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1911 Courtship: May 21 Dear Ethel

2/24/2013

1910 Rosetown Ball Team; Virtual exhibits: Part of Wish You Were Here: Saskatchewan Postcard Collections

Noah mentions in his letters that he's playing baseball against teams from Pense and Belle Plain. I tried digging up an old photo of the area around Grand Coulee, but this was the closest I could find. Rosetown is about a 4-5 hr drive in today's terms from Grand Coulee. Noah's team would've been like the above photo as they were just a bunch of farmers out for some competitive sport with neighbouring towns. No uniforms, although they made have sewed their name or town on their shirts. This 1910 Rosetown Ball Team photo is representative of the baseball clothing and equipment at the time.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: May 21/11
Addressed to: Miss E.Nelson, Bellhaven, Ont., My Dear Ethel
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, which he runs out of, so continues the next day with fresh ink
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, and written in a 4-page booklet form, except Noah has turned the paper inside and written down the full length.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

**Miss Hunt from last week - See Genealogy Notes for photos Ethel's family including Miss Hunt

* The Belhaven fires

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Grand Coulee Sask
May 21./11.

Miss. E. Nelson,
Belhaven, Ont.
My Dear Ethel; -
Received your letter last
night and was glad to hear
you were still in the land
of the living. & you will
see by this that I am not
very bad in fact nothing
worse than lazyness. HaHa.
Well I guess by the time
you get this you will
know all about the big
time at Newmarket. & I
will know all about the

big time at Pense. We gothere the
24th to play ball. expect we will
get it in the neck for we have had
only one pratice but there is nothing
like being game so we are going to
try them any way.
Say Ethel you know your self where
your duty lies this summer and as
much as I would like to have you
here with me I would not like to
influence you to leave there this
summer. for like you I think the
burning of the barn makes a big
difference.
Well the clock is just striking
ten that would be 12 P.M. by your
time and I suppoe you woulbe
in bed asleep.
Say my pen is dry & I guess I will
finish with
Monday. night. well I was going to say
with a pencil but I could not find
one so I am at it again with Ink. Ha.Ha.
Am going in to Regina in the
morning & am going to try to get you
a little birthday present. & hope
you will like it when you get
it.
The carpenter was here to night
to see about building (my) house but
I know as much about it now as I

did before so am going to see
about it tomorrow & get some
other contractors prices.
Well it is preety cold and
windy to night hope it does
not last long.
Say do you think the barns
were set on fire by some one. It
certainly looks suspicious.
Oh say you should see
my bugg. Gee it is swell
nit .):) wish you were here
to ride in it any way. but I
guess it will keep. what
do you think. Well I guess I
will ring off for this time
so Good Bye. May Your shadow
never grow less. I remain forever.
Your faithful lover. N.C.D. xxxxx

Genealogy Notes

Last week, Ethel wrote to Noah, "Miss Hunt speaks of you each time I see her."

Well, I still haven't figured out where Miss Hunt fits in the Family Tree although I found a photo of her in Ethel's treasure box. The back of this photo reads:

Alice and Miss Hunt
Great Great Cousin

And although Alice is mentioned in another Courtship letter, I don't know where she fits in the tree either.

Look at this photo of Ethel's family taken the same day:

James H Nelson Family c 1931, (L to R back) unknown, unknown, James A Nelson, Emanuel Nelson and wife Vera Horner, Cousin Alice, Miss Hunt, Ida Amelia Glover (Ethel's mother), and James Henry Nelson (Ethel's father); (L to R front row: Frank Thompson, Leland (?) Nelson, Glenna Nelson, Clifford Thompson, Benny Thompson.

This family photo could very well show Ethel's complete family if I guess at the women on the left. We know the 2 on the right are Ethel's parents from other photographs. And we've identifed Miss Hunt and Counsin Alice at the top of this post.

We know that the 2 young men are Ethel's brothers, James A and Emanuel, while the woman in the cloche hat is Emanuel's wife, Vera. You've met this young man, Emanuel in Ethel's letters because back in 1911, he's 5 yrs old and gets bitten by the family dog after teasing him. The little girl, Glenna, is Emmanuel's oldest child, and the toddler could be her brother, Leland.

