Herbert David BOUTALL
Abt 1875 - Yes, date unknown-
Name Herbert David BOUTALL Birth Abt 1875 England 
Gender Male Census 1930 Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts [1] Census 1940 Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts [2] Death Yes, date unknown Person ID I10557 bmds Last Modified 7 Aug 2013
Family 1 Anna M., b. Abt 1881, Germany d. Abt 1936 (Age 55 years) Family ID F4375 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 2 Flora Evelyn Ann MAY, b. 1 Jul 1922, Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts d. 6 Aug 2001, Greenfield, Franklin, Massachusetts (Age 79 years) Marriage 12 Jul 1938 Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] Age at Marriage Herbert : ~ 63 years old | Flora : 16 years old. Notes - From Indiana Evening Gazette, July 12, 1938
Clean Up Chores Get Married
ATHOL, Mass., July 12 – (AP) – Herbert David Boutall, 63, poultry farmer, and his 16-year old bride spent their first day of married live today at work.
Boutall, a widower of two years, and Flora Evely Anna May, were married at St. John’s Episcopal Church last night because the Mays, farmers all, insisted they had to clean up their farm chores before donning wedding togs. Previously and afternoon ceremony had been planned.
More than 2,000 persons waited outside the church for a glimpse of the bridal party. The ceremony wiltnessed by 100 guests.
From The St Petersburg Times, Wednesday, July 13, 1938
December and May Wedding Attracts Throng of 2,000
ATHOL, Mass., July 12 — (AP) – While a crowd of 2,000 sought a glimpse of a wedding ceremony held at night because the bridal party couldn’t take time off from their farm chores for a day service, Herberd David Boutall, 63-year-old widower, tonight married his 16-year-old sweetheart, Flora Evelyn Anna May.
The church ceremony was witnessed by 100 persons, including a number of standees in rear pews, and several policemen, who kept outsiders from opening windows and peering in. A wedding reception was held at Boutall’s farm house. Boutall, busy with 200 hens, is not planning a wedding trip in the near future.
From The New York Age, July 16, 1938.
Hot Weather Item!, by Benezer Bay.
An Athol, Massachusetts, dispatch of Thursday last told of the proposed marriage of a 63-year-old widower and a 16-year-old girl of that burg. One newspaper carried a picture of the elederly Romeo lifting his youthful bride-to-be, just to show his retained strength.
“The only ones in the neighborhood who object to the marriage,” he is reported as saying, “are a couple of old maids who think I should marry someone nearer my own age.” “My answer to them,” continued the prospective groom, “is that when I buy a piano, I don’t want an antique, I want one that plays.”
Boutall, as is said to be his name, should be careful about making assertions about purchasing antiques. His young bride might awaken some fine morning to realize that she has done just that.
From The Amsterdam Evening Recorder, N.Y., Tuesday, July 11, 1939.
Bridegroom of 64 Who Wed Girl 16 Confounds Critics
ATHOL, Mass., Jull 11 – (AP) – Herbert D. Boutall, the 64-year-old Athol chicken farmer who took a 16-year-old wife juste a year ago, looked back with pleasure today on a “happy year” and laughed at the critics who predicted the May-December romance would go on the rocks.
His pretty, brunette bride, Flora Evelyn Anna, who turned 17 on July 1, agreed and chuckled as Boutall praised her ability as a cook, a thrifty manager and a maker of “wonderful home brew”.
Boutall, who runs a small egg route, recalled with a grin the “crank letter writers” who told him after the marriage to “leave the chickens alone and take care of the hens”. “The happy year we have had,” and he smiled at his wife, attired in flowered shorts and jacket, “simply proves that we meant marriage in every sense of the word whe we applied for a license a year ago. We knew then that it wasn’t fascination on the part of one and infatuation on the part of the other.”
From The Lewiston Daily Sun 14 apr, 1943
Boutall will not return to England
Athol Man, 68, Who Wed Girl, 20, Gets Probation for Non-Support
ATHOL, Mass., April 13 – AP – Herbert D. Boutall, 68 who announced on Saturday that his marriage to the former Ann Evelyn May, 20, was on the rocks after five years, will not go to his native England as he had planned.
He was under two years probation today after being convicted of non-support of two children, for whos keep he was ordered to pay $12 a week.
The May-December romance began when Ann left school to become Boutall’s housekeeper two years after his first wife died. Two children were born to them, Barbara Ann 3, and David, 2. Mrs. Boutall and the children live here with her mother while Boutall works and lives in nearby Orange. On Saturday he said he soon would return to his native England to take a war job.
From the blog My Father’s posts dedicated to Ebenezer Ray :
A Piano Lesson ?
Before there was Rupert Murdoch and Wendi, his pie-spiking wife; before the celebrity sphere was all a twitter about 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison marrying a reportedly 16-year-old Courtney Stodden, there was Herbert David Boutall, 63, and his 16-year-old bride, Ann
Dubbed a “hot weather item,” in my father’s column on July 16, 1938, the item wasn’t about the temperatures at all. It was about a May-December romance that made headlines across the nation.
