Lizzie Borden Society Forum

I live&grew up&went to school just a town over from Fall River. I even worked at a pizza place on the same street Lizzies half brother(illegitimate) brother lived. Her brother lived on an apple farm there but his work was disposing of sick horses also where he boasted of killing them with an axe with little blood spatter/spill. His axe at his own addmission was his friend he,was also mentally unstable. After researching for hours i initially thought it to be maid her,very detailed testimony had me thinking because i too am a maid & i know what its like to be in someones else home but also my boundaries it seemed odd how she recalled timeline so well even with locking of doors. But,then i thought..maybe it added insight of the layout & certain things like the doors,locks,basin in basement etc. Lizzie got maid out of house to fetch doctor quickly&remember the testimony the maid had to let father in front door because other doors were locked! & lizzie trying to get her to go shopping prior? Then lizzie hanging near father to suddenly iron hankerchiefs as to keep him in her sight.Where as keeping her brother hidden after he killed step mom. By getting maid out for short time she could get brother outta house. There were a few reports of strange man outside their home just prior. Billy was after money thats a fact, then he never comes around again? The distance between where he lived & fall river home is 20 miles. Then he commits suicide few years later & its stated he had large sum of money in pocket. I highly believe now Lizzie paid him to do it,thats why there wasnt any blood splatter on her & the murders were a little less bloodier than what would be expected because the brother was a pro at killing horses with an axe in the head. I could be on total wrong track but it makes a lot of sense plus he could have time to clean up in basement then ofcourse would explain why he was spotted in yard around the time of murders by several people. He was a hidden secret in family father didnt acknowledge him people were not used to seeing him or what he looked like. Lizzie bought a nice house right in the more upscale part of fall river shortly there after too. Just my theory

Do you have any testimony for the police looking into Billy? I do remember that someone said there was a strange male hanging around.

I do believe there's some validity to this, because I've always said that either (1) Lizzie did it, or (2) she knows who did and she's covering for him. This leads me to believe that it is either William Borden or Dave Anthony, whom she was dating at the time. But, why would she cover for an illegitimate half-brother? William WAS a little "off," so if I was Lizzie, I'd be a little afraid with him in the house, which he would have to be because there was at least 1 hour between the two murders. Do you have any references to the fact that William had cash on him when he committed suicide? I'd love to go and read up on it! Thanks!

Yes:

With all due respect, and not to offend anyone on here.

Let me add that I would place my complete self worth into the fact that there was no Billy Borden. Lizzie Borden did not have a half brother. This is all hearsay, conjecture, and unreliable conjecture at that.... and to talk about this Billy as if he were real is like talking about the characters on Game of Thrones as if they all really existed.

Yes there was a William Borden who hung himself. We even identified his house on the outskirts of the town of Taunton.

The Billy Borden of folklore was most probably a figure in the imagination of Ellen Eagan, her granddaughter, and her granddaughter's husband, Pete Peterson, and fabricated into a book by Arnold Brown.

Ellen Eagan claimed to be walking by the Borden house on the morning of the murder, stopping close by to vomit, since she did not feel well. She is the one who invented Billy Borden, or at the very least the inventor of Billy Borden as told by Pete Peterson. Remember. Ellen Eagan was the woman who's testimony was excluded in the Borden trial because she was deemed not creditable.

There is absolutely no proof that Andrew Borden had a son out of wedlock. To talk about it like it was factual is like talking about My little pony, Ken, and Barbie and whether Barbie had a Sugar Daddy who purchased her a pink Corvette.

Now this being said does not mean that Pete Peterson's story is without merit. Just that the odds and history are not with it. Highly unlikely. Conjecture, speculation, and shrewd and clever marketing of "Lizzie Borden The Legend, The Truth, The Final Chapter" and its author, Arnold Brown—who in all likelihood laughed all the way to the bank.

mbhenty wrote:
Ellen Eagan claimed to be walking by the Borden house on the morning of the murder, stopping close by to vomit, since she did not feel well. She is the one who invented Billy Borden, or at the very least the inventor of Billy Borden as told by Pete Peterson. Remember. Ellen Eagan was the woman who's testimony was excluded in the Borden trial because she was deemed not creditable.

I had heard of Ellen Eagan as I had first read Arnold Brown's book about 16 years ago.

Was there a reason given as why she was deemed not creditable?

Yes Violette:

"Not Creditable" may be a harsh description of Ellen Eagan. More like unreliable or dubious witness would be a more accurate description.