So that only leaves the 2 women on the left. Ethel had 2 sisters, Sadie, who was 5 yrs younger than her, and Christie, 10 yrs younger. So far in the letters we haven't heard about Christie, but we've heard plenty about Sadie and her schooling and teasing.

In the photo, 3 of the children are the Thompson boys and since Christie grew up to marry Roy Thompson, I suspect one of the women is Christie - my guess is the one on the end because she looks like a mother ready to chase after a wayward child.

So that leaves the lady second on the left with the white hat and carrying a Bible or camera. Could that be Sadie? I really wish I knew.

I believe the photo was sent to Ethel and Noah in Grand Coulee, SK from Belhaven, Ontario, which explains why Ethel and her children aren't in the photo.

If someone can help identify the people in this photo, we'd really appreciate if you let us know, either here, through my contact page, or on ancestry.ca/com.

1911 Courtship: May 14 Dear Noah

2/17/2013

May 14th, 1911 was Canada's 2nd ever Mother's Day, and it's how Ethel starts this week's Courtship letter.

Clipping from the Newmarket Era
5 May 1911, p. 1.

Northern Pacific Railway postcard for Mother's Day, ca 1916

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21
Dated:  May 14, 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N. C. Draper... Dear Noah
Mailed from:  Belhaven, Ontario
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink
Written on: Light bluey/gray, slightly thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6 inches, folded in half. The paper is folded in half with the first page on the front and last on the back, but inside, she's turned it clockwise and written straight across the whole width so technically, there are only 3 pages.

People/places mentioned in this letter:
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover
- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- Maud *Bruels
- Grover Morrison - a young man from the nearby village of Baldwin
- **Mrs. Deverell mother of *Herbert Deverell - **updated info below!
- *Uncle Emanuel Nelson - brother of James Henry Nelson
- *Manuel - Emanuel Nelson - Ethel's little brother

More info on the *Fire(s) and current *market prices were posted under 1911 Courtship: May 14? Dear Ethel.

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Bellhaven. May 14.1911.

Mr. N.C. Draper,
Grand Coulee.
Sask.

Dear Noah, --
Well here I am again
with some more of my scribbling
I have just come home from
Church. Mr. Fletcher of Keswick
Christian Church preached.
To-day was Mothers day
Everybody was supposed to
wear a white flower.
I was home with
Maud Bruels to-night for tea
Grover Morrison took her home
from Church. He was driving a
colt and say I just had to
jump for my life to get out of the rig.

Oh Noah I got your letter last night
asking me to try and think that I would
be able to go home with you the first of
August if you came down. Oh Noah I do so
wish you could come, but just think, of my leaving
Ma with so much extra work that she will
have this summer building the barn.
I believe if our barn had not of burned I
would have said yes, without any hesitation.
It is'nt the lack of love for you (on my part)
that keeps me here. Now Noah what do you
say? Considering all. Oh if you were only here
so that I could talk and tell you everything and
just how I feel about it.
Stanley Mahoney and his May were up to
Church to-night. I heard to day Morn Yorke
was to married in June.
Mrs. Deverell has been visiting at Mrs. Bruels
a couple of days. I guess she feels awfully
bad about Herb's death.
We heard yesterday that there had
averaged a barn burning each day this
week except Saturday. Ours Monday, Rialton's
on Tuesday. they caught fire in just the
same place. Riddels on Wed, one near
Newmarket on Thursday, and a fire on
Friday we heard was Moleses barn.

We got Eleven Hundred
insurance. Everyone has been so
good. It shows you who your
true friend's are. No we have not
killed that dog yet. It was'nt
the dog's fault. Manuel was teasing
him. Uncle Emanuel is very sick
we are afraid he'll not recover.
Miss Hunt speaks of you each time
I see her.
Well how do you like batching it
alone. I often think of you, and
wonder what you are doing. haha
wether you are mixing bread or not.
Ethel would do your baking for
you would'nt she? I guess you can
tell by my writing about what my
pen is like, it scratches. Everyone
is well here in body. but rather
down hearted since the fire. I think
I must close for this time. with all
love I say good-Bye from your
Sweetheart,
x x x x x x x x (Ethel Nelson)

Genealogy Notes

This week's genealogy notes are in 2 parts:
1. The Deverell's
2. Uncle Emanuel

The Deverell's

A few weeks ago, I talked about the death of Herbert Deverell under Genealogy Notes in the post, 1911 Courtship: May 1 Dear Noah, and how many circumstances matched - and didn't match - Noah's mother, Sarah Sophia Deverell.

