Lizzie Borden's family was well-off. Her father, Andrew, was something of a local celebrity in the Fall Rivers, Massachusetts community. As Famous Trials explains, he was an "eight generation high society man" who came from a wealthy line but didn't inherit any of its wealth. His father was a "fish peddler," but Andrew, wanting to go in a different direction, took to carpentry. In a bit of darkly ironic foreshadowing, he worked in the casket business for a while.
Andrew, driven by an intense work ethic, became a tremendously successful businessman. He was the president of a bank, directed "three major cloth mills," owned lots of other property, and could often be seen around town dressed to the nines. Known as "somewhat of a tight-wad," his love of money was equaled only by his frugality. It makes sense that Andrew eventually butted heads with his daughters when divvying up who got what of the family wealth, as Crime Museum describes.
Along the way, Andrew married Sarah Morse in 1845 and had three children, as Genealogy Magazine states: Emma (b. 1851), Alice (b. 1856), and Lizzie (b 1860). Alice died in 1858 at the age of two. There are rumors about shenanigans within the family tree that hint at secret lineages and whatnot, but none of this has ever been confirmed. In the end, some suggest that if not for Andrew's prominent place in his community, the Borden murders wouldn't have gotten nearly the same amount of attention.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB%2Bk2lnaW9fqbWmedSnq6iklGLBs8HToWSonl2htrvGyJ5km6eimbKvv4ypmKudnqnAcA%3D%3D