The Discovery Channel special stated Bridget was an illiterate servant with a "dark past"...
Anyone know what her dark past was and what documentation they had to back that up?
Bridget's "dark past"
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Kat
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Susan
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Yes, what was that about Bridget's dark past that they hinted about? My fiance asked me and I told him honestly that I've never read or heard anything about Bridget having a unsavory past. I also was not happy with the portrayal of the elder Bordens disrespecting Bridget by calling her Maggie as they were too lazy to learn her real name. The only people we knew who did that were Lizzie and Emma for whatever reason. 
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Audrey
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By most accounts, Abby was kind to Bridget and it was hinted that Bridget was fond enough of her to remain in her employ.
B testified that it was only those pesky girls who called her Maggie...
Q. (By Mr. Moody.) What is your full name?
A. Bridget Sullivan.
Q. And were you in the Borden household sometimes called Maggie?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. By whom were you called Maggie, by the whole family?
A. No sir.
Q. By whom?
A. By Lizzie and Emma.
Q. By Miss Emma and Miss Lizzie?
A. Yes, sir.
B testified that it was only those pesky girls who called her Maggie...
Q. (By Mr. Moody.) What is your full name?
A. Bridget Sullivan.
Q. And were you in the Borden household sometimes called Maggie?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. By whom were you called Maggie, by the whole family?
A. No sir.
Q. By whom?
A. By Lizzie and Emma.
Q. By Miss Emma and Miss Lizzie?
A. Yes, sir.
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Harry
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This paragraph concerning Bridget appeared in an article in the Fall River Herald on one of the first days of the Inquest:
"The government impressed her with the necessity of saying nothing about the proceedings at the inquest, and she was warned not to talk with anybody regarding her testimony. Bridget Sullivan is one of 14 children. She came to this country six years ago. For three years she worked for a number of families in this city and the police say that she bears an excellent reputation. For the last three years she has lived with the Borden family and for some time past has been threatening to return to Ireland."
I've never read of any "dark past" regarding Bridget.
"The government impressed her with the necessity of saying nothing about the proceedings at the inquest, and she was warned not to talk with anybody regarding her testimony. Bridget Sullivan is one of 14 children. She came to this country six years ago. For three years she worked for a number of families in this city and the police say that she bears an excellent reputation. For the last three years she has lived with the Borden family and for some time past has been threatening to return to Ireland."
I've never read of any "dark past" regarding Bridget.
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Susan
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Thanks, Audrey and Harry. I hated that right off the bat the show started tampering with known facts, but, thinking back on last night, it may have served a purpose. While my fiance and I watched the show last night, my fiance's roommate immediately went online to check out the Borden story and found the B&B site. I think they added enough "spice" to the story that it intrigued people enough to go and find out more about the Borden murders.
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goldenpixie
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Ohhh I'm so glad you posted this Audrey! I was thinking about the show on the way to work this morning and remembered that "dark past" comment and wondered about it.
I wondered if she came cheaper because of something shady in her background. I could see Andrew taking a chance to save a few pennies...
I wondered if she came cheaper because of something shady in her background. I could see Andrew taking a chance to save a few pennies...
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lydiapinkham
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The only dark aspect of her past I can think of is that some writers have implied that she had changed jobs more often than most. However, she seems to have always had references and to have had no unexplained gaps in her American career. We know little of her life in Ireland, but we also have no hint of a dark secret there. And the "name is Bridget" motive seemed to come out of nowhere. Why would she suddenly snap over a name they'd (we can't be sure who) used for 2 1/2 years? Also they dragged up the old hottest day in years chestnut!
--Lyddie
--Lyddie
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william
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Re. Bridget Sullivans's literacy and ability to tell time:
WITNESS STATEMENTS
Page 2 ((John Fleet) "Had a conversation with Bridget Sullivan. Said she saw Mr. Borden come in the house about 10:40 A. M.
Page 21 (Harrington & Doherty "Yes, I left New Bedford for good. I did not like the way the papers spoke of me, said I was in New Bedford Jail.
And I got a postal card from the court requesting me to call for my witness fees, and that was addressed to New Bedford Jail.' (Bridget Sullivan).
