William S. Borden tree

[Kat]

Here is a basic tree for William S. Borden that I was working on today. Son of Deacon Charles Lott Borden.
I wanted to show the relationship to Andrew Borden.
It was in reaction to the Case Reopened video last night.
(Bill Pavao, who won *Best Actor Award* for his portrayal of William Borden in any video- inspired me.)
I found out, on the way, that Penelope Read, who I believe is Andrew's greatgreatgrandmother, was the widow of Stephen Borden- son of Joseph Borden, who was brother to Richard, who is in Andrew's line.
She married a second husband John Bowen, and her grandaughter was Martha (Patty) Bowen, who was Abraham Borden's mother.

[Kat]

Here is the rest of the Charles Lott Borden tree descending to William S. Borden- alias "Billie."
Thought you guys might be able to use it as you investigate the Brown stuff.

(If it doesn't fit your screen, please click on the picture in the box. Thanks)

[Kat]

It seems as if Eliza Ann had an illegitimate child- a little girl who only lived to be 5.
Eliza Ann died in the Taunton Asylum in November of 1901.
Billie (William) Borden died in April of the same year, 7 months earlier.

William Bassett was William's step brother.
Bassett's 3 children all died before age 2.

I wonder how Arnold Brown settled on this family to intertwine them with Andrew Borden?

And Peace Borden Bassett married Deacon Charles Borden only 5 months after his first wife, Phebe, died.

[Kat]

Didn't someone on this Forum write for a birth or death certificate? Whatever happened with that? Any update?

[RayS]

It seems as if Eliza Ann had an illegitimate child- a little girl who only lived to be 5.
Eliza Ann died in the Taunton Asylum in November of 1901.
Billie (William) Borden died in April of the same year, 7 months earlier.

William Bassett was William's step brother.
Bassett's 3 children all died before age 2.

I wonder how Arnold Brown settled on this family to intertwine them with Andrew Borden?

And Peace Borden Bassett married Deacon Charles Borden only 5 months after his first wife, Phebe, died.

I can't answer for Arnold Brown. his original book ran 1,100 pages and had to be cut way back for its 340 pages. Somethings were lost.
Yes, I noticed his comments about William Bassett seemed to appear suddenly in the text.
The early deaths of Bassett's children point to some problem there. I read that SID syndrome is more likely with poverty. OR smoking parents?

A Deacon who remarries before the year of mourning is up? Something wrong here. Maybe they were not all as saintly as some might believe, but more like people today?

I read a book about life and culture in America. It said that divorce did not begin after WW II, but jumped up in 1880s America.

[RayS]

Didn't someone on this Forum write for a birth or death certificate? Whatever happened with that? Any update?

Yes, "Allen" said she would write away for a death certificate.
I noted that if it said nothing about poisoning, the story in the newspaper would have served as a warning, as per Arnold Brown's comments.
I wonder if he did that, but left it out (space considerations).

That could be like describing JFK as dying in traffic in Dallas.

[joseph]

1860 Federal Census, Fall River

Fits Kat's Borden Tree above perfectly. Siblings/ages match.

[Kat]

Hello Joseph!
Thanks for the census page. Do you possibly have a street name?
Do any Fall River census of 1860 have street names?

For William Borden there is a City of Taunton "Register of Death" (October, 1992), and a City of Fall River "Record of Death" (August, 1988) - both reproduced in The Hatchet, of Nov/Dec 2007, page 22. They are part illustration for "Family Secrets" series reprinted there, authored by Linda Rodrigues. It is Pete Peterson's story.

This is in answer to my own earlier post, now the topic is revitalized.

[joseph]

Kat, I'll work on that and put it in this space. Some of them do and some don't. Maybe we'll get lucky.

update: Aug 9 12:16am - Kat, please consider everything following as a work-in-progress! I'm having a struggle with William S versus William L AND wondering if this fellow was even illegitimate by Charles Lott. I've found William S (correct age) and wife Rebecca in Taunton with an address, living with father-in-law Gammond in 1880. The address (along with the Census data) will be in the post following the 'Ninth Street Enlargement' post.

Hope it's ok to work it out here because it's easier for me to reference back and forth - especially referencing your tree.

If S versus L isn't enough, William is also listed last name 'Bassett' while living with the Borden's and 'Borden' while living with the Gammond's! haha!

Goal: Conclusive data by the final post!

Joseph


=====


Whew... this took some digging.

Presuming the answer you are looking for is where son William ('Billie', the illegitimate, suspect) was living...

1880 Census:

21 Ninth Street, Fall River - Residence of Charles Borden, wife Peace.

This may be the address where William was living with them...

IF (and that's a big IF at present)

Charles Borden (wife Peace) were living at the same address in 1860 and 1870. As of 1880 William was no longer living with them and I'm working on finding him from there. Unfortunately there is no address in the 1860 and 1870 - only 'Ward 3'.

