Was Abraham Borden a "fish monger"?

[camgarsky4]

How did Abraham Borden, Andrew’s father, ‘earn a living’?

Newspaper reporter and author, Edwin Porter informs the readers of his 1893 book, Fall River Tragedy, that “Upon the death of his father, Abraham Borden, he came into possession of a small estate, but his fortune was of his own creation. Abraham Borden sold fish in the streets of Fall River when the place was but a village and thus by patient and plodding economy, accumulated enough money to purchase a house on Ferry Street and some other real estate.”

Edward D. Radin, in his book, ‘Lizzie Borden – The Untold Story’, describes Abraham Borden as….” a fish peddler, who managed after many years of hard work, to save enough money to buy the small, inexpensive frame house on Ferry Street. ”

Fellow Borden author Victoria Lincoln, followed Radin’s lead, stating in her book, ‘A Private Disgrace’, that “…Lizzie’s grandfather sold fish in the village center…” .

Staying with this theme, ‘Goodbye Lizzie Borden’ by Robert Sullivan (1974) and ‘Forty Whacks’ by David Kent (1992), label Abraham as a fishmonger and fish peddler.

Porter does not tell us how he came to understand that Abraham “sold fish in the streets of Fall River” , but as the first publication to make this claim, his book was most likely the source for the subsequent books.

Can Abraham’s primary mean of income be more definitely identified?

We know from the probate records for his parents, Richard and Martha (aka Patty) Borden, Abraham grew up on a farm located in Fall River. Abraham, as the eldest son, would have held significant responsibilities assisting his father operating the family farm until his father’s death in 1824.

In the early 1800’s, real estate transactions noted the name of the buyer and, frequently, the buyer’s occupation. On all occasions when Abraham was the real estate purchaser, his occupation was identified as "yeoman”.

Case in point, on December 4, 1828, when Abraham owner financed a sale of a lot of land to Cyrus Alden. The deed formally recorded, “…Abraham Borden of same Troy, yeoman….” . From 1803 to 1834, Fall River was officially named Troy.

A second transaction with Abraham as the buyer occurred on April 24, 1844. Abraham, his son Andrew, and Andrew’s business partner, William M. Almy jointly purchased property on Annawan Street. The deed lists the buyers’ names and occupations as “…Abraham Borden 2d, yeoman, Andrew J. Borden, housewright, and William M. Almy, cabinet maker…”

In the early 1800s, the term "yeoman" referred to an individual who owned a small farm and primarily worked it with family members. The produce and livestock raised were mainly for personal use, with any surplus sold to others.

Another possible source for clues was the annual Fall River City Directory. The directory was first distributed in 1853 and provided information about the city’s residents, including name, home address and occupation. This avenue of pursuit proved to be a dead-end. Abraham’s occupation was not noted with his listing in any edition published during his lifetime.

The next source documents to study are the Federal and Massachusetts State censuses. Starting with the 1840 U.S. Census, both federal and state censuses began recording occupational data. Between 1840 and Abraham’s death in 1892, there were seven censuses conducted, three for Massachusetts and five for the Federal government. The 1845 Massachusetts Census reports are considered lost. Abraham’s occupation was listed as farmer (1855, 1880), gardener (1860, 1865, 1870) and laborer (1850). In the 1840 U.S. Census, Abraham identified himself as being employed in the sector of “Agriculture”.

Gardening and farming are broad terms, which raises the question of Abraham’s specific area of expertise within these trades. Reports from local newspapers during Abraham’s life provide interesting insights.

Over the years, Fall River newspapers randomly published news reports telling of Abraham’s pear growing prowess. In 1854, it was reported that Mr. Abraham Borden raised very large pears at his Ferry Street home, “…the largest of which measures 11 ½ by 18 inches.”

He entered competitions and fairs to put his harvest up against the produce of other folks from all over Bristol County. At the 1860 ‘Fair of the Bristol County Central Agricultural Society’, his display of fruit was described as showing nine varieties of pears…. ” fine specimens”.

At 82 years of age, Abraham was still going strong. The local newspaper reported, “Mr. Abraham Borden…. brought into our office this morning a basket of large and handsome Bartlett pears, some of which measured 9 ¼ inches in circumference by 11 ¼ inches in length. Mr. Borden has raised about twenty bushels of pears of different varieties the present season. We are sorry to learn, however, that he shares the common lot of fruit growers in our city, in best pestered with thieves, and that last night his garden was entered and three of his trees nearly stripped by these marauders.”

Borden aficionados are quite familiar with the cult-like aura that ‘pears’ hold in the legend and lore of the Borden murder case. What we now know is that the love of pears was a family tradition…. trickling down from Patty to Abraham and on to Andrew and Lizzie.

A study of local newspapers and primary sources, including census, city directories, deeds and probate documents, do not give any indications that catching or selling fish played a role in how Abraham supported his family. That leaves the likelihood that the source was just rumor and hearsay.

Setting aside income from the sale of real estate, the records tell us that Abraham Borden supported his family as a 'gentleman farmer'.

[camgarsky4]

CORRECTION: Abraham Borden died in 1882.

[Lorcan]

That is excellent research. I think the fishmonger story is almost certainly false for three reasons:

1. When you look at who makes money in the fishing business in 1892, it would be the owner of the vessel, then the wholesaler, then the fish market - the lowest earner would be someone with a street cart filled with constantly melting ice.

2. The actual records point to farming.

3. Award winning pears means a love for cultivation, care, and knowledge. My take is he actually loved his work growing them and that he was experienced enough to do it well.

I know it's a different orchard and perhaps variety of pear, but just for a laugh, take a moment and imagine Lizzie eating four of those giant pears!