Denise Noeby Denise Noe
First published in December/January, 2005, Volume 2, Issue 6, The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies.
“I have been fond of animals and their need is great and there are so few who care for them,” are the simple yet moving words in Lizzie Borden’s will explaining her generous bequest of $30,000 plus the entirety of her stock in the Stevens Manufacturing Company to the Fall River Animal Rescue League (which is still active but was recently renamed the Faxon Animal Rescue League of Greater Fall River), as well as an additional $2,000 to the Animal Rescue League of Washington, D.C.
Lizzie’s relations with animals form a fascinating thread that weaves through the tangled story of her life. Arnold R. Brown, in Lizzie Borden, The Legend, The Truth, The Final Chapter, wrote of a time when “Andrew announced there was no longer a reason for his household to keep a horse.” Since horses in cities were generally there to be hitched up to carriages, it is likely he felt the family did not need personal transportation. After that, Brown continues, “The barn’s sole occupants became Lizzie’s pigeons. No one ever questioned Lizzie’s love of animals, and as far as we know, these pigeons were her pets and the only pets she had, allowed by Andrew for the simple reason that, on occasion, they graced the dinner table.” Brown claims that Andrew lived by the maxim, “You do not feed animals who do not feed you.”
The barn was broken into and some pigeons stolen. Brown indicates that this happened more than once and Andrew decided to remove temptation from the thief: he cut off the heads of all Lizzie’s pigeons with a hatchet. Some observers may see this violent action of Andrew’s against Lizzie’s pets as precipitating the violence they believe she perpetrated against him and think that Lizzie, still outraged over the loss of her pet pigeons, went after her father with the same type of weapon he had used to kill the birds. However, this may be far-fetched since Lizzie, whether their heads were cut or twisted off, does not appear to have been bothered by occasionally having them for dinner. The story also cuts both ways (pun intended) regarding guilt or innocence because it indicates that the Borden family had an enemy outside the household. It is highly unlikely that Lizzie was stealing her own pet pigeons. She could have just let them go.
It should be stated that there is no evidence that Lizzie was a vegetarian. She also seems to have enjoyed fishing. At the time of the murders, Lizzie was planning a vacation trip to the seacoast town of Marion, Massachusetts where she hoped to go fishing. She anticipated meeting up with a group of friends on Monday, August 8, 1892 who were already gathered at a Marion house owned by Fall River physician Dr. Benjamin Handy. Leonard Rebello in Lizzie Borden Past & Present quotes Dr. Handy as telling the Fall River Daily Herald, “Lizzie was a great fisherman, and when my daughter went to Marion, she with the girls, were going to have fishlines.”
Of course, as anyone familiar with the Borden case knows, Lizzie claimed she had been out of the house when her father was killed because she was in the barn looking for sinkers to attach to fishlines to be used on the trip to Marion that would never take place. It is possible that Lizzie made up the story about the trip to the barn to cover up her killing of her father or her involvement in some respect in that killing. It is also possible that this visit to the barn was an odd coincidence that saved Lizzie’s life by taking her out of the house at the time the murderer attacked Andrew.
Contrary to Brown’s assertion, Lizzie’s “love of animals” has been questioned. At least one act of animal cruelty has been attributed to her. For Goodbye, Lizzie Borden, Robert Sullivan interviewed Abby Potter, namesake of Abby Durfee Borden and daughter of her half-sister Sarah Whitehead. Sullivan’s book recorded the story as related by Potter. She claimed to be repeating a story told her by her mother who was supposedly told the story by Abby Borden: “Lizzie Borden had company and my aunt had a tabby cat and the cat was trained so that it would touch the latch – you know, it was [sic] latches in those days – she’d touch the latch and the door would open. So the cat went in where Lizzie was entertaining and she took it out and shut the door again, and it came back . . . Lizzie Borden finally excused herself and went downstairs.” According to Potter, she took the cat with her, put it on a chopping block and cut its head off. For days Abby wondered where her cat was. Lizzie coldly told her to “go downstairs and you’ll find your cat,” and Abby found her pet decapitated.
People may find this tale believable because it seems to oddly prefigure the murders or because they are prepared to believe anything nasty about Lizzie. Others are skeptical, partly because it is so opposed to what is known of her usual conduct toward animals. Harry Widdows, contributor to The Hatchet, doubts the story on several grounds. For one thing, he has visited the 92 Second Street house and found it did not have latches but doorknobs although he concedes that, “in some cases they may not be the original doors.” He also points out that Abby Potter was born in 1884 and only eight years old at the time of the murders. She was 88 when Sullivan interviewed her and “there [was] a lot of time between the alleged incident and its telling.” It also comes to us twice removed from its supposed original source of Abby Borden.
