Lizzie Borden Society Forum

I had often wondered why Lizbeth Borden decided to use the alias "Mary Smith Borden" at the hospital where she had her gall bladder surgery.

In replying to Sherry in the Privy about "tripe," the Smith's Drugstore debacle came to my mind. Could Lizbeth/Lizzie be making a reference to that Smith?

Are there any other Mary Smith's or "Smith" in the case?

Creepy! I'm (Mary) Ellen Smith

Kat @ Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:06 pm wrote:I had often wondered why Lizbeth Borden decided to use the alias "Mary Smith Borden" at the hospital where she had her gall bladder surgery.

In replying to Sherry in the Privy about "tripe," the Smith's Drugstore debacle came to my mind. Could Lizbeth/Lizzie be making a reference to that Smith?

Are there any other Mary Smith's or "Smith" in the case?

Maybe she was afraid someone would try to poison her.

Kat,
I wouldn't read much hidden meaning into the alias, which was a pretty lame attempt at one. Lizzie might as well have called herself "Jane Doe Borden," with "Smith" and "Mary" being ultra-common and thus widely held last and first names.
Movies of the '30s and '40s are full of "My name's Smith" jokes, which pretty well meant the person in question wasn't giving their true name. This is especially true of unmarried couples registering for a hotel room in many scenarios, with the clerk snidely commenting, "Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Smith."
Does anyone remember the short-lived TV series "Alias Smith and Jones"? It was a Western, and the title plays off the old saw of using ubiquitous surnames such as "Smith" and "Jones" as aliases.

Maybe she just wanted to have some privacy. After the trial and aquittal, maybe she didn't want the press around.

I hate to ask that age-old question, but do we know that Lizzie actually used that alias? The first place I ever read about that alias was in--you guessed it--Lincoln. "Strikingly unconvincing," I believe she called it.

I believe it first appeared in Pearson's chapter on the Borden murders in "Murder at Smutty Nose" in 1926. It's mentioned again in his "Trial of Lizzie Borden", 1937.

This is from the Smutty Nose chapter (p295+)

"That even after the lapse of thirty-three years there remains a considerable interest in the case was indicated when the newspapers, in February, 1926, recorded the death of Mrs. Churchill, the next-door neighbour who was the first person to come into the house after the discovery of the death of Mr. Borden. Mrs. Churchill went upstairs, a little later, where she found the dead body of Mrs. Borden. In the same month of Mrs. Churchill's death, there were recorded in the press
one or two other incidents which concerned persons who had appeared in the trial, and finally the newspapers of Fall River discovered that the Miss "Mary Smith Borden of Providence," who was recovering from a major operation in the local hospital, was none other than their celebrated townswoman, Miss Lizzie - or, as she is now called, Miss "Lizbeth" Borden - herself. To avoid unpleasant notoriety, she had been allowed to enter the hospital under a pseudonym, and her stay was nearly ended before the staff were aware of her identity. It would be incorrect to say that no privileges are accorded to her by her native city."

It seems a Mary Smith, an umarried land owner, was the first woman to petition parliament for the right to vote in 1832. It appears she was part of the women's suffrage movement in the UK. There was an autobiography of Mary Smith which was published in 1892 entitled "The Autobiography of Mary Smith School Mistress and Nonconformist, A Fragment of Life".

That's cool you guys, thanks!

I do find in the Knowlton Papers Glossary that Hosea Knowlton's mother's name was "Mary Smith Wellington Knowlton."

There is some source I recall that states Knowlton knew Lizzie as a youngster and used to dandle her on his knee. (Anyone know where that comes from?) We do think they are related somehow, maybe? Hosea's wife was an Almy. (Sylvia Bassett Almy.)

--Angel: that is too weird!