Lizzie Borden took an axe,
and gave her mother 40 whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
she gave her father 41.
Lizzie Borden was born in 1860 in Falls River, Massachusetts. She was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union and a Sunday School teacher amongst other community jobs. And though the rhyme exaggerated the crime she was charged with, it kept her name in the public eye even after she was acquitted of the crimes.
Lizzie lived with her father Andrew, sister Emma, who was 9 years older than her, and her stepmother. They lived pretty quiet and normal lives and seemed to get along well until her father who had lived very frugally and acquired a good bit of wealth gave a home to his second wife's half-sister. Emma and Lizzie strongly objected. Tension and fighting with their stepmother developed and they began calling her Mrs. Borden rather than mother which they previously had.
Borden house By 1892 image - https://hubpages.com/education/Borden-Murders-Did-Lizzie-Do-It, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58261021 |
Three years later, in 1887, Andrew tried to make amends with the daughters by giving them money and allowing them to rent out his family home which they didn't use. They sold the home back to their father for $5000. But even this didn't satisfy his daughters and tensions continued to rise.
In July of 1892 an argument caused Lizzie and Emma to go away on an extended vacation, visiting friends. Lizzie returned while Emma remained. In August, a few days before the murders, the household had gotten sick with vomiting and Lizzie's stepmother had told someone she thought it might be poison since her husband wasn't a popular man.
The day before the murders, Lizzie's Uncle Morris (her mother's brother) came down to stay with them a few days to discuss business matters. Among those was property transfers which would not have sat well with Lizzie. He and Andrew had breakfast and then shortly before nine a.m. Morris went to visit a friend and Andrew when for his daily walk.
He returned to find his key wouldn't work in the lock and so he had to knock. The maid testified that she heard Lizzie upstairs giggling, but Lizzie stated she'd not been upstairs. The investigators who interviewed Lizzy didn't care for her attitude. She seemed calm and poised. And Lizzy's testimony changed several times. First she'd said she'd heard a moan or a scraping when she came up but then a few hours later she'd said she hadn't heard a thing.
A few days later when Lizzie was informed she was a suspect in the murders. Shortly there after she was seen burning a dress in the kitchen fire. She told her friend it had paint on it. The police admitted to not checking the her clothes for blood splatters. The police also found 2 hatchets, 2 axes and a hatchet head they believe to be the murder weapon because the handle had a fresh break in it and the hatchet head looked like dirt had been applied to it to make it look like the others. However, the police did not remove them from the basement where they were found.
There was a neighbor who testified for Lizzie supporting her claim that she'd been in the barn for close to a half hour during the times of the murders. There had been a similar axe murder nearby but that person was shown to have been out of the area at the time. It wasn't allowed into testimony that Lizzie had attempted to purchase prussic acid the day before the murders. She'd claimed it was to clean a sealskin coat.
Lizzie's jury. By O'Neil, New Bedford, Mass - Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7274346 |
After all the testimony the jury deliberated for only an hour and a half before finding Lizzie not guilty.
I'M GIVING AWAY A COPY OF SWORD OF FORGIVENESS. LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS FOR A CHANCE TO WIN. SHARE THIS POST ON FACEBOOK OR TWITTER AND LET ME KNOW FOR ANOTHER ENTRY.
When her father died, she had promised herself no man would own her again, yet who could defy an edict of the king? After the death of her cruel father, Brithwin is determined never again to live under the harsh rule of any man. Independent and resourceful, she longs to be left alone to manage her father’s estate. But she soon discovers a woman has few choices when the king decrees she is to marry Royce, the Lord of Rosencraig. As if the unwelcome marriage isn’t enough, her new husband accuses her of murdering his family, and she is faced with a challenge of either proving her innocence or facing possible execution.
Royce of Hawkwood returns home after setting down a rebellion to find his family brutally murdered. When all fingers point to his betrothed and attempts are made on his life, Royce must wade through murky waters to uncover the truth. Yet Brithwin’s wise and kind nature begin to break down the walls of his heart, and he soon finds himself in a race to discover who is behind the evil plot before Brithwin is the next victim.
Debbie Lynne Costello has enjoyed writing stories since she was about eight years old. She studied journalism at Heritage University. She raised her family and then embarked on her own career of writing the stories that had been begging to be told. She and her husband have four children and live in upstate South Carolina. She has worked in many capacities in her church and is currently the Children's Director. Debbie Lynne has shown and raised Shetland Sheepdogs for eighteen years and still enjoys litters now and then. In their spare time, she and her husband take pleasure in camping and riding their Arabian and Tennessee Walking horses.
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sounds like such an intriguing book!! carriemschmidt(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carrie! And thank you for stopping by!
DeleteWow, the whole story about Lizzy Borden sounds fascinating. And I found this intriguing... "There had been a similar axe murder nearby but that person was shown to have been out of the area at the time."
ReplyDeleteAn axe murderer was "out of the area" at the time????
Oh my! lol
Pam, I KNOW!! I saw that, too! There is some really interesting stuff on this murder. And it leaves you wondering who REALLY did it! I saw a tv show on a while back and they went down and did some testing for blood in that basement. So very interesting. They did find what they felt like was blood.
