“Family Secrets”: The Spectator, 7 January 1998

by Kat Koorey

First published in November/December, 2007, Volume 4, Issue 4, The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies.

The Lizzie Borden Centennial Conference of 1992, held in Fall River, Massachusetts, was organized to bring together the Borden community and to update and inform attendees of new trends and theories.

By the 1980s, there was a large accumulation of controversial topics making a conference necessary. New theories were the impetus: incest, the illegitimate son, and the boyfriend David Anthony, to name a few. The Hip-bath Collection from the family of Lizzie’s lawyer Andrew Jennings, containing important Borden case material, had surfaced and been donated to the Fall River Historical Society. The Legend of Lizzie Borden, a TV movie, was aired in 1975, and the star, Elizabeth Montgomery, had even been invited to the gathering.

There were big, eccentric characters to be introduced: college professor Jules Ryckebusch, publisher and author Robert Flynn, forensic expert Dr. James Starrs, and author Arnold Brown. In fact, Arnold Brown’s book, Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter, had been published the year before, and by 1992 Brown was lecturing and autographing his book, which was, essentially, his version of Pete Peterson’s story. 

Lewis “Pete” Peterson, a Fall River native, was frustrated at the way he perceived Brown had re-written history, and he aimed to set the record straight. This brought Pete to the Conference. He made no spectacle of himself, just attended the venues, and when he found someone with a serious interest, he would start a discussion. He was respectful and sincere and those qualities endeared him to those he encountered—they liked and remembered him.

In the summer of 1996, Hathaway Publishing and journalist Linda Andrade Rodrigues published in Gateway To Cape Cod a special edition on Fall River and Lizzie Borden. Pete Peterson read this and contacted Linda, wishing still to get his story told—he wanted “the truth” to get out. Linda did write about Pete’s “truth” and they became forever friends. That series of articles, “Family Secrets,” prompted interest by this publication, The Hatchet, and is now reprinted here by permission, at the 10th anniversary of the story.

Reprinted with permission.

Article spurred more discussion over Lizzie Borden case

By Linda Andrade Rodrigues

Special Sections Editor

One hundred and five years ago the wealthy banker Andrew Jackson Borden and his second wife, Abigail Durfee Gray Borden, were brutally murdered in their Second Street home, hacked to death by an assailant wielding an axe. Countless theories abound about the identity of the killer, however, the case remains an unsolved mystery. Lizbeth Andrew Borden, daughter and stepdaughter of the victims, was charged with the crime and subsequently acquitted.

During the summer of 1996 we published Gateway To Cape Cod, our annual tourist issue, focusing on Lizzie Borden. This special section was nominated and awarded “Third Place” at the New England Press Association Convention held on January 31, 1997 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. For the lead story I interviewed one of the foremost experts on the case, Professor Jules R. Ryckebusch, and was one of the first journalists to visit the site of the double murders, the property having been in private hands.

A short time after publication I received a call from a gentleman who had picked up a copy of Gateway on the Cape. “I’m going on 80, and I want to get the truth out before I go,” he told me. “Lizzie Borden was my mother’s friend. Lizzie didn’t do it, but she knew who did . . .”

Thus began six months of long-distance conversations, interviews, exhaustive research, and the piecing together of family secrets, incredible coincidences, and a thorough police investigation to unravel the unsolved mystery. Central to the theory was not only that it alluded to Lizzie’s innocence but also included an unpublished photograph of the alleged axe murderer, Lizzie’s half brother Bill Borden. His photo appeared next to that of his alleged father and victim, Andrew, who bears a striking resemblance.

“Family Secrets” was presented over three weeks in a series of articles beginning on January 22, 1997. Reader reaction was unprecedented: the phone rang nonstop with requests for copies, visitors were lined up in our front office, and I received letters and inquiries from Lizzie buffs from across the country. Every single available copy of The Spectator was sold.

On May 18, 1997 The Associated Press published a condensed version of the series. As a follow-up to the piece in this summer’s Gateway, I wrote a story that once again attested to her innocence and included an unpublished letter written in Lizzie’s own hand. Prior to my research, most books and articles about the case affirmed Lizzie’s guilt. Incidentally, a mock trial of Lizzie Borden was held on September 18, 1997 at Stanford University with two Supreme Court Justices presiding. The verdict was “not guilty.” 

