Lizzie Borden Society Forum

This is pasted from "witness statements with new index"

Alexander B. Coggeshall, a stable keeper on Second street, left his stable at 11.10 to go to diner. He
stopped to talk with Mrs Buffington, and she told him that there had been trouble in the next house. Just
then Bridget Sullivan came out of the house on the run, and went over to Southard H. Miller’s house,
and went in. Soon after Mr. Miller came to the door, and called him over, and said “Here Alex, I want
you to listen to what this girl says,” Bridget then told them that Mr. Borden and his wife had both been
murdered. Mr. Coggeshall then went to dinner at Mrs. Tripp’s No. 80 Second street, and he told her of
the murder. It was then 11.20 by the clock in the restaurant.

According to this testimony, Bridget told them between 11:10 and 11:20 that both Abby and Andrew had been killed. Yet we know Bridget did not discover Abby's body until a little later when she went up with Mrs. Churchill.

Most likely this can be chalked up to confused memory, whether on the part of Coggeshall or Miller I don't know. It's just another example of how unreliable human memory and witness testimony can be.

Abbreviated version of Bridget's 3rd jaunt from the Borden house that morning.

Immediately upon Churchill/Bridget finding Abby dead and coming back downstairs to tell Lizzie and Alice, Lizzie told Bridget to go fetch Mrs. Bowen. After telling Mrs. Bowen and being told she had to get ready, Bridget was called over by Southard Miller (Mrs. Bowens father and sharer of a duplex) and asked what happened. Bridget told him both had been killed. Miller then called over Coggeshall and Bridget was asked to repeat the story.

In Jennings Journals, Miller shares a very similar recollection as Coggeshall.

Dr. Bowen returned from sending the telegraph and was told about Abby. He went upstairs to confirm. Mrs. Bowen seems to have arrived (let in by Sawyer) while Bowen was upstairs. When Dr. Bowen came down with confirmation, Mrs. Bowen let out some sort of noise (which apparently irritated Dr. Bowen) and Dr. Bowen told her to go back home.

There is a common thread throughout folks recollections of that morning.....Fall River time pieces and peoples internal clocks were not synched up that day.....not even close.

So this was a third time Bridget was sent out? I did not know that, thanks.

Yes, that issue with timing stands out and is very notable. We are surrounded by electronic equipment with clocks now, maybe our sense of time is very different. Then again, maybe we'd have the problem now too. The problem could be one of human memory and confusion when it comes to chronicling a recent event in our mind.

I find it interesting (guilty or innocent) the choices of folks that Lizzie sent Bridget, Dr, Bowen & Churchill to go fetch. It took others to call the police to the scene. That just seems so odd, particularly since the killer might very well have been near by.

1) Dr. Bowen (Bridget)
2) Any doctor (Churchill)
3) Alice Russell (Bridget)
4) Telegram Emma (Dr. Bowen)
5) Phebe Bowen (Bridget)

Even Dr. Bowen had the same odd sense of priority. He went and sent Emma a telegram and stopped by to spread the news at Bakers pharmacy. Only mentioned needing police as Sawyer & Allen showed up at the house and Sawyer assured Bowen that Allen was a cop.

I kind of, sort of, get seeking a doctor. Of course, it seems Lizzie did suspect that AJB was dead, so not sure what a doctor would do.
Again, strange choices (to my way of thinking), guilty or innocent.

Just an interesting tidbit about Alexander Coggeshall...his son, Frederick W. Coggeshall, was employed by Lizzie as a coachman, c. 1903.(per his marriage certificate). He was not a live-in servant at Maplecroft, however. Fred was also a pallbearer at Lizzie's funeral.

How long was Fred her coachman? Was there a chunk of time between the end of his employment and her funeral?

Hi Camgarsky

I’m not sure when Fred Coggehall started to work for Lizzie, but he wasn’t always a coachman. On March 17, 1898,after Fred was selected to sit as a juror on a murder trial, The Boston Globe reported that he was a stable keeper; it also reported that he was “a native of Westport, Mass but has resided in Fall River since childhood. He is 33 years of age and a hatter by trade. He followed that occupation up til a few years ago when he became associated with his father, A. H. Coggeshall, in the livery business on 2nd St... He has the reputation of being a man of good judgement and strong convictions.”

He married Hannah Reynolds in 1903, and his marriage record noted his occupation as coachman and his residence as 306 French St., but the city directories don’t list Fred as living there. In 1903, the infamous Joseph Tetrault is listed as living at 306 French as a coachman. I couldn’t locate any other references to Fred working at Maplecroft after 1903.

When Lizzie died in 1927, The Boston Globe identified the pallbearers “as Fred Coggeshall, Norman Hall, former employees of Miss Borden, Ernest Terry, chauffeur in her employ at the time of her death, and Edeson Robinson.” Norman Hall was a former chauffeur and Edson Robinson was Lizzie’s cousin (mentioned in her will).

Looks like there were a couple of other fascinating "Joseph Tetrault's" in Fall River at same time as Lizzie's version.

Per the Evening Herald, Joseph Tetrault Sr. died May, 1911. His son, Joseph Tetrault Jr. (Fall River native) was a federal secret service agent. In the late 1890's, Jr. rode a bicycle across the country. Same article mentions Sr. was quite a runner in his time.

Just more interesting stuff as we browse the records.....

Trying to track down Joseph H. Tetrault/Tatro is quite the challenge. I know that KGDevil has done his research, as have many others on the forum. Tetrault is featured in quite a few forum discussions, especially in regard to his relationship to Lizzie and his possible involvement in the estrangement between the sisters.

https://lizzieandrewborden.com/LBForum/ ... php?t=5924
https://lizzieandrewborden.com/LBForum/ ... php?t=5944
https://lizzieandrewborden.com/LBForum/ ... .php?p=690
https://lizzieandrewborden.com/LBForum/ ... f=1&t=5963

I'm a glutton for punishment, so I decided to accept the challenge, based on information that's already known and discussed, Some of what I've found may be new to the forum.

