I've been doing some research on bicyclists in the Victorian Era related to D. Anthony. But I came across a short film clip that I found very interesting, especially after learning that bloomers were developed so that Victorian women could ride. Think of poor Andrew in his woolen suit, his Prince Albert jacket, his Congress boots--wheelmen were the radicals of their day.
This clip is about a shocking "woman" wheelman who raced from 1895-1902. I thought it gave a real sense of the changes going on in Lizzie's lifetime.
http://www.fastwomenproductions.com/trailer.htm
Enjoy!
Radical Wheelmen
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nbcatlover
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Harry
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Thanks Cynthia, that was fun to watch. I like those bikes with the huge front wheel and small back wheel but for the life of me I can't figure out an easy way of getting on and off. Guess you needed a ladder. 
If you haven't already, you may want to check Rebello, p270. Under Martha's Vineyard there is a blurb on the Fall River Wheelmen who had in 1893 adopted a badge in the shape of an blood-stained axe.
If you haven't already, you may want to check Rebello, p270. Under Martha's Vineyard there is a blurb on the Fall River Wheelmen who had in 1893 adopted a badge in the shape of an blood-stained axe.
I know I ask perfection of a quite imperfect world
And fool enough to think that's what I'll find
And fool enough to think that's what I'll find
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nbcatlover
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Kat
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That's a part of the Witness Statements, 45-46:
"EDWIN D. McHENRY.
Fall River, 28, 1892. The following is the result of my interview last Saturday night with Mrs. Whitehead. I could not reach her mother Mrs. Oliver Gray, (the stepmother of the late Mrs. Abbie Borden) until today. I found her at the home of Mr. Benj. Covell, at the top of Second street. I questioned her at length as to whether there was anything new that had come to her mind since she was last seen. She stated that Officer Harrington had been to see her, but since that time she had heard a great deal. She also stated that Mr. and Mrs. Case had gone to Tiverton R. I. or Little Compton, to remain away until after this Borden case had been disposed of; and that Mrs. Case was the woman above all others that was needed to let light in on Lizzie's actions. Mrs. Gray had heard of the scandal story as coming from Mrs. Case direct. She also stated that for years, whenever she, or any of Mrs. Borden's relatives, visited the house on Second street, they were totally ignored by the girls, Lizzie and Emma. I then read your anonymous letter to her. She said that was true, every word of it, although she could not imagine who the writer was; and that her sister, Mrs. Bordens, Mrs. Fish in Hartford, was the one, and her daughter in law, that was referred to. I then pressed the old lady very hard as to what was said as coming from Mrs. Churchill. She demurred, and finally admitted she got her information from Mrs. Potter and her sister Miss Dimon, the milliners on Fourth street. I then looked up the above mentioned ladies and found them very hard people to handle. I was with them both two hours, and elicited the following; Lizzie Borden has been practicing in a gymnasium for a long time, and she has boasted of the strength she possessed, not to these people, but to others. The place where she practiced was supposed top be in the Troy Block. I also elicited the fact that one George Wiley, a clerk in the Troy Mill is the one who is authority for the statement that Mrs. Churchill made that she (Mrs. Churchill) said, that there was one thing she saw in the house the day of the murder, that she would never repeat, even if they tore her tongue out."
--The trouble is, is it's by McHenry who has probably lost all credibility.
"EDWIN D. McHENRY.