The Spectator

22 January 1997, 29 January 1997, 5 February 1997

Family Secrets

By Linda Andrade Rodrigues, Special Sections Editor

The tall elderly gentleman placed a stack of old photographs, yellowed newspaper clippings, and typewritten manuscripts on the desk. “I’ve been in police work all my life,” said the 79- year old retired officer. “I was in a position to investigate the Lizzie Borden case, and I’ve spent thousands of hours over the past sixty years working on it.”

A sergeant in the Freetown Police Department in the 1950’s, Lewis “Pete” Peterson was Assistant Director of the Barnstable County Criminal Bureau until his retirement in 1982. He taught Report Writing and Physical Evidence at the Barnstable County Police Academy and was assigned to the Attorney General’s Office in Boston where he investigated the Boston Strangler case. He also has been employed as a private detective. 

Born and brought up in Fall River, Pete is the son of Louis A. and Annie Innis Peterson of Warren Street. They were first introduced to Lizzie Borden by neighbors who lived across the street. 

In 1924 the Petersons built a new home on Pearce Street near Holy Name Church. “We were only five blocks away from Lizzie’s house,” Pete added. “She was our neighbor and my mother’s friend. My mother belonged to St. Luke’s Church on Warren Street so once we moved, she didn’t know which church to attend. Lizzie invited her to the Congregational Church so that’s where we went.” 

Pete remembered Lizzie as a nice woman with reddish hair. “She reminded me of my grandmother,” he said. “ I never called her Lizzie. I got direct orders from my mother. Her name was Miss Lizbeth, and that’s how I addressed her.” 

Pete recalled a special outing with Miss Lizbeth. “I went to church with my mother one Sunday, and we sat with Lizzie,” he said. “That day she gave us a ride home in her electric car. It had no steering wheel, just a bar that went up and over. There was one seat in the front and three in the back, and I sat in the back with Lizzie and my mother while Mr. Terry, the chauffeur, drove us home. I thought riding in Miss Lizbeth’s car was the greatest thing that could have happened to me.” 

As a young boy Pete found it strange that no one spoke to Miss Lizbeth at church. “I asked my mother why people didn’t talk to us like they did with other people,” he remembered. “She said that nobody liked Miss Lizbeth. My mother and all our friends thought this was a total disgrace. They knew Lizzie didn’t do it.”

Pete’s father was a railroad carpenter and sometimes did odd jobs for Lizzie. Pete worked at Blake’s Market on New Boston Road. “Lizzie used to trade there, and I delivered orders to her house on my bicycle,” he explained. “She always gave me a nickel; and if she wasn’t home, Hannah, her maid, gave it to me. I got so many nickels from her that I thought I was a bloody millionaire! She gave me a dime one day, and I thought I had gone to heaven.

“The last time I saw Miss Lizbeth she gave me two nickels, and one of them was all worn out,” he added. “I asked my mother if the nickel was any good. She told me to put it on my bureau for good luck. It’s been there ever since.”

Pete recalled the day that Mr. Terry delivered a marble-topped table to his house, a gift to his mother from Lizzie. “She also gave my mother a steamer trunk,” he said. “They came from Maplecroft but she told my mother that the trunk was from her Second Street home. I still have them.” 

Both Lizzie and the Terrys were frequent visitors to the Peterson home. “When they came to our house, my mother would put me to bed,” Pete said. “But from upstairs I listened to what they were talking about.” 

Lizzie Borden died in 1927. “They buried her at night,” he said incredulously. “My folks went to the service on the following day.” 

Lizzie’s kindness to the Petersons was never forgotten. “My father was a gardener, and he would take my wagon to the cemetery and visit his parents’ graves,” he explained. “While he was there, he always put a geranium on Lizzie’s grave. People used to wonder where it came from. My mother made him put a flower on her grave. She was a good friend.” 

In 1938 Pete married a lovely Fall River girl named Dorothy Hawthorne. Dorothy’s grandmother, Ellan Sweeney, and her two close childhood friends, Margaret Sullivan and Bridget Sullivan, emigrated from a small town outside of County Cork, Ireland in the late 1800’s. “One of my wife’s most vivid childhood memories is that of her grandmother telling her stories that Bridget Sullivan told her when they got together for their weekly tea and cakes,” Pete added. 