The police had interviewed her and found what she had to say was not believable. For one thing she wasn't sure whether she went into the Borden or the Kelly yard to vomit. And if I remember correctly she said that she had spoken to Bridget who was washing windows, but there is no proof of that, or any proof that Bridget even spoke about it.The only person Bridget claimed to have spoken with the day of the crime was the Kelly servant. In the end the police and lawyers decided that she had nothing to add in a positive or negative sense. Researching the truth, one walks away believing that her testimony could not be reliable.

In speaking to an authority on the Borden case, and one with a lot more knowledge than I do, and with an inside track on information about Ellen Eagan, it was his understanding that Ellen was a story teller.....one who made things up. If this is true, it is a good reason why no one used her as a witness. Especially when you think about the information she claimed to have—including the shabby man she witnessed the day of the crime. The information she supplied was very valuable. Why was it not used? Could it be because she made things up? The same was true of Eli Bence.

Most of the story came from Louis Peterson who was married to Ellen Eagan's granddaughter. Then the story was told by Arnold Brown. Peterson was quite cross with Brown, claiming that he did not tell the real story. Brown claimed that he told the facts, facts that were a by-product of his research.
So what was the real story? And who were these people anyway? Most of what's been told came from Egan's granddaughter's husband, 3 generations later.....not from Ellen herself. All hearsay. And who's to know what was embellished or made up.

Nope! Can't count on any of it.

Thus in the end it is a speculation and hearsay. Yes, there was a Billy Borden. Yes he did hang himself. Yes he did live in Taunton. But that is all we can be sure of.

Thanks for clearing that up mbhenty!

Yes:

You are welcome.

There is an interesting and informative article in the Hatchet Magazine about Ellen Eagan and Louis (Pete) Peterson, the November 2007 issue below.

I must say I miss that magazine & the articles.

I also miss The Hatchet, Nadzieja. It always had interesting articles that were full of information.

MB, thank you for reminding us about Linda Rodrigues’ article on Pete Peterson in the November, 2007, issue of The Hatchet. This is a very revealing article since it gives us a good idea of how Ellan Eagan (Both Pete Peterson and Arnold Brown misspelled Ellen’s first name, or did they?) distorted and embellished her story, as well as how Arnold Brown embellished upon Ellan’s embellishments. (I found it interesting that Arnold Brown had sent a letter to Linda Rodrigues in regards to her series. In his letter he suggested that she should read his book before she writes anymore articles as a follow up to her Family Secrets series. He goes on to say that he could point out several major scandalously erroneous statements in her article. WOW! Arnold sure had a lot of nerve; there is nothing like the pot calling the kettle black!)

I’m sure Pete Peterson made the same comments to Arnold Brown that he did to Linda Rodrigues regarding the birth of Bill Borden, and that he questioned who Charles Borden was, as well as his belief that ‘they made him up’. If Pete did indeed make those same comments to Arnold Brown, then Pete pretty much planted the seeds in Arnold’s head and he ran with it, which resulted in his belief that William S. Borden was the illegitimate son of Andrew J. Borden.

I totally agree with MB, there is no proof whatsoever that Andrew J. Borden had a son out of wedlock. Furthermore, as far as I know, there is absolutely no evidence that William S. Borden even knew Andrew and Abby Borden, let alone that he killed them.

Rebello, page 373 (Highlighting and underlining are mine):

It was alleged by author Arnold R. Brown that William S. Borden, the illegitimate son of Andrew J. Borden and Phebe Borden (wife of Deacon Charles L. C. Borden), committed the Borden murders in 1892. William Borden’s family was researched through primary and secondary sources. No information was located to substantiate Mr. Brown’s allegation.

"Profile: Charles Lott Church Borden was born in Fall River, November 12, 1811, and was the tenth of twelve children born to Joseph Borden (1763-1843) and Susan Church. Charles Borden was a carpenter and was involved in church work all his life. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in 1846. He later assisted in the formation of Second Baptist Church, serving as a deacon for many years.

Deacon Borden was married twice. His first marriage, at the age of twenty-eight, was to Phebe Hathaway, age twenty-three, on October 16, 1839. She was the daughter of Michael and Hannah (Davis) Hathaway of Freetown, Massachusetts. Phebe was born in Freetown, July 30, 1816. Charles L. and Phebe (Hathaway) Borden were the parents of six children: Charles A. Borden, Amanda M. Borden, Hannah H. Borden, Eliza Ann Borden, Eliza Ann Borden (2nd.), and William S. Borden."

