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1912: Jan 14 Letter fm Eva Perrault

3/31/2014

1913 - Winter in Pense, Sask. Courtesy of University of Saskatchewan Libraries Special Collections

The postcard above shows the grain elevators of Pense, Saskatchewan - the community to the immediate west of Grand Coulee. However, in 1905, it could have been taken of any town on the Canadian prairies depending on the amount of farmers in the area which would have influenced the number of grain elevators.

Author of Letter: Eva Amelia Draper Perrault b 1876, North Gwillimbury, Ont
Dated: Jan 14, 1912
Addressed to: Dear Brother
Mailed from: Grand Coulee (Saskatchewan)
Relationship: Oldest Sister of Noah Draper
Profession: Farmer's wife
Writing instrument: Black ink
Written on: Linen-like cream-colored folded notepaper. Eva hasn't numbered the pages, but if she had, they would read 1, 3, 2, 4 with the third page turned sideways much like her daughter Veda did last week.

*Last week's letter shows the history of Eva and Joe until these letters of Jan 1912.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Noah Draper, age 23 (b 1887, North Gwillimbury, York, Ontario)
- *Ethel Nelson, age 21 (b 1890, North Gwillimbury, York, Ontario)
- **Louie & *Fred - Noah's sister Louie (Sarah Louisa) and her husband, Fred Coventry
- Mrs Coventry - Fred's mother, Eliza Grogan Stevenson, lives south of Grand Coulee
- **Veda - Eva's 16 yr old daughter who is studying at Brandon College
- Mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper
- *Joe Perrault - husband of Eva (author of this letter)
- **Uncle Frank's - Frank Matt married Joe's sister, "Nettie" Josephine Jeanette
- *Edyth Draper - Noah's 1st cousin (their fathers, Stephen and David, are brothers)

**Mr. Wright - A.D. Wright -store owner in Grand Coulee who is selling out
Sample - new store owner in Grand Coulee

Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
Pense - shown in top postcard

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

Grand Coulee Jan th
14
1912

Mr N. C. Draper
Belhaven. Ont.
Dear Brother ---
I dont know
weather you think you have
wrote me or not But I did
not count a postcard, a letter
However it may be as well
not to wait for a letter as
I might not write at all if
I did. Well Noah how are
you and Mother getting

along? and does mother keep
well. It is very cold here
since the 20 of Dec. What
is the weather like down
there? it is any place from
20 to 56 below zero since
Christmas. Louie and Fred
was here to day Louies eyes
are much better again.
Mr Wright has sold out
to a man by the name
of Sample and they are
selling out the old stock
now. You aught to be here

So you could get some thing cheap
in Grand Coulee Mrs Coventry got a pair
of boots for 25 cents and it might be
a good time to lay in a suply I told
Veda I thought I had better go over
and get her suplyed for the summer.
Veda was home for 12 days She likes
it fine down there now and is looking
forward to your return home. Well
Noah have you got that little business
setteled up yet. people are asking

and we just have to tell
them we dont know. However
Noah we wish you all happyness
and a prosperous married life
when the time comes. I have
not heard from Ethel just
lately but they were all well
the last we heard. How are
Uncle Franks and all
the rest down there? Is Edyth
Draper married yet? Write
me a good longletter and
tell me all the news.
From your Loving Sister Eva.

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Notes # 1 - Veda's Opinion of College

I think it's quite hilarious that Eva would say about Veda, "She likes it fine down there now..."

Wasn't it just last week that Veda wrote a very different view of being back in Brandon College? Read Veda's letter here.

The amazing part is that both mother and daughter wrote the letters within days of each other and here it is - 102 yrs later - and we have both of them. :)

Genealogy Notes # 2 - Louie's Eyes

This is the first time Louie's eye problems have been mentioned in these letters. A search of the local Newmarket Era found these snippets with the dates of 1897-98. Louie was born in March 1879, so she would have been 18 yrs old when she had her operation, and since Eva's letter is dated 1912, Louie at 32 seems to still be having problems.

