Lizzie Borden Society Forum

It has been said that Abbey had Bridget wash the windows because they were expecting company the next week but I have never seen anything saying who this company was. Does anyone know?

That's a good question, Fargo. Like you, I have not seen anywhere, anything stating exactly who the company was that the Bordens were expecting on Monday, August the 8th. However, I did a forum search and found the following thread, which comes closer to who the expected guest(s) may have been than anything else I have come across.

The following link should open at the first post Kat submitted in the this thread; if it does not open to Kat's post, then scroll down to the posts submitted by her: http://tinyurl.com/yyhbl9zc

I'd be interested in your thoughts regarding Kat's posts?

If I'm wrong, please correct me on this. I've never seen any independent verification to the "company on Monday". To the best of my knowledge, Bridget never said that Abby told her that "company was coming", she simply told her to wash the windows without giving her a specific reason. Nor did any of Abby's friends or relatives come forward to claim that they had been invited to the Borden house the following week. The Fishes had plenty to say in the newspaper article Kat provided, none of it complimentary to Lizzie, so if they were the expected guests, I'm sure they would have said so.

In the absence of any corroborating testimony, I'm inclined to think that this was one of Lizzie's self-serving lies (like the "note from a sick friend"). Lizzie had to provide an explanation why she did not think it strange that Abby went up to the guest room and presumably stayed up there for over an hour instead of coming right back down after she had made the bed. Saying that Abby was up there such a long time, cleaning and rearranging the room because guests were expected four days later, was the best she could come up with on the spur of the moment. Later, after she had time to give the matter some thought, Lizzie changed her story and said that Abby went up to the guest room to make some new pillow cases ("pillowslips") on the sewing machine that was kept there.

From my recollection, the story of company coming over on Monday took birth at Lizzie's inquest and died there, never investigated or proven, as told by Lizzie.

It the murders happened today the first thing "company" would have done would be to run to TMZ and give them the entire itinerary of how they were expected.

But my guess is that people were very different back then and the last thing they would want to happen would be to be drawn into a murder case. Thus if the company story is true there's a good chance that company would not have come forward since the visit never occurred and they would not want to get involved.

It is also strange that Abbey would be straightening out the guest room for company if Morse was still staying there, if in fact he had planned to stay the night on Thursday into Friday. I can't remember what Morse's plans were if any were indicated. So if true that Abby was cleaning the room we must conclude that Morse would not be staying the night.

If it were true?

As Morse left the house on Thursday morning to go see his other relatives, Andrew called out to him: "Come back to dinner, John." This sounds as if there had been no clear plans for Morse to stay over another night, but that he would be welcome to spend the night if he wanted to.

Well, according to Assistant Marshal John Fleet's testimony at the Preliminary Hearing regarding his search of he attic rooms on August the 4th, John Morse did stay overnight at the house the night of the murders.

Assistant Marshal John Fleet's testimony at the Preliminary Hearing, where he is being questioned by Mr. Knowlton. Page 360 (Highlighting and underling are mine):

"... Then we went up stairs and searched the four attics, I think it was four. Bridget had the keys. We went into each one as she unlocked them, and turned over things, and put them back in their proper places, and found nothing there that we wanted. We searched Bridget's bed, and searched also a bed where John Morse had slept since, and I think had before.
Q. That is in the attic?
A. That was in the attic. That is all I can state just now."

The following chart was created by Nancy McNelly as a part of her site, The Virtual Lizzie Borden House, which is now defunct:


I believe the reason(s) Lizzie gave for Abby being in the guest bedroom were lies.