[Aside: most of Ninth street is in Ward 3, as is most of Second street - per map 'Fall River. (Walling, H. F.; Gray, Ormando Willis), 1871']

1860 William, age 7, is listed as 'William Bassett' in the Borden household (interesting, eh?)

1870 William L, age 16, is listed as 'William L Bassett' in the Borden household.

Some things that I've found interesting. It would appear to me (especially since there are common sibling names to corroborate) that it is possible our William is actually William L Bassett, rather than William S Borden. The Census taker provides numerous examples of capital 'S' which are all alike and totally different from the 'L'. There is one other capital 'L' which matches William's 'L'.

I have had zero luck finding a William S. I'm still working on this as well though. I'm also going to look at other neighbors by the same Census taker for additional proofs of his 'L's on other sheets.

[Are there other sources that definitively place the middle initial as 'S'? I know from research on my own family that letters can be mistranslated especially with the old flowery script. I've seen the death notice in the newspaper listing 'S' but I would think the Census would trump any other source other than birth/death certificates?]

It is also interesting that he is listed as Bassett, perhaps never adopted by Borden? Could be some fodder for why he was an angry young man? No inheritance like somebody else we know that feared she would lose her's?

But before I go off too half-cocked, I'll post pics of the Census's and see what you think. Will probably be tomorrow or later tonight.

This is fun!

Joseph

[editing for clarification and additional pertinent information]

[joseph]

1860, 1870, 1880 Fall River Census (attached)
Fall River Map 1871 (Fall River. Walling, H. F.; Gray, Ormando Willis, 1871) (attached)

Subjects:

Charles Lott Borden b. 1811
Peace (Bassett) Borden b. 1819
Charles A. Borden b. 1837
Amanda Borden b. 1841
Hannah H Borden b. 1844
William L. Bassett b. 1845
Eliza Ann Borden b. 1847 d. 1849 (not appearing in included Census)
Eliza Ann Borden b. 1850
William S Borden b. 1854
Joseph H Borden b. 1860 or 1861
Annie L Borden b. 1876


[the following is transcribed directly as detailed in Census]



1860 United States Federal Census > Massachusetts > Bristol > Fall River Ward 3:
(possible '21' or '1' with no street name)

Chas Borden age 48, Carpenter, b. R.I.
Peace Borden age 40, Wife, b. Mass.
Chas A Borden age 22, Carpenter, b. Mass.
Hannah Borden age 15, Cloth trimmer, b. Mass.
Elisa Borden age 11, b. Mass.
William Borden age 7, b. Mass.
Charles Bassett age 13, b. R.I. (not included in aforementioned tree)
Edwin Bassett age 11, b. R.I. (not included in aforementioned tree)
William Bassett age 7, b. R.I. (probable error, should be age 15 or 16?) *
Caroline Burns age 21, Cloth trimmer b. Mass. (tenant?)
Julia Decker age 40, Nurse, b. Maine (live-in nurse?)

[note: only 'Elisa' possibly marked as 'deaf and dumb', no one 'insane' or 'disabled']



1870 United States Federal Census > Massachusetts > Bristol > Fall River Ward 3:
(possible '92' with no street name)

Charles Borden age 58, Carpenter, b. Mass.
Peace Borden age 50, Keeping house, b. Mass.
Eliza Borden age 20, Works in cotton mill, b. Mass.
William L Bassett age 16, Carpenter, b. Mass. (age problem) *
Joseph H Borden age 9, Attending school, b. Mass.

[note: no one in the above listing is marked as 'deaf and dumb', 'insane' or 'disabled']

* working on it


1880 United States Federal Census > Massachusetts > Bristol > Fall River > District 96
21 Ninth Street

Charles Borden age 68, Carpenter, b. R.I. father/mother b. Mass.
Peace Borden age 60, Wife, Keeping House, b. Mass, father/mother b. Mass.
Eliza Borden age 30, Daughter, At home, b. Mass., father/mother b. Mass.
Anna Borden age 4, Grand Child, At home, Cannot Read, Cannot Write, b. Mass., father/mother b. Mass.

[note: no one in the above is listed as 'insane', 'deaf and dumb' or 'disabled']

[joseph]

Enlargements of 'Ninth Street' and Charles Borden family at '21 Ninth Street' 1880.

[Kat]

Jeesh! I can't believe you can read that street name! Wow!

Well, I'm thoroughly confused. If I recreate your search, or illustrate your text, I do tend to understand. Thanks for the reply.

I can only suggest you use the birth years to differentiate your *William*s- and confirm one or rule out another.
Wm. Bassett b. 1845
Wm. Borden b. 1854.
Then, as you know, comes the math- and I personally have to be ever-diligent that I do my own math correctly.

I have some FRCity Directories I could check- one being 1880, another 1882. The 1859 won't do any good because a 5 year-old Wm. Borden would, of course, not be in there.

Thanks for your sources!

