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1911 Courtship: July 9 Dear Noah

5/27/2013

 
Picture
Playing Croquet in 1900-1920's Ontario. Courtesy of Burlington History Collection, http://www.bpl.on.ca

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  July 9th, 1911 
Addressed to: My Dearest Noah (Mr. N. C. Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.)
Mailed  from:  Belhaven, Ont. 
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter  
Writing  instrument: Fine point  pen, blue ink
Written on: Ivory, slightly thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half. Ethel has folded the paper in half and written in booklet form where the front and back are pages 1 and 4, but inside, she wrote the right side first and then the left, so the order of pages are 1, 3, 2, and 4. Of course, I've rearranged them here for clarity.


People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Pa -  *James Henry Nelson
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yrs old sister
- *Christie Nelson - Ethel's 10 yr old sister
- *Veda Perrault - Noah's 16 yr old niece (Joe & Eva Amelia's daughter)
- *John Winter - husband of *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's ma 
- **Mr John Warriner (Ethel spells it Warner)
- G.C. - It appears we're missing one of Noah's letters.
- **Edith Draper
- Orville *King - close neighbor

- Update **Kellington

- croquet - a game played with mallets, balls, and wickets, shown above
- Ethel mentions the heat wave which will be in next week's Genealogy Notes
- *Hunstville
- *Keswick
- ** Pink Pills

Word/Phrase Use - 'go for' for 'gopher'


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

Picture
Belhaven. July 9.th 1911,
My Dearest Noah,
                                     Well I was glad to
know you were able to be having a
good time. as it leaves us all well
but very tired indeed. we have been as
busy as anyone could be. We did'nt have our 
raising yester day. but are having it tuesday
afternoon. Say! just come along now and
we can give you enough to eat now.
if you never did get enough here before. Oh Say it 
is hot in this kitchen of ours, (baking)

Picture
2
Pa & I were up to Keswick this
morning to Mr John Warner's funeral.
He dropped dead on thursday night.
amid the excitement of a game of
croquet. We dont find much time to
play croquet this summer,
Sadie is going to write a letter to Veda
this afternoon. Say. Sadie got your
card all safe & sound. I hope she
never has the misfortune that poor girl
was having. 
  I am going to Huntsville on Saturday
July 15 if nothing happens. I hope your
letter happens to come on Friday next.
Send my letters to Huntsville in
careof John Winter. I certainly do wish
you were going there too. I expect to stay

Picture
3
about a month or 6 weeks.
Say! you had better "don't suppose"
I was with G.C. on the first. I
hav'nt been in his rig since you
went home. Nor do I want to be
when I am with other people sometimes.
I just get so lonesome. thinking about.
you. I don't half enjoy my self. I think
it will be my happiest day when
I see you again. wish it were to-morrow.
It was 90 in the High School on
Monday last. the heat here has never
been so. for 100 years back.
  Saw Edith Draper this forenoon she is
the same old girl. Say don't let those
old railroad men carry you away.
I hope they are finished by your place when
I go up. for if they are anything like the 

Picture
4
gang of men that worked on this track
down here. I'd want to be out of their 
reach. even though I wouldn't be much 
loss if they did carry me away. "eh"
If I were you I would 'go for' that (gopher)
Were you able to read your last letter
Sadie & Christie thot they would
like to read it, so of course they had
to do their best to get it. Sadie is
lying here on the bed sound asleep.
It is starting to rain. My it will do ever
so much good. & Ihope it cools the air a
bit. I don't know wether Orville King is
going west in time for the fair or not
but he says he's going this fall. He wanted
to know if I was going and I told him I
thot I would wait until he came back. Lahs (?)
I close now with love from your Sweetheart.
                         x x x x x x x  Ethel Nelson


Genealogy Notes



There are 3 Genealogy Notes this week:


Genealogy Note #1 - Kellington Update  re 1911 Courtship: July 2 Dear Noah where Ethel writes, "Mr & Mrs John Kellington are here visiting & Mr R. Davidson's are they living anywhere near you."