Genealogy Notes # 3 - Uncle Frank's

Uncle Frank's is the family of Frank Matt and Josephine Jeanette Perrault (Joe's sister). This family is special to me because of Melissa Matt, the Cultural Services Representative of the Georgina Pioneer Village and Archives.

I first heard of Melissa when she emailed me through my website's Contact page about a pleasant surprise...she enjoyed reading my Author Memories blog and thought it might be of interest to people who were interested in the local history of Georgina, and what used to be called North Gwillimbury.

As an aside, she mentioned that we might be related because Jeanette Josephine Perrault was her great-grandmother. And she's right. The connection is the marriage of Jeanette's brother, Joe, to Eva Amelia Draper.

Genealogy Notes # 4 - Grand Coulee store

I spent several hours researching Mr. Wright, Mr. Sample, and the Grand Coulee store, but the only written information I could find is a local history book published in 1955 for Saskatchewan's Golden Jubilee - its 50th anniversary as a province. This soft-covered book is held at the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (SGS) but you must be a member to view it. And from extensive research, if anyone else has a copy, they're keeping it well hidden - as are anyone with other information and images of the village and surrounding area.

According to Grand Coulee A Social History, A.D. Wright was the owner of a general store in the early days of the village until his store burned down. But it doesn't say when it burned down or how Sample plays into it. Did the store burn down before any papers were signed, or right after but no one remembers the new owner, etc.

Book: Grand Coulee A Social History, 1955

If anyone knows
where there is a copy
of this book for sale,
please Contact me.

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1912: Jan 12 Letter fm Veda Perrault

3/24/2014

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Clark Hall, Brandon College, at the end of 10th St Brandon, Manitoba, 1915. Just one photo of hundreds on the website of Bill Hillman's Manitoba Photo Archive http://www.hillmanweb.com/brandon/23.html

Author of Letter: Veda Perrault b 1895
Dated: Jan 12/12
Addressed to: Uncle Noah and Aunt Ethel
Mailed from: Brandon, Manitoba
Relationship: Niece (16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva and Joe Perrault)
Profession: student
Writing instrument: Black ink
Written on: Textured folded notepaper with Brandon College letterhead. Veda has numbered the pages 1, 3, 2, 4 with the third page turned sideways.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

Uncle Noah - *Noah Draper, age 23 (b 1887, North Gwillimbury, York, Ontario)Aunt Ethel - *Ethel Nelson, age 21 (b 1890, North Gwillimbury, York, Ontario)
Uncle Fred - *Fred Coventry, husband of Noah's sister Louie (Sarah Louisa)
Grandma - *Sarah Deverell Draper, Noah and Eva's mother
Eva - *Eva Amelia Perrault, Noah's sister, married to *Joe Perrault
Saddie - *Sadie Nelson, Ethel's 16 yr old sister
Leslie - Leslie Peter Thomson, Veda's beau

Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
- landing - getting off the train
- P. Card - post card
- Clark Hall - the women's residence of Brandon College
- Tugaske - northwest of Grand Coulee
- Outlook - northwest of Grand Coulee
- Moose Jaw - west of Grand Coulee

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

Jan 12./12.

Dear Uncle Noah also Aunt Ethel, -
" Congratulations! 'and
Many happy returns of the
day"
Well I am back at this
crazy whole again. and oh goodness
I hate it. goodness I have been
so nearly getting reported since
landing. nearly every night.
Just miss it by the skin
of my teeth.
This is Friday and I am
in class as usual. "Some place"

Well Uncle Noah how did it
come off any way? Did you do as
bad as Uncle Fred get on the
wrong side or did you carry it
out all right. I must have you
learn me when you return again.
We did not have a very good
Xmas this year. It did not seem
like Xmas to any of us. "Something
missing" guess it must have been
you and Grandma. Leslie did not
get down. I was sorry although
I expect him down here some
time before long. He is working
up at Tugaske, Sask, on the
Outlook branch from MooseJaw.