Like many people, Lizzie could project her own feelings onto her four-legged friends or, in this case, a four-legged servant. In August 1897, she wrote the following letter:
My dear Friend
Where are you how are you and what are you doing? I dreamed of you the other night but I do not dare to put my dreams on paper. Have you been away and has your little niece been to visit you? We have been home all summer. I spend much time on the piazza in my steamer chair reading and building castles in the air. I hope you have been away and are well and strong now. Do you expect to do much this fall and are you going to N.Y.? Every time we pass your corner the pony wants to turn down. The weather has been so warm and full of thunder storms I am quite ready for fall.
I should be very glad to hear from you.
Sincerely
L. A. Borden
Frank Spiering in Lizzie focused on the sentence about her dream, claiming that this ambiguous statement showed she could be “explicit about her sexual longings.” He also states categorically that the letter was “written to a young woman” despite the fact that the salutation “dear Friend” could have addressed someone of either gender.
However, for our purposes the notable line is “Every time we pass your corner the pony wants to turn down.” This statement is cute in the way it unites the sentiments of the author with those of the animal and lends the epistle a special warmth.
Noisy animals had the ability to rattle Lizzie as they might disturb anyone. In Lizzie Borden Past & Present, Leonard Rebello reprints a polite letter dated May 31, 1900 that she wrote to a neighbor named John S. Brayton, reprinted here.
Mr. Brayton,
Please pardon the liberty I take in sending you this note and I am sorry to make any complaint.
Are you willing to take away the little bird that crows so much at your house?
I am very nervous and it wakens me early so that I cannot sleep and when we are on the piazza it is so noisy.
I should consider it a favor if you are willing to accommodate me.
Very truly yours,
L.A. Borden
Rebello does not include anything about Brayton’s response or whether or not he “accommodated” Lizzie.
One particularly loud rooster may have annoyed Lizzie but there is much evidence that she had quite a few feathered and furry friends.
In 1913 Helen Leighton founded the Fall River Animal Rescue League of which Lizzie would later be such a great benefactor in her will. Leighton was a nurse by profession. She was also a close friend of Lizzie Borden and one of the few friends who stuck by Lizzie long after her acquittal. Perhaps their shared love and concern for animals helped solidify their friendship. According to an article published in the Fall River Herald News on 12 June 1927, “Lizzie Borden was one of the first to contribute to the league’s work and she was delighted by the splendid progress made by the organization. She personally inspected the new headquarters soon after they were opened.”
Although the automobile had been invented and could be seen on American streets by 1913, horse-drawn carriages were still a primary mode of transportation and the horses were sometimes neglected or mistreated. The Faxon Animal Rescue League of Greater Fall River states in the History section of its web site that it “was founded in 1913 to help overworked and abused draft horses. Through the years, the purpose of the League evolved to assist unwanted companion animals.”
It would appear that Emma Borden shared with her younger sister a fondness for animals and interest in their welfare. A 1917 report issued by the Animal Rescue League of Fall River lists “Miss Helen Leighton,” “Miss E. L. Borden,” and “Miss L. A. Borden” as Life Members of the organization. Poignantly, the report also says that, “Life Memberships have been taken in memory” of three deceased dogs: Donald Stuart Borden, Royal Nelson Borden and Laddie Miller Borden. According to Rebello, those three dogs were buried at the Pine Ridge Cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts. He describes Pine Ridge as “the oldest animal cemetery operated by a humane organization in the United States, opened in 1907 by the Animal Rescue League of Boston.” Lizzie bought the lots in the year of her death, 1927. It is significant that, in failing health, Lizzie thought of acquiring a respectful resting place for her beloved dogs. The headstone lists them as Donald Stuart, Royal Nelson, and Laddie Miller, then inscribed are the words “Sleeping Awhile” and, underneath that, the word “Borden.” Rebello quotes Glossary A of The Knowlton Papers, describing the canines as Boston bull terriers. He speculates that Lizzie may have named two of them after servants at Maplecroft, Hannah B. Nelson and Ellen “Nellie” Miller.