“Both of the characters in this February-December drama are white, but what of it?” my father wrote. “One newspaper carried a picture of the elderly Romeo lifting his youthful bride-to-be, just to show his retained strength.“
Boutall, a widower from Athol, Mass. is quoted as saying: “The only ones in the neighborhood who object to the marriage are a couple of old maids who think I should marry someone nearer my own age. My answer to them is that when I buy a piano I don’t want an antique. I want one that plays.”
“Boutall should be careful about making assertions about purchasing antiques,” Ebenezer wrote. “His young bride might awaken some fine morning to realize that she has done just that.”
In hindsight, Ebenezer might have taken his own advice about making assertions. Ten years later, he would end up in his own May-December romance. My mother, certainly no child, was only 22 years my father’s junior, which doesn’t come close to the Boutalls’ 47-year age difference. Still, it’s a reminder that you never know when your own words will come back to bite you, especially when you are talking about “old” people.
I followed the Boutall marriage in the archives of the Boston Globe. More than 5000 spectators lined the streets for the wedding on July 11, 1938. The church only seated 120. In August, a subsequent Globe article intimated that the couple was thinking of selling their New England farm and moving to England, where Herbert was from. A year later, they were still in Athol, according to the Globe headline: “Farmer, 64, wife 17, will mark first year of marital bliss today.”
Then in May 1940, the Globe announced that the “May–December couple proud parents of a girl.” They had a son the next June, but, alas, on April 10, 1943, the Globe announced, “Gap of 47 years too much for Athol pair, so they’ve separated.”
The paper quoted Herbert as saying, “If she wants a younger man she can have one.” According to that Globe article, Herbert was headed to England to work in a war plant. His wife and children moved back in with her parents.
Perhaps she got a new piano.
Children 1 son and 1 daughter + 1 
. Barbara Ann BOUTALL, b. 13 May 1940, Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts d. 26 Oct 1969, Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts (Age 29 years)+ 2 . David Bruce BOUTALL, b. 18 Jun 1941, Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts d. 26 Sep 2014, Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts (Age 73 years)Family ID F2866 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Event Map 
Birth - Abt 1875 - England 
Census - 1930 - Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts Marriage - 12 Jul 1938 - Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts Census - 1940 - Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts Pin Legend 
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
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Sources - [S6] 1920 US Census.
Boutall, Herbert D. | head | age: 47 | bp: England
- [S7] 1940 US Census.
Boutall, Herbert D. | head | age: 69 | bp: England
- [S2] Newspaper.
Clean Up Chores Get Married
ATHOL, Mass., July 12 – (AP) – Herbert David Boutall, 63, poultry farmer, and his 16-year old bride spent their first day of married live today at work.
Boutall, a widower of two years, and Flora Evely Anna May, were married at St. John’s Episcopal Church last night because the Mays, farmers all, insisted they had to clean up their farm chores before donning wedding togs. Previously and afternoon ceremony had been planned. More than 2,000 persons waited outside the church for a glimpse of the bridal party. The ceremony wiltnessed by 100 guests.
From Indiana Evening Gazette, July 12, 1938.
- [S2] Newspaper.
December and May Wedding Attracts Throng of 2,000
ATHOL, Mass., July 12 – (AP) – While a crowd of 2,000 sought a glimpse of a wedding ceremony held at night because the bridal party couldn’t take time off from their farm chores for a day service, Herberd David Boutall, 63-year-old widower, tonight married his 16-year-old sweetheart, Flora Evelyn Anna May.
The church ceremony was witnessed by 100 persons, including a number of standees in rear pews, and several policemen, who kept outsiders from opening windows and peering in. A wedding reception was held at Boutall’s farm house. Boutall, busy with 200 hens, is not planning a wedding trip in the near future.
From The St Petersburg Times, Wednesday, July 13, 1938
- [S2] Newspaper.
Hot Weather Item!, by Benezer Bay.
An Athol, Massachusetts, dispatch of Thursday last told of the proposed marriage of a 63-year-old widower and a 16-year-old girl of that burg. One newspaper carried a picture of the elederly Romeo lifting his youthful bride-to-be, just to show his retained strength.
“The only ones in the neighborhood who object to the marriage,” he is reported as saying, “are a couple of old maids who think I should marry someone nearer my own age.” “My answer to them,” continued the prospective groom, “is that when I buy a piano, I don’t want an antique, I want one that plays.”
Boutall, as is said to be his name, should be careful about making assertions about purchasing antiques. His young bride might awaken some fine morning to realize that she has done just that.
From The New York Age, July 16, 1938.
- [S2] Newspaper.
Bridegroom of 64 Who Wed Girl 16 Confounds Critics
ATHOL, Mass., Jull 11 – (AP) – Herbert D. Boutall, the 64-year-old Athol chicken farmer who took a 16-year-old wife juste a year ago, looked back with pleasure today on a “happy year” and laughed at the critics who predicted the May-December romance would go on the rocks.
