Lizzie's Pooches

[mbhenty]

Yes.

Lizzie Borden had three pooches that we know of. They were known as:

Donald Stuart Borden
Laddie Miller Borden
Royal Nelson Borden

Now, Victorians loved naming their dogs after real people, including using their own surnames.

It is generally believed that at least 2 of these were named after Lizzie's housekeepers. Laddie Miller is believed to be named after Ellen 'Nellie' Miller, and Royal Nelson, after Hannah Nelson.

This has been the general belief amongst Borden Historians over the years, though I cannot find uncontested proof of this. They could indeed have been named for some other people, and not her housekeepers, and it could be just a coincidence? Could be.

But it is most likely that Miller and Nelson were named after her maids, and I can accept that.

If so:

Who is Donald Stuart.

There is no reference to anyone in named Stuart in Rebello, or have I yet to find any in Parallel Lives.

Who was Donald Stuart?

Most historians do not not know and only speculate. The most popular belief is that it was a little boy, a friend. (?)

Do you know?

[DJ]

They're both Good Scottish names.

May have something to do with that ... I've met a few Rowena's, as per Scott's "Ivanhoe."
The names could have a literary bent, as well.

Anyway, "Laddie" has a Scottish ring. "Stuart" was the "Royal" family in Scotland, then England.

[Yooper]

With an alternate spelling, "Stewart", there are two possibilities. Donald Ogden Stewart (1894-1980) was a playwright in the 1920's, timing is a critical factor here, Lizzie died in 1927, and I don't know when she obtained the dog "Donald Stuart". Another possibility is Sir Donald Stewart (1824-1900), a British field marshal serving in the Bengal Army, and a more likely candidate.

[mbhenty]

Yes:

Very good observations fellow Bordenian's.

Indeed, a literary employment of a surname from literature makes sense, since it appears Lizzie read a lot. And, the mention of the Scotts is a good one.

And, a playwright makes a lot of sense, though when I googled Stewart, it appears he did not become famous until after Lizzie had died. For a minute I was sure you had something there yooper.

In speaking to local experts on the Borden case, I have been unable to discover who Donald Stuart was, though popular belief is that her other 2 pooches were named after her housekeepers. To completely accept this reasoning I must first see it in print by a viable contemporary of Lizzie, Lizzie herself, or newspaper account or something similar. The connection between housekeepers Nelson and Miller and her dogs may not be who Borden Scholars think it is.

But, that being said, I can accept that the dogs were indeed named after her housekeepers...................for now.

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Also, there is Charles Edward Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender He was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. He was defeated at the Battle of Culloden that effectively ended the Jacobite cause.

[SallyG]

I can recall my grandmother, who was born in 1899, having a dog named "Laddie" as a child, and I believe it was a popular name for dogs during that era. If Lizzie was like most women, she probably fantasized about what she might have named children, if she had had any. Perhaps Donald Stuart was a favorite. Royal would have been a mans name as well. Even Nelson is a mans name. Could Miller has been used as a first name as well?