Working on Lizzie Novel

[Richard]

I'm working on a piece of fiction about Lizzie in the 1870s. Does anyone here have some suggestions on where I can go on the internet for research into the following:

1) Fall River in 1877 and Fall River history in general
2) Victorian women's clothing
3) Commercial advertising in 1877
4) Suggestions for any good novels or books on the time period (i.e. Mark Twain's Gilded Age, etc.)

So far I've had sporadic luck with Goggling.

[DWilly]

Here are a couple of sites that might be of some help. The first one has a little bit on Harpers Bazaar. Which was a popular magazine back then. The second one is from the Libary Of Congress. You can see some books and more popular magazines:

http://harpersbazaar.victorian-ebooks.com/index.html



http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/mo ... phome.html

Lizzie did like to read. You might want to check out books by Louise May Alcott. She was popular during that time with girls.


Lizzie dropped out of high school right around 1877, if I'm not mistaken. Girls dropping out of high school wasn't that uncommon. Rebello has a few things on the young Lizzie:

Pg 235, there is a little piece on a woman who is said to have gone to school with Lizzie. She said this about her, "...as a girl Miss Borden was quiet and she never knew of her having any trouble with the other girls."


Pg. 229,another piece this from Collier's where the author says former teachers were interviewed," I learned that Miss Borden had been a quick scholar;that even while in school, she was much given to religious thoughts; that she has a fairly good voice, quite uncultivated, tha she had been raised without much care from her parents; had always been a lonely girl, with few friends and companions a t school; that she had drifted along through her education course without any aim, never felt a ncessity of preparation for the earnings of a future liveliehood, and absolutely without any desire for marriage."


On page 229, this is said, "As a scholar she wasn not remarkable for brilliancy, but she was conscientious in her studies and with application always held a good rank in her class."

Lizzie sort of drops from the scene in her late teens. I read she took piano lessons so, you might want to check out sheet music from the 1870s.

Teenagers back in Lizzie's time did not dominate culture the way they do today. Also, Lizzie did not have a lot of the junk teens have today shoved down her throat. In my opinion she would have been a lot more innocent than teenage girls of today. She wasn't hit with all of the images teens today get hit with.

[Stefani]

This is a very good book on Fall River. It is a series that comes in three volumes. And you are in luck: the first volume is on sale on eBay!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 4645140419

[Richard]

Thanks D and Stefani. This is a great starting point.

I also found a PDF of a book entitled A CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF FALL RIVER which was published in 1877, the exact year I'm placing my story. It has a very rich history of early Fall River and the cotton manufactoring process.

I spelled Googling wrong, by the way.

[DWilly]

This is a very good book on Fall River. It is a series that comes in three volumes. And you are in luck: the first volume is on sale on eBay!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 4645140419

Oh, that reminds me. On ebay you can get copies of The McGuffey Reader. That was THE reading book for students during Lizzie's time. I got a chance to look at one that a woman had that she got from her great grandmother. Very interesting to see what fourth and fifth graders read back then. Lots of passages from Shakespeare and yes, the Bible. Also, a lot of reading on virture and how to behave.

[Audrey]

Oh, that reminds me. On ebay you can get copies of The McGuffey Reader. That was THE reading book for students during Lizzie's time. I got a chance to look at one that a woman had that she got from her great grandmother. Very interesting to see what fourth and fifth graders read back then. Lots of passages from Shakespeare and yes, the Bible. Also, a lot of reading on virture and how to behave.

I went to a private school in Paris where they actually taught us things like how to make clever conversation and remarks, how to dance and plan large events and things like this.... It irritated me. I think the only good thing I can say about it is that I can plan an event for 500 people without batting an eye!

Richard... My experience with google is that sometimes being pretty specific can be an OK thing to try!

I once google 'Lizzie Borden Audrey' and was reminded that Satterwait named the 'Abby' in that travesty 'Audrey'!!!

[DWilly]

Oh, that reminds me. On ebay you can get copies of The McGuffey Reader. That was THE reading book for students during Lizzie's time. I got a chance to look at one that a woman had that she got from her great grandmother. Very interesting to see what fourth and fifth graders read back then. Lots of passages from Shakespeare and yes, the Bible. Also, a lot of reading on virture and how to behave.