When I posted the above letter, I didn't quite understand what Ethel was saying. My genealogy notes for that post shows my research for the James Kellington family, but nothing on R Davidson's because I couldn't find any appropriate R Davidson's in the North West. However, Ethel kept mentioning Robert or Rob't Davidson who lived on the 5th Concession near Belhaven. She mentions him in the following letters:
- 1911 Courtship: July 2 Dear Noah 
- 1911 Courtship: May 7 Dear Noah
- 1911 Courtship: May 21 Dear Noah

After more research into last week's letter for James Kellington however, I've found the following obituary of 1958:

Picture
The Newmarket Era. Dec 11, 1958 Pg 5
The obituary at left is for James Wesley Kellington who married Hattie (Ida Elizabeth) Draper in 18 Feb 1904. 

James and Hattie moved west to Estevan which is about 190 km/118 miles southeast of Grand Coulee where Noah lives. 

However, this obituary states that James' sister, Lillie, married Robt (Robert) Davidson and lives in Belhaven. Robert and Lillie married 19 Mar 1904 and their children match those of the Robert Davidson mentioned in Ethel's letters.


Genealogy Note #2 - Edith Draper In this week's letter, Ethel writes, "Saw Edith Draper this forenoon. She is the same old girl."

This is not the same Edith/Edyth Draper mentioned in 1911 Courtship: Mar 5, Dear Noah who was Noah's 1st cousin since his dad, David, and her dad, Stephen, were brothers. 

Although this week's Edith Draper was also born in Belhaven, she was born in 1868, so in 1911 as a 42 yr old spinster, she really is "the old girl" as Ethel writes. She was Noah's 2nd cousin once removed as they share the same g-g-grandfather. 

Edith Alicia Sarah Jane Draper was the 14th out of 15 children born to Luther Draper (1819 - 1904) and Hannah Bennett (1823 - 1917). Twelve years separated Edith from her next older sisters, twins Martha and Margaret, born in 1856, so Edith may have stayed home and single to care for her aging parents because she was the youngest female and felt obligated. However, another reason may be that she was ill much of the time. 
 
Picture
The Newmarket Era. July 6, 1894 - Pg 2
Picture
The Newmarket Era. May 31, 1901 - Pg: 7
In fact, if it hadn't been for the above snippets and others, I wouldn't have believed the following ad which not only appeared in The Newmarket Era, but also in the February 17, 1898 edition on Page 7 of the Qu'Appelle Progress  in The North West Territories (now Saskatchewan).   

Picture
The Newmarket Era. February 12, 1897 - Pg: 5
Picture
The Newmarket Era. Feb 12, 1897 - Pg 5
Whether Luther and Hannah Draper approved of the ads, or perhaps even was paid a stipend for them I can't tell you. Neither do I know if Edith suffered from the ailments 
mentioned in the ads. At the time, ads for Dr. Williams' Pink Pills abounded in the local papers and I have nothing to prove or disprove their value. However, for a girl who suffered heart failure, etc in 1894 as a 26 yr old and stayed sick for several years, she went on to live a fulfilling life.

Luther's death record states he died at 85 yrs of age from old age. In 1911 during Ethel's letter, Edith was still living at home and caring for her 88 year old mother, Hannah, as shown in the following 1911 Canada Census:
Picture
1911 Canada Census for Hannah Draper and daughter, Edith.
As the above census shows, Hannah is a widow and is the head of the house, and her daughter, Edith, is living with her. The last column shows neither have an occupation, so Luther must have left them enough money to live in comfort without having to work. 

Since I don't think Ethel mentions Edith again, I'll tell you the rest of her story because it's quite inspiring and I may even use her for a character model some day...

Hannah died in June of 1917 at 93 years old with the official cause of death being old age after 2 yrs of senile weakness. Edith is listed as the informant...
... and was for the first time in her 49 yrs, Edith was alone.  

There is much more to the story of Miss Edith Draper, but it will have to wait for another day.  


Genealogy Note 3 - John Warriner - he's not in the family tree according to my research to date, but I found a very ineresting Era snippet about him when you look at it in context with Edith's snippet above...

Picture
The Newmarket Era. July 14, 1911 - Page: 6
     It was with deep regret I learned
of the sudden termination of the life
of my esteemed friend, John War-
riner of Keswick.
     I feel confident that in the use of
patent medicines such as Dr. Wil-
liam's Pink Pills, etc, his life might
have been prolonged for many years.
But medical etiquette is inexorable.
Under no circumstances would such
remedies be prescribed. Our sin-
cere sympathy is with the bereaved
friends.


