The Ferry St. House

[Harry]

In 1887 Andrew, to soothe the hurt feelings of Emma and Lizzie, signed over the Ferry St. house to them.

UMass has a copy of this transaction. This URL is for the 2nd and last page:

http://ccbit.cs.umass.edu/lizzie/images ... _407p2.jpg

This document shows not only Andrew's signature but Abby's. Why would she have to sign it? To my knowledge she had no financial interest in it.

[Gary]

As a precaution many land transactions require or should have the wife of the property owner sign over what are called dowagers rights. This means that in the event the husband dies the wife can make no claim to the property which the deceased has deeded to a third party. This goes back to old English common law, where a widow would automatically receive an interest in her husbands estate.

This hails back to days in which land transactions and the paperwork that proves the transactions would often be lost, misplaced or indeed was never properly executed in the first place.

[stuartwsa]

I don't believe those are Andrew's or Abby's signatures. They are from the hand of the copyist. The stylization of both names matches exactly with their names mentioned in the text.

[Tina-Kate]

You're absolutely right, Stuart. It looks like the entire thing (even witnesses' names) was done up by the Mr "Wilbar" who is listed as the recorder @ the bottom of the document. Perhaps the signatures are elsewhere (not shown)?

[Susan]

It looks like the page is cut off after Andrew's and Abby's names are written on the second page, perhaps their signatures are after the ones written on the document?

[Kat]

None of the documents I have had Saved on this computer have real signatures. They are probably *True Copies*, of which there may have been a few. I suppose one pays to have true copies written up.

[camgarsky4]

Kat -- hi! This is a thread from way back....2004.

The link in the thread doesn't work, for me anyway, to see the docs referenced on the sale of 12 Ferry to the sisters.

In the final post, you reference having copies of some of this stuff. You wouldn't happen to have a copy of the signature pages that Harry references?

If you don't have this relatively handy, just ignore, no worries.
Thanks!

[Kat]

Here is a good link to historical works on Fall River
http://www.sailsinc.org/durfee/fulltext.htm

Yes there was a site with handwritten Borden land transactions…will keep looking…
There is even the 3 fascicles of Phillips book “History of Fall River”; and his Chapter on the Borden crime, at above link, in the meantime…

[Kat]

Here is one from my computer (but I’m still looking)
Plzcliconpic

[Kat]

Found another land transaction/ Plzcliconpic
https://lizzieandrewborden.com/LBForum/ ... s&start=50

[Kat]

Andrew Borden Land Sales+ABBY
Post by Kat » Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:03 pm

I can't believe this site is still accessible, from UMASS.edu, 1999.
You might want to take a look before its gone...
I do note that the Fourth St property transaction is not included.

https://ccbit.cs.umass.edu/lizzie/under ... sales.html

You would click on the left to see the details of any recorded.

Well, I can quit looking! I triple verified the link is no longer good-it had the land transactions stored by link, at least up until 2021, then that off-site went “OOOPS”. I also found in an email I wrote Harry in 2002, if he would post the pics of the deeds, but that was way long ago in the Archive here, and no pictures posted survived the storing of the past threads. I will, lastly, ask my sister, but at a more reasonable time of day.

[Kat]

Apparently the transaction when downloaded was not named. It is numbered, instead. Our computers have a thousand of unnamed photos that start with numbers. After 2 evenings of looking, I’m done. Oh well.