I went to a private school in Paris where they actually taught us things like how to make clever conversation and remarks, how to dance and plan large events and things like this.... It irritated me. I think the only good thing I can say about it is that I can plan an event for 500 people without batting an eye!

Richard... My experience with google is that sometimes being pretty specific can be an OK thing to try!

I once google 'Lizzie Borden Audrey' and was reminded that Satterwait named the 'Abby' in that travesty 'Audrey'!!!

The McGuffey's Reader wasn't really about manners as about personal virtue. Being a good and honest person. That type of thing. During this time another popular writer with young people, especially boys, was Horatio Alger. He wrote books about poor boys who stay honest and are able to make it in life. Things like, Mark The Match Boy and Sink Or Swim.

[mbhenty]

[DWilly]

You know it's funny but Lizzie would have been very different from today's teens. Lizzie knew how to sew and make her own clothes. A skill which few girls have today. I know I can barely sew a button on.

[Audrey]

You know it's funny but Lizzie would have been very different from today's teens. Lizzie knew how to sew and make her own clothes. A skill which few girls have today. I know I can barely sew a button on.

I could make a pattern out of newspaper and sew you almost anything you wanted-- self taught!

Of course, 6 kids... I had to learn!

[Audrey]

Oh, that reminds me. On ebay you can get copies of The McGuffey Reader. That was THE reading book for students during Lizzie's time. I got a chance to look at one that a woman had that she got from her great grandmother. Very interesting to see what fourth and fifth graders read back then. Lots of passages from Shakespeare and yes, the Bible. Also, a lot of reading on virture and how to behave.

I went to a private school in Paris where they actually taught us things like how to make clever conversation and remarks, how to dance and plan large events and things like this.... It irritated me. I think the only good thing I can say about it is that I can plan an event for 500 people without batting an eye!

Richard... My experience with google is that sometimes being pretty specific can be an OK thing to try!

I once google 'Lizzie Borden Audrey' and was reminded that Satterwait named the 'Abby' in that travesty 'Audrey'!!!

The McGuffey's Reader wasn't really about manners as about personal virtue. Being a good and honest person. That type of thing. During this time another popular writer with young people, especially boys, was Horatio Alger. He wrote books about poor boys who stay honest and are able to make it in life. Things like, Mark The Match Boy and Sink Or Swim.

Like the girl in the 'Milky Way' wrapper calling that nerd 'Panda Bear' I wasn't really taught to tell the truth to men.....

[Kat]

Pg. 229,another piece this from Collier's where the author says former teachers were interviewed," I learned that Miss Borden had been a quick scholar;that even while in school, she was much given to religious thoughts; that she has a fairly good voice, quite uncultivated, tha she had been raised without much care from her parents; had always been a lonely girl, with few friends and companions a t school; that she had drifted along through her education course without any aim, never felt a ncessity of preparation for the earnings of a future liveliehood, and absolutely without any desire for marriage."

--DWilly

Pardon me please- but I have not read this before. It's implied it is in Rebello, page 229, but I can't find it. It comes after a Rebello reference to page 235- Help?

[Kat]

You can plumb the depths of the Keeley Library at:
http://www.sailsinc.org/durfee/fulltext.htm

[DWilly]

Pg. 229,another piece this from Collier's where the author says former teachers were interviewed," I learned that Miss Borden had been a quick scholar;that even while in school, she was much given to religious thoughts; that she has a fairly good voice, quite uncultivated, tha she had been raised without much care from her parents; had always been a lonely girl, with few friends and companions a t school; that she had drifted along through her education course without any aim, never felt a ncessity of preparation for the earnings of a future liveliehood, and absolutely without any desire for marriage."

--DWilly

Pardon me please- but I have not read this before. It's implied it is in Rebello, page 229, but I can't find it. It comes after a Rebello reference to page 235- Help?

Sorry, I put down the wrong page by mistake. It is on page 231. Collier's Once a Week, Julius Chambers, "Who Killed The Bordens" September 10, 1892:12.

[Richard]

Thanks all of you for coming forward with your wonderful suggestions! I have more than enough resources now and leads to follow to last me a few months! But please, anyone out there, post some more links or suggestions!