In that post, I stated the facts as I know them and then said,

but they can't be siblings for the following reasons:

1. they share the same birth year but were born a couple months apart
2. their parents have the same names & jobs, but not the same birth years
3. if they were siblings, William would show up on Sarah's 1861 census.

So what relation are Charles and Herbert to Sarah Sophia?

On the right is the obituary of Elder W. Deverell taken from The Newmarket Era May 11, 1888, Page 2.

The copy reads:
Another aged pilgrim has fallen in the
person of Eld. W. Deverell who departed
this life April 22, 1888, at the advanced
age of 81 years. Deceased was taken ill
while on a visit at the home of his son-in-law Mrs. D. Draper, but his illness was of short duration...

According to that, Sophia's father, a minister, died at her own home since she was married to David Draper.

However, if you read the final line of this obituary, it says he left a wife and six children to mourn his loss.

The crux of the above summation is that last line because according to the family tree, Sophia had 5 siblings. So taking that, the above questions, and the fact that William Deverell is a very common name into consideration, the other William Henry Deverell family didn't fit with ours.

Update: Well, guess what? I was searching for family names in The Newmarket Era this week, and found this little, notation in a 1900 edition...

BOOM! And there it is - the missing piece. Louie is Noah's sister. Their mother is Sarah Sophia Deverell. But how does William Deverell of Toronto fit in the picture if Sarah already has 5 siblings already? I went back to Elder W. Deverall's obit and read that last line again. This time I realized that it doesn't say he has 6 children... it says he's leaving 5 of them behind. What if one had already died? I checked the family tree again and wouldn't you know it... Frances Jane Deverell died in 1876, 12 yrs before. With her passing, that left a widow and 6 children to mourn his loss, including both Sophia and William, so yes, he is her brother.

As for the dates, I've discovered that Wm Deverell of Toronto was born one year before Sophia, so he is, in fact, one year older than her. As for the parents' dates, I have to assume mine are right - at least for Elder William Deverell based on his obituary.

And that explains why Ethel felt it necessary to send Herbert's obituary with her letter.

Uncle Emanuel

In this week's letter, Ethel mentions that her Uncle Emanuel is very sick. When she first mentions him back in Courtship Letter Apr 9 Dear Noah, I thought her Uncle Emanuel lived close to them in Belhaven because he was the one who told her father not to sell the farm.

***Update... Uncle Emanuel is the one who lives close to Belhaven! Uncle Emanuel Nelson (of Ontario) is the brother of Henry Nelson (of Iowa) which makes him the uncle of Ethel's dad, James Nelson. I was confusing Uncle Emanuel Nelson with Emanuel Francis Nelson (son of Henry Nelson and Eliza Crouch) who is down in Iowa. Clear as mud?

1911 Courtship: May 14? Dear Ethel

2/10/2013

Since Noah's letter mentions the devastating fire at Ethel's farm, this week's genealogy notes will concentrate on that event.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: May ? (Suspect May 14 - see below)
Addressed to: Miss E.Nelson, Bellhaven, Ont., Dear Ethel
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, but looks grey in places and pencil-like in others.
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, and written in a 4-page booklet form. The paper is ripped on the first page so we can't read the date, but because Noah writes every week with his last letter dated May 7th, and his next one dated May 21st, the evidence is there that this is dated May 14th, 1911.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

Mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper, Noah's widowed mother
Bertha - wife of Noah's cousin, *Stewart Trueman Draper of Indian Head, Sask
*Louie - Noah's sister, Sarah Louisa Draper, married to Fred Coventry
*Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva & Joseph Perrault who live nearby
*Joe - Veda's father, Joseph Perrault

** The Belhaven fires

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Grand Coulee M----------

Miss. E. Nelson,
Belhaven, Ont.
Dear Ethel ; -
Received your letter
last week and was glad to
hear you were still in the
land of the living. Hope
you are well as this leaves
me at present.
So you have had a fire
eh. Well it is a good thing
no one was killed. you dont
know how it started.
Well I was home all day
Sunday. & have not been
to church for two weeks

so I must be getting bad.
Mother came home Saturaday
ght & Bertha and the children
me up with her. They
e going home tonight.
Mother & Bertha went down
to Louies today.
Well we had a great old
rain yesteraday it must
have fell about 3" of water.
but it is fine today.
Have not sowed my oats
yet but guess I will sow
them as soon as it drys up.
Say Sadie has not had
her final examinations yet
has she.

