The Lizzie Name Game

[nbcatlover]

Hi All!

I'm a newbie who started reading about Lizzie after the 100th anniversary conference was held in Fall River, and I'm now permanently hooked on her life and times.

I've always noted that Lizzie testified that she was CHRISTENED as Lizzie Andrew Borden. Has anyone involved here ever done any research of when Lizzie's christening occured? Also, were birth certificates legally required to be filed in Fall River in 1860 when Lizzie was born? My own father had different information as to when he was born in the legal record versus the church record. And some religions still don't christen babies until they are at least 1 year old due to infant mortality.

I've personally speculated that Lizzie always went by her christened name because it was all she knew. Is it possible that with her trial and involvement with attorneys that a birth certificate with the city was located listing the baby's name as originally Elizabeth?

Also, can someone with access to the Borden genealogy advise me if Harrison T. Borden of New Bedford (born Jan. 31, 1867 to Charles M. and Catherine Ann (Bliss) Borden) is related to Lizzie? In 1890 he married a Lizzie A. Tripp (born Oct. 1, 1862 to of Francis H. and Isabelle Tripp). Harrison was a real estate speculator and the New Bedford Registry of Deeds is filled with signatures of his wife, Lizzie A. Borden, thru the 1890s who is not THE Lizzie. This interests me because THE Lizzie's friend was Augusta Tripp whose mother and sister, Carrie Poole, lived in New Bedford.

Also, Harrison's wife's A. stands for Almy--the last name of Andrew Borden's early business partner.

Any assistance in deciphering my muddled thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Kat]

HI!
Sorry no one has answered. It's a lot of info.
There was some posted in the Privy recently, but as a new member I guess it takes you time to get in there.
Here is what I had posted on "Lizzie Borden" in the 1900 Federal census:

"Here are the 1900 Federal census recorded names of 'Lizzie Borden.'

Database: 1900 United States Federal Census

There are 22 matches

Lizzie Borden Fall River Ward 2, Bristol, Massachusetts abt 1876 Massachusetts White Boarder

Lizzie A Borden New Bedford Ward 3, Bristol, Massachusetts abt 1861 Massachusetts White Wife

Lizzie A Borden New Bedford Ward 6, Bristol, Massachusetts abt 1864 Massachusetts White Wife

........

Lizzie Borden inspector at a hat factory, in Fall River, b. July,1875. She boarded at #21 Butler St.

Lizzie A. Borden, wife of John Borden, born July, 1860, he was a building mover, New Bedford!

Lizzie A. Borden wife of "Harrington" Borden, owner of a wood yard, New Bedford. She was born Oct. 1863."

[Kat]

Here is Tripp 1870 census.
I looked in the bios but couldn't find Charles M. Borden, Harrison Borden (or Harrington), or Francis Tripp.
Notice a Borden living in the 2-family home.

If the picture is too big, please click on lower boxed view. It will open on a new page.

[Kat]

This is the 1900 census image.
Includes Francis Tripp and Borden on 2 different streets, New Bedford.
This is where it's hard to read Harrison's name (or Harrington).

If this pic is too big, please click on boxed view for a new page.

So far my genealogy from the FRHS has not this Borden connection. I checked Hattie Weld but I only have her to the 6th generation so far.

[Kat]

In answer to your other question as to Lizzie's true name, the Bristol Superior Court indictments (3) against Lizzie, second day of December, 1892, for murder use her name:
LIZZIE ANDREW BORDEN. (All caps and italics are copied from The Knowlton Papers, pages 111, 113, 115).

Since we know that the Manchester murderer - Jose Correiro De Mello- was indicted under the wrong name, and they fixed the indictment to reflect the proper name, that might be more proof that Lizzie was truly Lizzie and not Elizabeth.

See topic:
viewtopic.php?p=15475&highlight=#15475

Hope all this helps!

[Susan]

Hi, Nbcatlover, welcome to the Forum! Hmmm, as far as I know, from my experience in the Catholic church, christening is naming the baby at baptism. Which is to say that the baby's full name which is on the birth certificate is given to the church then. Though whether Lizzie officially has a birth certificate or not, I don't know? I did find this though it doesn't specifically state anything about Massachusetts:

New England States: These states have kept good vital records. The town clerks kept register books as early as the 1600s. Most of these states have statewide indexes of the existing records. Most New England states began statewide registration of births, marriages, and deaths between 1841 and 1897.