Of course, now I want to know about these little pink pills that Miss Edith Draper took and thrived, and Mr. Warriner didn't take and died. The snippet seems to imply that many considered them more of a 'snake oil' remedy than a proven medical alternative. If anyone out there knows, please share your knowledge. Otherwise, I guess I have more research waiting.

1911 Courtship: July 2 Dear Noah

5/20/2013

 
Picture
1910 The 'Courting House' on Lake Shore Drive, Jackson's Point, York County, Ontario, Canada
For a color view of the Lake Simcoe shore with people and boats at Jackson's Point check out my post at 1911 Courtship: May 28 Dear Noah. 

The date on this letter is in error. It looks like June 2, but the facts are July.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  June 2, 1911 suspect July 2nd, 1911
Addressed to: Dear Noah (Mr. N. C. Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.)
Mailed  from:  Belhaven, Ont. 
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter  
Writing  instrument: Fine point  pen, blue 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 the paper and written across the short width and turned both pages into one long page. Hence this letter has only 3 pages.


People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Pa -  *James Henry Nelson
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover
 - **Grandpa - Albert Rogers
- Wm Henry Rose (died July 1st,  1911)
- Orville *King - close neighbor
- Mr and Mrs John **Kellington visiting
- Mr R Davidson's - unable to find them (only know Robert Davidson, neighbor)
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yrs old sister
- Aunt Maggie - Margaret *Barker - sister of Ethel's ma
- Lennox and his picnic at **Jackson's Point


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

Picture
Belhaven. P. O.
June 2nd, 1911

Dear Noah, - 
                        Rec'd your last letter
on Tuesday, was very glad
to know you were still 
able to be around. but I
guess you would be busy
something like we are just
now. We are going to raise
our barn about next Saturday 
if nothing happens. Ma & Pa
are going down to Grandpa's
barn raising tomorrow.

Picture
2.
 Well Noah I would just like to be
were it is a little cooler. The heat
to-day is some thing fierce.
Mr Wm Henry Rose was taken sick
on Thrusday night & died on Friday
night. His funeral is to day. Meet at
the Church at 2 o'clock. We are going
up to the Church & then down to Uncles
so that I could write this forenoon.
    How did you get along in your baseball
game yesterday. There was nothing
doing around here, only the same old
picnic at Jackson's Point. None of us
were down.
   Orville King has been here helping with
our barn. He says he is going up West
this fall if it is possible at all.
   Mr & Mrs John Kellington are
here visiting & Mr R. Davidson's are
they living anywhere near you.
   Sadie starts to-morrow to try her
exam's. She says you'll see if I dont teach out West
Picture
Lennox is having a picnic
at Jackson's Point on July 20th.
Have you got your Electric
batteries yet? Aunt Maggie
was saying she had rhuematism
in one of her fingers. and since
you gave her that shock she has
never been bothered with it since.
So much good you did when you
were here, "eh". I just wish it was 
possible for you to be here today.
it certainly would cheer someone
up. 
   I guess I must close for this
time it is now just 12-o'clock
So Bye-Bye With love from your
xxxxxx all of these   True Sweetheart
as you wish for.   Will be looking for your  letter
                                      to-morrow night. 

Say, Sadie & Christie have just been trying to
get this letter. Guess you will have quite a time
to read it. E.N.

Genealogy Notes

There are 3 Genealogy Notes in this post:

Genealogy Note #1 - Grandpa:

I had a major problem with this one because Ethel has a maternal and paternal grandfather and yet both were dead at the time of this letter, as were here great-grandfathers. So who did she call Grandpa? After many days of mulling, I was looking for the death date of Ethel's maternal grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth Greenwood when I remembered that Sarah had remarried in 1896. 

Sarah Elizabeth Greenwood's first marriage was to James Glover who died in 1887. He had already passed when Ethel was  born in 1890, and she was 6 yrs old when her grandma Sarah married Albert Rogers. As such, Ethel would have called him Grandpa since that's who she knew him to be. 