DeleteI would love to win this book. I have also shared on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for sharing the post on Lizzy Borden, I have always been intrigued by her story. griperang at embarqmail dot com
ReplyDeleteANGELA!!! Thanks for coming by! And Thank You for sharing on FB and Twitter! I'll be sure to give you extra entries. Lizzy Borden is one of those mysteries I don't think we will ever know the truth about, but it sure does leave people speculating.
DeleteI, too, have always been fascinated by the Lizzie Borden story. There seems to be about equal evidence to support Lizzie's claim of innocence as there is evidence of her guilt. Though I tend to believe she committed the murders, I suspect this is one of those mysteries that will never be solved. Great blog! Good luck with Sword of Forgiveness; a delicious story by a wonderful author!
ReplyDeleteI do kind of lean toward guilty, too, Ramona. So many things didn't add up. Her testimony changed so much, however, she was on hard drugs to calm her nerves and I suppose that could have affected her thoughts. And of course that show I watched on it also made me a little more bias toward guilty. And thank you for the kind words about my book!
DeleteI'd always heard she was guilty. The evidence does leave room for questions. Thanks for the post, Debbie.
ReplyDeleteIt is really an interesting case. Some obvious slip-ups on the police's part. To bad they didn't have the technology that we do today!
DeleteI remember singing this ditty back in elementary school. We sang it while we jumped rope...the kind where two people held the ends and then one person jumped. I was fascinated by the story and looked it up in an encyclopedia and other books at the library. I decided she must have been very clever and was really guilty. Makes for a good story. Good luck with Sword of Forgiveness. Sounds like a good one.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha! You know I think I faintly remember skipping rope to that too, now that you mention it.
DeleteI found this whole blog fascinating. I have always been curious about Lizzie, hence my appearance here :) Your book also sounds fascinating. I'm going to have to have a copy of your novel. Thanks for sharing both your insight on Lizzie and what looks to be a great read!
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming by, Rhonda! I'm so glad you're looking forward to reading my book! Be sure to leave your email address in case your name is pulled from the hat. Not too many murders gain the notoriety that this one received. There is so much more information out there on it. Too much to put in one blog post!
DeleteThanks for sharing the history of what happened. I don't remember hearing it before.
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds like an interesting read too. :)
booksbybarnes[at]gmail[dot]com
Hello Crystal! Thanks for coming by and entering my giveaway. I'm tickled my book caught your interest!
DeleteThank you for the post on Lizzie Borden. I've heard the facts over the years but it is still very interesting. I think I'll need to get some books from the library and further research this. I would love to win a copy of your book and also share it with my teen daughters. We need more clean teen reads and it sounds great !
ReplyDeleteDeanne Cnnamongirl(at)aol(dot)com
Hey Deanne! Thanks for coming by! There is so much information out there on Lizzie Borden. It was hard choosing what to put into a short blog piece. Its very interesting and there have been some more recent research on the murders. I love that you would like your daughters to read SWORD OF FORGIVENESS! Although it is not a YA book, there is no reason they couldn't read it! I believe in keeping my stories, clean and God honoring!
DeleteCool blog! :) Awesome giveaway! :D
ReplyDeleteHugs, Amada (a.m.a.th.a)
(amada_chavezATyahooDOTcom)
Thanks, Amada!
DeleteThis book would be great for my daughter. She loves anything with knights, maidens and chain mail.
ReplyDeletemelissa dot snoopy at yahoo dot com
Sword of Forgiveness will fit the bill, then! Although, this isn't a YA story, it is a clean read and is suitable for teenagers. Thanks for coming by Melissa.
DeleteThat was an interesting story about Lizzie! I would love to win this book! I am sharing on FB and Twitter!
ReplyDeletegrandmama_brenda(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thank you, Brenda! Lizzie's story has captured peoples curiosity for a century now! Not too many people can say that. But wow, what a way to go down in history. And super sad if she was innocent. I hope you are able to win Sword of Forgiveness! I'm giving a copy away on another blog, too. Stop by there to enter. I interviewed the hero and heroine!
Deletehttp://brendaandersonbooks.com/2015/04/09/get-to-know-brithwin-royce-from-debbie-lynne-costellos-sword-of-forgiveness
Interesting post, Debbie - thank you!! Kind of reminds me of the JonBenet" Ramsey case. Re: Lizzie, I feel jealousy allowed to fester can invoke much anger, causing a change to one's personality, mental and physical states, and resulting in harm, and destruction to others, as well. The commercials on the Lizzie TV movies are always sadistic, with creepy music - I haven't watched the movies, but wonder if they truly portray her as she was in her younger years, prior to the murders.
ReplyDeletebonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot).com
P.S. Shared post!!
ReplyDeleteYIKES! Didn't realize they made movies about her! That is really sad. The JonBenet case was so sad too. That little girl just broke my heart. Thank you for sharing the post!
ReplyDeleteThey've had commercials on TV, very recently, about a Lizzie Borden movie - I think it may have been on Lifetime.
ReplyDeleteOh my. I don't know why I'm surprised though. It was sensational enough that the poem that many kids skipped rope to has been remembered for a 100 years. I wonder if they just give the facts or try to show her guilty or innocent.
DeleteCongratulations Angela! You won Sword of Forgiveness!
ReplyDelete