Lewis “Pete” Peterson shuffled through some old photographs. “This is my wife’s family,” he said pointing to an elderly woman in a fancy hat and a couple standing near a fence. “This is my wife’s grandmother, Ellan; her daughter, Mary Ellan; and her daughter’s husband, Henry. After my marriage, my mother-in-law told me about her mother. 

“My wife’s grandmother, Ellan Sweeney, married Owen Eagan, a Fall River merchant, and they lived on Branch Street off of Second Street,” he said. “Her friend Bridget Sullivan was working for a rich Newport family. When Ellan heard that the Bordens were looking for a maid, she contacted Bridget who interviewed for the position. Ellan was glad that her friend got the job because they could see each other more often. Their friend Margaret Sullivan was a salesgirl at Cherry & Webb’s, and the three Irish girls from County Cork saw each other whenever they could. 

“On the morning of August 4, 1892 Ellan went downtown as usual to do her shopping, my mother-in-law told me. On her way she stopped to chat with Bridget who was washing windows on the south side of the Borden house. Ellan heard the City Hall clock striking eleven o’clock and hurried to leave. As she approached the gate, she bumped into a man leaving the Borden yard. It was a hot summer’s day yet he was wearing a heavy brown overcoat and hat and was carrying a bundle wrapped in burlap under his right arm. The man was dirty and smelled like cow dung. She wondered what this sort of man was doing in those rich people’s yard. She watched him as he crossed Third and Fourth streets and went into McMullen’s Stables. 

“The next day my wife’s grandmother read the newspaper and learned that Abby and Andrew Borden had been brutally murdered in their own home,” Pete related. “She tried to get in touch with Bridget but couldn’t. A couple of days after the murder, Ellan read in the paper that Bridget was a suspect. That’s when she went to the police station and told them what she saw. Shortly after, Bridget was released from house arrest. She spent the whole day with Ellan. 

“Ellan was visited five times by the police,” Pete said. “She gave them a perfect description of the man, and they told her she was going to be the main witness at Lizzie Borden’s trial. She wanted to testify. My mother-in-law was a tough egg, a tough old Irishwoman, but her husband was scared. He told his wife that she had to be careful. But nobody ever contacted her, and Lizzie was acquitted. Owen told his wife to let it lay.”

Pete checked the old police reports. “According to the police records they only questioned her once, not five times,” he said incredulously. “There is nothing in the police reports.” 

In 1901 Ellan Eagan and Margaret Sullivan attended a funeral service at the East Taunton Congregational Church for an apparent suicide victim who was found hanging from a tree on Meridian Street in Fall River. “Ellan identified him as the man who came out of the Borden yard the day of the murders,” Pete said. “The police asked her why she attended the funeral. She told them again that he was the man at the Bordens that morning. A city official told her never to reveal her story.” 

Bridget was now living in a Butte, Montana. “Ellan and Margaret corresponded with her for nine years,” Pete said. “Then Ellan wrote Bridget a letter and told her about the funeral. Bridget never answered her. She knew who he was. Ellan never heard from her again.” 

In 1915 Mary Ellan Eagan married Henry Hawthorne. “My father-in-law had grown up on a farm on Liberty Street in East Taunton owned by Phebe Hathaway and her son, William Borden,” Pete related. “Bill lived in the back of the barn. Henry worked on the farm and helped Bill with his chores. Bill earned a living as a killer of diseased cattle and horses. He told Henry that his father was a rich man. 

“Henry used to tell me stories about him,” Pete said. “They used to go down to the pond to get water for the house. One time Bill got into the wagon, and the horse wouldn’t move. So he got out, took the axe, and boom; he dropped the horse right there. That was his job. He was a killer of horses with hatchets. He worked for the county. He went around killing horses all the time.” 

Pete picked up an old photograph and a manuscript. “This is Bill’s picture and a written account of Bill Borden,” he said. “It has never been published. It was written by Margaret Sullivan’s son, Colonel Leon F. Sullivan in 1956. President Eisenhower had a copy of this. Leon and the President both graduated from West Point together and always remained friends.” 

