Lizzie Borden Society Forum

I wonder if it was really Abby who told Bridget to wash the windows that August 4th morning, or if Lizzie told her to - maybe Lizzie told her Abby told Lizzie to tell Bridget. It's so very strange that Bridget was sent out of the house on that particular morning.

(Washing windows was not uncommon at all, tho some say it was. Mary Doolan was outside washing the Kelley's windows that morning, too, wasn't she? I think it comes out in the testimony that Bridget says the windows are washed every two weeks.)

Based on the testimonies, I believe that Abby did give the orders for the window washing that morning. What's interesting, though, is Bridget's testimony when she says:

As I was outside, Lizzie Borden appeared in the back entry and says, "Maggie, are you going to wash the windows?" I says, "Yes." I says, "You needn't lock the door; I will be out around here; but you can lock it if you want to; I can get the water in the barn."

Lizzie doesn't respond to this that Bridget recalls. But I'd bet that Lizzie DID lock that screen door, secure in the knowledge that she was alone in the house with Abby. Bridget doesn't say whether or not she ever tried to enter the house to find the screen door locked (I wonder if she did...)
But we know based on her testimony that she proceeds to get all the water she needs from the barn.

Cheryl - Yes, Bridget does testify to that. I thought of that after I posted.

Well, at one point Bridget came back into the house to get a "dipper" to throw water at the probably-clung-on soapy windows (her version of "rinsing"). This is in the archives somewhere. What door did she use? Could it have been at a time after Abby was killed and Lizzie unlocked the side door? I'd think Bridget would go to the kitchen for a dipper ...

Ah, the dipper...you're right, I hadn't considered that.

I just got done watching The Legend this morning for the very first time and thought it was exceptionally good. They show Lizzie in the film locking the back door to do the deed. Interesting....

What's always intrigued me was Abby's time frame in the guest room. Didn't Lizzie say in her testimony that the guestroom had been all made up, and Abby was only going up there to put cases on the pillows at the foot of the bed? Something that Lizzie said would take only 2-3 minutes? If that's all Abby had left to do in the guestroom, it would seem to me that by the time Lizzie had the talk with Bridget at the side door, procured a suitable weapon, and ascended the front stairs, Abby would be finished and downstairs by then. A whole lot of timing went right for Lizzie that fateful day.

Bridget probably thought nothing of it when the screen door was open when she went to get the dipper---she had told Lizzie she could lock it or not. Lizzie chose not.

I used to be suspicious about the window washing, as I did not think it was a common thing to do, and what would be the chances of Bridget doing it on that particular day?

But I was thinking of how often we wash windows today. I did not put myself back in the 19th century, with dusty roads, not the paved roads we have today. Back then window washing would have been more frequent.

I have wondered for quite awhile now, what is a dipper ?

Here's a dipper---



(One mighty BIG dipper!)

I can't imagine washing my windows every 2 weeks! I hate washing windows, mine need a good cleaning now. Did Bridget ever have to wash the inside of the windows? Usually when I clean mine, I do both outside and inside, except for the upstairs windows, too lazy to get a ladder and a pail, haha, not a fun chore.

Uncle John Morse said he last saw Abbie going into the front entry hall and he thought she went upstairs. That was about 8:30 or so. If Lizzie saw Abbie in the dining room at around 9, saying she was going up to put on the pillow slips, and no one saw her again (including Bridget who says she wasn't finished washing her dishes and fixing her kitchen and ready to go outside until 9:30), then it's possible both girls were in the house when Abbie died. Otherwise, where was Abbie from 9 until 9:30?

Here is Bridget's timeline:
http://www.lizzieandrewborden.com/Crime ... ridget.htm

I don't know what the actual size of that dipper is, but it looks something like the water ladle we used to use for taking water out of the bucket at the cabin.

At the time Abby was killed, yes - she had gone back up to the guestroom to put pillow shams on. She must have been killed then. Did both Bridget and Lizzie see Abby and hear her say she was going back up? If only Lizzie said she heard it, it might not have happened. Maybe Abby was laying dead up there while people assumed she was cleaning the guestroom. Why would the killer not get her when she was in the guestroom for a longer period of time? And how did the killer know she was gonna come back?

Yes - Bridget did the inside of the windows, too. She was occupied as such when Andrew came home.