Fall River, 28, 1892. The following is the result of my interview last Saturday night with Mrs. Whitehead. I could not reach her mother Mrs. Oliver Gray, (the stepmother of the late Mrs. Abbie Borden) until today. I found her at the home of Mr. Benj. Covell, at the top of Second street. I questioned her at length as to whether there was anything new that had come to her mind since she was last seen. She stated that Officer Harrington had been to see her, but since that time she had heard a great deal. She also stated that Mr. and Mrs. Case had gone to Tiverton R. I. or Little Compton, to remain away until after this Borden case had been disposed of; and that Mrs. Case was the woman above all others that was needed to let light in on Lizzie's actions. Mrs. Gray had heard of the scandal story as coming from Mrs. Case direct. She also stated that for years, whenever she, or any of Mrs. Borden's relatives, visited the house on Second street, they were totally ignored by the girls, Lizzie and Emma. I then read your anonymous letter to her. She said that was true, every word of it, although she could not imagine who the writer was; and that her sister, Mrs. Bordens, Mrs. Fish in Hartford, was the one, and her daughter in law, that was referred to. I then pressed the old lady very hard as to what was said as coming from Mrs. Churchill. She demurred, and finally admitted she got her information from Mrs. Potter and her sister Miss Dimon, the milliners on Fourth street. I then looked up the above mentioned ladies and found them very hard people to handle. I was with them both two hours, and elicited the following; Lizzie Borden has been practicing in a gymnasium for a long time, and she has boasted of the strength she possessed, not to these people, but to others. The place where she practiced was supposed top be in the Troy Block. I also elicited the fact that one George Wiley, a clerk in the Troy Mill is the one who is authority for the statement that Mrs. Churchill made that she (Mrs. Churchill) said, that there was one thing she saw in the house the day of the murder, that she would never repeat, even if they tore her tongue out."
--The trouble is, is it's by McHenry who has probably lost all credibility.
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Susan
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Thanks for that, Cynthia, that was really neat! I'm so glad after all these years that Tillie finally has gotten the recognition that she deserves. Did you ever get to handle a Victorian "wheel" from the the 1890s? Compared to todays bicycles, they weigh a ton! 
“Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else's life forever.”-Margaret Cho comedienne
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nbcatlover
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No, Susan, I haven't yet. But I found a postcard online of a local New Bedford bicycle racer on a card which reads 'Frommell' on a pneumatic. Don't know yet if Frommell is the name of the racer or of the photographer.
Also have cool info from the Taunton Gazette on Herbert A. Willis, The Bicycle Bandit of 1896-1897, who robbed bicycles, then committed murder, to die with his brother in a shootout during an escape attempt from the Charleston Prison.
Herbert had a cave on Fisher Street in Dighton (town near Taunton, Rehoboth, and Swansea) where he stashed his loot underground.
His famous quote is "Some people are bad all their lives, but my wickedness seemed to break out all at once."
Some would say that quote would apply to Lizzie, too.
Also have cool info from the Taunton Gazette on Herbert A. Willis, The Bicycle Bandit of 1896-1897, who robbed bicycles, then committed murder, to die with his brother in a shootout during an escape attempt from the Charleston Prison.
Herbert had a cave on Fisher Street in Dighton (town near Taunton, Rehoboth, and Swansea) where he stashed his loot underground.
His famous quote is "Some people are bad all their lives, but my wickedness seemed to break out all at once."
Some would say that quote would apply to Lizzie, too.
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nbcatlover
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DWilly
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I want to add something about wheelmen in the 1890s. It seems that by 1892, the sport was very respectable. I came across an article called, "Ode To Gladys" Apparently, in 1892, Miss Frances Willard the "formidable founder of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union" took up the sport at the age of 53. She named her bike Gladys. Also, in another article called, "America Goes A-Wheeling I found this quote:
"During the whole decade of the 1890s perhaps 10 million Americans took to the wheel, from clergymen on their rounds to young ladies clad in skirts that rose scandalously above the ankle to make pedaling easier."
Looks like David Anthony was simply taking part in a sport that many respectable Americans were enjoying. Great sport for ones health I might say. Although, I still enjoy tennis and running more.
"During the whole decade of the 1890s perhaps 10 million Americans took to the wheel, from clergymen on their rounds to young ladies clad in skirts that rose scandalously above the ankle to make pedaling easier."
Looks like David Anthony was simply taking part in a sport that many respectable Americans were enjoying. Great sport for ones health I might say. Although, I still enjoy tennis and running more.