Right now, the Fall River Centennial History, I'm reading about how a cotton mill works in great detail.

Also, there is a reference to an Andrew J. Borden who is on the Board of Directors of the Osborn Mill opened in 1871. Do you suppose this is the same Andrew J. Borden?

It's the only reference to a member of Lizzie's family in this history published in 1877.

[Kat]

That name has confused a lot of people.
Are you sure it is Andrew J. Borden?
When was a person with that name Treasurer: c.1877?

In 1892 there was an Andrew Borden, our Andrew J. Borden, and an Andrew J. Borden (janitor), and an Andrew R.Borden.

I think if the person was a Borden affiliated with Osborn mill, it was either Andrew J. Borden (our guy) or Andrew Borden- no middle initial "J."

[Kat]

Pg. 229,another piece this from Collier's where the author says former teachers were interviewed," I learned that Miss Borden had been a quick scholar;that even while in school, she was much given to religious thoughts; that she has a fairly good voice, quite uncultivated, tha she had been raised without much care from her parents; had always been a lonely girl, with few friends and companions a t school; that she had drifted along through her education course without any aim, never felt a ncessity of preparation for the earnings of a future liveliehood, and absolutely without any desire for marriage."

--DWilly

Pardon me please- but I have not read this before. It's implied it is in Rebello, page 229, but I can't find it. It comes after a Rebello reference to page 235- Help?

Sorry, I put down the wrong page by mistake. It is on page 231. Collier's Once a Week, Julius Chambers, "Who Killed The Bordens" September 10, 1892:12.

Thank you for the correction and all the transcriptions.
I had looked one page prior and one page after 229-
I am surprised that I did not recall reading that!
Thanks again.

[mbhenty]

[Kat]

Oh yes, I forgot him- where did you find him, please?

[Richard]

Kat, the book just noted an "ANDREW J. BORDEN" on the board of directors of the Osborn Mill. The initial J was definitely in there.

[Kat]

To confuse things a little more, on October 2nd 1889 an Andrew J Borden the 2nd, a dealer in provisions, who lived on Globe Street committed suicide by hanging himself in his barn. He was 50 years old and lived with his father, who was named John W Borden. So not sure who he was named after.

Oh I see the article in Victorian Vistas, Volume 1886-1900, pg. 171-72.
"October 2, 1889
Suicide By Hanging
A Globe Village Man Takes His Own Life
In A Fit of Despondency.

Andrew J. Borden 2nd, a well known dealer in provisions, residing at 83 Globe street, committed suicide by hanging yesterday afternoon. Less than a year ago Mr. Borden exchanged a farm on Stafford Road, taking in its place valuable city property. The new owner at once began extensive improvements to the farm with a view to trade and sought to secure the farm again. The owner would not part with it except for an additional consideration to cover the expenses of improvements, and Mr. Borden hesitated about making any payment. Several consultations were held by the parties interested but no settlement could be arrived at. Mr. Borden commenced to worry about the transactions, and for the past four months his friends had noticed a deap seated melancholy had taken possession of him. Yesterday he was even more melancholy than usual, but shortly after dinner said he was going out on an errand. He had been gone some time when his long absence began to cause surprise. His father, a man over 75 years, had occasion to go into the barn at the rear of the house and there found the lifeless body of his son, suspended from one of the rafters of the barn by a cotton rope. The father cut the body down and assistance was called, but all efforts to bring life back were fruitless.

Mr. Borden was about 50 years of age and unmarried. He lived in a very comfortable home with his father and two sisters and was considered very well-to-do. His rash act was undoubtedly committed during a temporary attack of melancholia."

--I doubt this was the mill Borden.
~~~~~~

In Phillips History of Fall River, II, pg. 108 he lists Andrew Borden and Andrew J. Borden as being on the board of directors of the B.M.C. Durfee Trust Company in 1888.
On page 112, (our) Andrew J. Borden was listed as the third president of the Union Savings Bank, from 1888 to 1892.
~~~~~~~

In Phillips History, same volume, there is a section on Andrew Borden & Son, pg. 167, which I will place here.

Richard, will you please give your full source citation?
Have you checked Rebello? Thanks!