Page 28 (Joseph Hyde) "In talking to Bridget Sullivan on the above date I asked her what time Mrs Borden went upstairs. She said she thought it was a little before 9 o'clock in the morning."
HEARING
Vol. 1, page 2: Q. What time did you get up in the morning? A. Quarter past six - -Q. What time did you get to bed the night before? A. After 10 o'clock.
Page 3: Q. How was the screen door kept at that time. A. About a quarter of seven, I opened it for the ice man to come in Q. How soon after you got up you saw Mrs. Borden? A. About half-past six, or twenty minutes of seven. She came downstairs from her bedroom and into the kitchen.
Page 10: Q. Did you see her after you came bacK? A. Not until 9 o'clock.
Page 17: Q. Have you any idea how long it took you to wash the outside windows? A. No, I should think it was twenty minutes past ten when I got in the house. Q. How do you fix the time? A. By the way I had other work to do - - I did not look at any time, but judged it by the work I had to do.
Page 25: Did you take any notice of the fact it struck eleven? A. Yes, sir.
Q. What notice did you take of it?. A. My clock was on the bureau
Page 27: Have you anyway of fixing that, or is it just your estimate.
A. I did not look at the clock when I came down.
TRIAL
Page 204: Q. Is there a clock there? A. Yes, Sir. Q. You mean that is the clock you looked at? Yes, sir. Q. What time was it when you cam down to the kitchen? A. A quarter past six.
Pate 239: A. I heard the bell outdoors, ring. The city hall as I suppose it was, and I looked at my clock and it was eleven o'clock. My clock is in the room.
WITNESS STATEMENTS
Page 2 ((John Fleet) "Had a conversation with Bridget Sullivan. Said she saw Mr. Borden come in the house about 10:40 A. M.
Page 21 (Harrington & Doherty "Yes, I left New Bedford for good. I did not like the way the papers spoke of me, said I was in New Bedford Jail.
And I got a postal card from the court requesting me to call for my witness fees, and that was addressed to New Bedford Jail.' (Bridget Sullivan).
Page 28 (Joseph Hyde) "In talking to Bridget Sullivan on the above date I asked her what time Mrs Borden went upstairs. She said she thought it was a little before 9 o'clock in the morning."
HEARING
Vol. 1, page 2: Q. What time did you get up in the morning? A. Quarter past six - -Q. What time did you get to bed the night before? A. After 10 o'clock.
Page 3: Q. How was the screen door kept at that time. A. About a quarter of seven, I opened it for the ice man to come in Q. How soon after you got up you saw Mrs. Borden? A. About half-past six, or twenty minutes of seven. She came downstairs from her bedroom and into the kitchen.
Page 10: Q. Did you see her after you came bacK? A. Not until 9 o'clock.
Page 17: Q. Have you any idea how long it took you to wash the outside windows? A. No, I should think it was twenty minutes past ten when I got in the house. Q. How do you fix the time? A. By the way I had other work to do - - I did not look at any time, but judged it by the work I had to do.
Page 25: Did you take any notice of the fact it struck eleven? A. Yes, sir.
Q. What notice did you take of it?. A. My clock was on the bureau
Page 27: Have you anyway of fixing that, or is it just your estimate.
A. I did not look at the clock when I came down.
TRIAL
Page 204: Q. Is there a clock there? A. Yes, Sir. Q. You mean that is the clock you looked at? Yes, sir. Q. What time was it when you cam down to the kitchen? A. A quarter past six.
Pate 239: A. I heard the bell outdoors, ring. The city hall as I suppose it was, and I looked at my clock and it was eleven o'clock. My clock is in the room.
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Kat
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That's good work, William!
Thanks.
Remember the disussion we had about Knowlton and the piece of paper?
Bridget would not or could not say what was on it.*
She said she knew the approximate time during Thursday by the work she had left to do.
" Q. How do you fix the time? A. By the way I had other work to do - - I did not look at any time, but judged it by the work I had to do."
Anything in the papers could have been read to her. She also didn't do the household shopping (a list might be hard for her?).
She seems to go by the chimes of the City Hall clock.
She says she rarely looks at the clocks tho they are everywhere it seems, in the house.