Is Belhaven changed since last winter?
I got a P. Card from you when I returned
here. also a letter while I was at home
Does Grandma seem to be enjoying
herself? It is certainly a shame I
have not wrote to hersince you left.
But tell her I often think of this and
will write as soon as I have another
chance. Which will be Sunday. They
seem to keep us on the go here all
the time. Is Saddie at home or going
to school Better bring her up here and

come to Clark Hall. She has
not wrote me for a long, long
time. Guess she is angry for me
not writing to her. Is that it?
ask her.
Well think I shall
have to close. I wrote home
to night for a permit. So
don't forget to stop off. I
shall be very, very glad
to see all of you.
Bye - Bye
your neice
Veda

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1 - Sarah Deverell Draper's letter of 2 weeks ago

Veda's letter is the first confirmation that Sarah Deverell Draper went east with Noah. If you've been reading these letters, you'll have seen two weeks ago where I posted a letter from Sarah as if she had stayed behind and Eva had gone with Noah. That letter was dated Dec 17th without a year, and yet certain events pointed to it being 1911. I guess it wasn't. Which makes me wonder which year it was written. My next best guess is 1910 - the year Noah went east and proposed to Ethel - because Sarah mentions the Nelson Family only and not Ethel herself as a mother-in-law would do. So the next step would be to scour the local newspaper for evidence that Eva accompanied him in 1910 and that the people/children mentioned in Sarah's letter were all where she said they were. But that is for another day...

Genealogy Note 2 - The Family of Veda Josie Perrault

Veda has been mentioned too many times to list here, but I've never detailed her family's history. Since this is her post, I'll rectify this now..

Veda's mother is Noah's sister, Eva Amelia Draper, born in 1876 in North Gwillimbury.

Veda's father is Joseph Andrew Perrault born 1868 in the Sutton area, of French-Canadian heritage. Although Joe's family is easy to locate, they seem to have divided into Perrault and Parent branches which can make it difficult to distinguish accurately.

After their 1894 marriage, Joe and Eva lived in North Gwillimbury Township as they are shown in the 1901 census with two of the four children born to them thus far:

Veda Josie born May '95
Luella born May '97, died in Sep '98 at 16 months due to a cholera infection
David Clinton born Jan '99 died in Sep '99 at 9 months due to a cholera infection
Reuben Gerald born Feb 1900

In Mar 1902, Joseph Erwin was born.

In Mar 1903, Joe and Eva moved their 3 children and household to the Qu'Appelle district of the North West Territories, east of Regina. Their farm was between Sintaluta and Indian Head and although other cousins would move to the area in a few years, at the time, they were alone.

In 1905, Eva's parents, David Draper and Sarah Deverell moved their family from North Gwillimbury, Ontario to the Assiniboine District of the North West Territories. They lived on the same parallel as Eva and Joe, but on the western side of the growing city of Regina.

In 1906, Saskatchewan became an official Canadian province and because of the mass of immigration and settlement across the prairies, the first of 2 special censuses were taken. (The 2nd would be in 1916.) Thus, the 1906 census shows:

Joe and Eva Perrault along with Veda, Reuben and Erwin still near Indian Head
Eva's sister, Ethel, married to Will Rigler, with 2 children near Grand Coulee
Eva's parents, David and Sarah Draper with 4 adult single offspring near Grand Coulee

As you can see by Joe's obituary, he moved Eva and the kids to Grand Coulee in 1907. This is confirmed in the 1911 Canada Census, where we find them living close to Grand Coulee along with five kids:
- Veda born 1895
- Reuben born 1900
- Erwin born 1902
- Dora born 1907
- Marguerite 1910

During the spring of 1911, Noah and Ethel talked about Veda's hands and that she was having x-ray treatment done in Regina for them. According to my research, the early 20th century used radiation treatment to skin conditions and diseases. But by the fall of 1911, Veda continued her education at Brandon College although we don't known what subjects she was taking.

Also, this is the first time we've seen anyone mention the name, Leslie. Veda is talking about Leslie Peter Thomson, born 1888 in Shakespeare, North Oxford, Ontario.