(Please click on picture if your view is restricted by screen size.)

[Richard]

Kat, I have a PDF of the Centennial History of Fall River. On page 140-141 there is the following:

THE OSBORN MILLS enterprise was due to the suggestion of Weaver Osborn, Esq ., who, in consultation with Messrs. Easton & Milne and Joseph Healy, proposed the formation of a company with $500,000 capital for the manufacture of print cloths. The books were opened, and before night the whole amount was subscribed, and the same evening " rights" sold at three per cent premium . The first meeting of the original subscribers, thirty-five in number, was holden October 9th, 1871 , and the company organized with the following board of directors : Weaver Osborn, Joseph Healy, James T. Milne, Benjamin Hall, Andrew J. Borden , Joseph Osborn, Joseph E. Macomber, George T. Hathaway, John C . Milne, D. H. Dyer, and Edward E. Hathaway. Weaver Osborn was subsequently elected president, and Joseph Healy treasurer and clerk of the corporation . The capital was fixed at $500,000, and the name of " Osborn Mills," in honor of the president, selected as the corporate name . The act of incorporation bears date February 1st, 1872.

[Kat]

I take it what you have isfrom The Keeley Library online?

A Centennial History of Fall River, Mass. : Comprising a Record of Its Corporate Progress from 1656 to 1876, With Sketches of Its Manufacturing Industries, Local and General Characteristics, Valuable Statistical Tables, etc. / prepared under the direction of a committee of the city government, by Henry H. Earl. -- New York : Atlantic Publishing and Engraving Co., 1877.
    252 p. : ill., map ; 31 cm.
    All files are searchable
    Contents:

* Title page, prefatory material. Fall River : Sketch of Its Origin and Corporate Epochs, p. 1-70 (7,429K)
* Its Natural Advantages
* Cotton Manufactures from 1810-1820
* Cotton Manufactures from 1820-1830
* Cotton Manufactures from 1830-1845
* Cotton Manufactures from 1845-1860
* Cotton Manufactures from 1860-1876


* Growth of the Cotton Industry in America, p. 71-97 (1,990K)
* Machines and Processes of Manufacture, p. 98-111 (1,069K)
* Statistics of Cotton Manufacture in Fall River, p. 112 (73K)
* Organization of Corporations, p. 113-150 (3,198K)
* Sketch of Each Corporation


* Educational, Religious, Municipal and Financial Features of Fall River, p. 151-184 (2,882K)
* Public Library, Churches, Cemeteries, Parks, Drives, Local Nomenclature, Water Works, Fire Department, Banks and Savings Institutions, Custom-House and Post-Office, and City Hall


* Newspapers and Steam Marine, p. 185-197 (1,056K)
* History of Press of Fall River, Steam Marine of Mount Hope Bay


* Fall River: Its Historical, Political, and Social Phases, p. 198-219 (1,709K)
* Reminiscences of Col. Joseph Durfee ; Fall River in the Civil War ; Fall River's "West End" ; Settlement of State Boundaries, 1862 ; Great Fire of July 2, 1843 ; Population of Fall River from 1810-1875 ; Valuations, etc. from 1854-1875


* One Hundredth Anniversary of American Independence at Fall River, July 4, 1876, p. 220-222 (156K)
* Corporate Annals of Fall River, p. 223-248 (1,731K)
* Sketches of Mayors ; Act of Incorporation of Fall River, in 1803 ; Change of Corporate Name ; Town Officers from 1803 to 1854 ; Members of Congress ; Mayors ; State Senators and Representatives ; Formation of a City Government ; List of City Officers for 1877

* Index, p. 249-252 (299K)
Complete Book - complete facsimile, searchable. (21,187K)

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

--Good luck finding out if that is our Andrew J. Borden. Let us know what you find out, OK? Thanks!

[Richard]

Actually, it's the same book but I managed to find a PDF version of it. I don't recall where I got it.

I've been reading it almost nonstop for the past three days.

[Kat]

This is a PDF download. It's from The Keeley Library.
All the items on there are downloads.
You can get the Phillips History of Fall River, as a pdf download. Stef bought the real books for quite a sum of $, before this stuff was available.