Florence (Little) Boit (1876-1902)

She was born in New York, but grew up predominantly in Newport where her father was a Naval officer and is remembered as a pioneer of war gaming. In childhood, she was, "a special and intimate friend" of Julia Overing Boit. In 1897, when she was still just twenty years old, Florence married Julia's widowed father, Ned Boit, who was 36-years her senior. On hearing the news, Julia's cousin went to console her, commenting: "It is a very strange thing and I am more sorry for the girls (Julia and her sisters) than anything... Uncle Ned quite scares me". After the wedding, Florence lived in Paris with her husband but died just five years later giving birth to their second son.