Leslie's occupation is Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) station agent and according to this letter, he is west of Grand Coulee working in Tugaske, Sask.

In a year and a half, Veda and Leslie will marry and start their own family.

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1911 Courtship: The 1912 Wedding

3/16/2014

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The image on the top page of Noah Draper's and Ethel Nelson's 1912 four-page Marriage Certificate

It's finally here...

Noah's and Ethel's 1912 Wedding Day!

If you read last week's post, you know that Noah Draper is now with Ethel Nelson in the Belhaven area of York County, Ontario, and their wedding day is finally here. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate a photo of the happy event, although I was able to scan their Marriage Certificate when we visited Nelson's cousins, granddaughters of Noah and Ethel, last summer. Norma's girls are the holders of the albums and photos which I refer to as the Norma Draper Personal Photograph Collection.

Scanning the marriage certificate was very tricky though as I didn't want to disturb its 100 yr old appearance by undoing the polished twisted cotton string because I knew I'd never get it back in the same position and it would then end up looking messy. Instead, I scanned each page as best I could which means you don't get to see the ribbon running through the holes at the top, and have to trust me that it's there. The dark areas are from the scanning process due to the knotted string.

The handwriting in Noah's and Ethel's Marriage Certificate is written in black ink and it's approx 5 inches x 6.5 inches. Made of 4 vellum sheets tied together, there is a copyright notification on the bottom left cover as such: COPYRIGHT 1898, J. S. KENNARD.

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - front cover/Page 1

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - Page 2

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - Page 3

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - Page 4

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - back of Page 4

As usual, I wanted more, and since newspaper snippets of the wedding weren't included in either Ethel's Treasure Box, nor Norma's Collection, I pulled up The Newmarket Era looking for any information about Noah and Ethel surrounding this date. As stated last week, there is no record of December 1911 issues on file, but I had hopes for January.

Nope. There were no mention of them - or anything Belhaven - in the first 2 wks of Jan 1912. And then when I pulled up the January 19, 1912 edition, I almost cried. Instead of telling you about it, I made this collage to show you what found...

Collage of remaining pages of The Newmarket Era, January 19, 1912 edition.

And when I checked the following week's January 26 edition, there was no mention of Noah or Ethel either. But that couldn't be, could it? After all those letters and news snippets? I needed closure!

For the lack of anything else to do, I pulled pulled up the Our Ontario News website which shows not only the Era but many more Ontario historical newspapers, and I searched for both Draper and Nelson. Two hits came up - both for the Jan 19 edition above. Ugh!

But a blink later, I realized Ethel's shower news made it through ... in the bottom right corner of Page 7:

Belhaven.
On Sat. Jan. 6, the young ladies
of this vicinity met at the home of
Miss Ethel Nelson and gave her a
shower. We are sorry to lose Ethel
from our midst.

The Newmarket Era. Jan 19, 1912, Pg 7

Well, that was something at least. With trepidation, I checked on the next hit and this time almost cried with relief because miracle upon miracles... it was the snippet I was looking for. Now, you have to ignore the dark parts, and I've adjusted the exposure a bit, but it's quite legible considering that we have it at all.

Wedding News:

The Newmarket Era. January 19, 1912 - Page: 8

BELHAVEN
Too Late for last week.
Belhaven has now been invaded by
the prevailing North Gwilimbury
fever and has taken away one of our
bright young women. Miss Ethel
Nelson who on Wednesday, Jan. 10th,
at the home of her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. James Nelson, was married to
Mr. Noah C. Draper. The wedding
was a very quiet one, the ceremony
being performed by Rev. W. P. Flet-
cher, Keswick. The bride was mar-
ried in her travelling dress, and the
young couple left after the wedding
dinner for Huntsville and other plac-
es. They expect to return to Bel-
haven to say good-bye to their friends
before leaving for their new Western
home at Grand Coulee, Sask. The
bride will be very much missed by
her many friends and the workers in
the Belhaven Sunday School.

Although we don't have a record of Noah and Ethel's gifts, I found some gift tags in Ethel's Treasure Box amongst a couple Congratulatory letters which I'll be posting in the coming weeks.