On Mon Jan 29, 2007, Kat posted a family tree for Charles Lott Borden, in the thread titled, William S. Borden tree:

Here is a basic tree for William S. Borden:
Here is the Charles Lott Borden tree descending to William S. Borden:
Source: http://tinyurl.com/krqcc4h

Arnold Brown admitted that he had no proof that William S. Borden was Andrew Borden’s son. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/q55hnxt

The part in this video where Bill Borden supposedly said to his axe, "You knew my father and that fat sow he married when he should have married my mother. Of course you knew them; you were there when they died!", is on page 287 of Arnold Brown’s book, Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter.

That line insinuates that Andrew should have married Phebe Hathaway instead of Abby Durfee Gray. However, if you think about it, William S. Borden was born on April 20, 1854. At the time of his birth, Andrew was still married to his first wife, Sarah, and Phebe was still married to Charles Borden. Andrew was not free to marry anyone until March of 1863, when Sarah passed away, and by that time Phebe had been dead for 4 years.

The following information backs up MB’s post regarding Ellen Eagan’s reliability as a witness. Note: I always thought that Ellen went into the first yard she came to, because she suddenly had to vomit, but according to this newspaper article, that is not so.

Rebello, pages 128-129 (Highlighting and underlining are mine):

“The last witness for the day, and the most inconsequential one of all, was the mysterious woman whom the little Polish peddler, Lubinsky, declared he saw coming out of the Borden’s yard on the morning of the tragedy, and at time, not far from the hour of it.

Officer Harrington was detailed to work up the case, and he brushed aside the mystery and revealed the unknown in [is] a big, good-natured Irish woman named Emen [Ellen] Eagan who lives on Mulberry Street.

Mrs. Eagan was put on the stand and after the first three questions had been asked of her, the authorities were satisfied that her evidence had no bearing on the case.

She answered all the queries directed at her with a bluntness, however, which caused a smile to pass around the officers, the first tinge of levity which has appeared on this terribly serious case so far.

In the first place, she was not sure whether or not it was the Borden’s yard from which she emerged on the fatal morning, and a little questioning satisfied the district attorney that, instead of from Borden’s she had come out from the yard of Dr. Kelly, who lives in the house above the Borden homestead.

Her reason for her appearance there was a most natural one. She had been feeling unwell for a day or two preceding the murder, and on Wednesday last had experimented on herself with a few pills.

On Friday [Thursday] morning she had occasion to go down to make some purchases, and was taking the Second Street route when she began to feel the effects of the pill. She hurried into Dr. Kelly’s yard and accosted a servant girl who was washing the windows, and who directed her to a place nearby.

When she came out of the yard the little peddler saw her but she passed down the street, performed her errand and then returned to her home, totally unconscious of the fact that she was to become quite an important personage in the eyes of clew hunters. After Mrs. Eagan had testified, the inquest was adjourned until 10 o’clock tomorrow morning ...” Boston Herald, August 11, 1892: 2.

Hello:
Why do you think the authorities did not give her much importance? what is your take on this?
thanks

Hello lizzieMoonlight, welcome to the forum. I hope you find this forum fascinating and full of the best information available on the Borden murders.

My personal take on why the authorizes did not give Ellen Eagan much important is the fact that the evidence she presented to them did not have anything to do with the Borden murders. For whatever reason, Ellen pointed her finger at William S. Borden as the man she claimed she saw the morning the Borden’s were murdered. Arnold Brown was the one who believed William was the alleged illegitimate son of Andrew Borden, because according to Pete Peterson, William was born in East Taunton, and supposedly there is no birth record for him there, yet William’s Death Certificate(s) state that he was born in Fall River. (There are two Death Certificates for William S. Borden.)
I believe Ellen Eagan’s story is the crux for Arnold Brown’s theory, and his personal belief that William was the illegitimate son of Andrew Borden and Phebe Hathaway is the basis to his entire book. I believe that Arnold Brown embellished upon Ellen Eagan’s embellishments, in order to sell his book. Arnold Brown classified his book as non-fiction, but in reality it is nothing but fiction; he had no proof for his allegations, not to mention that he failed to tie up the many loose ends of his theory.

Rebello, page 373 (Highlighting and underlining are mine):

It was alleged by author Arnold R. Brown that William S. Borden, the illegitimate son of Andrew J. Borden and Phebe Borden (wife of Deacon Charles L. C. Borden), committed the Borden murders in 1892. William Borden’s family was researched through primary and secondary sources. No information was located to substantiate Mr. Brown’s allegation.

