1911 Courtship Letter Special: July 25th Dear Ethel from Mother

8/11/2013

A JOKE IN THE BERRY PATCH ca. 1909, courtesy of the Baldwin Room of the Toronto Public Library

Author of Letter: Ida Amelia Glover Nelson
Dated:  July 25th, 1911
Addressed to: Dear Ethel (Ethel is up in Huntsville, Ontario visiting Ida Amelia's sister, Sarah Elizabeth Glover)
Mailed from: Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship:  Ethel's ma
Profession:  Farmer's Wife
Writing instrument: Pencil
Written on: Off-white, beautifully textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half with a red carnation motif on the first page.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- Uncle *Emanuel Nelson - brother of Ethel's Pa
- Lill - Lillian Blizzard - married to James A Nelson, cousin of Ethel's Pa
- Bob - the *hired man
- Miss Hunt - a good friend of the family (use search box for photo)
- Mother - Sarah Elizabeth Greenwood Glover - Ida Amelia's mother
- *Sarah Elizabeth Glover - Ida Amelia's sister
- Brownhill - a nearby village
- Buffalo, New York

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing. If you don't see a label, use the search box at the top of page.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Belhaven July 25th .11

Dear Ethel
I got your
letter last night
I was out picking
berries yesterday at
Brownhill. just got
them don up had 7 quarts
and enough for one pie.
it was 10 oclock when i
got there. we have 4 men
to day shingling Bob
has gone went Monday
to Buffalo said he would
wRite and let us Know

how he gets along
he sold the ducks to
youie for 3 1/2 dollars
I washed Monday
but didnt hang clothes
out untill yesterday
it has been so windy
Sadie had 4 men for
supper and renshegl?
the clothes. she has
made pies twice and
she can make them
to day.
Well Uncle Emanuel
is very sick we set
up tuesday night

Doctor says he wont
live long he has gall
stone in the liver
Lill is getting better
sits up some.
well I want to
wash to day am
cleaning up bobs
bed and room and
I want to get my
black dress cleaned
up for fear something
does happen to uncle.
Miss hunt sent word
to the preachers i guess
they will go down to day

Written down the left side of last page:

Say Ethel did you send one of the new plats down to Glovers

say Ethel you had
better rite to Mother
she will not like
it if you dont tell
Sarah to get ready
and come home
with you for a couple
of months it will
do her good and she
will get strong here
as well as there.
Sadie had company
last night.
guess this is all
good by
from Mother

Written up the right side of the back page:

as one is gone we cant find it.

Genealogy Notes

Here's a run-down on Ethel's Pa and his brothers in case you're getting confused:

Parents:
John Nelson b 1808 England married Mary Ann Green b 1810 England on 26 May 1829 in Upwell, Norfork, England.

John and Mary Ann emigrated with their 6 children to the US after the 1841 UK census and they are shown as a family living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the 1850 US census.

Here's the info I have on their children:
1850 - Frances (b 1832) last seen on the 1850 US census
1850 - William H (b 1834) on the US census, but several William H Nelsons in Ont
1850 - Jemima (b 1831) marries James Lucas and stays in Wisconsin
1857 - Henry (b 1835) marries Eliza Crouch in Ontario (Ethel's grandparents)
1861 - James (b 1829) appears as Married on the 1861 Canada census in Ontario
1861 - Emanuel (b1833) appears as Single on the 1861 Canada census in Ontario, but marries in 1865 in York County

To go one step further using the above:

- Henry moved to Iowa leaving several children including James Henry Nelson behind in Belhaven (post about Eliza's letter from 2 wks ago)
- James has a son, James A who married Lillian Blizzard
- Emanuel is Uncle Emanuel who lives near Belhaven and is very sick

To sum up, we know that 3 for sure of John and Mary Ann's children ended up in Ontario - 4 if you include William H because there are several William H's in York and Simcoe Counties at that time. Jemima stayed in the US and we have info on her children, grandchildren, etc. And Frances just disappeared.

I hope that clears up the ancestry of Ethel's paternal side for you.

4 Comments

Carla Gade

8/11/2013 05:57:16 pm

Anita, what labor of love all of your transcribing is. It is fun to read these entries and see the pics even though its not my own family!

Anita Mae

8/13/2013 11:27:22 pm

Actually, Carla, since it's my husband's family I feel the same way. I find myself becoming immersed in Noah and Ethel's letters, especially when I research everything in them which leads to the discovery of new relatives.

As a genealogist yourself, you know the excitement that comes with a small discovery that threads 2 random pieces of information into a historical fact. This is what keeps me going...

...that and comments like yours, and emails from readers, who let me know there is an interest in our past.

Thank you, Carla.

Carla Olson Gade link

8/14/2013 03:18:20 am

Doesn't it just make you feel like a sleuth? ;) What a blessing it is to have so many of these documents!

Anita Mae

8/14/2013 03:38:03 am

A sleuth? Yeah. Good word for it. :)

Yes, even though I moan and complain about the lack of personal photos included in Ethel's treasure box, I feel amazingly blessed with the letters and documents that she did include.

And I want to thank you for the photo of your ancestors' home in your Author Memories post - Carla Olson Gade: Romancing the Snow - here at http://www.anitamaedraper.com/3/post/2012/11/carla-olson-gade-romancing-the-snow.html

That photo gave me the inspiration to research the houses our ancestors lived in and not just the people who lived in them. :)

1911 Courtship Letter Special: July 25th Dear Ethel from Mother

Genealogy Notes

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