This 1st one is from Alice Winch, a Belhaven friend of the family.
Alice has written in black ink on a beige manilla card, blank on the back.

To Ethel
With Best Wishes for
a very Happy Life.
Alice Winch

Jan. 6th 1912.

This card is from close neighbor Cecil Daniel Prosser who has been spoken of often this past year and will marry Sadie in 1915. Cecil has used black ink on a card that is similar in thickness to the letters Noah has sent Ethel. From the 2 holes above the word, YOU, I suspect this card may have been pinned to a package or bouquet.

With All Good Wishes
for You a
Happy Future
Sincerely C.D.P.
Cecil Prosser.

Florence Sweet is the 15 yr old daughter of neighbors Willson Sweet and Susannah Thompson, the oldest of their 8 children. Florence has written in black ink on a cream colored piece of lined foolscap, newsprint weight. It is 5 inches wide and has a watermark with 'Vic' before it runs off the right edge.

To Ethel with Best Wishes
From Florence Sweet.

This last one is a bit over 3 in x 5 in unfolded and consists of some type of slippery paper reminiscent of parchment. It's blank on the back and without a name so we don't know who gave the gift, but it must have meant something for Ethel to have kept it. My guess is that it came from a box of candy or chocolates - from Noah perhaps?

As for the house Noah spent the summer building for them... here's one of the best views because it shows the depth of the house. It's also the only photo of the house before the porch was damaged and subsequently changed after the Summer of 1912 Cyclone hit the Regina area. More of the cyclone in a couple weeks.

The house Noah Draper built for Ethel Nelson in 1911 at Adams, SK. Courtesty of the Norma Draper Personal Photograph Collection.

The photo looks neglected because of the ripped corner and edges, but most of the ones I've found in this condition were once glued in those old photograph albums with the black pages. When the owner wanted to remove the photo to either put it in a frame or give it to someone, etc, it was physically pried from the page with dire results.

With this photo of Noah's house, I didn't want to cut the damaged portion off because a good part of the house - and porch detail - would have been lost in the process.

Doesn't this remind you of the problem we're having with those magnetic photo albums of the 70's and 80's? The glue at the back is ruining the photos, but ripping them out is sometimes doing more damage than leaving them in. I'm so glad I saved all my negatives, especially since Nelson bought a negative reader to turn all our photos into digital images.

Well, that's it for this special wedding post. Noah and Ethel are on their way to Huntsville for a honeymoon. January in cottage country? Well, they'll certainly have privacy and solitude. I daresay they'll have to cozy up to each other for warmth, too. Ha!

Next week we'll keep the celebration going with a letter from Veda Perrault asking Uncle Noah how it all came off.

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1911 Courtship Special: Letter from Noah's Mother

3/10/2014

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Grand Coulee, Saskatchewan, Octobert 1913; Courtesty of the Norma Draper Personal Photograph Collection

Noah is on his way to Ethel!
For more info, read the Genealogy Notes below.

Author of Letter: S S Draper
Dated: The 17 (presumed to be Dec 17, 1911)
Addressed to: Mr N C Draper, My Dear boy
Mailed from: Grand Coulee
Relationship: Noah's mother (Sarah Sophia Deverell)
Profession: Widow of Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine BlueInk
Written on: Very thin Ivory-colored lined notepaper 5" x 8"

People/places mentioned in this letter:

Eva - *Eva Amelia Perrault, Noah's sister who married *Joe Perraul
Veda - *Veda Perrault, 16 yr old daughter of *Eva and *Joe
Viola - *Viola Rigler, 14 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, *Ethel and *Will Rigler
Will - *Will Rigler, husband of Noah's sister *Ethel Maud
Fred & Louie - *Fred Coventry, who married Noah's sister, *Sarah Louisa aka *Louie
Percies - *Percy Draper - Noah's brother

Mrs H Winch - Margaret & Herb *Winch
Nettie - Nellie? Winch - records show Margaret & Herb having a Nellie born in 1910
Sam - Will's *hired man
Alf - Noah's *hired man

Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
dora - the sow (pig) will "come in" or farrow (give birth)
wheat 91 cts - he sold his wheat for 91 cents a bushel
sistern - a big tank called a cistern to hold water
Regina, Saskatchewan
Ravenshoe, Ontario
Keswick, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
West - the Western Canadian provinces

Cliches mentioned in this letter:
"...will wonders never sease" (cease)

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

Grand Coulee The
17

Mr N C Draper

My Dear boy
received your letter and
too cards on the 14 was glad to hear you
was well hope this may find you the same
we are all well and getting on nicely was
up home on sunday the children have all
got bad colds Viola was real sick but
is better the things all loock well but
I never seen the snow piled up around
there as it is now we have had very cold
weather and the worst stormes I ever seen
but it is a lovely day to day the snow
is settling fast I stayed up all night
then Fred and Louie come up Monday
and I come down with them they are well
Fred come and got Veda and I last wens
day and toock us to his place it is far
better than I thought They are very
comfortiable but the roads are a fright to
travel on but then I se you have had

Stormes down there to but before this
I sapose it has stopped so you haie got to
belhaven Well how did you find them at Mr
Nelsons all well I hope remember me to
Them and all inquireing friends I sapose
ere this you have been to our old home
how does it loock did you goe and se
Mrs H Winch I feel so sorrow for her
I hope Nettie is better ere this you did
not say what ailed her
Alfs was Just up to our place and said
one of Percies horses was sick Will and
Percy are goind to kill the pigs this
week they are not goeing to kill dora
they think she will come in in a fiew
weeks wonders will never sease
Sam got drunk and brought to
flasks home with him so Will
shipped him so he is doeing the chores
alone but when the roads get do he
can get straw and watter he will get
a man the sistern is dry and
they have to melt snow for all the watter
they have and feed the horses snow

Alf said Myres was drawing watter
with fore horses and the tank slewed of
the road and went down so far that the tank
up set and he said they lost their watter and
had a turble time to get it up again ' '
So you doe not think as mouk of down there
as you might. but I hope you will have a
good time I had a letter from Eva she
seemes to think they are haveing a big
time your letter reads as tho you had a good
time goeing down ' ' you wanted to
know how much Will got for the
wheat he got 91 cts but could have got
more if he could have held it longer
but when it was drawed on he had to
sell it well I will close my scribble
now be a good boy and remember
your Mother never for gets you in
her prair, that god may keep you
safe from harm from your ever
loveing Mother S S Draper
let me hear from you often

Genealogy Notes

Last week I posted the last of the 1911 Courtship letters between Noah Draper and Ethel Nelson. Ethel's Treasure Box didn't contain any from Noah for November, and there aren't any more from Noah or Ethel until Noah joins the Royal Canadian Naval Voluntary Reserve and starts writing to Ethel once more. (I do have much more to post of the family though.)

For whatever reason, the December 1911 issues of The Newmarket Era are not online. It seems that every issue before and after is accounted for, but not the one that announces Noah's homecoming.

Hence, I'm so thankful for this week's letter where Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper writes to Noah or we wouldn't know when he left. It also seems that Noah travelled with his sister, Eva Amelia, although we don't know who else went along since no mention of Joe is made and Veda is still back in Grand Coulee. When Sarah writes that "...Eva she seems to think they are haveing a big time..." could be Eva and Joe, or Eva and the family she left behind when she moved West with Joe.

Although Sarah isn't clear about which date she sent the letter, certain events in the letter show it to be December 1911. Namely, the mention of:
- how she hoped everyone was well at Mr. Nelson's place (Ethel's home)
- the Herbert Winch Family and Nettie's burns (see 1911 Courtship: Oct 22)
- cold weather and the worst storms she's ever seen (weather info below)

The Morning Leader (Regina) - Dec 19, 1911

Sarah says she received a letter and 2 cards on the 14th, so Noah was gone by then. I'm guessing he left soon after December began because Ethel's letters stop at the end of Nov. (I sure would have liked to have been there for that meeting between them!)

