Lizzie Borden Society Forum

What happened to Andrews first wife? Was Lizzies stepmother buried in the same plot as the rest of the family or is she else where? I know this may sound like a stupid question but I have often wondered that.

Cemetery Hunter, Again welcome, please remember----there are no stupid questions. We all start at a beginning and go on from there. Andrew's first wife is buried in the family plot in Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River. Myself I really don't remember the reason she died, but Lizzie was very small when she did pass away.

Sorry, I just reread the post. (I just got off a 12 hr shift). Abby, Andrew's second wife & stepmother to Lizzie & Emma is also buried in the family plot at Oak Grove Cemetery, Fall River, MA.

I am a newbie here and I just wanted to take an opportunity to praise the longtime members of this board for their assistance and seemingly endless patience with what must be somewhat frustratingly repetitive postings. I've frequented boards in the past where such patience is non-existant.

You're all pretty amazing.

Hello Cemetery Hunter,

I pulled this off of lizzieandrewborden.com - Crime library - Key Characters.

SARAH ANTHONY (MORSE) BORDEN, 1823 - 1863. Born in Somerset, Mass., the daughter of Anthony and Rhody (Morrison) Morse. She married Andrew Jackson Borden on Christmas day in 1845. She was the mother of three children: Emma Lenora, Alice Esther (3 May 1856-10 March 1858), and Lizzie Andrew Borden. She was the sister of John Vinnicum Morse. She died in Fall River, Mass. The cause of her death was recorded as uterine congestion and spinal disease.

Hope this helps

Sad she died at just 40 years old...I think I got my question pretty much answered. Though I was surprised to find Abby in the family plot.

welcome back cemetery hunter. I think Abby was buried in the family cemetery.

Cemetery Hunter @ Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:04 pm wrote:Sad she died at just 40 years old...I think I got my question pretty much answered. Though I was surprised to find Abby in the family plot.

Why is that surprising? Does that have to do with Emma & Lizzie's decision, that you wonder?
Actually, tho not their mother, Abbie was married to Andrew longer than Sarah was.

Kat @ Sun Oct 19, 2008 1:43 am wrote:

Cemetery Hunter @ Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:04 pm wrote:Sad she died at just 40 years old...I think I got my question pretty much answered. Though I was surprised to find Abby in the family plot.

Why is that surprising? Does that have to do with Emma & Lizzie's decision, that you wonder?
Actually, tho not their mother, Abbie was married to Andrew longer than Sarah was.

Why? Cause as is often the case of a step parent they are buried with the original family members. If Lizzie and Emma made that call then I am sure they had their reasons and I am not contradicting what they did.

I spend a lot of time prowling old cemeteries and to find a husband buried between two wives is the norm in fact. With so many women dying in childbirth or soon after, a man easily might have had 2 or 3 wives in his lifetime. Lizzie's grandfather Abraham is also buried between his two wives Phebe and Bebe. Abby Borden's father oliver is buried between his two wives, Sarah and Jane Gray.

Shelley @ Sun Oct 19, 2008 2:51 pm wrote:I spend a lot of time prowling old cemeteries and to find a husband buried between two wives is the norm in fact. With so many women dying in childbirth or soon after, a man easily might have had 2 or 3 wives in his lifetime. Lizzie's grandfather Abraham is also buried between his two wives Phebe and Bebe. Abby Borden's father oliver is buried between his two wives, Sarah and Jane Gray.

Maybe, but not the norm where I am, I realize different parts of the country have different burial techniques as far as grave plots go.

I myself have no knowledge of these kinds of practices.
Thanks Shelley for the practical personal experiences from your graveyard haunts.

Kat @ Sun Oct 19, 2008 8:43 pm wrote:I myself have no knowledge of these kinds of practices.
Thanks Shelley for the practical personal experiences from your graveyard haunts.

All grave yards do not have the same practices just like all funeral homes do not have the same practices. I have been through a few grave yards myself I am not totally ignorant of them. Burial practices change from generation to generation. Ancient Egyptian embalming practices changed from the 18th to the 22nd Dynasty.

Shelley @ Sun Oct 19, 2008 2:51 pm wrote:I spend a lot of time prowling old cemeteries and to find a husband buried between two wives is the norm in fact. With so many women dying in childbirth or soon after, a man easily might have had 2 or 3 wives in his lifetime. Lizzie's grandfather Abraham is also buried between his two wives Phebe and Bebe. Abby Borden's father oliver is buried between his two wives, Sarah and Jane Gray.

