget disappears in the 1906 directory.

[KGDevil]

The 1905 Anaconda City Directory listing for James W. Johnson, and for Johnson & Burke's saloon and restaurant.

[KGDevil]

John M. Sullivan gave his occupation in 1905 as a "fireman Casting Plant Reduction Wks." The occupations listed for others on the page show many people doing various jobs at the Reduction Wks. John M. Sullivan is at 412 Monroe in 1906 working at the "Blast Furn Red'n Wks"...or Reduction Works. A blast furnace was used in the smelting process of the ore. Mr. Sullivan's job descriptions involved smelting of the ore at the Reduction Works. I think this was most likely the Anaconda Reduction Works which was a division of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company.

https://buttearchives.pastperfectonline ... 3319444305

The Anaconda Reduction Works was just one division of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Copper was mined in Butte and transported to Anaconda, 23 miles away, by electric rail. At the Reduction Works, the ore was concentrated, then roasted to remove sulphur, then smelted. It was then shipped to Great Falls, Montana, and Perth Amboy, New Jersey, for refining.

https://www.loc.gov/item/20018057/

[CagneyBT]

Hello!

I’ve been fascinated by the Lizzie Borden case for years, and I also have a passion for genealogy. So, by combining the two, I’d like to contribute my research on the infamous Minnie Greene/Bridget Sullivan saga. (her surname is spelled both “Green” & “Greene”)

There was a Minnie Greene who had a connection to Bridget Sullivan, or, more specifically, to Bridget Sullivan’s family.

Minnie Greene: born August 15, 1878 in Castletownbere, Ireland. Her parents were John Greene & Margaret Sullivan (according to death certificate).

A Minnie Green, servant, age 19, was living at 33 School St., New Bedford in 1900. (U.S. Census).

Minnie’s sister, Katherine “Kate” Greene, immigrated in April 1901 to Boston aboard “The Commonwealth” The ship manifest noted that she was a servant, age 21, and was going to join her sister, Miss Minnie Green, in New Bedford.

Kate Green married James McNally in Fall River on Oct. 7, 1903. Shortly thereafter, the couple relocated to Butte where their children were born.

Kate Greene McNally died April 19, 1911. Her husband, James, died Sept. 24, 1914.

Minnie Greene relocated to Butte c. 1910/11 & is listed in the 1912 city directory as living at 10 W. Copper.

Minnie raised the McNally children after the death of their parents. Minnie & the children are enumerated in the 1920 census.

Connection to Bridget Sullivan

James McNally’s brother, George McNally, married Bridget Sullivan’s niece, Margaret “Marjorie” Sullivan, on April 3, 1907 in Queenstown, Cork. They departed Queenstown the next day aboard “the Majestic” and arrived in New York on April 12, 1907; their final destination was Butte to join George’s brother, James McNally, at 314 E. Summit.

George & Margaret had two children, both born in Butte. Margaret divorced George in Nov. 1912 on grounds of desertion. (The Butte Miner, Dec. 1, 1912 & The Anaconda Standard, Dec. 1, 1912).

George died in 1918; according to the Butte Miner, Sept. 29, 1918, “Word has been received by Miss Minnie Greene of 10 West Copper of the death in Bakersfield, Cal of George McNally, brother of the late James McNally.”

Margaret would go on to marry James B. Taylor in 1917 & Kenneth McLeod in 1925. She died in 1966 in Butte.

Minnie Greene died on Dec. 26, 1954 in Butte.

Let’s next look at the source of the Edward Radin/Victoria Lincoln story: Mary "Mollie" O'Meara (1894-1968). She was the reference librarian & assistant librarian of the Butte City Public Library from 1927-1961.

“The library provided its own character in assistant librarian, Mollie O’Meara, daughter of a prominent Butte brewer. Mollie’s too-small glasses, gotten when she injured her eyes as a girl, were propped at the end of her nose. She sported flashy red eyebrows long after her hair had turned white.Joyce (Joyce Bouchard, Head Librarian) said Mollie didn’t like the notion of work. Each Monday she usually sat at the issue desk, since it offered the least trouble. When customers came in, she gave them a mean stare. “What happened to old-fashioned women who used to do their wash on Monday?”
Joyce grinned. “Now you’d be hung on the cross and burned at the stake if you treated customers that way.” (The Montana Standard, March 30, 1980)

Columnist Alan Goddard recalled Mollie as "one of the liveliest wits ever to grace the Public Library" (Montana Standard, Feb. 27, 1982). "Mollie O'Meara would look over her glasses at you in front of the library desk and say "You must be a bad penny...you keep turning up." ( Montana Standard, Nov. 27, 1982).