The ad on the right is from Regina's Morning Leader newspaper from December 19 of that year and shows the most likely way Noah would have traveled east. If he chose the Canadian Northern Railway, then his fee would have been $47.15 from Regina to Toronto.

At Toronto, Noah would have taken the Toronto and York Radial Railway north to either Ravenshoe or Keswick. We don't know which relative he's staying with, but there are many since Noah's great grandfather and his siblings were some of the original settlers of York County and the township of North Gwillimbury.

1910, Keswick, Ontario Radial Station; Courtesy of Wikipedia and the Georgina Pioneer Village exhibit at Virtual Museum

About that cold weather... Grand Coulee is within sight of Regina and the coldest Nov 11th on record was in the year 1911 where temperatures dropped to -37.2C /-35F. (Wikipedia's List of Extreme Temperatures in Canada). Although it didn't stay that cold, the temperatures over that winter averaged out to being one of the coldest winters on record.

Actually, weather men are still talking about it. Check out this recent blog post from the United States National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office which talks about The Great Blue Norther of November 11, 1911:

...As dramatic as these weather changes were, we must go back further in time to look at one such cold front (also known then as The Great Blue Norther) that established a set of weather records that arguably are unique in modern weather history. On November 11, 1911 (remembered easily for now as 11/11/11), the afternoon temperature in Oklahoma City reached a record high for the date of 83, before plunging 66 degrees to a record low of 17 at midnight that evening. Both daily temperature records remain unbroken and untied since 1911...

The Wikipedia entry for The Great Blue Norther of 11/11/1911 has this to say:

The Great Blue Norther of 11/11/1911 was a cold snap that affected the central United States on Saturday, November 11, 1911. Many cities broke record highs, going into the 70s and 80s early that afternoon. By nightfall, cities were dealing with temperatures in the teens and single-digits on the Fahrenheit scale. This is the only day in many midwest cities' weather bureau jurisdictions where the record highs and lows were broken for the same day. Some cities experienced tornadoes on Saturday and a blizzard on Sunday. A blizzard even occurred within one hour after an F4 tornado hit Rock County, Wisconsin. The main cause of such a dramatic cold snap was an extremely strong storm system separating warm, humid air from frigid, arctic air. Dramatic cold snaps tend to occur mostly in the month of November, though they can also come in February or March.

So finally, Noah and Ethel are together once again and can now plan the details of their wedding. Next week I'll post everything I can dig up on that happy event. Hope to see you here for the happy event.

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1911 Courtship: Nov 26 Dear Noah

3/2/2014

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Brandon College, Brandon, Man, 1910. Courtesty of http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/postcards.html

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  Nov 26 inst. 1911  (inst. = Latin meaning this month)
Addressed to: Dear Noah
Mailed from: Belhaven, P.O.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Beige lined foolscap, newsprint quality, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form with only page 2 numbered. It seems that Ethel has run out of quality notepaper - a common gift of the Edwardian period. A good thing Christmas is only 4 weeks away.

People mentioned in this letter or Genealogy Notes

Pa - *James H Nelson
Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover
*Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister*Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
Uncle Will *Glover's - Ida's older brother living in East Gwillimbury
Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva Amelia and Joseph Perrault
Mr. *Dafoe - resident of Belhaven until widowed in Mar 1911
Herbie Hainer - a member of the Hainer preaching dynasty from Newmarket

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
*West
the office - Belhaven post office
*Newmarket
*Brandon
Christmas

Cliches mentioned in this letter:
- "Hot time in the old town"
- "they say no news is good news"
- "better late than never"

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. P.O.
Nov 26 inst. 1911.

Dear Noah, -
Well here I am again. the
same old story 'eh' but thank goodness
I'll only be found or have the same
privelege of writing to you two or
three more times. Something better
to take its place, 'eh' better than a
dozen letters. Four weeks from to-day
is Christmas Sunday. I look forward
to see you by that time anyway. and
I don't in the least expect to be
dissapointed. But if I am. Oh say!
I don't know what will happen: have you
any ideas? Hot-time in the old town, eh.

