Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-18
13-YEAR-OLD LAD
SUPPORTS WEE
Illinois Boy Quits Flying Kites in
Order to Care for Bride,
Aged Eighteen
WORKS IN TOBACCO FIELDS
Girl Believes That Child Mate viii
Be Able to Make Home
for Her
WORKS IN TOBACCO FIELDS

time has lost its meaning to Frank
Farris the 13-year-old son of the late
Charles L. Farris, former state repre-
sentative from this district. He has
turned his back on the rest of the kids,
and there is to be no more kite flying
or marbles for him. He is Frank L.
Farris now, the husband of wife and
the head of household. 1t is up to
him to make a living for Mr.. and Mrs.
Frank L. Farris Flying kites put no
potatoes in the cellar, so Mr.. F'arris
has quit it, 1t is tobacco planting
time now, as we'll as kite time, and Mr..
Farris, 13-year-old husband, is toiling
in the tobacco field while the other 13-
year-olds are tarrying at their kites.
He is squaring his slender shoulders
to the task of providing for two. He is
a man now with a mans responsible
ties and the part of man to play, and
childhood games are not for him. He
is turning to mans toll as becomes
a husband who is mindful of his duty
to the little wife at home.
BRIDE is FIVE YEARS OLDER
The wife of young Mr.. Farris is older
than he by something like four years,
for she is just past Is, but still she
can look up to her husband as wife
should, because he towers almost
head above her as they stand side by
side. She leans upon him as trust
fully as If three times 13 were the num-
ber of his years, and she has no man
ner of doubt that, with such an early
start he will grow up to be a very fine
husband.
Ise-
tinction it Is to have the youngest
husband in Illinois if not in the Unit
ed States, was until Saturday Miss
Neil Krutsinger She is the daughter
of Sim Krutsinger. Last Saturday
Frank Farris and Nell Krutsinger went
away to ST. Louis, and when they came
back they were Mr.. and Mrs. Frank L.
Farris, and the fact that he was only
13 years old did not keep him from
assuming the air of proprietorship
which it is the bridegrooms right to
assume.
1t was not exactly an elopement.
Young Frank had informed his mother
that he purposed taking unto himsef
a wife. She was at first disposed to
scold him little and tell him to run
away and play, but Frank insisted that
he meant it and Mrs. Farris realized,
with start, that her little boy had
all of a sudden become a big man
with q Dig mans resolve 10 have his
own way in affairs of the heart, and
after much signing and many remon-
strances that might have been re-
served, she gave her reluctant consent.
Miss Krutsinger had already given
hers, and when she and her youthful
admirer set siege for the consent of her
parents it was not long withheld. For
one thing, she was very soon to be of
age and then she could do as she
pleased in that regard. The arrange
ments were not completed until after
her eighteenth birthday, which was
last Thursday week.
LICEhSE CLERK SKEPTICAL
Saturday morning Frank and Nell
drove to Flora and took train for st.
Louis Mrs. Farris went along because
Frank seemed such an infant to her
she was sure the clerk in ST. Louis
would not give him a license. The
clerk was a mite skeptical about the
young mans years, and it was just as
well, perhaps, that Mrs. Farris was
along to tell him that Franks father
was dead and she, as the only one hav-
ing authority to Intervene, did not wish
to do so, and the license was issued
and the Rev. Charles f. Stark pro-
nounced them man and wife.
The clerk was given to understand
that young Mr.. Farris was going on
10, which was true, of course. He may
nave Ild0 Ills QOuDlS, DuI Il6 StI IL lbWIl
in the records that Farris was 18, and
young Mrs Farris is disposed to stand
by the record She eVinced an aston
ishing lack of information concerning
her new husbands age when asked
about it at the Farris residence, where
she and her husband will make their
home until Frank makes other ar
rangements. She did not remember
that she had heard him mention how
old he was until they went to get mar
ried and the clerks record showed
that he was 18, and that was all she
knew about it.
A SECRET FOR A WEEK
Young Mr.. Farris himself was at
first disposed to withhold exact in
formation about his age, but he came
to the conclusion that he might as
we'll be the youngest husband as one
of the youngest and he finally said that
he was 13 last September.
1t was not until they had been back
in Louisville nearly a week that it
became generally known that Frank
and Nell were man and wife. Nell
had told a few of her friends that she
was now Mrs. Frank L. Farris, and
had cautioned them TO tell nobody and
they had Immediately told as many as
they could conveniently tell, and finally
everybody in town knew that frankie
Farris had become Mr., Frank L. Far
IT'S, 1o-yGdI-Olu uuSudIlu DL pretty NGI
Krutsinger that was
Frank was 12 years old when he went
Wooing Nell Krutsinger. Before a
year ago Nell had never paid any par
ticular attention to the lad. She knew
in a general way that he was Farris,
and that was all. There was a camp
meeting in Louisville a year ago and
they both attended it and became bet
ter acquainted.
Then one night Nell Krutsinger
stayed with Mayme Eston at the tele-
phone exchange to keep her company
while she relieved the regular operator,
who had gone away on visit. And
late in the evening Frank Farris and
Elbert Perry came driving back from
Flora, where they had been to the
street fair, and stopped at the tele-
phone exchange, and Ebert took
Mayme home and Frank took Nell
home, and that was the beginning of
the courtship of the 12-year-old lad
who is now a 13-year-old husband.
TOWN STILL sTAREs
Louisville has ceased to marvel, but
still manifest its interest in the child
man and his wife. Heads are turned to
watch them as they walk down the
street arm in arm, all unmindful of
the attention they attract 1t is the
philosophy of Mr.. Frank L. Farris, l3
years old, to declare that a ''man's a