Before Lizzie Became a Famous Name
Long before the Borden family became associated with one of America’s most notorious murder cases, Sarah Morse Borden was simply a young mother raising her family in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Sarah married Andrew Borden on Christmas Day in 1845. She was 22 years old, while Andrew was 23.
The couple eventually built a family together, welcoming three daughters over the following years. But Sarah’s life would be cut tragically short, leaving behind two young girls who would later become part of one of the most discussed criminal cases in American history.
A Family of Three Daughters
Sarah and Andrew’s first daughter, Emma Lenora, was born in March 1851.
Five years later, in May 1856, they welcomed another daughter, Alice Esther. Alice, however, became seriously ill during childhood and died in March 1858. She was only 22 months old.
The couple’s third daughter, Lizzie, was born in Fall River on July 19, 1860. Her full name was Lizzie Andrew Borden, with her father’s first name incorporated into hers.
At the time of Lizzie’s birth, Sarah was already responsible for raising a young family. But she would have very little time with her youngest daughter.
Sarah’s Final Years
Sarah’s health reportedly deteriorated during the early 1860s.
On March 26, 1863, after a prolonged illness, she died at the age of 39. Accounts cited in the source describe her condition as involving uterine congestion and spinal disease.
Lizzie was not yet two years old when her mother died.
Emma, the older surviving daughter, was 12.
For Lizzie, Sarah’s death meant losing her biological mother before she was old enough to form many lasting memories of her.
Sarah was later buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River.
A New Stepmother
A little more than two years after Sarah’s death, Andrew Borden married again.
In June 1865, he married Abby Gray.
Emma and Lizzie grew up with Abby as their stepmother, and later accounts have described tensions within the household. The nature of those relationships became especially significant after the events that unfolded nearly three decades later.
But at the time of Sarah’s death, there was no way to know that her daughters would eventually become connected to one of the most famous unsolved questions in American criminal history.
The Deaths That Changed the Borden Family Forever
On August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found dead inside their Fall River home.
Both had suffered multiple blows to the head.
Lizzie, then 32 years old, became a suspect and was eventually charged with killing both her father and stepmother.
The prosecution argued that Lizzie had a financial motive and had committed the murders in order to gain greater control over her inheritance. Her defense disputed the case against her, emphasizing the lack of sufficient physical evidence tying her directly to the killings.
In 1893, after a highly publicized trial, the jury found Lizzie not guilty.
She maintained her innocence.
The Mother Who Was Gone Long Before the Murders
Sarah Borden never lived to see the daughter she lost as a toddler grow into the woman at the center of a national sensation.
She died when Lizzie was only about 22 months old, decades before Andrew and Abby would be murdered.
Yet Sarah’s absence formed part of Lizzie’s early life long before the events of 1892.
Today, Sarah is remembered largely because of the daughter she left behind—a woman whose name would eventually become permanently linked to one of America’s most famous murder trials.
The mystery surrounding Andrew and Abby’s deaths has endured for generations.
But before Lizzie Borden became a household name, she was simply a little girl who had already lost her mother.
This story is based on publicly available information and reported facts. It has been independently written and presented for informational purposes. Images, if any, belong to their respective owners.