From this site: http://clanboyd.info/research/vitalrec/


From Lizzie's Inquest:

Q. (Mr. Knowlton) Give me your full name.
A. Lizzie Andrew Borden.

Q. Is it Lizzie or Elizaberh?
A. Lizzie.

Q. You were so christened?
A. I was so christened.

I have read that in some churches that a biblical name was given to the baby at christening, but, it was added to the baby's full name and came before their real first name. That would make Lizzie's real first name Andrew then. I think if Lizzie's parents were going to choose a biblical name for her christening, it would have been Elizabeth and not Lizzie.

Elizabeth(ee-LIZ-a-beth) (Hebrew) "God's promise." Biblical: the mother of John the Baptist. Since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth has been one of the most frequently used names, with variants and short forms being created today. [Bet, Beth, Betty, Elisa, Elisabet, Elisabeth, Elisabetta, Elissa, Eliza, Elizabel, Elizabet, Elsa, Elspeth, Elyza, Ilse, Isabel, Libby, Liesl, Lilibeth, Lisa, Liza, Lizbeth, Lizette]

Though then we come to the issue of Emma's name. Emma, as far as I can find, is not a biblical name nor was the name of the Borden's second child who died, Alice. Don't know if this helps you at all?

[Kat]

There's an Andrew Borden (171), son of Capt. Thomas Borden(129) who married Eliza Dean. Their son Andrew (180) married Ellen A. Bliss, Nov. 25, 1867.

It's not your Bliss, but it's a *Bliss.*

[Edisto]

If Lizzie had a birth certificate (in the name of Lizzie Andrew or another name) I daresay someone would have dug it out by now. My mother was born in rural North Carolina in 1911, and she had no birth certificate. N. C. obviously wasn't as cutting edge as New England. When Mother needed to get a passport, she had to find someone older than herself who could vouch for her having been born. Back in the days when babies were mostly born at home, I think people were pretty careless about filing the needed information to record the birth. When hospitals got into the picture, things improved.

I've never been certain what faith the Bordens followed at the time Lizzie was born. I believe Andrew had roots in the Quaker faith, and we know the family later attended the Congregational Church. Sarah and Andrew were married by a Congregational minister, so they may have been attending that church at the time of Lizzie's birth. There are some churches (e. g., Baptist) which don't baptize (christen) infants. Baptism doesn't take place until the child reaches an age where he/she can choose to be baptized. The child has of course long since been given an official name. Of course, Lizzie's response to the question, "You were so christened?" indicates that she was indeed christened and that her official name was Lizzie, rather than Elizabeth. Maybe I shouldn't assume, but I've always thought that Lizzie, at the age of 32, probably knew her own name!

[Nancie]

As a former New England Town Clerk (Vermont) I
used to love researching these old records with the
beautiful scripted handwriting. Unfortunately, if digging deep I found a lot of lies (fibs?) about ages
and exact spellings of names, etc. In working with one woman, I found that her mother had given her
age AND her name different on 5 different birth certificates of her children. In the 1800's these records were kept by the Town Clerk who relied on
only the info given them by the Mother usually. To ask Lizzie under stress in a courtroom "is that your name as so Christened" and she replies Yes, I sure
wouldn't take stock in that answer to mean anything
more than that's the only name she knew of herself.

[nbcatlover]

Thanks for all the info!

I have to check out Ellen Bliss to see if she is related to Catherine. Bliss Corner in South Dartmouth is a little over a mile from my house.

Harrison Borden is definitely Harrison, not Harrington. He was profiled in a 1918 History of New Bedford, Vol. II, edited by Zephaniah W. Pease (on reference in the Main Branch of the New Bedford Public Library). There are a Harrison Street and Borden Street in New Bedford attributed to him.

His Lizzie A. Borden had to sign off on many land transactions in the years after the trial. Her signature probably raised many eyebrows!