Her clock in her room could be set at a certain time and she might have been taught just to wind and set it if she needed an alarm.
There seem to be as many clues to her inability to read as there are in favor of it, and I'm just not automatically assuming either way. More needs to be known about Bridget overall.
*Prelim, Bridget
Page 48
Q. Who else besides Dr. Dolan and the marshal were in the room while you were telling your story?
A. I dont know.
Q. Were there some other people do you think?
A. I dont know. There were three or four folks here, I do not know who they were.
Q. Who asked you the questions?
A. Mr. Knowlton.
Q. Was your story taken down in writing?
A. I think so.
Q. Has any of it been read to you since then?
A. No Sir.
Q. Where did you go when you left the court room last night?
A. I went down in the office to wait for a carriage.
Q. In the marshal's office?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Did you have any talk down there?
A. No Sir. Of course there was words passed to me.
Q. Did you have any talk about your testimony then, or later?
A. No Sir.
Q. Since you left the Court Room last night, have you talked with anybody about your testimony?
A. No Sir.
Q. Has it been read to you, or your attention called to any part of it?
A. No Sir, I did not hear anything of it read.
Q. Did anybody have any talk with you; did the District Attorney talk to you last night?
A. Yes Sir, he said a few words to me down in the Marshal's office.
Q. Was the Marshal there?
A. He was around there, I do not know whether he was listening to me.
Q. Who else was there?
A. I cannot tell who they were.
Q. Did they have any testimony, or anything, written out, or any paper which they showed you last night?
A. Mr. Knowlton showed me a little paper.
Q. What kind of a little paper?
A. I do not know what it was.
Q. Did you look at it?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Was it in writing?
A. In printing I think.
Q. Was it something that you had said somewhere?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. It was. And had you made some mistake?
A. No Sir.
Page 49
Q. Was it something that you were going to say?
A. No Sir.
Q. Something that you had said at the other hearing?
A. No Sir. What I said was all right.
Q. I understand that. What did he show you the paper for; do you recollect?
A. I do not know.
Q. You read it, did you not?
A. No Sir, I did not.
Q. You saw it was in printing?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. He handed it to you?
A. No Sir.
Q. You said he showed it to you?
A. I said I saw it.
Q. Was he talking about that paper when he showed it to you?
A. No Sir. He read a little of it.
Q. Was that something that you had said?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. When had you said it?
A. I do not know when I said it.
Q. Did you say it yesterday or at that other time when you were in this room?
A. I do not know.
Q. Had you said it at all at any time?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Had you forgotten all about it?
A. No Sir.
Q. You remembered all about it?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. How much do you think he read to you, quite a little?
A. About half a dozen words I should judge.
Q. What were those half a dozen words?
A. I dont know.
Q. You dont know?
A. No Sir.
Q. Cant you remember?
A. No Sir.
Thanks.
Remember the disussion we had about Knowlton and the piece of paper?
Bridget would not or could not say what was on it.*
She said she knew the approximate time during Thursday by the work she had left to do.
" Q. How do you fix the time? A. By the way I had other work to do - - I did not look at any time, but judged it by the work I had to do."
Anything in the papers could have been read to her. She also didn't do the household shopping (a list might be hard for her?).
She seems to go by the chimes of the City Hall clock.
She says she rarely looks at the clocks tho they are everywhere it seems, in the house.
Her clock in her room could be set at a certain time and she might have been taught just to wind and set it if she needed an alarm.
There seem to be as many clues to her inability to read as there are in favor of it, and I'm just not automatically assuming either way. More needs to be known about Bridget overall.
*Prelim, Bridget
Page 48
Q. Who else besides Dr. Dolan and the marshal were in the room while you were telling your story?
A. I dont know.
Q. Were there some other people do you think?
A. I dont know. There were three or four folks here, I do not know who they were.
Q. Who asked you the questions?
A. Mr. Knowlton.
Q. Was your story taken down in writing?
A. I think so.
Q. Has any of it been read to you since then?
A. No Sir.
Q. Where did you go when you left the court room last night?
A. I went down in the office to wait for a carriage.
Q. In the marshal's office?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Did you have any talk down there?
A. No Sir. Of course there was words passed to me.
Q. Did you have any talk about your testimony then, or later?
A. No Sir.
Q. Since you left the Court Room last night, have you talked with anybody about your testimony?
A. No Sir.
Q. Has it been read to you, or your attention called to any part of it?
A. No Sir, I did not hear anything of it read.
Q. Did anybody have any talk with you; did the District Attorney talk to you last night?
A. Yes Sir, he said a few words to me down in the Marshal's office.
Q. Was the Marshal there?
A. He was around there, I do not know whether he was listening to me.
Q. Who else was there?
A. I cannot tell who they were.
Q. Did they have any testimony, or anything, written out, or any paper which they showed you last night?
A. Mr. Knowlton showed me a little paper.
Q. What kind of a little paper?
A. I do not know what it was.
Q. Did you look at it?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Was it in writing?
A. In printing I think.
Q. Was it something that you had said somewhere?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. It was. And had you made some mistake?
A. No Sir.
Page 49
Q. Was it something that you were going to say?
A. No Sir.
Q. Something that you had said at the other hearing?
A. No Sir. What I said was all right.
Q. I understand that. What did he show you the paper for; do you recollect?
A. I do not know.
Q. You read it, did you not?
A. No Sir, I did not.
Q. You saw it was in printing?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. He handed it to you?
A. No Sir.
Q. You said he showed it to you?
A. I said I saw it.
Q. Was he talking about that paper when he showed it to you?
A. No Sir. He read a little of it.
Q. Was that something that you had said?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. When had you said it?
A. I do not know when I said it.
Q. Did you say it yesterday or at that other time when you were in this room?
A. I do not know.
Q. Had you said it at all at any time?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Had you forgotten all about it?
A. No Sir.
Q. You remembered all about it?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. How much do you think he read to you, quite a little?
A. About half a dozen words I should judge.
Q. What were those half a dozen words?
A. I dont know.
Q. You dont know?
A. No Sir.
Q. Cant you remember?
A. No Sir.
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william
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Leonard Rebello did personal research on Bridget Sullivan in Montana. The information he found in the libraries only parroted what Lincoln and Radin had written in their books (novels?).
Rebello interviewed a relative of Bridget Sullivan, who said they had never heard of any letter or confession to Minnie Green.
Victoria Lincoln claimed that Minnie and Bridget had come over from Ireland together on the S.S. Republic. In checking the ship's passenger list, Rebello found Bridget Sullivan's name, but not Minnie OR Green.
(personal communication)
I have never encounted evidence that Bridget had offspring.
Rebello interviewed a relative of Bridget Sullivan, who said they had never heard of any letter or confession to Minnie Green.
Victoria Lincoln claimed that Minnie and Bridget had come over from Ireland together on the S.S. Republic. In checking the ship's passenger list, Rebello found Bridget Sullivan's name, but not Minnie OR Green.
(personal communication)
I have never encounted evidence that Bridget had offspring.
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Kat
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I remember something about this.
I'm glad you posted that- I was trying to remember.
I think someone phoned there in the past 2 years to verify if these people named existed and found the Library there had no clue about them.
I've been wracking my brain about this- so thanks.
Anyone else recall a recent query to Montana?
I'm glad you posted that- I was trying to remember.
I think someone phoned there in the past 2 years to verify if these people named existed and found the Library there had no clue about them.
I've been wracking my brain about this- so thanks.
Anyone else recall a recent query to Montana?
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lydiapinkham
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I think I do, Kat. That's what I was referring to on the other thread. I read it a long time ago, because I remember reading it when I read all the past posts before logging on myself. About 2 years ago sounds right.
Here's a weird coincidence: last week an elderly man from here passed away, and the obituary named his parents as a John A. and Bridget Sullivan. She too had been a Sullivan from birth--just an initial and maybe a very few years and miles separating them (if Bridget had returned to New England).
--Lyddie
Here's a weird coincidence: last week an elderly man from here passed away, and the obituary named his parents as a John A. and Bridget Sullivan. She too had been a Sullivan from birth--just an initial and maybe a very few years and miles separating them (if Bridget had returned to New England).
--Lyddie