Genealogy Note #2 - John Kellington:

Until this courtship letter, I only listed one Kellington in the Draper Family Tree and that was James Wesley Kellington who married Hattie (Ida Elizabeth) Draper in 1904.  According to the ancestry.com figuring, that makes Noah and Hattie 3rd cousins as their great-grandfathers were brothers.

A search then followed to find out where John Kellington fit in the family - especially since Ethel mentions R Davidson from the west in the same sentence. My research revealed that John was the father of James Wesley and according to the 1901 census they were all in the Belhaven area. Normally the next census would be in 1911, but the Canadian government took a special census in 1906 for the prairie provinces only so they could keep track of the rate of settlement in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

The special 1906 census shows John Kellington living in the Estevan area of Saskatchewan along with his wife, Charlotte Fairbarn and 3 of their children, one of which is James and his wife, Hattie who now have 2 small boys of their own. 

So when Ethel says the John Kellington's are visiting, it makes me wonder if it's just John and Charlotte who came back to Ontario for a visit, or did James and Hattie as well?


Genealogy Notes #3 - The Lennox Picnic at Jackson's Point:

This was an easy one to figure out because the event is covered efficiently in The Newmarket Era in the weeks leading up to the annual North York M.P.P. picnic, whereby the M.P.P stands for Members of Provincial Parliament (Ontario). 

Picture
The Newmarket Era. July 14, 1911, Pg 5
I've been able to figure out most of the wording, although I question them leaving Toronto at 7.40 pm vice am. 
Conservative Pic-Nic
   The annual political and social ev-
ent at Jackson's Point, called by the
name of "Herb. Lennox Picnic," is an-
nounced to take place on the 20th
inst.   Particulars as follows, have
been furnished the Mail & Empire---
   The great and only "Herb Lennox"
picnic will be held at Jackson's Point
on Thursday the 20th of July. A new
feature this year will be a decorated
automobile parade.   It is expected
that there will be 150 take part
in the parade. The Highlander's
Band has been engaged, and also hve
other brass bands.  There will be at
least three Ministers of the Crown
and ten or twelve members of Parlia-
ment present to deliver address.
Special trains will be run from the 
different points and arrangements
have also been made to use excursions
by boat from Barrie, Orillia, and
Peterboro. A large sum of dollars is
being expended for prizes for athletic,
land and aquatic sports. There will
be a grand pyrotechnic display in the
evening. A special train will leave
the Union Station, Toronto, at 7.40 
p. m. and returning, leave Jackson's
Point at 4 p. m.
I'll post more about the picnic in weeks to come because Ethel writes one letter on the day of the picnic and it's quite - amusing - to read about the effect it has on Sadie. :)

1911 Courtship: June 26 Dear Ethel

5/12/2013

 
Picture
A McKellar's Barn built by W Addie, Arcola, Sask. Courtesy of saskhistoryonline.ca
In this week's letter Noah mentions that Joe Perrault's barn cost $3000 to build while Noah built one for $150. I'm assuming McKellar's Barn in the above photo is along the lines of the $3000 variety. I sure wish I had a photo of Noah's barn. 

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: June 26th, 1911
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, My Dearest Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed from:  Grand  Coulee, Sask
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer 
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, but looks blue-grey in places 
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, written on front and back like a book, but inside, paper is turned sideways and written across short length and down both pages. 


People/Places mentioned in this letter:
- *Joe Perrault: married to Noah's sister, Eva Amelia
- Reuben and Irwin: 11 & 9 yr old  sons of Eva Amelia and Joe Perrault
- *Will Rigler: married to Noah's sister, Ethel Maude
- George Metcalf: local carpenter

Phrase: Better late than never**

Noah signing as Little Willie**

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right column for more on posts on the above people.
**More info under Genealogical Notes
Picture
Grand Coulee June.26.
Miss. E. Nelson,
        Belhaven, Ont.
My Dearest Ethel;-
        Received your welcome
letter Saturaday and
was glad to hear you
were still O.K. hope
this will find you the
same a gain.
         Well Ethel it is now nearly
six months since you made
me the happiest of men and
it will be nearly six more
before I can clame your
promise. wish it were
tomorrow. but it is better
                      late than 