According to the Fall River Daily Herald of Aug. 28, 1895, William Whitworth and a man named Gallins, opened a “tonsorial palor” (barber shop) on 32 Second St. Joseph H. Tatro, hairdresser, is listed at that address from 1897-1900 (city directories).

Joseph Tetrault, coachman, is listed at 306 French St in the 1901, 1903, 1904, and 1906 city directories. (In 1906, he is listed as Joseph H. Tetrault).

In 1908, Joseph H. Tetrault is reported “removed to Providence” in the directory. (A Joseph Tetrault Jr. also removed this year).

During the period that Tetrault the coachman is listed at 306 French St., there are no listings for a Joseph H. Tatro, hairdresser. We can surmise then, that Tetrault and Tatro are one and the same person. Keep in mind that the 1900 census noted the coachman as “Tatro.”

Why the name change in the directories? Perhaps Joseph H. Tatro, befitting his new position on “The Hill,” reverted to the more elegant French spelling of his surname. Or, the directory enumerator took it upon himself to note the more formal spelling. We can’t know.

However, here’s an example of how Tetrault and Tatro can be one and the same person:

A gentleman’s social club called “The Thirty Associates” was formed in April 1899. It’s name came from the number of members, which was limited to 30. Its members were not Fall River’s elite. They were railroad conductors, painters, bakers, clerks, etc. In fact, William H. McKenney, president of the club, was a barber. The club was located at the corner of S. Main & Columbia Sts.

The club had been formed to “promote sociability” and was very active in the Fall River community from 1899-1903. Its members organized “moonlight excursions” by boat, dances, ladies’ nights, band concerts, clambakes, and ice cream socials.

On Nov. 8, 1900, the Fall River Daily Herald reported that the club had elected new officers. One of them was “Joseph H. Tatro.” However, The Fall River Daily News, when covering the same news item, reported his name as “Joseph Tetrault.”

According to The Fall River Globe on Feb. 13, 1901, for the club’s second annual ball held in Anawam, “Joseph Tetrault” is reported as floor manager and also served on the committee of arrangements. However, The Fall River Evening News, covering the same story, reported his name as “Joseph Tatro.”

On June 7, 1901, The Fall River Daily Herald reported that Joseph H. Tetreault had been elected vice-president of the club. There are no further references to him after this date; the club disbanded in 1903 and reorganized as “The Oxford Club.”

We know Joseph left Lizzie’s employ c. 1908 for Providence. After that, he’s nearly impossible to trace due to the number of Joseph Tetraults and Tatros listed as barbers in Rhode Island.

However, the Joseph H. Tatro who died in Cuyahoga, Cleveland, Ohio on Aug. 10, 1929 may provide a few clues. According to his death certificate, he was born Feb. 9, 1863 in N. Kingstown, R.I. Based on the surviving relatives listed in his obituary, I was able to trace the family to Wickford, Rhode Island...specifically to a village called Allentown. This Joseph H. Tatro was also a resident of Fall River. The following are excerpts from the local newspaper, The Wickford Standard:

“Joseph Tatro spent Thanksgiving Day here with his mother” (Allentown) The Standard, Dec. 3, 1897.

“Joseph H. Tatro of Fall River Mass, paid a visit to his brother-in-law, George H. Straight, this week.” April 14, 1899, The Standard, (NOTE: George H. Straight was married to Joseph’s half-sister Ida Delia in 1881.)

“Joseph Tatro of Fall River is visiting his mother for a few days.” (this item appeared in the same edition as above).

“Joseph Tatro of Fall River, Mass is spending a few days with his brother, Fred, at the latter’s home in Silver Spring.”(Allentown) The Standard, May 23, 1902.

“Joseph Tatro of Fall River, has been the guest of his mother the past week.” The Standard, June 16, 1905.

“Joseph Tatro, who has been spending the past week with his mother in this village (Allentown) has returned to Fall River.” The Standard, Oct. 20, 1905. (NOTE: His mother, Almedia Fanion Tatro, died in Nov. 1905.)

There are references to Joseph’s family in the same newspaper, namely, his father, Peter, and his siblings, Julia Tatro, Mary Tatro Asselin, Fred Tatro, Frank Tatro and Edward Tatro, who lived in Westerly in 1896.

The last item related to Joseph Tatro is from The Standard dated Jan. 5, 1917: “Joseph H. Tatro sold to George H. Eldred lot of land on southerly side of road leading from Allentown to Slocum.”

We can assume that Joseph left Rhode Island soon after selling his property and relocated to Cleveland to join his relatives there. He’s listed in the Cleveland directory as a janitor at the Rose Mary Home in 1923.

His obituary reads: Tatro-Joseph H., age 66 years, residence, 1872 Brightwood Street. East Cleveland, brother of Fred A., Edward P., Frank A., Mary E. Asselin and Julia E. Lynch. Funeral from S. H. Johnston Funeral Home, 15314 Macauley Avenue corner E. 152d Street and Lake Shore Boulevard, Monday, Aug. 12, at 1 p. m. Evening Bulletin, Providence, R. I., please copy.

According to a tree on ancestry.com, Joseph’s younger sister, Julia, married a man named Lynch in 1902, They had a son named Kenneth, born in Providence, R.I. in Feb. 1906. The son’s middle name was Borden. The middle name is odd, as there was no apparent connection to any Bordens in the Tatro/Lynch tree.

As Alice in Wonderland remarked, 'Curiouser and curiouser!”