Colonel Sullivan passed away in 1983. “It was then that I went over his story,” Pete explained. “It was written in braille because Leon went blind.”

Colonel Sullivan wrote: Early one dismal foggy morning in 1901, after a night of violent storm that tore through the City of Fall River, the lifeless body of a man was found hanging from the limb of a tree in a small clump of woods, in what is known as the Highlands section of the city. The thin rays of light filtering through the trees hardly lit up the winding pathway leading to the gruesome scene. The lonely figure of the man was that of William Borden, known as Bill the Horse Killer. Because of the heavy rains during the night, most traces of activity on the ground had been obliterated. There were a few faint footprints that could have been made by a man’s shoe—or a woman’s. 

Why was his lifeless body found on the day after the Fall River police announced in the paper that Bill Borden was wanted for questioning (in regard to some diseased cattle, as it turned out)? Was his death a suicide or did it only appear to be? There was surprisingly little public interest in the death of the man at the time, only a small obscure notice was found in the local paper a day or two after his body was discovered. 

Bill Borden was a lonely recluse living on an unproductive farm in East Taunton. He was a sullen morose silent man and always moved slowly and deliberately about his chores with a vague detached expression of someone struggling with a weighty problem. 

He took no notice of his neighbors with the exception of young Henry Hawthorne who helped him occasionally to load his wagon and run errands. As seven or eight year olds will, Henry observed the man keenly, and it is from his storehouse of knowledge about Bill Borden that we get the description of this strange brooding person, the man who bore so great a resemblance to the one seen hurrying away from the scene of the crime on that August morning in 1892 and the desolate figure hanging from the tree nine years later. 

Bill Borden thought nothing of killing—it was how he made his living. Henry saw many examples of his temper; for instance one day when the boy’s little dog had been barking too close to where Bill was doing some work, he picked the poor animal off the floor and with one blow ended its life. 

Whenever an animal was detected to have contracted Foot and Mouth Disease, the Police Department of Fall River or the Board of Health would call upon Bill to do away with the animal. This Bill would do, collect his fee and sell the hide for whatever he could get for it. He also hauled produce from farms and vegetable gardens along the Taunton River. 

He travelled often in the vicinity of Swansea where, it is said, a great parcel of land along the river was owned by Andrew Borden. Much of this land was made up of farms and orchards Mr. Borden had acquired, no doubt, through mortgage foreclosure. It is thought that Bill did odd jobs for Andrew Borden. 

Young Henry often rode with Bill Borden in his rickety open wagon. What boy, in those days, wouldn’t welcome a trip to Fall River on occasion? Henry knew that a short-handled axe was kept under the uncushioned seat of the wagon. Didn’t the man make his living slaughtering cattle?

Pete Peterson took from an envelope a copy of Bill Borden’s Death Certificate. “Bill was born in East Taunton,” he explained. “Henry’s mother, Bridget Hawthorne, was a friend of Phebe Hathaway, Bill’s mother, and knew her boyfriend. Bridget also knew the midwife who delivered the child. Yet there is no record in East Taunton of Bill Borden’s birth. The Death Certificate lists his birthplace as Fall River and Charles L. Borden as his father. We had it investigated. Who’s Charles Borden? I believe they made him up.”

Pete’s investigation also uncovered that the same funeral home in Fall River buried all the Bordens—Andrew, Abby, Lizzie, and Emma—including Phebe Hathaway and Bill Borden. “Why did they bury Bill Borden?” Pete asked. “The files at the funeral home have disappeared. The first time I requested the records they told me I would need a court order. When I went back a second time, they told me they were burned in a fire.” 

According to an article published in the Daily Globe on April 17, 1901, the New Boston woods was the scene of a ghastly crime; a man was found suspended from a limb of a tree. “When they found the body, they identified the man as George Borden, an apparent murder victim,” Pete explained. “Then they discovered his real name and who he was. They changed the cause of death to suicide by both hanging and poisoning. When Bill was found, all his clothes were perfectly dry even though it had rained all night.” 

