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By Bill Lombardi
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
To wander through the Pine Ridge pet cemetery in Dedham, the oldest in the United States, is a fascinating experience.
Pets of many famous people are buried there. Embedded on some of the stones are photos of their loved animals. The grounds are so beautiful that you could mistake it for a human cemetery. Igloo, Richard Byrd's dog who accompanied him to the North Pole, is buried there; his grave is marked with a large stone in the shape of an igloo.
In a secluded corner of the older section are the graves of Lizzie Borden's three dogs, whose names were Donald Stuart, Royal Nelson, and Laddie Miller. Inscribed on the stone are the words, "Sleeping Awhile."
Life with father
When Lizzie was born, her father, a miserly, wealthy embalmer and realtor, gave her Andrew for a middle name because he wanted a boy. When she was three years old, her mother died and Emma, her twelve-year-old sister, shared the responsibility of raising her.
Of the two, Lizzie was her father's favorite. They were devoted to each other. At graduation, she gave him her ring, which he wore on his little finger. Her father later returned it so she could wear it herself.
Lizzie, outgoing and active, taught Sunday school at the nearby church. She even persuaded her father to purchase a pew, one of the few times he gave his money away.
Sometimes, he made Lizzie assist him when he embalmed bodies - a gruesome task to which she reluctantly agreed.
When Andrew remarried, his daughters never got along with their new stepmother, Abby. At first, Lizzie called her "mother," but later referred to her as Mrs. Borden. Emma, meanwhile, always called her Abby.
Through the years, there were many conflicts and arguments. Andrew often took his wife's side. Lizzie would often seek her sister's advice and approval.
The girls never married and as they grew older, they depended more and more upon their father's fortune.
One day, they discovered he was in the process of having his will changed. Abby wanted him to leave more to her so she could provide for her own sister.
When the girls confronted him about it, he denied it. Their suspicions grew, however, when they learned he made arrangements to meet with his lawyer.
Forty whacks
August 4, 1892 was a hot and humid Thursday with the temperature reaching close to 90 degrees. At the Borden house in Fall River, Bridget, the servant, went outside to wash the windows and was conversing with a neighbor approximately a few minutes before nine. Abby was dusting and working her way upstairs while Lizzie was ironing in the kitchen. Emma was away visiting friends. Andrew had gone downtown to settle a business matter and was expected home later in the morning.
While in the guest room on the second floor, Abby was struck repeatedly on the head with an axe, nearly decapitating her.
Around 10:30 a.m., Andrew returned home and reclined on the sofa to read his newspapers. He was viciously and violently attacked with an axe. It came down on his head, nearly cutting it off.
Around 11:30 a.m., Lizzie rushed over to a neighbor's house and calmly announced she found her father dead in the living room. When the police arrived, there was blood splattered everywhere. They searched the house for Abby and found her on the second floor, face down in a pool of blood.
The bodies were waked at the house and before the caskets were closed, Lizzie slipped off her ring and put it back on her father's little finger.
Before the remains were interred, both heads were removed to enable investigators to compare the markings on the skulls, in the event that the murder weapon was found.
The police built up a weak case against Lizzie and indicted her for the murders. The state tried to show that Lizzie feared she wouldn't get a liberal share of her father's wealth, and decided to do away with both him and Abby.
Throughout the trial, Lizzie claimed that she was not in the house, but in the barn. She hired a superb lawyer to defend her, and he proved to the jury that all evidence was circumstantial. Lizzie was found innocent.
After the fall
When she attended church, people would glare and no one would sit near her. So she never returned.
Lizzie had a small circle of close friends.
She began to travel, and Boston was her favorite city. She took an apartment on Beacon Hill and always took her dogs with her. She liked museums and theaters.
One night while attending the Colonial Theater, she became fascinated with a young, beautiful actress named Nance O'Neil. She attended the performance practically every evening. Later that year, they met at a resort and became inseparable.
Lizzie showered O'Neil with gifts and money. Poor investments had caused the actress financial hardship, and Lizzie took her home to Fall River. They had lavish parties.
Meanwhile, Lizzie and her sister, Emma, began to drift apart. Emma left and went to live in another state. The sisters never spoke or saw each other again.
The relationship between Nance and Lizzie lasted a few years and ended abruptly.
Lizzie was one of the first to own an automobile. On a drive out to the countryside one day, the car hit and injured a dog. She took it to the vet to be treated, then located its home and gave the owner money.
As her close friends passed away, Lizzie lived an increasingly secluded life with her dogs.
She entered a hospital for an operation and while convalescing, she would visit some of the other patients. One day, a woman had a baby and Lizzie asked if she could hold it. Cuddling it in her arms, she remarked that it was the first time in her life that she had ever held a baby.
After her release from the hospital, complications set in and Lizzie died on June 1, 1927. Nine days later, her sister died In New Hampshire. Both were buried in the family plot in Fall River.
Lizzie left her money to some friends, charitable groups, and the Animal Rescue League.
Her father's fortune could have been divided three ways if it was determined that he had died first - in which case, a share of the inheritance would have been given to Abby's sister. But Abby's blood had coagulated while Andrew's was running freely, proving that she had died first. Lizzie and Emma received all of the money.
Epilogue
There are still Lizzie Borden buffs who seek information or evidence about the murders.
It is strange that Lizzie, who never married, gave her dogs male names. Very few people know about the existence of the dogs or where they are buried.
The murder weapon that killed Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby, was never found.
If the caskets in the pet cemetery were exhumed, it is possible that Lizzie could have placed a sentimental object with her pooches as a last farewell.
Or maybe, just maybe, "something else.”
Bill Lombardi is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He is the grandfather of Emily, Ashley and Zachary Sullivan, and Cayce and Jimmy Lombardi - all Walpole residents.
Lizzie Borden.
