Lizzie Borden Society Forum

What kind of background did Abby come from? Was her family on equal footing as the Bordens, or, as Lizzie got older and more intense about her place in Fall River Society did she come to view Abby as the equivalent of white trailer trash, someone she may have been ashamed of?

Here is Sarah Whitehead at the inquest
Page 156:
Q. Were you well acquainted with the daughters, Emma and Lizzie?
A. Well, yes I was well acquainted with them.
Q. Were you on congenial terms with them?
A. Well, I dont know as I was. I never thought they liked me.
Q. Not on particularly friendly terms then?
A. No. I always thought they felt above me.
Q. Did you know anything about the relations between Miss Lizzie and your half sister, Mrs. Borden?
A. I dont, for I never went there, very seldom, on account of those girls.

Angel @ Thu Apr 05, 2007 1:21 pm wrote:What kind of background did Abby come from? Was her family on equal footing as the Bordens, or, as Lizzie got older and more intense about her place in Fall River Society did she come to view Abby as the equivalent of white trailer trash, someone she may have been ashamed of?

A lot of people mistakenly believe in some sort of hereditary aristocracy. The greatest increase in the English nobility was during King Charles I time when hundreds bought their titles. It is MONEY that makes an aristocracry, not heredity. (There was an article in 'History Today'.)

For various reasons, a closed aristocracy is a decadent aristocracy. Ever read "European Babylon"?

We've not yet found a Durfee in Abbie's family.
If anyone finds one, let us know!

Who was it said Sarah Whitehead had a husband who possibly wasn't doing as well as he could?