John Morse, Lizzie’s uncle, was a guest at the Borden house when the double homicide occurred. Abby, Lizzie’s stepmother, received the fatal blows while she was making the bed in the upstairs guest room, the bed John Morse slept in. “John Morse stayed in Fall River for nine years after the murders,” Pete explained. “Morse was seen on Meridian Street the night before Bill’s alleged suicide. What was he doing on Meridian Street that night? What the hell was he doing there? The police didn’t even question him. Why did John Morse stay in Fall River from August 3, 1892 until April 17, 1901? The day Bill’s body was found Morse disappeared.” 

Pete claimed that the Lizzie Borden case was a complete coverup. “I had this case thoroughly investigated by top officials,” Pete said. “I’ve collected boxes of evidence since I’ve been into this. This case has been driving me nuts for years. There are so many unanswered questions:

“Where are the reports of Ellan Eagan’s questioning by police?” Pete asked. “Why wasn’t Ellan Eagan allowed to testify as a witness at Lizzie’s trial? Where is Andrew Borden’s will? What ever happened to the murder weapon? Where are the files on the burial of Phebe Hathaway and William Borden? Why did the police first rule Bill Borden’s death a murder then change it to suicide after they found out who he really was? What ever happened to Bill’s personal belongings, especially his hatchet under the front seat of his wagon? What was John Morse doing at the site of William Borden’s suicide or murder? Why did John Morse leave Fall River the day after Bill’s death for parts unknown? Why did Ellan Eagan attend the William Borden funeral service? Why did Ellan’s close friend, the Borden maid, leave Fall River and head to Montana? Did she fear for her life?” 

Pete gathered up the photographs, newspaper clippings, and manuscripts strewn all over the desk. “The Colonel wanted to write this story, but my father-in-law would never allow him to use his name. I kept investigating the case and would show Henry what I’d find out. But he’d tell me not to let it get anywhere and that I wanted him in jail. He said we were dealing with big people, important people. Henry Hawthorne was scared to death. But I told him that someday I was going to tell the bloody story. I needed to get out the truth. 

“ Now they’ll let me tell the truth,” he said wistfully. “They’re all gone now.” 

Lizzie Borden series at a glance

Andrew Jackson Borden born—1822
Marriage to Sarah Morse—1845
Daughter Emma Borden born—1851
William Borden born—1854
Daughter Alice Borden born—1856 (died–1858)
Daughter Lizzie Borden born—1860
Sarah Borden died—1863
Marriage to Abigail Durfee Gray—1865
Arrival of Uncle John Morse—August 3, 1892
Andrew and Abby Borden murdered—Morning of August 4, 1892
Ellan Eagan bumped into William Borden leaving Borden yard—Morning of August 4, 1892
William Borden died (by hanging and poisoning)—April 17, 1901
John Morse left Fall River for parts unknown—April 17, 1901
Ellan Eagan attended funeral and identified Bill Borden—April 1901
Louis and Annie Peterson become acquainted with Lizzie Borden—early 1920’s
Lizzie Borden died—1927
Lewis “Pete” Peterson marriage to Dorothy Hawthorne—1938
Pete Peterson served as sergeant in Freetown Police Department and Assistant Director of Barnstable County Criminal Bureau—1950 to 1982

The Spectator

7 January 1998

Article spurred more discussion over Lizzie Borden case (con’t)

Ever since the publication of the series, I have spoken with many readers about the case. There was the call from the teenage girl who was a distant relative of Lizzie’s and was delighted to read that her “great aunt” was innocent of the crime. A Fall River writer [Leonard Rebello] who has spent the past ten years working on a book about the case called on the anniversary of the murders. He related that he had just returned from a trip to Montana, where he researched the life of Bridget Sullivan. (She was the Borden’s maid and had resettled in Montana after the trial.) One gentleman who had taken a tour of the newspaper with his Cub Scout troop expressed his interest in the case and urged me to contact The Associated Press. Along with the recommendation of our General Manager Ray Hopkins, I followed his advice and was delighted when AP chose to publish the story.

Although I found it fascinating to converse with our readers, I referred most of their questions to “Pete” Peterson, whom I consider an expert on the case. The following letters are a sampling of some of the comments and inquiries we received about the series:

Dear Ms. Rodrigues:

Thank you for your letter and for sending me copies of the articles published in the Hathaway Publishing newspapers about the Lizzie Borden trial. It is a case that has fascinated the public for many years and, I suspect, always will. I will enjoy reading your articles and your reasons for attesting to Lizzie’s innocence.