His pretty, brunette bride, Flora Evelyn Anna, who turned 17 on July 1, agreed and chuckled as Boutall praised her ability as a cook, a thrifty manager and a maker of “wonderful home brew”.
Boutall, who runs a small egg route, recalled with a grin the “crank letter writers” who told him after the marriage to “leave the chickens alone and take care of the hens”. “The happy year we have had,” and he smiled at his wife, attired in flowered shorts and jacket, “simply proves that we meant marriage in every sense of the word whe we applied for a license a year ago. We knew then that it wasn’t fascination on the part of one and infatuation on the part of the other.”
From The Amsterdam Evening Recorder, N.Y., Tuesday, July 11, 1939.
- [S2] Newspaper.
Boutall will not return to England
Athol Man, 68, Who Wed Girl, 20, Gets Probation for Non-Support
ATHOL, Mass., April 13 – (AP) – Herbert D. Boutall, 68 who announced on Saturday that his marriage to the former Ann Evelyn May, 20, was on the rocks after five years, will not go to his native England as he had planned.
He was under two years probation today after being convicted of non-support of two children, for whos keep he was ordered to pay $12 a week.
The May-December romance began when Ann left school to become Boutall’s housekeeper two years after his first wife died. Two children were born to them, Barbara Ann 3, and David, 2. Mrs. Boutall and the children live here with her mother while Boutall works and lives in nearby Orange. On Saturday he said he soon would return to his native England to take a war job.
From The Lewiston Daily Sun 14 apr, 1943.
- [S15] Internet.
A Piano Lesson ?
Before there was Rupert Murdoch and Wendi, his pie-spiking wife; before the celebrity sphere was all a twitter about 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison marrying a reportedly 16-year-old Courtney Stodden, there was Herbert David Boutall, 63, and his 16-year-old bride, Ann Dubbed a “hot weather item,” in my father’s column on July 16, 1938, the item wasn’t about the temperatures at all. It was about a May-December romance that made headlines across the nation.
“Both of the characters in this February-December drama are white, but what of it?” my father wrote. “One newspaper carried a picture of the elderly Romeo lifting his youthful bride-to-be, just to show his retained strength.”
Boutall, a widower from Athol, Mass. is quoted as saying: “The only ones in the neighborhood who object to the marriage are a couple of old maids who think I should marry someone nearer my own age. My answer to them is that when I buy a piano I don’t want an antique. I want one that plays.”
“Boutall should be careful about making assertions about purchasing antiques,” Ebenezer wrote. “His young bride might awaken some fine morning to realize that she has done just that.”
In hindsight, Ebenezer might have taken his own advice about making assertions. Ten years later, he would end up in his own May-December romance. My mother, certainly no child, was only 22 years my father’s junior, which doesn’t come close to the Boutalls’ 47-year age difference. Still, it’s a reminder that you never know when your own words will come back to bite you, especially when you are talking about “old” people.
I followed the Boutall marriage in the archives of the Boston Globe. More than 5000 spectators lined the streets for the wedding on July 11, 1938. The church only seated 120. In August, a subsequent Globe article intimated that the couple was thinking of selling their New England farm and moving to England, where Herbert was from. A year later, they were still in Athol, according to the Globe headline: “Farmer, 64, wife 17, will mark first year of marital bliss today.”
Then in May 1940, the Globe announced that the “May-December couple proud parents of a girl.” They had a son the next June, but, alas, on April 10, 1943, the Globe announced, “Gap of 47 years too much for Athol pair, so they’ve separated.”
The paper quoted Herbert as saying, “If she wants a younger man she can have one.” According to that Globe article, Herbert was headed to England to work in a war plant. His wife and children moved back in with her parents.
Perhaps she got a new piano.
From the blog My Father’s posts dedicated to Ebenezer Ray.
- [S2] Newspaper.
All’s Happy Again in Athol December and May Marriage
Athol, Mass. (AP) – Decembre-May marriage of Herbert D. and Anna Evelyn Boutall is off the shoals and in smooth waters again.
The 68-year-old husband, announcing a reconciliation yesterday – Mother’s Day – said that their separation about a month ago was a “terrible misunderstanding all the way round.” “We have talked things over,” he added, “and decided to try once more for the children’s sake.” The children are Barbara Ann, 3 and David Bruce, 2. The couple married about five years ago, two years after Boutall’s first wife died. Anna, then 15, was serving as Boutall’s housekeeper.
When the breach occured Boutall sold the family furniture and arranged through the British counsul to return to his native England, where a war job awaited. His departure was interrupted however, when his wife obtained a court order requiring him to contribute to the children’s support and to remain within the court’s juridiction. Boutall said the couple would live in Greeneld where he has obtained a job in a war plant.
From The Telegraph, 10 May 1943.
- [S7] 1940 US Census.
- [S6] 1920 US Census.