“Some of Joyce’s memories (Joyce Bouchard, Head Librarian) included assistant librarian, Mollie O’Meara. Mollie had glasses balanced at the end of her nose and would give customers “a mean stare” when they came in the library. Rumor has it that everyone, including the mayor of Butte, was afraid of Mollie O’Meara and did their best to avoid the woman.” (The Montana Standard, Sept. 16, 1993)

When Bridget Sullivan died in 1948, the news went national. Some newspapers attributed Kate Moriarity, Bridget’s niece, as confirming Bridget’s identity as the Borden maid. Kate was Margaret’s sister. (Both nieces are mentioned in Bridget’s will).

Then there’s Mollie O’Meara’s story about Minnie Green visiting the library.

If true, Minnie Greene’s curiosity must have been piqued by the news reports. After all, her sister, Kate Greene McNally, was a sister-in-law to Bridget’s niece. Maybe Minnie Greene did visit the library looking for information about the Borden murders and Mollie assisted her. They may have even chatted about the McNallys and Margaret’s relation to Bridget.

I think that scenario is plausible.

As for Mollie’s veracity regarding deathbed confessions and secrets, etc....well...this article may give one something to contemplate. (notation in bold):

“Miss Mollie O’Meara, 100 S. Montana, a member of the Butte Public Library staff, has been accepted for membership in the largest organization of freelance writers in the world, The National Writers Club, Denver, Colo. She was named to membership in the organization in recognition of consistently good work in creative writing.” (The Montana Standard, April 10, 1955)

Perhaps Mollie, in telling the Minnie Green story, added her own creative flourishes to her tale to impress Radin, who was a prominent true-crime author and the founder of the Mystery Writers of America.

Sounds like a bit of dramatic license from an aspiring writer to me. But it makes for a great story, doesn’t it?

[KGDevil]

Hello CagneyBT!

I've also traced the genealogy for Margaret (Sullivan) McNally/Taylor/McLeod and Katherine (Sullivan) Moriarity. I think that you have laid all of the information out beautifully and I would say you've done a wonderful job of researching to piece it all together. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of your posts. I don't know how true the Minnie Greene deathbed confession is but Minnie and Mollie were real enough. I can share the obituaries for Minnie Greene, the Sullivan sisters, and a photo that appeared of Mollie O'Meara in the Montana Standard in April of 1963.

[CagneyBT]

Hi KGDevil!

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and for your feedback! I've enjoyed reading your posts..your research skills are stellar!

The Minnie Greene story is quite the puzzle, isn’t it? Very few of the pieces fit, but it’s compelling nonetheless. I had often wondered if Minnie was a real person or just a figment of someone’s imagination. But the name itself is rather unusual...a kind of odd choice to pick out of thin air if it was fabricated. When I discovered the link to Bridget’s niece, I thought it was worth pursuing further.

I do believe that there is a smidgen of truth to Mollie’s story, but it was embellished to make it much more interesting and dramatic than it really was. Radin was able to end his “Bridget Did It” treatise with the BANG of an “almost deathbed confession.”

Thank you for posting the obituaries and Mollie’s photo. What a character! The photo from the article in the Montana Standard is entitled “Mollie O’Meara Recalls Story of Butte Library.” In it, she relates a couple of funny anecdotes about young patrons, but she makes no mention of the Minnie Greene incident, although Radin’s book had been published two years prior.

One more additional tidbit...Minnie was still living at 10 W. Copper in 1950. According to Google, it’s a mere 8 minute walk from there to the Butte Public Library.

I’m looking forward to posting and sharing more discoveries...thank you again for the kind words, KG!

[camgarsky4]

Frankly, with Steph, KG, MB and now Cagney, I'm getting the benefit of this 'age of the researcher'. Here I am, so proud when I find a newspaper article and then you guys come waltzing thru with wholly assembled and documented lives of folks. So impressive to read all this work and many thanks for sharing!

I think our common POV on the entire Bridget/Montana episode is that it doesn't provide any solid new clues into what happened August 4th. But it certainly adds more flavor to one of the numerous subplots which make this case so enjoyable to all of us.

[CagneyBT]

Hi Camgarsky!

I enjoy reading your posts! They are very thought-provoking and detailed. Please don't downplay your findings...every bit of research helps to flesh out the people involved in the Borden case.

I agree with the common POV that much of what we find won't solve the case, but I'm intrigued by any & all contributions..big & small...that make this case and the people involved so fascinating,

Looking forward to hearing more from you!

[InterestedReader]

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