Picture
never, but better never late. eh.
     Well I am drawing gravle for the
house expect to get enough home
by. Friday night as I want togo
to Bell Plaine on the first to a
picnic & also to play ball.
     Say it wont be safe for me to go to
the Coulee now. for Pence was to
play us to night. and I never thot.
about it untill it was to late to
go. so if you hear about my funeral
dont be suprised. Ha. Ha.
      Reuben and Irwin came home
with me Sunday morning 
and intend to stay for a few days.
     Oh say I didnot tell you that
the game was postponed on Sat
on account of a storm and I dont
know when it will be played.
     Well the carpenter was just here
and so I am going to finish this up
now & send it down with Will in
the morning. Oh say. Pense was
down last night but G.C. beat
so I guess I will be safe Ha Ha.
score was 10 to 2. There is a game
tomorrow night between the
married and single men and

Picture
I guess I will be at that if
nothing happens I bet the
single me will beat. Ha. Ha.
     Oh say Irwin got homesick 
and went home with the carpenter
(George Metcalf). he is building
Joes barn. it will cost him
over $3000. by the time it is 
finished & will be all done
by the last of the week. 
      Say my barn cost me just
about $150. Ha. Ha. quite a
difference.
     Suppose your  barn is
well on the way by this time
& Ill bet you will be glad
when it is done. Well Ethel
I guess I will ring off for this
time so good Bye. With lots
of love from your little Willie.
                           xxxxxxx N.C.D.

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Notes #1 - Phrase Better Late Than Never

Noah says: Better late than never, but better never late. I don't know where he got the last part of the phrase from, but the www.phrases.org.uk site attributes it to Geoffery Chaucer who wrote the Canterbury Tales back in 1386. 

However, I found an earlier reference to the Roman author & historian Titus Livius who  quoted Better Late Than Never when he lived back in 59 BC - 17 AD.


Genealogy Notes #2 - Little Willie

Several times now Noah has ended the letter by saying your Little Willie so I figured it was time I found out who/what he meant. 

It seems there are 2 references to draw on depending what you're looking at:

1. 1899 - Little Willie in Mischief Again - a short comedy film 
This is one of at several where Little Willie gets into mischief. In one, he draws a face on his sleeping father's bald head, in another he ends up with a face covered in soot, and in a third, he sets up a bucket of water so someone else gets drenched.

2. 1910 era newspapers contained Little Willie jokes as fillers. These were the same jokes we've heard referred to as Little Johnny jokes in recent years, and apparently there were Little Audrey jokes in the 30's. I've seen these jokes in The Newmarket Era and from touring the net, as well as references for many other newspapers of the time. 

The last Little Willie joke I read in the Era went like this... Little Willie's aunt (or grandma) is about to slice up the pie and Little Willie asks if her spectacles magnify things. She answers, yes, they do. She's pleased that he's so smart. Little Willie responds that perhaps she'd like to take off her spectacles then before she cuts him a slice of pie.

I wonder if Noah calls himself Little Willie because he gets into trouble whether he likes it or not, or is it because he's a smarty plants like Little Willie the schoolboy? Can you tell from his letters?


1911 Courtship: June 25th Dear Noah

5/8/2013

 
Picture
Coronation Day, Moose Jaw, a living flag. : c1911, Prairie Postcards, Courtesy of Peel Library, UofAlberta
As a Commonwealth country, Canadians embraced the new King George V and Queen Mary with celebrations all over the country including Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in the above photo. It's one of the Prairie postcards from the Peel Library at the University of Alberta. The caption reads, Union Jack flag formed by school children at fair, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Children on horse - drawn float are visible on the left side.

In present day terms, Moose Jaw is a 45 minute drive west of the Grand Coulee/Regina area - the next big whistle stop if you were Noah heading west.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  June 25th, 1911 
Addressed to: Dearest Noah (Mr. N. C. Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.) (This is the first letter Ethel has left off Noah's postal info on the first page.)
Mailed  from:  Belhaven, Ont. 
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter  
Writing  instrument: Fine point  pen, blue 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 the paper and written across the short width and turned both pages into one long page. Hence this letter has only 3 pages.