There are several threads on the forum here where Kat recommended: Keller, Jon N., ‘New Evidence Brings Profile to Light: The Mysterious William S. Borden, Lizzie Borden Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 4/5. Fall/Winter, 1995; pages 15-17. I looked up the article in the LBQ and found that page 16 of the article was kitty-cornered, the text was blurry and the right side of the page was cut off enough where you couldn’t read what it said; this was very disappointing.

While doing a bit of research I came across the web page: Full text of "The Lizzie Borden quarterly". I copy and pasted the contents, but found out that the page 16 was not included! As difficult as it was, I typed up the left side of page 16, but could not type the right side because the page was missing information; very frustrating! Thanks to Kat, she had posted the Taunton State Hospital record on William S. Borden, in the thread titled, Brown admitting hoax.

The only thing missing was the information just below the Taunton State Hospital record, so I typed up the information that was readable, and placed a (???) to indicate the missing information.

All in all, this article is very interesting! Here is the article:

The Lizzie Borden Quarterly

New Evidence Brings Profile to Light

The Mysterious William S. Borden

By Jon N. Keller

STROUDSBERG, PA — One of the most brutal double homicides in American history occurred on a warm summer day in 1892. Between the hours of nine and eleven o'clock on the morning of August 4, Andrew J. Borden, a wealthy banker, and his second wife, Abby Durfee Gray Borden, were violently hacked to death in their home by an as yet unidentified assailant or assailants. This elderly couple resided on busy Second Street in the heart of downtown Fall River, Massachusetts — a cotton mill city near the Rhode Island state boundary.

Also sharing the house were Andrew's two daughters by his first marriage, Lizzie and Emma, the maid Bridget Sullivan, and John V. Morse, Lizzie's uncle from Iowa who, oddly enough, just happened to be visiting them that fateful week.

Lizzie, the 32-year-old daughter of Andrew and Sarah Morse Borden, was promptly arrested and accused of killing her father and stepmother. However, in June of 1893, she was tried and acquitted by a jury in New Bedford, Massachusetts. After spending ten months in jail, Lizzie returned to Fall River to live out the rest of her life as an heiress to her father's fortune. Now rejected by many of her former friends,
she resided in the fashionable hill district at Maplecroft until her death in 1927.

The Borden murders have, since that day, achieved the status of America's most famous murder case and Lizzie Borden has become as famous in our folklore, with her mythical axe, as George Washington has with his mythical axing of a cherry tree. One thing is virtually certain: interest in this case will probably never die out.

Over the last century countless theories have been put forth attempting to explain how the murders were committed and who committed them. For the question must be asked, and with good reason, if Lizzie did not commit these crimes as the jury said, then who did? Two people were brutally murdered and its importance has not really diminished any more than if it had happened yesterday. The cause of and search for the truth and justice demand an answer to this historical riddle.

In 1991, one of the most fascinating attempts to solve the puzzle appeared on the book market. This almost 400-page tome is titled Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter. Its author is Arnold R. Brown, a retired General Motors chief and Lizzie buff who lives in Seminole, Florida. Mr. Brown's story seems to draw chiefly upon the alleged notes of an 89-year-old Fall River man named Henry Hawthorne as related by his son-in-law, Lewis Peterson of Florida — Hawthorne having died in 1978.

Arnold Brown acquired this material about ten years later and describes it as "a collection of disconnected ramblings with events choreographed backwards, with simple timing wrong, and with major characters totally ignored or, at best, moved from their traditional locations" (Brown, xiv). It is difficult for me to see how these notes form a reliable basis for research or how they can represent actual historical
recollections, since they are so discombobulated.

My best guess is that author Arnold Brown has somehow reworked these notes resulting in the creation of a new and complex myth, or legend, surrounding the case. However, as many legends and myths contain a kernel or kernels of truth, perhaps Mr. Brown's account does also.

I have over the last three years tried to research and examine many of the claims in his book. Although I have been able to locate many of the items indicated, such as newspaper articles and certain vital records — even two of which Mr. Brown said either did not exist or that he was unable to locate — I still find the general scenario portrayed in the book as largely unbelievable and unhistorical in nature. Mr.
Brown simply does not provide any real credible evidence or proof for most of his assertions, such as his massive conspiracy theory or the orchestration of the court proceedings or his belief that Andrew Borden had an illegitimate son who was the killer of both victims.