Well Noah. I wrote the first page of this
letter this forenoon, and now am going to
try and finish it up. Pa and I were
down to Uncle Will Glovers this afternoon
and Sadie and myself were up to
church to-night. Herbie Hainer preached.
You din'dat say how Veda was. but
they say no news is good news. hope
so in this case anyway.
Christie says to tell you she is sitting
here beside me seeing that I write
properly. "ha ha"
Well Noah as to your last letter, I
hardly know how to answer it. But
if you come Christmas and stay
until sometime in February (about the
six weeks..) I supose we had better be
made one about the middle of January.

For you intend to come home here again
after we are married before going
West don't you, Oh Noah if you were
only here we would know exactly
each others ideas. and so could arrange
things much nicer. I don't feel like
setting the day this time anyway. perhaps
when you come everything will be
made right. I feel though now as
though anytime will suit me. Ma
says we can't go away until the
very last minute. not until you think
you really have to go back. All I seem
to be looking forward to now is
seeing you. and I hope I soon
can close my eyes to that and see
the rest.
Guess you will wonder why you

did'nt get a letter sooner last
week. But really it just seemed
as no one was going to the office
after I did get it wrote. But I
hope it is better late than never.
Well there does'nt seem to be
much that I can write to-day, for
I can't seem to settle my mind on
any one thing. But I know or hope
there's a great Day coming by and
by, "eh".
Mr Dafoe was here Saturday
he has been out west all summer
he was saying if he knew then that
I was going he would have stayed. and
so on it goes. ha ha. I guess you
know about what it tis. "eh". I must
close for this time. so Bye-Bye Love from
your Sweetheart, Ethel x x x x

Genealogy Notes

In this week's letter, Ethel mentions Veda once again. In the post entitled 1911 Courtship: Oct 30 Dear Noah, I showed a photo of Veda as an older adult - the only image I have of her, but this time - with only a couple courtship letters left, I wanted to know exactly where Veda was attending school back in 1911. In a recent letter, Ethel had asked Noah if Veda was taking music in Brandon, but we don't know Noah's answer because we're missing his letters - the ones that cover these last few week before he returns to Belhaven to claim his bride.

However, once again I've been going through Ethel's Treasure Box in preparation for the next stage in Noah and Ethel's life. While sorting Noah's WW1 letters from those received from friends and family I found a letter from Veda with Brandon College letterhead and her mention of Clark Hall.

With the confirmation of where Veda was attending post-secondary school, I did some digging. For those who missed the first time I posted this map, here it is again with Brandon located in the southwestern corner of the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Map showing places mentioned in the 1911 Courtship letters.

The image on the right is a sketch of what Brandon College looked like when it began as Prairie College in 1880. Located in Rapid City, Manitoba it was an academic school for the general public as well as a training ground for Baptist ministers. In 1890 the school had moved to the growing city of Brandon, 20 miles south of Rapid City.

1900 saw the laying of the cornerstone of the renamed Brandon College, a new 3 1/2 story brick and Manitoba limestone building. (see postcard above) It offered a liberal arts program with theology courses and included high school and commercial departments.

Sketch of Prairie College. Source: Archives of Manitoba, Schools 5, Prairie Baptist College, c1884

In 1906, a school of music was added, and in 1910 Brandon College officially affiliated with McMaster University in Ontario. At first I thought Clark Hall was the actual music department of Brandon College, but the Historical Sketch page for Brandon University records that Clark Hall was first used as the women's residence of the college.

By the time Veda started her instruction in 1911, Brandon College music graduates in voice and piano were gaining national reputation, but I haven't found a source yet for any of those graduates. Hopefully I'll discover more by the time I post her actual letter which will be in a couple week's time. Meanwhile, here's a list of courses Veda could have been taking during 1911...

Henderson's Brandon City Directory for 1911, page 22 - Brandon College. Source: Peel's Prairie Provinces from the University of Alberta

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