People/places mentioned in this letter:


Percy - *Percy Roy Draper, Noah's older brother 
Veda - *Veda Perrault - Noah's 16 yr old niece (Joe & Eva Amelia's daughter)
Sadie - *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yrs old sister
Pa -  *James Henry Nelson
Alice Sprague**

Mrs. Walter Yorke** (Martha Ann "Minnie" Linstead)


Legend: 
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this 
  person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below
Picture
Belhaven. P.O.
June 25 1911.
Dearest Noah;-
                           Well here I am again
with some more of my writing
but oh if I could only talk instead
of write, what happy hours we
could spend now if it were only
possible. though as you say we
will make up for lost time when
you come. I was rather dis apointed
last night I did;nt get a letter but
I will have something to look for to
morrow night. Your letters Generally
reach me on Saturday's or Mondays.
Sometimes when I am feeling rather
lonesome, I wish that it was either of 

Picture
2
   Saturday or Monday, whichever night 
your letter happened to come that week.
Keswick, Bethel & Belhaven Sunday
Schools are having a picnic, They
don't know yet were they will go.
Don't you think Belhaven needs a
long line drawn.
   The carpenters are going to start
work here in the morning. I
hope they can get along fine, for
I would like to go to Huntsville
about the middle of July. and I
can't unless the barn raising
is over with.
      Was Percy successful in getting
water! I hope he was for it would
make it so much better for you. would'nt it
Picture
3.
   Did I ever tell you Veda sent
Sadie a photo of herself. Sadie was
very glad to get it.
   Say one day not long ago there 
was soneone talking to the men
& I just got a glimpse of him
and I thot it was you. and Oh
you could'nt imagine how I felt
at the time. I think this little
verse refers to you.
   To see him is to love him,
      And love but him forever.

   For Nature made him what he is
      And never made another.

 Where you acquainted with Alice
Sprauge, she is now given up to
die, with typhoid fever. Mrs. 
Walter Yorke is dead.

Picture
4.
   Sadie's school has stopped now
for about a week & then she has to
go back and try her examinations.
How are Veda's hands? I hope she
will be able to go to College after
Midsummer. what does she intend
to take up?
   Well how are you getting along with
all your work. hope your mother
will be able to stay with you until
_________
   Have you been defeated yet in any
of those baseball games. I wish your
team success. & you success in
everything. Pa has just called me
to come to supper. I am so near a
close I think I will say Bye Bye
for this time. With love and all
your wish for from your Sweetheart.
                        X X x x x X x x x X x x x X


Genealogy Notes

This week's Genealogy Notes highlight 2 people Ethel mentioned in her letter:
#1 - Mrs. Walter Yorke
#2 - Alice Sprague


Genealogy Note #1 - Mrs. Walter Yorke

Ethel conveys such feeling when she writes bluntly, Mrs. Walter Yorke is dead. 
From this we can deduce that Noah knows Mrs. Walter Yorke, and either he knows why she died or it doesn't matter why, but that she's dead.

Who was Mrs. Walter Yorke, and did she fit in the family tree - if in fact she did?
Our tree listed 12 Yorkes, but no Walters. So I began by checking The Newmarket Era in the couple weeks prior to Ethel's letter. Do you know how many Yorks are listed in a newspaper that:
- covers the County of York
- includes the town of North York
- is the original name of Toronto and still used unofficially
- contains stories of New York city and the state of New York

Let's just say there are oodles of them. And from all those, I found 3 snippets about Mrs. Walter York:

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The Newmarket Era. June 2, 1911 - Page: 6
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The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 - Page: 8
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The Newmarket Era. March 17, 1911 - Page 5
BELHAVEN
Snippet on left - Bottom paragraph:
     
     We sympathize with Mr. Walter
York in the loss of his wife. 

The 2nd snippet was found under the Union Street report:
      We extend our sincere sympathy to 
Mr. and Mrs. Benj. Linstead, who
have recently lost their eldest daugh-
ter, Mrs. Walter York, of Belhaven. 


This was interesting because Ethel's Aunt Mary Ann Glover married into the Linstead family and some of their branch live 30 mins north of me here in Saskatchewan. 

I found the 3rd hard-to-read snippet way back in the Mar 1911 paper. It says:
     Mrs. Benj. Linstead and son Wal-
ter spent Sunday with her daughter,
Mrs. Walter York of Belhaven, who
has been ill for some time. 

