Long before the infamous 1892 murders, Lizzie Borden and her family endured another devastating loss.
Lizzie’s biological mother, Sarah Borden, died from health complications in 1863, leaving Andrew Borden to care for Lizzie and her older sister, Emma Borden.
Andrew married Abby Borden two years later. The blended family lived together for nearly three decades before Abby and Andrew were brutally killed inside their Fall River, Mass., home in 1892.
Lizzie, the subject of Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, was charged with the killings but was ultimately acquitted.
Here’s what to know about Lizzie’s biological mother and what Lizzie said about the strain in her relationship with her stepmother:
Who Was Lizzie Borden’s Biological Mother?
Andrew Borden, then 23, married Sarah on Christmas Day in 1845. Sarah was one year younger than her husband, according to The Herald News.
Their first daughter, Emma Leonora Borden, was born on March 1, 1851. A second daughter, Alice, arrived in 1856, People reported, but died two years later from congenital hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain. Lizzie was born by July 1860.
What Happened to Lizzie Borden’s Biological Mom Sarah Borden?
The family suffered another loss in 1863, when Sarah died from what The Herald News described as uterine congestion and spinal disease.
At an 1892 inquest, Lizzie testified that she was only 2-and-a-half when her mother died and did not remember her. Her testimony was included in a transcript republished by Famous Trials.
As Sarah was dying, she asked 12-year-old Emma to protect and care for “baby Lizzie” — a responsibility Emma took deeply to heart, according to The Smithsonian Magazine.
When Did Andrew Borden Marry His Second Wife Abby Borden?
The family began a new chapter after Andrew met his second wife Abby Gray, then 37, at the Central Congregational Church. The couple married on June 6, 1865, The Herald News reported.
Though Lizzie described being on “friendly” terms with her stepmom, she testified that it had never been the same as a mother/daughter relationship.
“In some ways it was,” she told the court, “and in some it was not.”
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Lizzie Borden Described Tension With Her Stepmom Before Her Death
Lizzie added that she began calling Abby “Mrs. Borden” rather than mother about five or six years before her death after the two had a “difference of opinion” about an issue related to Abby’s half-sister.
As The Trial of Lizzie Borden author Cara Robertson explained to 48 Hours, “Andrew decided, essentially, to bail out his wife’s half sibling by buying a house and putting it in Abby’s name. … And thereafter, you find—that the house is a scene of a cold war.”
Though Andrew was wealthy, he was notoriously frugal. His daughters wanted to leave their modest house, which lacked indoor plumbing, and move to the nicer portion of town on the hill, but their father refused, the outlet reported.
When Andrew agreed to help Abby’s half-sibling financially, Robertson said it only fueled the tension.
What Happened to Abby Borden and Andrew Borden?
Abby and Andrew were killed inside the family’s home on Aug. 4, 1892.
Authorities believe that Abby was killed first around 9:30 a.m. in an upstairs bedroom while Andrew was out on a walk, 48 Hours reported. She suffered 19 blows, mostly to the back of the head.
Lizzie—who was inside the home preparing to do some ironing—claimed “not to have heard anything,” Robertson said.
Her father returned home around 10:45 a.m. and retired to the living room to take a nap. Lizzie later told police that she found him dead a short time later lying on the couch.
He’d been struck 10 to 11 times by a hatchet, destroying most of his face and head, History.com reported.
Suspicion soon fell to Lizzie, who had been the only one known to be inside the home at the time. She was acquitted of the murders in 1893 by a jury of 12 men in a highly publicized trial.
Once they gained access to their father’s fortune—which 48 Hours reported would be equivalent to about $10 million today—Emma and Lizzie sold their house and moved to a large Victorian house in the wealthy part of town.
Lizzie died in 1927.