# May Booth Talmage

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**Merry May Talmage** ( **Booth**; September 26, 1868 – April 6, 1944) was a member of [the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints](/source/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints) (LDS Church) and was the wife of [James E. Talmage](/source/James_E._Talmage), a member of the [Quorum of the Twelve Apostles](/source/Quorum_of_the_Twelve_Apostles_(LDS_Church)). She oversaw the [Relief Society](/source/Relief_Society) in [Europe](/source/Europe) from 1924 to 1927 when her husband was the [president](/source/Mission_president) of the European [Mission](/source/Mission_(LDS_Church)) of the church.

## Early life

Merry May Booth was born on September 29, 1868, to Richard Thornton Booth and Elsie Edge in [Alpine, Utah](/source/Alpine,_Utah). She was the last of their ten children. Her parents were from [Lancashire, England](/source/Lancashire,_England). They converted to the LDS Church and immigrated to [Utah Territory](/source/Utah_Territory) in 1857.[1] As a child, she often spent time playing in the country and exploring. She went to school at local district schools.[2]

May and her family moved to [Provo, Utah](/source/Provo,_Utah) when she was 16. May began taking classes at [Brigham Young Academy](/source/Brigham_Young_Academy) under [Karl G. Maeser](/source/Karl_G._Maeser) and [James E. Talmage](/source/James_E._Talmage).[1] While in school, she was the secretary of the Polysophical Society on campus.[1] She also helped with the church's [Primary Association](/source/Primary_(LDS_Church)).[2]

After graduating from Brigham Young Academy, May moved to [Kaysville, Utah](/source/Kaysville,_Utah), where she became a schoolteacher. Talmage visited her in Kaysville while he was studying the [Great Salt Lake](/source/Great_Salt_Lake).[1] The couple wed on June 14, 1888, in [Manti, Utah](/source/Manti,_Utah),[3] in the [temple](/source/Manti_Utah_Temple).[4]: 206 Her father died in May 1888 before the wedding.[2] The couple had eight children.[3] James affectionately called his wife "Maia."[1]

Shortly after getting married, James received a call from the [First Presidency](/source/First_Presidency_(LDS_Church)) of the church that he was to be in charge of the Salt Lake Academy, which is now the [Ensign College](/source/Ensign_College), so the couple moved to [Salt Lake City](/source/Salt_Lake_City). By 1890, they owned their own house there.[2]

## Church service

While her husband was called to be a member of the [Quorum of the Twelve Apostles](/source/Quorum_of_the_Twelve_Apostles_(LDS_Church)) for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1911,[5] May contributed to the church as well. She participated in [Sunday School](/source/Sunday_School_(LDS_Church)), [Relief Society](/source/Relief_Society) and [Primary](/source/Primary_(LDS_Church)).[1] She was called by the church in 1892 to serve on the General Board of the [Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association](/source/Young_Women_(organization));[2] she served in that position for almost 40 years.[1] May was a speaker at the North Weber State Mutual Improvement Association in 1916.[6]

She was also chairperson of the *[Young Woman's Journal](/source/Young_Woman's_Journal)*, which she edited for a little over a year and a half. May accompanied her husband to Europe in 1924 when he was called to be the [president](/source/Mission_president) of the European Mission. She oversaw the Relief Society organization in Europe from 1924 to 1927.[1]

## Contributions

May Talmage became a member of the executive board of the Utah Territorial Women's Suffrage Association. In 1893, she represented Utah at the World Congress of Women at the [Chicago World's Fair](/source/World's_Columbian_Exposition).[1][2] In that same year, her mother died. She was voted vice-president of the BYU Alumni Association in 1895.[7] She also served as a delegate to the Tri-ennial National Council of Women meeting in 1906.[2] She was the vice-president of the Free Kindergarten Association and served as the first president of the [Parent-Teacher Association](/source/Parent-Teacher_Association) at Lowell School in [Salt Lake City](/source/Salt_Lake_City). She was also a member of the [Authors' Club](/source/Authors'_Club) and the Friendship Circle.[1]

Her husband died on July 27, 1933.[8] May's daughter Elsie died on August 2, 1935.[9] May later visited Provo to see friends and family in 1939.[10] She died on April 6, 1944[1] in [Ogden, Utah](/source/Ogden,_Utah).[11]