So the key to figure out Mrs. Walter York lay in finding Benjamin Linstead. I started with Ethel's Aunt Mary Ann Glover. Using ancestry.com's search engine I put in the names I knew from the snippets: Benjamin Linstead and his son, Walter. From that, I found census records which gave Benjamin's wife's name, Sarah Jane, and their children. They had 3 daughters Alice "Addie" b 1872, Martha Ann b 1875, and Verna b 1896. With the help of Ancestry's Family Tree Hints I found a marriage record for Minnie Linstead to Walter York in 1895, and it stated that Minnie's parents were Benjamin Linstead and Sarah Jane Anderson. 

But Benjamin and Sarah Jane didn't have a girl named Minnie. Further searching found the following:
1875 Feb 12 - Benjamin and Sarah Jane gave birth to Martha Ann
1881 Census -  2nd daughter, age 6, recorded as Martha
1891 Census - 2nd daughter, age 16, recorded as Martha
1895 Marriage to Walter York, widower w/one son - 20 yr old daughter - Minnie
1901 Census - 26 yr old wife with 3 children - recorded as Minnie
1911 Census - 35 yr old wife dies of Tuberculosis (TB) - recorded as Mary Jane!

So it looks like this Walter York gave Martha Ann the nickname Minnie when they hooked up together. But why did he give Mary Jane to the medical examiner for the death record?

In my searches, I found the marriage record of Walter York and his first wife - and guess what? ... Her name was Minnie Pollack. Can you guess what her birth name was? 
Yup - Mary.

So it seems Mr. Walter York was a bit mixed up when Minnie #2 died. Was it grief? Actually, I think it was. No matter how many times I searched, I couldn't find a write-up for Martha Ann/Minnie's funeral service. No obituary. Nothing except that the people on Union Street are sympathizing with the Linstead family, and that the Belhaven neighborhood is doing the same for Mr. Walter York. 

That got me thinking... How many kids did Martha Ann/Minnie leave behind for Walter to care for? Not only that, but he had one son from Minnie #1 - how and when did she die? Searching through the Era for the facts brought so many discoveries I was in tears by the end. But to get to the end, I have to start at the beginning of Walter York's journey:

1862 - Walter Frederick York is born near in North Gwillimbury Township 
1884 - Walter marries Mary "Minnie #1" Pollack (only sister to 8 brothers)
1888 - Son Raymond is born
1891 - Walter and Minnie#1 move to nearby Keswick 
1895 - Mar 15 - death of Minnie #1's brother, John Pollock
1895 - Mar 27 - death of Minnie #1 - after 3 dys sickness & 12 dys after her brother

3 months after Minnie #1 dies, Walter marries Minnie #2:
1895 - Jul 9 - Walter marries Martha "Minnie #2" Linstead
1897 - Birth of son, Squire R York (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1899 - Birth of daughter, Pearl Maria (Mother = Mary Jane Linstead)
1901  Mar 14 - Birth of son, JB York (Mother = Mary Jane Linstead)
1901 Nov 13 - Death of 8 month old JB York from diphtheria***
1901 Nov 15 - Death of 2 yr old Pearl Maria from diphtheria***
1902 - Birth of daughter, Gertrude Viola (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1904 - Birth of son, Elmer/Aylmer (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1907 - Birth of daughter, Thelma (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1909 - Birth of daughter, Dora May (Mother = Mary Jane Linstead)
1911 May - Death of Mrs. Walter York aka Minnie #2 
( she left 1 adult step-son and 5 young kids aged 2 to 14 yrs old)
***See Genealogy Notes Apr 2, Dear Noah 


During the time Walter and Minnie #2 were married, his in-laws suffered:
1896 Oct - Minnie #1's 45 yr old brother, James, dies at railway crossing near home
1897 Jan - Minnie #1's father, James, dies at son Robert's home in Belhaven
1897 Feb - Robert Pollock has an auction to sell everything and move to the West
1897 Jun - milking cow kicks Richard Pollock's little girl, Winnie, and breaks her leg 30 minutes after cow is sold, but not picked up/delivered
1909 Feb - Minnie #1's mother dies after suffering 2 yrs from cancer
 
And then to hear ... Mrs. Walter Yorke is dead. You must wonder what poor Walter thought as he buried yet another family member.


Genealogy Note #2 - Alice Sprague

Alice Sprague did not die. But this post is too long already so I'll save her story for another day.



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