Much of Mr. Brown's account concerns a man named William S. Borden. It is this man that the author alleges, without proof, to be the half-brother of Lizzie Borden and the illegitimate son of Lizzie's father, Andrew. While certain things are known about him from vital records (two death certificates and a marriage certificate) and 1901 news accounts of his alleged suicide, no evidence was forthcoming in my research showing any relationship to the Andrew Borden family.

In Chapter 18, Arnold Brown points out his unsuccessful attempts at locating two items of record relating to William Borden. First, he tells us that "there is no death record of Phebe Hathaway, nor is there any marriage record of Charles Borden and Peace" (Brown, 295-296). However, in March of 1992, I was notified by the Massachusetts Archives in Boston that such a marriage record exists there in the names of
Charles Borden and Peace Bassett, dated 1859.

Perhaps Peace Bassett is related to William Lewis Bassett of Westport. He is the half-brother of William S. Borden, according to Mr. Brown and the 1901 newspaper accounts describing William Borden's death. Brown alleges that it was William Bassett who was seen loitering outside the Borden home on "murder morning." How he knows this, or how Henry Hawthorne, who was only two or three years old at the time, would have known this — along with many other details of the case — is not indicated in the book.

Even Ellen Eagen, Henry's mother-in-law and Mr. Brown's alleged key to the mystery, who probably did not know the Bordens, the Bassetts, or even the Hawtnornes in 1892, would not likely have been privy to such information either. In addition, I find it extremely unlikely that William Borden or William Bassett would have ever, had they been partners in crime as Brown supposes, confide these details of their exploits to any one — let alone Ellen Eagen or Henry Hawthorne, a child of under ten years of age in the 1890's. Brown's main information sources certainly appear to have a major credibility problem.

The second item of record concerning William Borden has much more significance as touching upon the issue of murder. Brown has this to say: “The same article noted the death of William (referring to Taunton Daily Gazette of April 20, 1901), commenting that he 'was undoubtedly insane. He spent a period in our asylum some years ago.' Based on that

See "William Borden," next page

report, it would seem that Bill had been committed to the asylum at least once. If so, official records should be available to verify this and tell us more about him. They are not, but there is every indication that they once were.” (Brown, 297) Mr. Brown then goes on to inform the reader how he made three inquires to the Taunton State Hospital and received back from them three inconsistence replies ending with a terse denial on their part that they possessed any such record which documented William’s admission and stay at their facility. Mr. Brown then concludes from denial that “it appears on the surface that at some time someone had reason to play fast and loose with records on file concerning William S. Borden, on both the city and the state levels.” (Brown, 298).

In July of 1992, I decided to investigate Arnold’s claim of a possible cover-up at Taunton State as concerns the existence and status of information about William S. Borden in their files. I sent a letter of request to Gary C. Phillips, who is Chief Operating Officer there, for a copy of William’s record. I then made further inquiries by telephone with the records department at Taunton State Hospital while lodging in Fall
River for the BCC Centennial Conference on Lizzie Borden. They informed me that a record on William S. Borden did, indeed, exist in their attic achieves and that they would agree to make a copy available to me. Finally, on August 24, 1992, Taunton State Hospital sent me, via FAX, all the information they had on file concerning William S. Borden. Since receiving this data, I can certainly say that I find Arnold Brown’s
allusions to a cover-up on the part of the state hospital to be groundless, to say the least.

The information does indeed establish that William Borden was in the asylum at one time prior to the April 20, 1901 news article. However, the time of his stay at the facility is recorded as December 8, 1874 to December 2, 1875. That is almost 20 years before the date that Arnold Brown supposes that Bill was committed to the asylum. Arnold says: “We do not know who ordered the commitment of William Borden to the Taunton State Hospital or when it was done. Like the contents of Andrew’s safe, the hospital records would tell us much, but they are missing.” (Brown, 316). However, on the very next page of text, referring to his belief that William also killed Bertha Manchester in May of 1893, Brown states: “If Bill’s file were available at the Taunton State Hospital, it would be a cinch bet (assuming the file had not been ‘officially’ revised) that he was placed in confinement soon after Bertha Manchester’s murder.” (Brown, 317).