Am going into the Coulee
to night base ball pratice
We play Pense on the 24th.
Veda is in Regina now
doctoring with her hands.
I guess they will cure them
all right.
Joe has the frame of his
barn up but it will take
about a month yet to finish
it.
Say didnt you get my card
you didnot say any thing
about it.
Well Ethel you know
them five words allright
and all remains is to say them

Well Idont want you to
think I am so selfish as it
may seem Ethel. & I guess
you will have lots to do
there for a while. Eh.
Well I guess I will have
to close once more for I
do not know what to
write outside of a lot
of foolishness &. I will leave
that unsaid this time.
So Bye Bye .Write soon
to your Loving Friend
& future Hubby.
X X X N.C.D.

Genealogy Notes

Here's the newspaper article about the fire that burned the barn at Ethel's place in Belhaven...

Clipped from The Newmarket Era. May 12, 1911 - Page: 6

BELLHAVEN.

The 5th paragraph down is about the barn fire at Ethel's place:

Mr. James Nelson's barn was burn-
ed on Monday and Mr. Roy Murrell's
on Tuesday. We sympathize with
them. Mr. Nelson's barn was com-
pletely destroyed, together with three
calves, five fat pigs, poultry, imple-ments etc. The wind was blowing
from a favorable quarter, so that his
dwelling was saved. The loss of
barn, and contents will probably
reach from $1500 to $2000. There
was a small insurance on barn and
contents. Mr. Nelson was not at
home when the fire first commenced,
but returned before it was all over.

It's estimated that Ethel's family lost $1500 to $2000 all things considered. That doesn't seem like much by today's standards, but to put it into perspective, here's what costs were back in May 1911:

Newmarket lies halfway between Belhaven and the city of Toronto. I know it's hard to read, but a pound of butter costs between 16 and 25 cents between the 2 markets, while potatoes are from between 80 cents and 1.05 a 100 pound bag. Put in that light, the Nelson's have lost a huge amount.

1911 Courtship: May 7 Dear Noah

2/5/2013

Henry Nelson (1835-1900) and Eliza Croutch (1840-1919), ca 1890-1900?

The photo above is my husband Nelson's Great-Great-Grandfather - referred to as his 2nd Great Grandfather, and his 2nd Great Grandmother. We received this picture and others via email from a wonderful new relative in Iowa which is where Henry and Eliza Croutch emigrated to from Canada, although half the family stayed in Ontario. I'll be posting a letter that Eliza Croutch sent to her son, James Henry Nelson (Ethel's Pa) in July 1911 - according to the 1911 Courtship calendar.

Meanwhile, by that same calendar, we're still in May, so here we go...

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21
Dated:  May 7, 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N. C. Draper... My Dear Noah
Mailed from:  Belhaven, Ontario
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink
Written on: Light bluey/gray, slightly thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6 inches, folded in half. The paper is folded in half with the first page on the front and last on the back, but inside, she's written straight across the whole width so technically, there are only 3 pages.

People/places mentioned in this letter:
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- Uncle *Will Glover - Ida Amelia's older brother born 1872
- Uncle *Leslie Glover - Ida Amelia's younger brother born 1886
- *Della - Della Mahoney
- Mary Smith and Della Heartley - school friends
- Little Ethel - *Ethel Marie Rogers - 3 mo old daughter of Ida Amelia's sister, Victoria Maud
- Mrs. Manfred Terry - Noah's cousin on the Draper side, *Manford Terry
- Mr. Davidson - Robert Davidson - a Belhaven neighbour (building his barn)
- **Mr. John A.B. Cole's only daughter - Melvina Cole

- 24th of May - *Victoria Day
- buckwheat - a grain which gives honey a dark colour, strong flavour & heavy odour
- **ploughing down the fall wheat - image and information under genealogy notes

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Belhaven. May 7. 1911.

Mr N C Draper,
          Grand Coulee,
                    Sask.