Sincerely,

Sandra Day O’Connor
Associate Justice
Supreme Court of the United States

Dear Ms. Rodrigues:

On behalf of The International Lizzie Borden Association let me first compliment you on your recent three article series by Lewis “Pete” Peterson. His interpretation of The Lizzie Borden Mystery was certainly interesting.

As you are aware, the lore of Lizzie Borden continues to fascinate people even though the unsolved murders occurred over 105 years ago.

On August 4, 1996, the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum opened at 92 Second Street in Fall River, MA. I would like to extend an invitation to you to visit the museum for any follow-up articles you may have in mind.

Again, thank you for keeping the legend of Lizzie existent. I can be contacted at 508 676-0043 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

George E. Quigley
The International Lizzie Borden Association

Dear Ms. Rodrigues:

Before you write any more articles as a follow-up to your Family Secrets series presented in the something-or-other The Chronicle of late January and early February of this year, may I suggest you read Lizzie Borden—The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter. (Rutledge Hill Press—available at the Fall River Public Library.)

My initial association with Mr. Lewis Peterson deteriorated into nothingness when he refused to accept provable facts that are negative to his, “…my uncle’s brother’s barber heard from Lizzie’s maid’s sister’s cousin that Emma said to the iceman’s bookkeeper that…” Hearsay.

Hearsay is darn good conversation but it is hardly evidence. “Pete” will not be convinced of this and continues to spread unmitigated ox droppings among any who will listen. This undermines the truth.

When my book first appeared, “experts” (in their own minds) declared it fantasy and scoffed. As of this date, however, other than for several meaningless, chicken-doodoo, White House-type honest mistakes, NO ONE has been able to successfully challenge its fundamental facts and the logical conclusions these facts reinforce. On the other hand, should it be necessary, I can point out several major scandalously erroneous statements in your article.

You cast stains on a factual, unblemished escutcheon.

Sincerely,

Arnold R. Brown
Seminole, FL

Dear Ms. Rodrigues:

I am writing you in regard to your article concerning Lizzie Borden.

My 2nd great-grandfather was Joseph C. Borden (1812-1895). He and his wife Amy Hathaway Borden (1814-1893) had 8 children, one of whom was Charles.

Amy was the youngest of 10 children. Is it possible that Phoebe and Amy are closely related? Could there be a connection there? Could Amy and Joseph C’s son be the father of William? I believe Charles died ca: 1898 or 1899.

Since I am still employed, I haven’t had time to do much digging. I thought perhaps the Hathaway family book by H. B. Weld might answer the question of Phoebe and Amy.

Another of Joseph C’s sons was my great-grandfather Joseph F. Borden, a/k/a Francis Borden. He left his wife and 6 daughters ca: 1885 although he was still in Fall River until 1890 according to the city directory.

As far as Andrew Borden’s will is concerned, I thought I saw it in Taunton many years ago when I got a copy of Joseph C’s will. I may be wrong.

I am sending copies of a few bits and pieces of my family tree and Joseph C’s will. Perhaps it might help.

Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

Jeane Allen Dover, DE

Hi,

My name is Brenda Souza. I have several questions and I am hoping you can clear them up!

1. Are you saying that William Borden was actually Andrew Borden’s son?

2. Also, are you saying that William Borden was the killer, and if so, what did he have to gain?

3. How about John Morse, was he the real killer, or did he hire William to kill his own father?

4. Why is there so many holes in this story? And did you get any money for this so-called “real” story?

Brenda Souza
Acushnet, MA

Dear Linda,

I would like to know if parts one (1) and two (2) of Family Secrets are still available.

I live in Florida now and I don’t have access to a lot of material on “Lizzie.”

I lived in Fall River most of my life and would like to keep up on new findings.

Please help.

Sincerely.

Barbara Fontaine
Ocala, FL

Dear Ms. Rodrigues:

I enjoyed your recent series of three articles on the Borden case in the Somerset Spectator. As you probably know, Mr. Peterson’s story was told several years ago to Arnold Brown. It served as the foundation for Brown’s book: Lizzie Borden, the Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter. However, you have uncovered some aspects of the story (particularly the involvement of John Morse) that I had never come across before. 

