Annie White

[Nadzieja]

I've been short on reading time lately, and finally dive back into the preliminary hearing. A question I had was actually in the Foreward part. It says the court stenographer, Miss Annie White made only two copies of her report of the hearing...etc.... Later it says the Jennings copy is missing the testimony of Thomas Keiran and Annie White. Is this the same person, and if so why would the court stenographer have to testify? Also the name Thomas Keiran is not familiar either. What was his connection to this trial?

[Kat]

She was the stenographer of the inquest.
Kieran was an engineer who was hired to record all the distances, outside and some inside.

I think Annie White was called to read back testimony into the record of the prelim.

[nbcatlover]

A friend of both the Misses Borden, Alice Russell was among
the first summoned to 92 Second Street following the murders
of Andrew and Abby Borden, remaining there until the following
Monday as company to the sisters. She testified at the inquest
and preliminary hearing, but it was not until the grand
jury hearing that she revealed her “burning of the dress” testimony.
She was also a witness at the trial of Miss Lizzie A.
Borden in June of 1893. While on the stand describing the events
which occurred in the kitchen of the Borden house on Sunday,
August 7, 1892, Miss Russell was instructed to make a series
of marks on the floorplans of the house drawn by architect
Thomas Kieran. An unusual legacy, the cross where she was
standing, the outline of the stove in the Borden kitchen and the
round mark illustrating where the burned dress was stored in
the clothes press can still be seen on these trial exhibits in the
Historical Society’s archive.

From The Fall River Historical Society Report, Summer 2002--see article on page 3.
http://www.lizzieborden.org/pdf/Summer2002vol14num2.pdf

[mspitstop]

actually, keirnan was inadvertently the first really important witness for the defense, though testifying for the prosecution.
he gives several mundane measurements and then is asked if he conducted any experiments regarding the stairs. surprisingly he did and the results were, with a six foot assistant laying in abby's position in the guest room, keirnan could not casually see the body when coming up the stairs. only at one point on a particular step and by looking for a body did he see his asst. lying there.
needless to say it was a blow to knowlton's statement that abby lay in plain view.

[Kat]

Here is Kieran's bio from The Knowlton Papers Glossary:

KIERAN, THOMAS: son of Owen and Ann Kieran. A civil engineer, he resided in Fall River, Massachusetts, from 1884 to 1899, at which time he relocated to New York City. He was called upon by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to make surveys and plans showing relative distances between the house of Andrew J. Borden and various points in the downtown area of Fall River. His blueprints of the Borden house were also entered as exhibits at the trial. In his testimony, he elaborated on details of these plans. He was known to have been residing in New York City in 1917.

--Not an architect.
--Cynthia, I was just reading all the Borden excerpts from the FRHS Quarterlys' today as well! Twighlight Zone music here!

[Kat]

Are you referring to opening statements, mspitstop?

needless to say it was a blow to knowlton's statement that abby lay in plain view.

--mspitstop, partial

[snokkums]

I am wondering the same thing; why would the court stenogorpher need to testify?