[joseph]

William S. Borden - street address in 1880

72 Liberty Street,
Taunton, Mass.
District 123, Bristol


Lewis B. Gammond age 51, Nailer, b. Mass.
Amelia F. Gammond age 46, Wife, Keeping house, b. Mass.
Frederick B. Gammond age 15, Works in nails works, b. Mass.
Jesse L. Gammond age 6, At school, b. Mass.
Rebecca F. Borden, daughter, age 22, At home, b. Mass.
William S. Borden, Son in law, age 26, Peddler of fish, b. Mass. father/mother b. Mass.

[Kat]

1880 Fall River City Directory has
Charles Borden (no M.I.) carpenter, house 21 Ninth.
William Bassett (no M.I.) removed to Westport, MA

Charles is the only Borden showing at that address in 1880 City Directory.

[Kat]

There is a William L. Bassett, clerk, 262 Pleasant, house 33 Davis in the 1882 Fall River City Directory.

Our posts passed each other- sorry!

[joseph]

oops, still an age problem - working on it

====

Kat! You've solved it.

It looks pretty obvious that the Census taker for 1860 listed the age for William L incorrectly. Instead of 7 it should be 17 which would match.. voila! William Lewis Bassett, b. 1845. Census age off by a year not unusual.

That explains two William's in 1860 in Borden house both age 7, and that the L really is an L. And since L. disappears from the household after 1870 and is still in FR, good bet that he is your clerk.

You figured out my mess better than you thought.

Thanks for confirming 21 Ninth. I had to stare at that thing a long time to get 'Ninth' out of it. Charles may be only one listed in your directory because he was head of household.

It's looking like our William may have failed at carpentry and reduced to fish peddling. It will be interesting to see if Peace stays put or moves when Charles Lott dies.

I'll end all this with a succinct tracing of William S. alone so to answer the OP. (The second OP that is, William S's addresses). I didn't even notice the date of the OP, I just leaped right in didn't I?

My To Do List:
1890, 1900 Census's following William S.
Look at Charles' neighbors in 1860 and 1870 to see if I can get the street name. I'm betting it's going to be 21 Ninth, but still..
Follow Peace (for fun)
See if a Census is really going to list anybody as insane!

[Kat]

Oh yea! I have Taunton Asylum lists and lists and lists and lists and lists and lists online census info! It was like a small town and the first people listed were the folks who worked there! I just don't have that time-frame. Maybe there is more out there- I've not done that search in a couple of years.

You know how many people are on a page-- times that by like 10 pages! Happy Hunting!

[egswanso]

It seems as if Eliza Ann had an illegitimate child- a little girl who only lived to be 5.
Eliza Ann died in the Taunton Asylum in November of 1901.
Billie (William) Borden died in April of the same year, 7 months earlier.

William Bassett was William's step brother.
Bassett's 3 children all died before age 2.

I wonder how Arnold Brown settled on this family to intertwine them with Andrew Borden?

And Peace Borden Bassett married Deacon Charles Borden only 5 months after his first wife, Phebe, died.

Hi Kat and everyone else,

New member, who decided to check out Brown's info against MA records after reading his book (bored, i guess :)

William Bassett's children did not all die:

1900 census has him and his large family living in Westport:

William L. Bassett, age 45 (born Nov. 1854), a thread mill bleacher who owns his own home.

His wife, Margaret (born Dec. 1856 in England). She came to U.S. in 1869, married William 24 years prior (1876) and bore 13 children, 9 of whom were still living.

The children were then enumerated:
Edwin, b. 1881
Stephen L., b. 1884
Charles B., b. 1886
Peace B., b. 1888
Sylvester L., b. 1892
Abner B., b. 1895
Ruth E., b. 1897
Naomi L., b. 1899
(1900 Census for Westport, Bristol Co. MA, ED 237, sheet 2B, lines 71-81)

Charles and Peace would appear to be named after his step-father and mother; Sylvester after his father.

I also found William Borden living in Taunton, at 38 Liberty St.:

William (S. or L.) Borden, age 46 (born April 1854), a peddler. He and his parents were all born in Massachusetts.

His wife, Francis, born Jan. 1858 (aged 42). They were married for 25 years (1875) and she had never given birth.

(1900 Census for Taunton, Bristol Co. MA, ED 226, sheet 4B, lines 24-25.)

Frances and Rebecca are one and the same, as her full name was Rebecca Frances. Her marriage record gives her as "R. Frances" (Taunton Marriage 1874 262:157:113, the marriage is also recorded in Raynham). Interesting, William's father is given as Charles, but the space for his mother's name is blank - Massachusetts records of the time almost always put the mother's name in, as they did for almost everyone else on the page.

[egswanso]

That explains two William's in 1860 in Borden house both age 7, and that the L really is an L. And since L. disappears from the household after 1870 and is still in FR, good bet that he is your clerk.

I found William Borden in the 1870 census:

He's boarding with the CAHOON family, headed by 52-year-old Mary, an apparent widow. He's listed as a 17-yr-old laborer, born Massachusetts.

(1870 Census, Taunton (ward 3), Bristol Co. MA, page 463, line 6-13.)

[Kat]

Thank you for your additions here. I will read your posts by the end of the week!