I was told by Registry of Deeds personnel that at that time she was required to sign to acknowledge the loss of spousal rights to the land her husband was selling, even if her name wasn't on the deed. I don't know how true that is, but it could put a different slant on the need for Abby to sign a deed. She might not have been getting the property transferred to her....she might have just been required to acknowledge loss of her spousal rights. Is there a lawyer in the house.

Regarding christening...the Catholic Church encourages early infant baptism to save the infant's soul should the baby die. Howver many Portuguese immigrants today wait one year to baptize the baby. This is also common with the Greek Orthodox. Many Protestant religions, especially those requiring submersion baptism do not christen until puberty or adulthood. It is possible that she was intended to be named Elizabeth at birth but was referred to as Lizzie for so long, that her christened name was her nickname. It is possible she did not learn about this until she went to trial.

I have been told that I don't live far from the Davis home where John v. Morse boarded in South Dartmouth. Does anyone know the approximate location? Was it in the Potter's Hill area?

Again, thanks for all the info!

[Kat]

I'm not real good with the census handwriting. That's when I send it off to my *official* Federal Census Handwriting Experts, one being Harry!
I didn't ask him about this name.

Thanks for the correct name: "Harrison."
Let us know what else you find out.

[Edisto]

The actual inquest exchange regarding Lizzie's name:

"Q. (Mr. Knowlton) Give me your full name.
A. Lizzie Andrew Borden
Q. Is it Lizzie or Elizabeth?
A. Lizzie.
Q. You were so christened?
A. I was so christened."

(I know another person has already posted this, but I'm including it for emphasis.)

So Lizzie did not, as another poster claims, simply say "yes" casually. In other places in her testimony, Lizzie states that she is considering her answer, causing her to pause. That sounds as if she took the testimony seriously. Most certainly she may have deliberately lied or become confused about the events of August 4, but about her own name? She would profit nothing by lying about that, as far as I can see. Indeed, she would probably have been quickly caught out, because records would prove otherwise. That would have cast a shadow over her entire testimony. Remember that Knowlton very much wanted to show her up as a liar. I can imagine him saying, "Miss Borden, I have here a certified copy of your birth certificate, and it shows your name as Elizabeth. How do you explain that discrepancy?"

Even though Lizzie wouldn't have remembered her own christening, it's likely that her sister Emma had been present and would have recalled it. IMHO, Lizzie would have had nothing to gain and much to lose by lying or being "casual" about her own name!

[Harry]

... I have been told that I don't live far from the Davis home where John v. Morse boarded in South Dartmouth. Does anyone know the approximate location? Was it in the Potter's Hill area?

About a year ago a poster to the forum by the name of "Jeffery" did a lot of research into the Davis' family in support of a theory he was writing which involved Morse, William Davis and George Howe in the murders.

Here are several entries from his writings:

"THE EVIDENCE IMPLICATING WILLIAM A. DAVIS

William Arthur Davis a.k.a. "Willie" was born in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts on Tuesday, August 6, 1851, at the home of his grandfather Joseph Davis. He was the third of four children born to Isaac Case Davis and Julia A. Baker of South Dartmouth. ...

On March 23, 1853, when William was still an infant, his father Isaac and Isaac's older brother Charles bought a farm house located at the corner of Bedford St. and Rockland St. from Mrs. Sally Baker (widow of Ensign), for $700 dollars. This was the house that the Davis family was occupying at the time of the Borden murders.

* Source: New Bedford registry of deeds; book 24, page 234. ..."

Previous to that entry there was this:

"... In the summer of 2001, I met Ramon Davis, who is the grandson of
William A. Davis. I noticed right away several similarities between William and his grandson. ...
During our conversation, I made known to him my suspicion that his grandfather had killed Andrew Borden and his careless response was, "Maybe!, Could be!" His response shocked me, because most people would defend their family name.
He claimed to know nothing about his grandfather, except, that he had owned some cattle on Rock-o-Dundee Road in South Dartmouth."

Hope that helps.

[nbcatlover]

Harry, thank you. You are a wealth of information. I'm going to check out the location--Rockland & Bedford Sts. tomorrow!