Currently I am writing a book on the Borden case. It would be enormously helpful if I could talk with Mr. Peterson about his recollections. Would that be possible? If so, could you advise me as to how to go about arranging an interview?

Yours truly,

William L. Masterton
Storrs, CT

Leonard Rebello, author:

I met and spent the day with Pete Peterson at the Lizzie Borden Conference in 1992. He was at my home on another visit. I also spoke to him by telephone several times. I found Pete to be quite informed on the Borden case, especially his Ellen Eagan and Henry Hawthorne connection. We talked about Brown’s book, Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter (1991) and how he met Arnold Brown in Florida. Both of us discussed the Borden case. Pete wanted to tell the Borden story, but felt he was not a writer nor had the training and handed his notes to Brown who had the storytelling ability. It was Brown who would write the Borden story based on Pete’s information (letters and notes). I spoke to Pete many times by telephone, especially when I started the Brown research for my book, Lizzie Borden: Past and Present. Pete told me he was not in agreement with the story Brown told in his book and was unable to address the research I had done on Ellen Eagan, Hawthorne and other facts I had uncovered. Pete did not seem to be well versed in historical research and documentation, but he was quite sure and very much convinced of his own story, a story that he believed in. I got the impression from Pete that he was convinced that Brown did not tell the story as Pete wanted it to be told. However, he never told me what he felt Brown did not tell or write that differed with what Pete told him. I like Pete because he was sincere and convinced he had a story to tell. 

—Leonard Rebello is a lifelong resident of Fall River who enjoys delving into its rich and diverse history. He earned his B.A. degree from Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, and a M.Ed. in learning disabilities from Lesley College in Cambridge. He has been an educator for the past thirty years.

Bill Pavao, educator:

I remember Lewis “Pete” Peterson visiting the Borden House while I was still living there. He was very nice and I enjoyed my brief conversation with him. I remember talking with him in the sitting room. Pete told me that his mother knew Lizzie very well. He spoke very highly of Lizzie. Pete mentioned that he owned a trunk that was originally in Andrew and Abby Borden’s bedroom. 

Pete did tell me that he was disappointed with Arnold Brown’s book. He felt that Arnold Brown had not written the story the way he (Pete) had told it to him. Pete did give me a short spiral bound article that he had written which explained his theory regarding the Borden murders, The Peterson Key, The Lizzie Borden Trial: The Legend, The Truth, The Final Chapter.

Interestingly, Arnold Brown died on the day that I was filming the hanging death of “his” perpetrator. How coincidental. I do feel bad that he never saw the finished product with me playing Billy Borden, in the video Case Reopened for The Learning Channel, 1999.

—Bill Pavao is a teacher and historian in Massachusetts. He had been resident curator, archivist and caretaker of the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum, from 1998, under the previous owners. He and Leonard Rebello wrote the tour for the House. 

Linda Andrade Rodrigues, reporter, editor:

Lewis “Pete” Peterson was as dear to me as a favorite uncle. While the Lizzie Borden series brought us together and stands as a testament to our collaboration, it was but a small part of our association.

A week did not pass without a phone call from Pete, in which he would chronicle the week’s detective work. Pete was obsessed with the case, and he had found a kindred spirit who never tired of his sleuthing. 

Pete opened his life up to me, sharing oral history, personal writings and photographs, and our relationship has never ended. Even now, long after his passing, I am honored to share his story with The Hatchet in an effort to keep his legacy alive.

—Linda Rodrigues wrote the articles that appeared in three installments in The Spectator, “Lizzie Borden series begins this week: Family Secrets,” 22 January, 1997; “Lizzie Borden series Part II: More Family Secrets,” 29 January, 1997; “Final Part: Borden family secrets finally told,” 5 February 1997. She was then Special Sections Editor for Hathaway Publishing Newspapers, who have given their kind consent to The Hatchet to reprint. Please see her biographical information at the “Contributors” page.

Note: Arnold Brown died in the Spring of 1999, before the release of the video, Case Reopened.

Lewis “Pete” Peterson died the same year, only two months after Mr. Brown.

All textual material reproduced here, except for the “Introduction,” “Personal Reminisces,” and “Notes,” were reprinted through the courtesy of Hathaway Publishing, Somerset, MA.