Lizzie Borden Society Forum

It took a few days, but I just got the confirmation from the Marion town Hall to confirm that it was Marion, Massachusetts where Hosea breathed his last. There had been some thought that it might be Marion, Maine.
Joe Razda, a zealous new Lizzie scholar from Ohio was at the house for 4 days last week and we trekked to all the usual spots related to the case. Being a great devotee of old cemeteries, we had a jaunt through Riverside to visit Mr. Bence, and then set out to find Hosea Knowlton. It was a convoluted few days of hunt and peck which spanned Maine to Cambridge, to New Bedford to Boston, but in the end, we got our man. Thanks for this go to the staff at the Rural Cemetery (Fatima), Forest Hills, ET Wilson's funeral home, and Marion Town Hall. A lengthier account is at the blog address below.

This is one photo of the Bence plot (directions to find this plot are all on the blog)

And a further update late today on Knowlton from Len Rebello who made one further step in the investigation via
New Bedford Lawyers of the Past by William M. Emery 1905"He died at his Marion home Dec 18, 1902, from a shock sustained shortly after Thanksgiving. FuneralServices were held in the Universalist Church in this city on Dec, 22, and all the lawyers' offices in New Bedford closed that afternoon a a mark of respect. By his request the ashes of the deceased attorney were scattered over the waters of the bay at Marion (Massachusetts) His name is inscribed on a ceneotaph in Rural Cemetery where repose the ashes of Mrs. Knowlton., ..."
And that, is now the final word. The cause of death on the certificate is a "stroke" leading to heart failure. The date of death is correct at December18th. More photos to follow. I like the part about being scattered over Marion Harbor- it is a lovely spot. RIP Hosea.

I just had a funny little visual of Lizzie fishing in Marion harbor, with the ashes of Hosea floating by, baiting her little hook and casting her line in the harbor thinking, "Oh, Mr. Knowlton you're not done with me yet !"
I see a cartoon in this one.

This must be Hosea Knowlton Day indeed as more info keeps coming in. This just in from Len, who has had a good rummage around this afternoon:

"While in New Bedford, the Knowltons lived at the corner of Union and Cottage Streets, not far from the former Union Street residence of Attorney General George Marston. They also had a summer residence at Marion... for several years years in later life he was clean shaven. He had some ability at the piano and was accustomed to play a polka for his children and their young friends. ... It is a tradition that in the unexpected absence of the incumbent he once filled in as organist at vthe Universalist Church.

"Mr. Knowlton was deeply affected by the death, as a result of an accident in Boston of his venerable mother, in the summer of 1902, shortly before she she was to make her home in his family (in Marion, Massachusetts). "He (Knowlton) died at his summer home in Marion, Massachusetts." In The Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Lizzie A. Borden, p. 446.
He (Knowlton) married May 22, 1873, Sylvia Bassett Almy of this city (New Bedford), daughter of Sophia (Allen)n Almy of Eighth Street (New Bedford). Mrs. Knowlton was also cremated."

Mary A Knowlton was the woman who is buried in New Bedford's Rural Cemetery and died in July of 1902. Forest Hills in Boston said that 1902 was the first year for the crematory. So now I know that there is no mystery story about the Knowltons- husband and wife were both cremated.

Hi Shelley--didn't know Hosea was lost. Rare photo of him from above pamphlet posted in Heritage under Knowlton goodies.

Knowlton was cremated, but his wife Sylvia had his name engraved in the plot where she is buried in New Bedford's Rural Cemetery. His parents and brother Franz are buried in another plot in the same cemetery.




Denise Noe had covered most of the highlights in an article for The Hatchet last year.

