The Funeral.
The funeral of the murdered people took place on the morning of August
6th. Crowds of people numbering between 3000 and 4000 appeared on
Second street in front of the house, and about twenty policemen stood
around and maintained a clear passage. Rev. Dr. Adams of the First
Congregational Church and City Missionary Buck soon arrived and entered
the house. The bodies were laid in two black cloth-covered caskets in
the sitting room, where Mr. Borden was killed. An ivy wreath was placed
on Mr. Borden’s bier and a bouquet of white roses and fern leaves, tied
with a white satin ribbon, was placed over Mrs. Borden. There were
about 75 persons present at the funeral services in the house. The
services consisted of reading from the scriptures and prayer. There
were no singing and no remarks.
The bodies of the victims were laid in the caskets with the mutilated
portions of the head turned down, so that the cuts could not be
noticed. The caskets were open and the faces of both looked wonderfully
peaceful.
The mourners who were present were Mrs. Oliver Gray, the step-mother of
the deceased woman; G. F. Fish and wife of Hartford, Ct., the latter
a sister of Mrs. Borden; Dr. Bowen and wife, Southard H. Miller and a
very few of the neighbors who had been invited to attend the services
in the house.
The funeral was private—that is, only a very few of the immediate
friends were asked to accompany the remains to the cemetery. But from
11 o’clock until 11:30, when the funeral procession of eleven hacks and
two hearses started on its way, there were immense crowds of people
lining every sidewalk. There was a detachment of police at the cemetery
and another posse accompanied the remains on their way through Borden
and Rock streets to the northern end of the city, where the cemetery is
located.
The pallbearers were: For Mr. Borden—Abram G. Hart, cashier of the
Union Savings Bank; George W. Dean, a retired capitalist; Jerome C.
Borden, a relative of the deceased; Richard B. Borden, treasurer of
the Troy mills, in which Mr. Borden was a director; James M. Osborn an
associate of the deceased in several mills; Andrew Borden, treasurer of
the Merchants’ mill, in which Mr. Borden was a large owner. For Mrs.
Borden—James C. Eddy, Henry S. Buffington, Frank L. Almy, J. Henry
Wells, Simeon B. Chase, John H. Boone, all of them gentlemen in the
highest local social and business circles.
As the procession wended its way along North Main street many old
associates of Mr. Borden were seen to raise their hats. They forgot all
knowledge of the curiosity seekers who stood gaping beside them.
Miss Lizzie and Miss Emma Borden were, of course, the principal
mourners. Miss Lizzie went out of the house first, leaning on
Undertaker Winward’s arm.
Miss Emma was calm and she walked quickly, and took her seat without
hardly glancing at the crowds staring at her.
Both ladies were without veils.
The last person to leave the house was Mr. Morse, who went into a
carriage with Rev. Mr. Buck and Dr. Adams.
The procession arrived at the cemetery about 12:23 o’clock, when
several hundred people stood about the grounds awaiting the burial. The
crowd was kept back by a dozen policemen under direction of Sergt. John
Brocklehurst. No one left any of the carriages during the ceremonies
except the officiating clergy, the bearers and Mr. Morse.
[Illustration: MRS. CHURCHILL.]
Rev. E. A. Buck began the funeral exercises by reading New Testament
passages introduced with “I am the resurrection and the life.” He was
followed by Rev. Dr. Adams, who prayed for the spiritual guidance of
all and the inclination of all to submit to divine control, besought
that justice should overtake the wrong that had been done, also that
those who are seeking to serve the ends of justice might be delivered
from mistake, be helped to possess all mercifulness, as well as all
righteousness, and in conclusion prayed that all might be delivered
from the dominion of evil.
There was a pause of perhaps five minutes, during which the carriages
kept their places and no one stirred toward the grave except an
elderly lady in plain dress, who hastened to the casket of Mrs. Borden,
and was about to kneel in reverence before it, when she was moved away
by an officer, and went to the fence around the ground, where, with
back to the crowd, she buried her head in tears. It was whispered that
she had been employed long ago by the Bordens.
The bodies were not interred in the graves, as a telegraphic order had
been received from Boston instructing that they should not be buried.
Both caskets were returned to the hearses and were deposited in a
receiving tomb.