We Are Oh So Close to Our Goal for Porter’s Grave
As of today, August 27, 2023, we have raised $2,466 in checks and donations to our GoFundMe fundraiser to erect a grave marker for Edwin H. Porter, the author of the first book on the Borden case, The Fall River Tragedy. That means we only need $334 dollars to reach our goal! Can you help? […]
A Headstone for Edwin H. Porter
As you may know, The Fall River Tragedy: History of the Borden Murders, by Edwin H. Porter, was the first book ever published on the case. A crime reporter for the Fall River Daily Globe, Porter was one of the first on the scene that August 4th morning. He wrote regularly about the case for […]
Mondo Lizzie Borden, Episode 7: NOT Lizzie Borden
Being a collector of the weird and fabulous as it relates to the Borden case, I have files of these images saved during the past twenty years. And I would like to share them with you now. Laugh, gasp, chuckle, or rage, these photos were all on eBay. For a price. I used to write the sellers and let them know they didn’t have a Lizzie, but soon gave up on that practice. They didn’t care. Even though they were committing fraud by the sale of the image as a true Lizzie Borden. Oh well.
Here we go. Enjoy.
Mondo Lizzie Borden, Episode 6: The Doggerel Discovered
You know it. You have heard it a million times. Yes, that little ditty.
Lizzie Borden took an axe
Gave her father forty whacks
When she saw what she has done
She gave her father forty-one
Lizzie Borden enthusiasts and historians have attempted to track this doggerel to its origins, with little success—until now.
Mondo Lizzie Borden, Episode 5: John Vinnicum Morse and William A. Davis
Some documentary producer wrote me through my website (lizzieandrewborden.com) and asked me if I had any information on the exact address where John Vinnicum Morse was staying when he was visiting William A. Davis at the time of the murders.
Could I track down this information or offer some leads on where they can go to begin further study?
Mondo Lizzie, Episode 4: Bridget Sullivan Mythbusting Part One
There is a photograph of a historical marker in Anaconda, Montana, that was recently circulated on FaceBoook that purports all manner of gossip, innuendo, and outright disinformation regarding Bridget Sullivan. Research shows us the truth of the matter.
Stay to the last few moments for a surprise ending.
The Passing of the King of Lizzie Borden Studies: Leonard Rebello
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the death of one of my best friends, Len Rebello. He died February 12, 2023.
I still cannot believe he is gone. Those of you who knew him might remember him for his interest in the Lizzie Borden case and as author of the seminal work “Lizzie Borden: Past and Present”—still regarded as a resource manual. His book, fondly referred to as “the Rebello” by frequent users, came out in 1999, with the assistance of Len’s best friend Bill Pavao.
Mondo Lizzie Borden, Episode 3: A Simple Question
For your viewing pleasure, a new episode of Mondo Lizzie Borden. What started out as a simple “look-it-up” fact, turned into a quest for the most accurate telling of one the many myths surrounding the Borden case. It turned out, the story I thought was the story was not the story after all! https://youtu.be/oAgx1C6QFKU
Mondo Lizzie Borden, Episode Two: Mythbusting Andrew Borden
For your viewing pleasure, a new episode of Mondo Lizzie Borden. Episode Two Mythbusting Andrew Borden. Once you start studying the Borden murder case, you will quickly find that authors present information that cannot be supported with any actual evidence. Much like the trial itself, without evidence of guilt, it is difficult, if not impossible […]
New Video Series on Mondo Lizzie YouTube
For your viewing pleasure, a new video series named for my blog, Mondo Lizzie Borden. This first episode, I discuss how to conduct research into the Lizzie Borden case. Let me know what you think. Please share as well! Episode One. Researching the Borden case.
Lizzie Borden Uncut Author Interview
While I was part of the design and editing of both of Bill Spencer’s book (The Case Against Lizzie Borden and Lizzie Borden Uncut: A Casebook of Theories), I will still say they are both great works of Borden scholarship. Bill was in Fall River for a book signing at the Fall River Historical Society […]
August 4th Events for 2022
There is much to do in and around Fall River this August 4th, the 130th anniversary of the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. It is difficult to tell from the Herald News article, however, just what is planned for the Lizzie Borden B&B. Even four days out, the new owners are cryptic as hell […]
No, Bridget Sullivan did NOT work for George Winston in Anaconda as his maid
There is a page from something (book, pamphlet, sign) being circulated on FaceBook that purports all manner of gossip, innuendo, and outright disinformation regarding Bridget Sullivan — she of Andrew Borden household fame. (Please right click on any of the images in this post to open in a new window to see them enlarged and […]
RIP Dave Quigley
I first met Dave Quigley at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast oh so many years ago. When I knew him, he was the morning cook. In a way, he was the “breakfast” in the bed & breakfast. He would cheerfully show up for work each morning there were guests from the night before and […]
Michael Martins interview on The Jennings Journals
On December 21, 2021, I interviewed the curator of the Fall River Historical Society, Michael Martins, on their new publication The Jennings Journals 1892: The Unpublished Notes and Documents from the Files of Lizzie Borden’s Defense Attorney, Andrew Jackson Jennings. The primary source volume was edited by Michael Martins, Dennis A. Binette, and me, Stefani […]
A Journalist’s Take on the Lizzie Borden Story
Dan Medeiros of the Herald News is out today with a news article/feature on the Lizzie Borden story. You can read it here. I think the best thing about this piece is that it is so fair and balanced. There is no snark. No sideways glances at the ghosthunters or true crime enthusiasts. Everyone is […]
Lee-Ann Wilbur
UPDATE as of 8 AM: Because of someone who puts themselves “in the know” had posted on her FB page for her blog Warps and Whefts that Lee-Ann Wilber had died last night, I posted the obituary that I had planned when the news was “official”. That person has since taken down that post and […]
Last Person who Knew Lizzie Borden has Died
The last living person who knew Lizzie Borden has died. Grace Gross, daughter of Lizzie’s chauffeur Ernest Terry, passed away at the age of 97 in Camden, Maine. Grace was born in Fall River, MA, on November 15, 1922. Grace figures prominently in Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall […]