Lizzie Borden Society Forum

I believe every book on the Borden case has in it one thing or one incident not found in any other Borden book. Victoria Lincoln's book has her share of these. I thought that this was one of them:

"In connection with all this paper-burning, it is well to mention here that the broken lock that Andrew had picked up from Mr. Clegg's floor and dropped in his pocket was found on the mantel. " - page 126

I examined a few other books for this claim and so far have only found Radin (p65) that cites the lock as being found:

"She [Mrs. Kelly] saw him go to the front door carrying a small paper-wrapped parcel, which was later found to contain the broken lock.

Offhand, does anybody know whether this is true or can find it in any other place?

Harry, Lincoln is the only place that I recall having read that about the lock being found on the mantel in a mail wrapper. She attributed this to Lizzie's actually taking the parcel Andrew came home with, the will or what-have-you, and had to make something that looked like it. So, she took the broken lock Andrew came home with and put it in a mail wrapper and placed it on the mantel.

Lincoln gets all this from Lizzie's Inquest testimony:

Q. After your father went out, you remained there either in the kitchen or dining room all of the time?

A. I went into the sitting room long enough to direct some paper wrappers.

Lincoln also stated that Lizzie's reason for directing the paper wrappers were because Abby asked her to, which I can't find Lizzie having said anywhere at the moment. Sounds like it might be another of those Lincolnisms.

Inquest
Lizzie
80
A. She asked me how I felt. I told her. She asked me what I wanted for dinner. I told her not anything, what kind of meat I wanted for dinner. I told her not any. She said she had been up and made the spare bed, and was going to take up some linen pillow cases for the small pillows at the foot, and then the room was done. She says: "I have had a note from somebody that is sick, and I am going out, and I will get the din- [sic] at the same time." I think she said something about the weather, I don't know. She also asked me if I would direct some paper wrappers for her, which I did.

--Those wrappers were supposedly something Lizzie worked on after Andrew left and before he came home.

--Har, I've never read anywhere that the lock was found.

Thanks, Kat! You saved me some searching time, too many windows open doing too many different things at once.

I'm so glad to be *educated* in Lincolnisms I will help clear anything up that I can!

I don't read Lincoln anymore. It would just confuse me and get mixed up with other, truer, versions. I look at her book as "historical fiction".

Good subject, Harry, and one I've often thought of. Sure wish we knew the answer.

Andrew was seen carrying a white parcel when he came home. That wasn't the lock. The carpenter saw him pick up the lock and put it in his pocket, didn't they? He didn't wrap it up in any white paper. He just put it in his pocket.

Andrew had visited the post office. He told Lizzie there was no mail, or, "None for you," as he so bluntly put it. Was the white parcel from the post office? Or from a bank he visited in person? I haven't heard that he purchased anything from a store that morning, except visiting his barber.

Dr. Bowen was seen at the Borden kitchen stove, where there was a white, cylindrical shaped thing burning and the word "Emma" was noticed.
That wasn't the lock. Lizzie - or anybody - wouldn't have put the lock in the fire anyway.

Andrew went upstairs when he came home. I think he either put the lock in his bedroom, like setting it there until he gave it a better home. Or he left it in his coat, which ended up being folded up under his head. Or he put it in a 'junk drawer', or a place downstairs until he could go put it in the bahn, or wherever he kept stuff like that. We know it was not on his person after his murder, since we have the testimony of what was in his pockets. (Except that chewing tobacco ...) Wherever the lock went, I think it was considered unimportant back then and was just forgotten, darn it.

I believe it was Kat who had a good point about the broken lock in the past. Andrew may have retrieved the lock to bring home to try out which key fit it so that he wouldn't be carrying a useless key around on his key chain. That idea at least gives some sense to the taking of an otherwise useless piece of junk, no matter how frugal Andrew was.

I think that's probably right that the lock was not considered important in the investigation. Andf Andrew might not have had time to check a key against a lock before he was killed. They certainly were interested in Andrew's keys, too, and wanted to know if the order of keys on the ring had been changed! Why would they want to know that?

The word Emma was *possibly* seen by Harrington on the paper Bowen was going to put in the stove fire. He wasn't sure about that.
Do we believe the cylindrical shape in the stove?

I can't remember off the top of my head, but, was it Harrington that was arguing that it was he who had taken the hatchet head and wrapped it in paper, contradicting another's story of the same? That cylinder of paper has a simple ring of truth to it, why mention it at all, they weren't able to pin it down as evidence one way or the other?

The wrapped hatchet head was a Medley thing. He took it away Monday in his pocket. Mullaly said he saw the handle of the HH in the box in the cellar and Fleet said he didn't.

I'm still not sure about the cylinder shape in the stove. It sounds so accidental, the way it was *found*. I mean, if Dr. Bowen hadn't opened the stove thingy, they might not have looked in there?

Thanks, okay, so it wasn't Harrington then, so we can put more faith in his word. Thats why I think it has the ring of truth to it, Harrington seeing that cylinder of burnt paper was such a chance thing, not something that was specifically looked for like Lizzie had burned a will. Just a casual observance to something that may or may not have been a clue.

I wasn't aware that the cops were so interested in Andrew's keys. That's interesting. Kat, what is your theory about Andrew maybe picking up the lock to see if one of his keys fit it? That sounds fascinating. I just thought he saw it discarded and looking it over thought he might be able to fix it into a useable item.

Prelim
Page 135 (231)

JAMES MATHER.

Q. (Mr. Knowlton.) What is your name?
A. James Mather.
Q. Were you working with Mr. Shortsleeves that day?
A. Yes sir.
Q. In the shop that was to be occupied by Jonathan Clegg in Mr. Borden’s building?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Did you know Mr. Andrew J. Borden when he was alive?
A. No sir, not until that day.
Q. That was the first time you had seen him?
A. Yes sir.
..........

Q. You say he went to the window, and took something?
A. And old lock that was there, an old store lock.
Q. Was it an iron lock?
Page 138 (234)

A. A Yale lock.
Q. Brass?
A. A brass bolt and brass springs inside.
Q. Did he wrap it up in anything?
A. No Sir, took it in his hands.
Q. Did he have anythingelse in his hand that you noticed at the time?
A. I did not notice.
Q. Did he carry that away with him?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Did he have it in his hand when you last saw him?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. He went in the direction of Spring street?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. You did not see him turn the corner?
A. No Sir.
Q. Has he any other buildings near by there, except this one where Mr. Clegg’s store is?
(235)
A. There is a row of buildings there, I believe that all belong to Mr. Borden, all around there.
Q. Any nearer Spring street?
A. Yes Sir, three or four stores.
Q. Do you know whether he stopped in any of those or not?
A. I could not say.
Q. You did not notice?
A. No Sir.
Q. So you did not watch him until he went by those stores?
A. No Sir, I did not watch him after he turned up that way. I saw him go up past about two stores there, then I went inside of No. 92 where I was working.

--Shortsleeves & Mather were working on Clegg's store.
The lock could be the old one being removed, a new one being put on for the tenant.
Since that was Andrew's store, and he carried keys with him, he may have wanted to get the lock home, match the key, and discard it from his set.
That's something a landlord might do.
That was my theory.

The key situation:

DR. Dolan at the Preliminary Hearing:

Q. Did you search, or cause to be searched, the person of Mr. Borden at that time?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Did you take from it the things that were found?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. What did you take?
A. I took some keys.
Q. Where are they.
A. In my possession.
Q. Have you got them here?
A. No Sir.
Q. Will you produce them?
A. If you wish, yes sir.
Q. I do. You took some keys?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. A bunch?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. That is to say, they were on a key ring?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. In what pocket were they?
A. I did not take them myself.
Q. Did you see them taken?
A. No Sir.
Q. Who gave them to you?
A. The undertaker.
Q. I understood you to say you took some keys.
A. No Sir.
Q. Did not I just ask you if you searched, or caused the search?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Do you know where these keys came from, what pocket?
A. No Sir, I do not.
Q. Did they come from any pocket?
A. I could not say.
Q. Where were you when the undertaker handed them to you?
A. In the sitting room.
Q. On this day?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Did you take anythingelse from the person, or see anything taken from the person?
A. I cannot remember now whether I took anything or not; I think I did take something myself; I cannot remember just what it was.
Q. What else have you?
A. I have got some money.
Page 88 (183)

Q. Loose, or in a pocket book?
A. Loose and in a pocket book, change, I have some silver, and some money in a pocket book.
(184)
Q. Who gave you those?
A. The undertaker.
Q. What else?
A. I do not recollect anythingelse. I have a memorandum book.
Q. Have you got any papers?
A. I could not say; I have not examined it.
Q. You have not examined them?
A. I counted the money before the undertaker.
Q. Where are all these things?
A. In the safe at the office.
Q. Will you produce them?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Have you any keys other than this bunch of keys?
A. There is a big key there, like a shop key.
Q. Have you any other key besides the big shop key and this bunch of keys?
A. I do not know, I have not examined them thoroughly; they were all put in a handkerchief, and tied up, and they have remained that way.
Q. I understand you have not altered these keys as to their arrangement since you received them?
A. No Sir.
Q. There are certain keys that are on a key ring?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. There is one other large key?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. So far as you recollect, that is all the keys there are?
A. So far as I can recollect.
Q. Whatever keys there are, are precisely the same collection that they were, when you received them?
A. Yes Sir.

--I gave rather more testimony than technically needed, as this is from the Prelim and not everyone has it. I think it's interesting about Andrew's set of keys. Why would Dolan be asked if he had altered their sequence on the ring?
I can't figure out the significance.
The other "Key" questions we have to be aware of is the key taken from Mrs. Borden Tuesday that week, Andrew's failure to get in the front door using his key on Thursday, and that bedroom door key which stayed on the mantle until bedtime.
Now the lock picked up and my idea about a key for that on Andrew's ring.

I had never read the testimony on the guy who saw Andrew pick up the lock. I always read that in books and pictured that lock as a padlock. Interesting that it was not.

I thought I had also read (in books) that he picked it up off the ground and it was some worthless old lock, broken (or I pictured it broken). I never considered the thought that it was the old lock taken from the door that was being given a new lock. Yeah, if Andrew was there why not take it and be free of a clunky key on his keyring.

That's an excellent theory, Kat. Very possible. You so smart! And all this time that lock story was largely chalked up to Andrew being a tightwad. I would say you're probably right.

Thank you Augusta!
I was thinking that the killing of the pigeons may be another example of painting Andrew with an hysterics's brush- maligning him when there could be a reasonable explanation, like the keys.

There was a "pigeon house" on the Borden premises. Susan has convinced us as to how dirty/filthy these pigeons are in their splats all over people's property. The pigeons might possibly have been killed prior to Andrew contracting to having the house and barn and fence painted that spring. Maybe he was protecting his investment in his property, especially if he killed them right after. Lizzie didn't seem that upset about it and she sure got involved in choosing the paint and getting up early to do it!
May 10th, Lizzie got up at 6 a.m. to supervise the mixing of the proper color for the house. Also painted were the steps, the well-house, the fence, and "everything."
It's a reasonablesupposition.