My Dear Noah;--
                          Rec'd your letter
last night all O.K. I am thinking
perhaps you got two, one which
should have gone to you the
week before. Sadie took it to post
and forgot to post it. so she
says. I guess we will have to
get her something to improve
her memory.
              Well Ma & I have just got
home. Sadie went with us but we
brought her around to Uncle's and
she staid there.

Sadie and I were up to Uncle Will Glovers and Ma was to Uncles
Leslie's. We certainly have spent a great day of it. Although I enjoyed
the ride most of all.
Pa finished seeding about the middle of last week. except
sowing some buckwheat. Several of the farmers are ploughing
there fall wheat up.
Della has came home from the city. I guess she likes
to get back to see an old Keswick friend. Mary Smith has
been visiting in Orillia with Della Heartley I think.
Sadie was successful in her examinations she coming
fifth in a class of about thirty
There is going to be quite a time in Newmarket on the
24th of May. I don't know yet whether we will be going
down or not.
Say! when you get that bugy finished painting
just drive in some evening and we will go for a
drive. How nice it would be.

Well I can guess at the rest of
those five words. And it wouldn't
take long for me to say them
sometimes,
Little Ethel was here last week
and say she is just as nice as
her name sake. (ha ha.) Suppose you
pity her if she is no better, eh! I do.
I saw Mrs Manfred Terry at Mr
Davidson's raising, I understood
her to say they were going to keep
a boarding house this summer,
a cousin of mine Mr John A.B.
Cole's daughter is to be married in
June, to Ambrose Traviss of Brown-
hill. Mr. Robt Davidson thinks there
is no girl on the fifth like his. Well
I guess I must say Good Bye for
this time with all love from your
Ethel Nelson. Sweetheart.
xxxxxxxxxx

Say don't laugh at my letter ? on the envelope.

Genealogy Notes

There are 2 topics discussed here:

Topic #1:

Mr. John A.B. Cole's daughter - Melvina Cole:

Ethel says,

a cousin of mine Mr John A.B.
Cole's daughter is to be married in
June, to Ambrose Traviss of Brown-
hill.

This was new to me, since our tree doesn't have anyone named Cole yet. So, I did a start-from-scratch search looking for any event for John A Cole of Gwillimbury. One of the first records that came up on the ancestry.ca site was a marriage record for John Abram Cole and Eliza Ann Croutch. I knew we have plenty of relatives named Croutch (or some spelled it Crouch) on Ethel's father's side, so this was exciting. I checked our tree and found an Eliza Ann Croutch who was a cousin of Ethel's father, James Henry Nelson. Further checking revealed that John A Cole only had 2 children, a boy named Alonze, and a girl, Melvina. Next, I searched for Melvina and confirmed that she does indeed marry Ambrose Traviss of Brownhill in June, 1911.

Ethel's notation is a big help to us. Because of the spelling of Croutch/Crouch, and the large families of the time, it's very confusing to decipher who belongs to whom. On top of that, part of the Croutch family left Ontario and moved down to Iowa sometime during the last quarter of the 19th century. So we're dealing with census records from 2 countries as well.

However, we're blessed that one of the Croutch descendants who emigrated to the U.S. has found us on ancestry and we've established a rapport to the extent that records and photos have been exchanged. Because of this person, I now have a photo of Ethel's grandparents and others of Ethel's family. (See photo at top of post)

Topic #2

Ploughing down the fall wheat crop - in the spring.

What Ethel calls 'fall wheat' is commonly referred to as winter wheat today. Winter wheat is different from other types of grain because it's planted in the fall. It starts to grow, then winter comes and it freezes and lays dormant - usually beneath a layer of snow - all winter. Come spring, it starts growing again. If all goes well, the winter wheat is ready to harvest in July. It's the first crop harvested after the hay is taken off.

I don't know what crop the farmer above is ploughing. It may even be stubble after the harvest, although it doesn't look spiky or devastated enough. But that's about the height - maybe a bit more - that a farmer will plough down his fall/winter wheat if it's not growing good. Ploughing it down is like feeding the soil since the nutrients in the green grass-like shoots are full of vitamins and minerals that the soil requires. That's why most crops that are used for this purpose are the leafy ones like clover.

If the farmers in the Belhaven area are ploughing down their fall wheat, the spring is not a good one - not enough heat or moisture, etc.

1911 Courtship: May 21 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: May 14 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: May 14? Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: May 7 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

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