After Lizzie’s death, the Fall River Globe wrote an obituary for her that paid tribute to her caring treatment of animals. It read, in part, “Greatly interested in nature, she was daily seen providing for the hundreds of birds that frequented the trees in her yard, taking care that the shallow box where they gathered was filled with crumbs, seeds and other foods that they favored. She had miniature houses erected in her trees and, in these, frivolous squirrels made their homes. Her figure as she visited with her wild callers, many of whom became so friendly that they never seemed to mind her approach, was a familiar one in that section.” Trivia-Library.com states, that, after the trial, Lizzie had “several cats, and she could often be seen scattering peanuts on the lawn for squirrels.”
Along with large bequests to the Animal Rescue League itself, Lizzie’s will gave generously to its founder and president, her loyal friend Helen Leighton. Leighton, along with Grace Howe (wife of Louis Howe who was to become an aide to Franklin D. Roosevelt) received from Lizzie’s will her jewelry, books, furniture, china, and each received half of her one-half ownership of the A.J. Borden Building.
In a 1997 Standard-Times article online, Jules Ryckebusch claims that for years after Lizzie’s death, the Fall River Animal Rescue League put flowers on her grave. Portraits of both Lizzie and Emma Borden hang in the lobby of the Faxon Animal Rescue League of Greater Fall River. According to the organization’s Executive Director, Melinda Lubetz, “No one has ever objected. In fact, more often than not, they are fascinated and/or curious.”
The tradition of honoring its benefactors is what led to the organization’s name change. Lubetz relates, “Around 10 years ago, our campus had aged beyond the point of usefulness and a capital campaign was undertaken to construct a new facility. A major donor was Raymond Faxon and the decision was made to ask him whether he would care to have the organization named after him and the answer was yes.”
The official mission statement of the Faxon Animal Rescue League of Greater Fall River states, “Our mission is to protect and enhance the quality of life for our fellow animals through shelter programs, education and reform.”
The Faxon Animal Rescue League of Greater Fall River takes in surrendered pets and runs an active adoption program. It holds twelve “obedience classes” each year, training pets. It also offers “bereavement counseling” for people who have lost a companion animal and educational programs on the humane treatment of animals. Its Sylvan Animal Clinic performs a wide variety of low cost health care services for animals. Those include general check-ups, heartworm tests, worming, dental care, flea control and spaying and neutering. The Faxon Animal Rescue League of Greater Fall River also puts out a newsletter endearingly called Purrs & Paws. It features an “ask the vet” column, animal related news, reports on the shelter and Sylvan Clinic as well as stories about animal adoptions.
The Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL) was founded in the nation’s capital in 1914. It created Washington D.C.’s first animal shelter. Its honorary presidents have included Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Lady Bird Johnson. In 1996 WARL opened its Medical Center, a veterinary facility that serves both WARL shelter animals and companion animals for low-income people. To alleviate the problem of pet overpopulation, WARL operates a clinic offering free spaying and neutering to companion animals of all Washington D.C. residents regardless of income. The program also provides spaying and neutering for feral cats in the District.
Animal Rescue Leagues do much fine work that should be appreciated by any animal lover. People who wish to aid the smaller creatures who do so much to enrich human life would do well to follow Lizzie Borden’s example in this respect and look into assisting their nearest Animal Rescue League.
Works Cited:
Brown, Arnold R. Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter. Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1991.
Costa-Crowell, Carol Lee. “Lizzie Borden Remembered with Bouquets, August Expo.” 24 July 1997 New Standard. 16 November 2005 <http://www.s-t.com/daily/07-97/07-24-97/b01lo060.htm>.
Faxon Animal Rescue League of Greater Fall River. !6 November 2005 <http://www.faxonarl.org/index_nojs.htm>.
Faxon Animal Rescue League of Greater Fall River. E-mail to the author. 16 November 2005.
Lubenz, Melinda. E-mail to the author. 6 September 2005.
“Miss Helen Leighton Feels Faith in Her Interest in Work Prompted Bequests.” Fall River Herald News 12 June 1927. David Kent, ed. Lizzie Borden Sourcebook. Boston: Branden Publishing Co., 1992: 340.
Rebello, Leonard. Lizzie Borden: Past and Present. Al-Zach Press, 1999.
Rebello, Leonard. “Unveiled: Miss Helen Leighton.” Lizzie Borden Quarterly VII.4 (October 2000): 1, 20.
Spiering, Frank. Lizzie: The Story of Lizzie Borden. NY: Random House, 1984.
Trivia-Library.com. “Life After Trial Murder and Lizzie Borden Part 2.” 18 November 2005 <http://www.trivia-library.com/b/life-after-trial-murder-and-lizzie-borden-part-2.htm>.
Washington Animal Rescue League. 16 November 2005 <http://warl.org>.
Widdows, Harry. E-mail to the author. 7 September 2005.
