Lizzie compendium?

[LABRhush]

Can anyone suggest where I might find an accurate compendium for the people in Lizzie’s life? Family and close friends, police officers involved in the investigation, and the lawyers / judges ect involved with the trial? Thanks for any help. This is the only forum I know I can trust to get accurate answers

[camgarsky4]

I'm not aware of a comprehensive collection of all the characters involved in the case.

That said, Knowlton Papers, Jennings Journals and Rebello all contain relatively lengthy bios on many of the case associates. The Virtual Library site is the largest collection of information that I'm aware of digitally.

[LABRhush]

Thanks Camgarsky4! I'm, so far, trusting Cara Robert's The Trial of Lizzie Borden and Sarah Miller's The Borden Murders, but we all know how easily things can get muddled. Especially when certain police officers were promoted between the day of the murders and the trial. Yikes, Google is not our friend when it comes to Lizzie lol.

[camgarsky4]

Below is a post I made earlier this year on the police promotions. After peeling back a couple layers...the promotions did not feel necessarily unwarranted. Officer Harrington possibly being the outlier.

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Re: What makes the "handleless" hatchet the suspected weapon ?
Post by camgarsky4 » Tue Jun 07, 2022 6:52 am

All the promotions were approved December 1892 and the trial occurred June 1893. Per the Fall River newspapers, Mayor Coughlin had been planning the police force reorganization well before the murders.

Fall River Globe December 31, 1892
“Ordered, That the office of inspector of police may be established with the rank of Lieutenant, the number of said inspectors to consist of four.
That the rank of sergeant be abolished and the rank of lieutenant substituted.

The Mayor then announced the following nominations:
For Captains – Dennis Desmond, Jr., Patrick Connors, Phillip Harrington and Patrick Dougherty.
For Lieutenants – Jeremiah Fahey, John Devine, John Brocklehurst, Andrew Milton and Charles Hinckley and Francis Edson for Day Lieutenant.
Inspectors – Martin Feeney, William Medley, Isaac Wordell, Adelard Perron.”

Observations:
Of the police officers often recognized to have participated in the Borden case, Hyde, Allen and Mullaly were not impacted by these promotional decisions. Desmond went from acting to permanent captain and Edson got promoted since all sergeants got promoted to lieutenant and sergeant rank eliminated. So those two don't jump off the page at me as peculiar changes.

That Medley, as lead detective for the Borden case, would be given one of the initial investigator position makes sense. That said, I do believe that Medley was very zealous in his pursuit of becoming a detective and wouldn't let a little 'creative problem solving' get in the way of his aspirations.

The promotion that feels like an outlier to me is Phillip Harrington jumping from patrolman/officer to Captain. Per the article, Harrington had the choice of a captaincy or being an inspector. He chose the captain position. Hilliard and Mayor Coughlan preferred he take the inspector spot. Interesting that he was so highly thought of that he was given a choice of which promotion he preferred.

The newly promoted Captain Harrington died less than year after the promotion and just days after getting married to his 2nd wife. He went bedridden on his wedding day and did not recover. He was only 34 years old.

[LABRhush]

Thanks! You always come through Camgarsky4 :)