## Publications

- ["My Little Friend"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag09reli#page/582/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **11** (1): 583–585. November 1922.
- ["Letter to Prest. Clarissa S. Williams and the General Board"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag13reli#page/n11/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **13** (1): 6–16. January 1926.
- ["Letter to Prest. Clarissa S. Williams and the General Board: The Swiss-German Mission"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag13reli#page/64/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **13** (2): 65–72. February 1926.
- ["Norway and Sweden"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag14reli#page/62/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **14** (2): 62–67. February 1927.
- ["Narvik And Bergen"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag14reli#page/122/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **14** (3): 123–129. March 1927.
- ["Julia A. Farnsworth Lund"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag16reli#page/18/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **15** (1): 19–21. January 1928.
- ["A Visit to the Relief Societies of the French Mission"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag15reli#page/190/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **15** (4): 191–198. April 1928.
- ["Conference Address"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag15reli#page/366/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **15** (7): 366–368. July 1928.
- ["To President Heber J. Grant"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag37reli#page/290/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **24** (5): 290–291. May 1937.
- ["Mary Connelly Kimball"](https://archive.org/stream/reliefsocietymag38reli#page/6/mode/2up). *The Relief Society Magazine*. **15** (1): 3–6. January 1938.

## References

1. Finding aid authors: Dennis Rowley and Susan Corrigan (1998). ["Register of the Merry May Talmage (1868–1944) Papers, 1882–1934: Biographical Information"](http://files.lib.byu.edu/ead/XML/MSS1607.xml). Retrieved May 23, 2016.

1. Provo, Utah: [Brigham Young University](/source/Brigham_Young_University). pp. 1–7.

1. Hardy, Jeffrey S. ["James Edward Talmage"](https://lib.byu.edu/collections/mormon-missionary-diaries/about/diarists/james-edward-talmage/). *Mormon Missionary Diaries*. Retrieved 23 May 2016.

1. Reeve, W. Paul (2010). [*Mormonism: A Historical Encyclopedia*](https://books.google.com/books?id=BI7dNT5NdmIC&q=mary+booth+talmage&pg=PA206). Santa Barbara, California: [ABC-CLIO](/source/ABC-CLIO). ISBN 978-1598841077.

1. ["James E. Talmage (1862–1933)"](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2010/03/small-and-simple-things/james-e-talmage?lang=eng). *[Liahona](/source/Liahona_(magazine))*. March 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2016.

1. ["Annual Convention of North Weber Mutuals"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/80872407/?terms=may%2Bbooth%2Btalmage). *[The Ogden Standard](/source/Standard-Examiner)*. 25 Sep 1916.

1. ["The Last Day: The B.Y.A Alumni Have the Field"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/79995147/?terms=may%2Bbooth%2Btalmage). *The Evening Dispatch*. 24 May 1895. Retrieved 23 May 2016.

1. ["Death Ends Career of Churchman"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/10660689/?terms=may%2Bbooth%2Btalmage). *[The Salt Lake Tribune](/source/The_Salt_Lake_Tribune)*. 28 Jul 1933. Retrieved 23 May 2016.

1. ["Salt Lake Writer Taken by Death; Leader in M.I.A."](https://www.newspapers.com/image/11107444/?terms=may%2Bbooth%2Btalmage). *The Salt Lake Tribune*. 3 Aug 1935. Retrieved 23 May 2016.

1. ["City News"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/33304444/?terms=may%2Bbooth%2Btalmage). *The Daily Herald*. 21 Jul 1939. Retrieved 23 May 2016.

1. Rose Frank (2014). ["Merry May Booth Talmage history: Creator Info"](http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/6892). Retrieved May 23, 2016.

## External links

### Archival collections

The following collections are kept in the [L. Tom Perry Special Collections](/source/L._Tom_Perry_Special_Collections), [Harold B. Lee Library](/source/Harold_B._Lee_Library), [Brigham Young University](/source/Brigham_Young_University):

- [Collections relating to May Booth Talmage](http://archives.lib.byu.edu/agents/people/10701?&filter_fields%5B%5D=primary_type&filter_values%5B%5D=resource)
- [Transcription of letters from James E. Talmage to May Booth Talmage](https://files.lib.byu.edu/transcriptions/MSS%201607%20B1%20F5%20Merry%20Booth%20Talmage%20Letters%201911-1915.txt)
- [Digitized diary, 1887-1892](https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/p15999coll24/id/33715)

### Other links

- [Funeral Announcement in The Ogden Standard-Examiner, 8 Apr 1944](https://www.newspapers.com/image/27108548/?terms=may%2Bbooth%2Btalmage)

## Further reading

- ["The Young Woman's Journal"](https://books.google.com/books?id=JlYoAAAAYAAJ&q=mary+booth+talmage&pg=PA392). *[The Deseret News](/source/The_Deseret_News)*. **19**. 1908. Retrieved 23 May 2016.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [May Booth Talmage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Booth_Talmage) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Booth_Talmage?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.