Edwin Porter’s Grave

by Sherry Chapman

First published in January/February, 2008, Volume 5, Issue 1, The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies.

Edwin H. Porter is one of the most well known authors on the Borden murders of 1892. During Lizzie’s trial for the double homicide of her father and stepmother, Porter, a police reporter for the Fall River Daily Globe and correspondent of the Boston Herald, covered the case diligently. He was the first to write a book on the case, The Fall River Tragedy: A History of the Borden Murders, soon after Lizzie’s acquittal in 1893. For forty-four years, his was the only full-length book on the subject. Today, scholars and students of the case still use his newspaper articles for research, and his tome, which was reissued in 1985, sells still, well over 115 years after it first appeared in print. 

The book is an important one, not only because it was written first, but also because of the reputation of the man who penned it. Edwin Porter was a good newspaper reporter, and he was Johnny-on-the-spot. The photographs in the book are one of its high points, and there are pictures of most of the persons involved. We might dare say that were it not for Porter’s book, we may never have known what Eli Bence or Reverend Edwin Augustus Buck looked like—they would have likely remained names without faces.

Porter was born in 1864, and married Miss Winnie Leonard of Fall River in 1891. They had two daughters—Florence and Winifred A. Porter. The family lived at 10 Rodham Street in 1892, not far from the Borden house. The house was renumbered to 111 in 1896.

After the trial, Porter continued at the Fall River Daily Globe and as correspondent of the Boston Herald. Unknown to most, Edwin Porter had tuberculosis and sought treatment more than once at the sanitarium in Rutland. He continued to work until his illness overcame him. He died on February 28, 1904, at his Fall River home at just 39 years of age.

Visiting his grave at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Fall River and expecting a monument of some sort, it was surprising to see that Edwin H. Porter has no headstone—nothing at all to mark his grave. It is a barren place and a sad testament to the life of one so important to Borden studies. After some footwork, it was learned that when Porter died in 1904, his wife purchased his grave for $11.00. On March 17, 1919, their 20-year-old daughter, Winifred A., died also of tuberculosis. The grave was opened and Winifred’s casket was laid on top of her father’s. But still no marker was placed at the family plot.

For whatever reason, no one had paid for the perpetual care, or “endowment fee” as it’s known today. Had Mrs. Porter paid it back in 1904, it probably would have cost her all of ten dollars. But, conscious of many writers’ salaries, he may not have left much behind for his spouse.

But we can fix this! We can lay a monument to the man who died so young yet did so much. If we could raise the funds to pay the perpetual care fee of $320.00, we would then secure the right to mark the grave. In addition to the perpetual fee, there is a permit fee of $10.00 and a “foundation fee” of $85.00. The headstone should not be an astronomical amount, since we are only allowed a 2’ x 1’ flush marker there.

In order to make this happen, we should start now! Here at The Hatchet we are ready to accept donations to get Edwin Porter his long-overdue headstone. The grave will be put in our group’s name, and donors will receive a certificate showing they contributed to Edwin Porter’s headstone. 

If you would like to contribute to this worthy endeavor, please send your donations (checks or money orders) to PearTree Press, PO Box 540052, Orlando, FL 32854. Please mark your payment “Porter’s Grave Marker.” A receipt will be sent to you at the address you enclose. If you would like to pay by credit card, please do so through the PayPal link on the home page of The Hatchet— http://www.hatchetonline.com/HatchetOnline/index.htm

“The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”  (William James, 1842-1910)