Sorry to disappoint, Mr. Brown, but as we shall see, the record certainly is not missing and does not appear to have been tampered with either. Further, it shows that William was never in Taunton during the 1890’s as Brown supposes, but rather in the 1870’s and therefore his treatment there seems to have had no relationship to the Borden or Manchester murders. The file clearly shows no admissions for Bill between the discharge date of December 2, 1875 and the last curious entry in the record dated May 15, 1901, which concerns his alleged suicide in Fall River.

Now I present, for the readers' convenience of reading, a transcript of the contents from the one-and-a-half page document concerning William S. Borden's association with the Taunton mental facility:

5821——William S. Borden Act. 19 Married Fall River Labour.
F.——Taunton 4 weeks Hereditary. 2 Sisters and 2 Aunts insane.
Dec. 8th——Sister no. 4822, Loss of employment had a depressing effect.
1874——Melancholy, Suicidal. Went into the pond this a.m.
Prob. Ct.——Wil. S. was married eight weeks ago. Temperate. at entrance
quick-depressed.
Wife——Dec. 2nd 1875. Patient was quite depressed and very quiet through the
East——winter. Towards spring he began to wake
Taunton—up and become very active. Early in
Mass.——March was at work in the laundry. In April was allowed his parole of the
Father——grounds. he went everywhere, and was
Charles—— up to all sorts of mischief When shut in
hall he became quite troublesome and
Fall River——destructive and was secluded in a screened room for a fortnight. In May
Sister——he eloped, and was gone 24 hours —
Eliza A.——went to Fall River and New Bedford. —
Borden——returned voluntarily — sent to rm. 8
#10,232 R—— Early in August he was up to all the
#12,310 R—— mischief possible — breaking glass,
#13,570—— tearing off window casings, digging off mortar etc.
Tried belts, straps, seclusion
Sister—— etc. with little avail. Learning that an
Amanda—— iron crib was being constructed for his
Taylor—— especial benefit, he desisted — saying he
#4822—— did not want to get into anything that he
#11,255—— could not get out of. Oct. 20th. he eloped,
was gone a week and then brought back
on the 27th of Oct. has been doing very
well, Has worked out some. Always
inclined to get into trouble striking with
very little provocation. Was discharged
to go by himself
Dec. 2nd 1875. Discharged Recovered p. 286
5821 (p. 287) William S. Borden Act. 19 Married
May15-01 A few days ago the above patient Wm. S. Borden
committed suicide by taking carbolic acid, and afterwards
hanging himself to a tree by the roadside.

In closing I must point out that the above recor (???) establishes a profile of violent type behavior and (???) mental problems for William predating the Borden (???) by many years thereby making him a possible ca (???) for Arnold Brown’s suspected killer of Andrew (???) Borden. In addition it also establishes a history of (???) tendencies predating his alleged suicide in 1901.

This fact was unknown to the writer Fa (???) Herald for April 18, 1901. He states: “It is established (???) Borden was a very erratic, though it is not known her (???) ever before exhibited suicidal tendencies.” (Brow (???)) Arnold Brown insist that William’s death was murd (???) I tend to agree that his manner of death was very str (???) say the least, the official verdict of suicide by hang (???) not been convincingly overthrown and indeed is su (???) by William’s psychiatric history.

The final entry in his hospital record does raise interesting questions for further research. The entry is dated May 5, 1901. This is almost a whole month after the news accounts describing his death. These clearly indicate that this ad event occurred on April 17, 1901. The hospital would have one believe that this happened only a few days before May 15. Why this discrepancy exists between records, I cannot say. It would appear that someone supplied false information to the hospital for some reason.

Possibly this data came from one of two death certificates that exist for William. I must credit Jules R. Ryckebusch for his insight. He informed me that one certificate is filed in Taunton and dated May 1901. Perhaps it is from this strange second death record that Taunton State received their false information. I leave this for the readers to ponder the possible significance. The markings of a cover-up and conspiracy,
i-la Arnold Brown, could certainly be found here.

JON N. KELLER is a longtime Borden buff who resides in Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania. He has managed to delve deeper into the theory proposed by Arnold Brown in his book, Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter, and uncover some new information about William S. Borden, Lizzie's alleged half-brother.

Sources:

Lizzie Borden Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 4/5. Fall/Winter, 1995; pages 15-17: http://tinyurl.com/jzrp8wc

Full text of "The Lizzie Borden quarterly" (Scroll down about 3/4th of the way): http://tinyurl.com/zgdnskn

The Taunton State Hospital record on William S. Borden that was posted by Kat on Wed Nov 29, 2006, in the thread titled, Brown admitting hoax: http://tinyurl.com/zbzfheg