John H. Boucher was born at his family ranch on the Bosque River, now Stephenville City Park, in 1861. In 1881, as Sheriff Bill Slaughter’s deputy, Boucher was sent to arrest Alf Gould, a cattle rustler based near Lampasas. The sheriff there was afraid to assist in the capture because of the Gould gang’s fierce reputation. Boucher was able to arrest Gould on his own in spite of the gang and Gould’s enraged wife. Mrs. Gould followed the deputy back to Stephenville, and after her husband was sent to prison, was so pitiful that Sheriff Slaughter hired her as the jail cook. Boucher was so nervous about eating her cooking that he quit. Empire-Tribune (1936)