So, in the case of Lizzie's grandfather, we have PhebeAbeBebe?

I'm thanking Shelley because she gave 2 concrete examples, rather than a generality- that's all. I did not mean to imply that you are *ignorant* of burial practices, CH.
I myself am ignorant of Victorian era burial practices.

Stephen Manchester, the father of our other Fall River axe victim, Bertha, is also buried between his two wives, the first wife being Bertha's mother.

Today, of course, with divorce often ending marriages, it is not likely a man would be buried between his new wife and the ex-wife. But as marriages generally lasted "until death do us part" in Victorian America (people just stayed together and made the best of it), multiple spouses are usually buried together. Any married offspring of their union were generally buried with their husbands, but if the plot had plenty of room, sometimes the husband and wife were buried with her parents. Sarah Whitehead is buried with her parents, husband AND daughter, but then the Oliver Gray plot is a good-sized one.


"Little" Abbie Potter, Oliver Gray's Granddaughter


Eli Bence is buried with his second wife in Fairhaven in her Maxfield parents' plot along with their toddler daughter, Priscilla. Eli's first wife Sarah is buried back in Fall River with her parents, the Hayhursts. I think that may have happened because Eli and Annie (second wife) had moved away most of their married life to another part of the state and had two children there and Annie, who was widowed, went back to Fairhaven to her family after Eli died.

If their offspring remained unmarried, such as Lizzie and Emma, they are then buried in the paternal family plot.
I was recently in Concord and observed Louisa May Alcott buried with her parents. Ellen Shove, Lizzie's unmarried Grand Tour friend is buried with her parents. Spinster Alice Russell is buried with her parents in Westport.

The Grays
Lizzie's grandparents

There is an old chap in the cemetery near my home who had FOUR wives, and outlived them all named Dudley Wheeler-and they are all buried side by side!
I have little interest in modern day funeral practices, but I am fascinated with the burial and mourning customs of the Victorian era, which was, in fact the era in which funeral mourning and practices reached a zenith of protocol and decorum. Fascinating stuff. I have a site, most know, for Oak Grove and another called Yankee Stones featuring other New England graveyards. The most remarkable cemetery I ever visited was Highgate in London- unbelievable statuary and symbolism there.

I have researched my family tree back to the 1500's in some branches and have many ancestors who had multiple wives due to death. For the most part, the husband is buried with his wives..all of them. My great-great grandfather had 4 wives and is buried with all 4 of them in the family plot.

Many of the subsequent wives were sisters/cousins, etc of the deceased wife. It was easier on the children to have a familiar relative join the household, and it also kept inheritances/land in the family. Very practical.

Kat @ Mon Oct 20, 2008 4:14 am wrote:I'm thanking Shelley because she gave 2 concrete examples, rather than a generality- that's all. I did not mean to imply that you are *ignorant* of burial practices, CH.
I myself am ignorant of Victorian era burial practices.

No problem.....I am not saying it does not happen just seems strange in my view that's all. Its cool.......

Shelley, could you please post a link here to Yankee Stones. I'd really like to check it out. Thanx in advance.

Oh, yes! I have been a little lax in posting to the other blogs lately as I have been busy with the new web site for the Rhode Island altar guilds, but more is coming soon on all of them-you will see the area where I live on Yankee Stones- MANY stone walls!
http://yankeestones.wordpress.com/

Shelley, you are the best. Thank you for posting the link in such a timely manner. The site is Awesome! Great job as usual Shelley. I love all your blogs.

Thanks Steve- I love doing them. Now, if you want to be an altar guild lady, here is the latest
http://rhodeislandaltars.com/

A beautiful and professional job on the altar guild piece, Shelley. Congratulations!

Thanks, William. I bet Lizzie would love to have had a church blog!
like http://WhatsupatCentralCongo.org/ Might have kept her busy if she had a laptop on her little trip to New Bedford-or she and Emma could have really vented about Abby on a personal blog!
http://I-hate-my-stepmother.com/ !!!

Was John Morse her only brother? What about sisters?

Shelley, you had me in stitches with that one. I can just picture Emma and Lizzie going on and on about Abby and Andrew on a blog. That's hysterical!

Yeah funny..............