Another view of the entire plot:



Parents:



Brother:

There's a whole topic about Knowlton and Marion in the archives. Harry posted this link in 2002 and it still works so I'm reposting it for the newer members. It's a realtor's description of the Knowlton's summer home in Marion with some pictures.

http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/dail ... 3ho135.htm

The "Lost" applied to not knowing where exactly the body had gone after the funeral services on the 22nd, what had happened to the ashes after cremation, etc. There is plenty of information about the memorial service in the 1902 New Bedford newspaper, who was there, hymns, attendees, etc. The funeral home in New Bedford had some records, the crematorium in Boston had others. In fact 1902 was the first year the crematory was opened in Forest Hills. The story one gets there is that the ashes were scattered in Boston at Forest Hills. The word "cenotaph" always implies that the body is NOT in the grave.

The Rural Cemetery shows that the body had been held for several days in a holding tomb in New Bedford before being transported by Wilson's to the crematory in Boston, and by last night we knew conclusively that the ashes ultimately went back to Marion to be scattered over the fishing harbor, near where Mr. Knowton lived in the summer. So Knowlton went full circle- Marion, New Bedford, Boston, back to Marion.

Yes, I have posted that photo of the Knowlton house on Front Street elsewhere. The death certificate is on its way, and both "stroke" and apoplexy or "apopletic seizure" left Hosea in an unconscious state for a few days before he died on December 18th. I had to speak to a Marion historian to learn Union Street no longer exists in Marion but it did in 1902.

The final disposal of Hosea's remains, in every source I have encountered list "unknown"-and as such, I think "found" now would be a good term to use.
Thanks for posting the Rural Cemetery photos-I had run out of film Friday and now I can save another trip Knowing the intense interest people have here for every small detail, I thought it would be of interest to post these findings. All the folks at the various cemeteries, Town Halls and funeral homes were intrigued, as the mention of Lizzie usually has that effect, and Knowlton's connection to her. Even more excited were the staff at Riverside to know about Eli Bence. Peter Reid, the usual office director likes to tell visitors stories about the "residents" and will add Eli now to his repetoire. The finding of Eli's little daughter, dead at age 2 was a poignant and heartrending discovery.

Oh Shelley---

I could not resist!

Thanks for the laugh, Tina-Kate, that was cute! And thank you, Shelley, for all the Knowlton info. Interesting that he was cremated instead of buried, I didn't think that was a popular thing to do during that time period.

Love the cartoon- yes, ole Lizzie "caught" poor Hosea in more ways than one- and she didn't need to go to the barn for more sinkers either!

Thanks, Shelley, for sharing additional and new information about Hosea Knowlton. He was an effective and loyal servant of his community, his state, his college, and his church. It is unfortunate that Knowlton died at a relatively young age and a century later is best remembered for his role in leading the prosecution of Lizzie Borden, perhaps a losing cause from the start.

I found I had a soft-spot for Knowlton as well (regardless of my irreverent cartooning). I think he knew the truth, even if only in his gut. (I also think Robinson knew). Politically Knowlton was placed between a rock & a hard place with this trial, and yet he still did his best to see justice served.

I agree- old Pillsbury was busy being careful of his career and Hosea got the load to carry. I also admire Moody immensely-and while "speaking" to Eli Bence last Friday, I decided he was one brave man to come forward under those circumstances and brave the tidal wave. And I told him so. Imagine, to take it on when many others would have washed their hands of it and crawled out of the spotlight. I wonder what Bence's employer thought and if he was discouraged from coming forward. I got mugged once in an underground lot -and although 2 people saw it they both hurried away muttering they saw nothing. It takes courage to step forward and speak the truth, especially if you are nobody important with no powerful connections and you are taking on the daughter of a bigwig in town.

Pillsbury lived longer probably because of his shunting the trial off on Knowlton.

The death certificate and scans of the original Marion record book came today in the mail. I have done some shrinking and squeezing of all of the documents at the blog link below. They will print full-sized if you click on the photos and save.

Since the subject of Hosea Knowlton has come up, I'm wondering if any of you read my March 2006 Whittling on him and, if so, what you think of it.

I was going to reference your article here!
It is pretty comprehensive.
Readers might consult their past issues of The Hatchet for pertinent info.