The Lizzie Borden Society archive

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1. "Bridget's duties"
Posted by harry on May-9th-02 at 12:52 AM

All in all it seems Bridget had it fairly easy when it came to her work for the Bordens. When asked at the trial:

Q.  What were your general duties in the household, Miss Bridget?
A.  Washing, ironing and cooking, with sweeping.
Q.  Did you have the care of any of the chambers?
A.  No, sir.

The cooking appears to be the only thing she did on a daily basis. She did not do the food shopping. The preparation and cooking for the 3 meals alone would occupy a great deal of time and I assume she had the after meal clean-up responsibilities as well.

Did Bridget have a regular day off during the week?  If she did, I assume Abby would prepare the meals on that day.  You certainly wouldn't expect Lizzie or Emma to volunteer or to even know how.

(Message last edited Oct-6th-02  10:17 PM.)

I seem to remember reading somewhere and will have to find it to verify, but, Bridget had a half day off and 1 full day off.  If I remember correctly? 

Thank you Susan for that info. Now that will send me digging into my archives to see what I can find.

And NO David, I didn't see "The 1900 House" series in full. Seen a very few bits and pieces. What I seen I found interesting as the experience applied to those individuals.

Everything was more difficult compared to today's modern conveniences; that's a given. I don't think Bridget or anyone else washed clothes 7 days a week which was part of my point.

It would be valuable to know what the duties of other servants were in other households and to compare those with Bridget's.  That would tell us a lot about the Bordens and how they treated their "help".

Aha, I checked Lincoln, (page 75, paperback) and found this paragraph:

"Bridget considered herself luckily situated, despite the trying atmosphere of the house. She did not get two half-days off starting after dinner, like all her friends; she got all of Sunday, and Thursday from just before dinner, yet her wages were high, four dollars a week, paid only to cooks. Her household chores were also light; besides the cooking she did only the wash and occasionally a little heavy cleaning. Abby and Emma did the dusting and sweeping; Lizzie made her own bed and in Emma's absence dusted her own room."

I believe Lincoln is incorrect as to her wages as has been discussed on this board before but it does in very neatly with what Susan said about her time off. I don't know of any source which says Bridget considered herself lucky. Dealing with the personalities of Andrew, Emma and Lizzie must have been worth at least $4.00 by itself.

You beat me to the punch, Harry!  I had finally found where I had read it too, Lincoln.  Now was dinner the noon meal or evening one?  I know that supper is thrown into it and to me both mean food that is served in the evening, hence my question.  I know I've read about that before, but, haven't the time at the moment to check on it. 

Susan, that is the same question I asked myself.  My family always called dinner the noon meal but I have heard the evening meal referred to as that way. I should think it would be the noon meal because it wouldn't make much sense to give her the time off after the evening meal. She had no chores to do at that time of day and she probably normally had every evening off. Wasn't she out the previous evening socializing?

Since it was a Thursday that she had a half-day off and the crimes occurred on a Thursday, that noon meal she was resting up for, would have been the last she had to do until Friday morning. 

She probably would have gone out after finishing her clean up chores. I wonder if that is one of the reasons Lizzie told her about the sale at Sargents.  She would have had her own time to check it out.

This could lead me into a lot of speculation on the murders being committed while Bridget was still there but I'll refrain for now.

I hope you won't be bored by my repetition. I think Lizzie told Bridget about the sale to get her out of the house so she would not witness Andy's visitor or their conversation. That's why the washing of the windows was done: a cover story to explain the closed windows.

"A stick points two ways" said Sherlock Holmes.

That makes sense, Harry.  That after dinner, the noon meal, Bridget would have off for the rest of the day, which in essence would make it a half day.  Thats interesting that your family called it that too, in mine it was always called lunch.  What part of the country are you from originally?  I was wondering if it is a typical New England type of thing? 

Susan, I'm originally from New York. Yonkers, to be exact.

We called the noon meal both lunch and dinner. I guess dinner was the more formal name. Supper was the evening meal.

And I'm originally from New Jersey, or Joisey as we say.    West Caldwell, don't ask me which exit it is off the NJ turnpike, I really don't remember.

"...the muders being committed while Bridget was still there." (Harry)

a). If it was an *inside job*, the party concerned would know of the daily regimen, like Bridget's 1/2 day off on Thursday after dinner, and (theoretically) have decided to wait?
b). If it was someone not familiar with the daily routines of the household, they were taking a huge chance throughout the whole caper?

Spec.:  Do you suppose The killer knew they could not wait till after the noon meal to kill Andrew?

What would be different by waiting?

-Morse may have returned by then.
-Andrew might have refused his dinner until Abby returned, keeping Bridget at her chores longer after all, and the killer knew or assumed this.
-What else?

Kat,

I don't think Morse was planning on coming back for dinner.  Perhaps he knew that Abby was to be killed to insure the girls rightful inheritance but not Andrew.  I read SOMEWHERE that Dr. Bowen went to find Morse and tell him about Andrew for Lizzie on his first trip out of 92 Second Street after Andrew was found.  Just speculation on my part.........

I'm from New England and lunch was lunch except on Sundays then it was dinner and usually about 1:00pm instead of the usual high noon during the week.

We know from Bridget that Morse was Invited back for dinner.  Again, from Bridget, we Do Not Know what his answer was.

It seems to be that Mrs. Emery believed Morse was to go on to New Bedford upon taking his leave of her home.  BUT, there are several interpretations of whether Morse and Bowen were in communication after the event.:  A phone "call" (from the drug store?), or a flying "visit" to Emery's by Bowen.  We just don't know.  There doesn't seem to be any extra TIMe for this activity on Dr. Bowen's part, though.

Apparently Morse arrived Wednesday in just the clothes on his back, and the Davis' expected him back Thursday...but that wouldn't preclude Morse's returning to dinner at the Borden's.

If he had foreknowledge of the crime, it may not have been *in the script* for his return that day.

If he gained knowledge after the fact he might return to be of some assistance to the girls while pretending not to have been notified by Bowen...but for what reason the secrecy?

If Morse had foreknowledge and knew Bridget overheard the dinner invitation by Andrew, but Did Not Know If She Heard His Reply...he might be forced to return regardless of his earlier plans(?)