Lizzie Borden Society Forum

In the August 15th Fall River Globe, they have an item where John Morse gives a small interview to a reporter. It concerns Morse's reaction to Mr. Fish's accusation that Lizzie and he [Morse] hired someone to do away with the Bordens. It's starts out:

"John Vinnicum Morse was returning to the Second street house last night, probably after a visit to Lawyer Jennings, when a reporter met him. Mr. Morse was not exactly in talking humor. He remarked, however, that there were many things he would like to say, but Mr. Jennings had ordered both him and Miss Emma to stop talking, especially to newspaper men.
.......
and finishes with:

"Mr. Morse was silent the minute and then said: "Fish reminds one of a story I heard once. A man and his son were out deer hunting. The father started a deer, and as it passed by his son and jumped over a high wall the son refused to shoot. The father asked: 'Why didn't you fire?' and the young man replied: 'Because I knew he would break his neck when he jumped.'"
"But what's the moral of the yarn?" the reporter persisted.
"I'll leave your readers to guess," he said, as he said "Good night" and wended his way over Whitechapel bridge."

So the question I have for you Fall Riverites is - where is the Whitechapel bridge?

In Phillip's History of Fall River, Fascicle III, page 164, under the section called "Localities and Watersheds" he has:
White Chapel Bridge. In 1889-90, Third Street was extended from Pleasant Street to Rock Street. The iron bridge thrown across the stream was jokingly called White Chapel Bridge.

It sounds as tho jokingly natives might have been referring to a London site or area, just as it sounds?

Well, do we know anything in particular of the general neighborhood of the bridge atthe time? Whitechapel (at least to me) conjures images of infamy. It may have been a joke - but sometimes reasons are associated even with humorous references.

Yes that's what I mean and it is close to 1888. I picture a threatening or downtrodden area.

Wow, great find, Kat. That makes it near the Troy Mills and where the Quequechan goes underground.

It's about a block or so away from - one guess - the Post Office. The Post Office was on Bedford St. between Second and Third, one block north of Pleasant St. All in all, fairly near the Borden house.

Yes, the Whitechapel reference caught my eye as well. Just where was uncle John in 1888?

Somebody call Patricia Cornwell- she may have to rethink her bestseller about ole Jack! After all, there must have been plenty of knives and cleavers around Issac Davis' place for the taking! The ReMORSEless John the Ripper.