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Lizzie Borden: The Infamous Axe Murderess in My Family Tree

Almost everyone has heard of the infamous Lizzie Borden, the woman forever linked to one of America’s most shocking 19th-century crimes—the Fall River axe murders. But few can say she’s part of their family tree. My own connection to Lizzie Borden traces back through my 22nd great-grandfather, King Edward I of England, who was also Lizzie’s 20th great-grandfather on her mother’s side.

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The Legend of Lizzie Borden

Most of us know the chilling children’s rhyme:

“Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks;
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.”

While the actual number of blows differs from the rhyme, the gruesome double murder that took place in the Borden home on August 4, 1892, remains one of the most notorious in American history.

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Lizzie’s Early Life

Lizzie Andrew Borden was born on July 19, 1860, in Fall River, Massachusetts, to Andrew Borden and Sarah Morse (my cousin). Lizzie was the youngest of three daughters; one sister died in infancy, and her elder sister, Emma Borden, was born in 1851.

Tragedy struck early when Lizzie’s mother, Sarah, died in 1863 from illness. Lizzie was not yet three years old. Three years later, Andrew remarried Abby Durfee Gray, a relationship that would later prove deeply strained. Lizzie reportedly referred to her stepmother only as “Mrs. Borden” and believed Abby had married her father for his wealth.

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The Borden Family and Their Tensions

Although Andrew Borden came from a prosperous family and eventually built his own fortune, he was notoriously frugal. Despite his wealth, the family lived modestly—without luxuries like indoor plumbing or electricity, even as such comforts became common among Fall River’s elite.

Lizzie and Emma were devout members of Central Congregational Church, where Lizzie taught Sunday School and joined the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.

By 1892, however, tensions in the Borden home were escalating. Andrew’s decision to gift property to Abby’s relatives infuriated his daughters. They demanded and received ownership of a rental home their father later repurchased for $5,000 (about $142,000 today)—a transaction that took place just weeks before the murders.

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The Day of the Murders: August 4, 1892

The day before the murders, John Morse, Lizzie’s maternal uncle, came to visit and stayed overnight. The next morning, after breakfast with the family, Morse left to run errands. Andrew also left for his morning walk.

Between 9:00 and 10:30 a.m., Abby Borden went upstairs to make the guest bed—a chore usually done by Lizzie or Emma. There, she was struck first on the side of her head with a hatchet, then bludgeoned with 17 additional blows.

At about 10:30 a.m., Andrew Borden returned home. When he struggled to open the front door, the family maid, Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan, went to assist. She later testified that she heard Lizzie laughing upstairs—a chilling detail, as Abby’s body would have been visible from that vantage point.

Minutes later, Andrew lay down on the sitting-room couch. Around 11:10 a.m., Lizzie called out, “Maggie, come quick! Father’s dead! Somebody came in and killed him!” Andrew had been struck 10 or 11 times in the face with a hatchet-like weapon.

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The Investigation and Trial

When police arrived, they first questioned Lizzie about her father’s death. Abby’s body was discovered only after Lizzie suggested someone “look upstairs.”

The investigation was haphazard and later criticized for mishandling evidence. By the time a full search was conducted two days later, potential evidence—including a dress Lizzie had burned—was gone.

At the inquest on August 8, Lizzie testified while under the influence of morphine, making her answers confused and inconsistent. She was arrested three days later and charged with the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden.

The trial began on June 5, 1893, in New Bedford. It captivated the nation, with every shocking detail splashed across newspapers. On June 20, 1893, the jury deliberated for just 90 minutes before finding Lizzie not guilty.

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Life After the Trial

After her acquittal, Lizzie and Emma purchased a grand home in Fall River’s elite Hill neighborhood, naming it Maplecroft. Lizzie adopted the name “Lizbeth A. Borden”, enjoyed her wealth freely, and employed a full staff of servants—an opulent contrast to her earlier life.

In 1905, the sisters had a permanent falling out and never spoke again. Lizzie remained in Fall River until her death from pneumonia on June 1, 1927. Emma died just nine days later, on June 10, 1927, in New Hampshire.

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A Family Connection and a Hollywood Twist

In a fascinating coincidence, my 21st cousin, Elizabeth Montgomery, best known for playing Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, portrayed Lizzie Borden in the 1975 TV film “The Legend of Lizzie Borden.” Montgomery never knew she was related to Lizzie—the connection was only discovered after her death.

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The Enduring Mystery of Lizzie Borden

The question remains: Did Lizzie Borden get away with murder? Over a century later, historians, true-crime enthusiasts, and genealogists still debate her guilt. What’s certain is that Lizzie Borden remains one of the most enduring mysteries in American history—and another vivid square in the ever-growing quilt of my family’s story.