Blog Archives

1911 Courtship Letter Special: July 14 from Iowa

7/28/2013

Map showing migration of Henry Nelson and Eliza Crouch Nelson and their family from York County in Ontario to Atkins, Iowa. (brown line)

The Courtship Letter Special: July 20 From Ma & Sadie mentions this Iowa letter from Ethel's paternal grandma, Eliza Crouch...

Author of Letter: Eliza Crouch Nelson
Dated: July 14th, 19011 (1911)
Addressed to: My Dear Son
Mailed from: Atkins, Iowa (on last page after signature)
Relationship: Ethel's paternal grandma
Profession: Farmer Laborer's Widow
Writing instrument: Fine Black Ink
Written on: Off-white and yellowed with age, lined note paper, 5 1/2 inches by 9 inches.

Note: This letter is easy to read if you sound out the words as they are written and ignore the spelling.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

Eliza Crouch Nelson ca. 1890 (1840-1919)

- Son and doter
- Jimmey

Ethel's parents:
*James Henry Nelson and
*Ida Amelia Glover

James Henry Nelson (1864-1953) ca. 1905

Ida Amelia Glover (1874-1953) ca. 1905

- George - **George Caleb Nelson, James's brother
- Alice - Eliza Alice Nelson Wer, James's sister in California

- Annie - Eliza Ann Nelson, James's sister

Eliza Alice Nelson Wear (1869-1946)

- Mammey - Mamie E Fritz, wife of Emanuel

- Emanuell - Emanuel Francis Nelson, James's brother

Mamie E Fritz Nelson (1881-1916) ca. 1905

Emanuel Francis Nelson (1876 - unk ) ca. 1905

- Annie - Eliza Ann Nelson, James's sister

- Willes - Willis A Crouch, son of Eliza Crouch's brother, Alfred

Eliza Ann Nelson (1872-1946) ca. 1917

Willis A Crouch (1862-1946) ca. 1917

- Mode - *Victoria Maud - Ida Amelia's sister with the newborn Ethel mentioned
- John - John Rogers - *Victoria Maud's husband
- Ida's mother - *Sarah Elizabeth Greenwood (Ethel's maternal grandma)
- Cristey - *Christy Maud, Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- 2 boys - Ethel's brothers, 6 yr old *Emanuel Henry and 3 yr old James A.
- Rose - Rosetta Nelson Cozad, James's sister

- Jim and hunkle from Canada - Unknown as the family tree is foggy at this level

Places mentioned:
- Caleforna - California
- **4th of July holiday

Phrase/Cliche: "prettey sick"

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

Julie 14 19011

Well my Dear son and
doter and famley all as i
got a letter and more from
you i Was much saprised as
i thoght you Was like gorge
you ad for got that you
ad a mother on the earth
eney more but i Wos very
glad to hear you Was well
but sorey to hear of youre
lose i Wos very glad to
hear that you got youre
in surence that Will help
quite a bit o Gimmey i think
you a very ondutifull son
as you sertnley right oftener
to your pore old mother how
is skarce able to be a round
i ave ad quite a sick spell

2

a gain but i do thank god
that i ame able to be up
a gain We ave ad som of
the hotest Wether i ever can
rember of it Was 100 and 10
in the shade and we ave a
dredfull storm the other
nite it Was fearfull all
nite long but i thank god
that our lives Was spared.
i got a letter from Caleforna
and tha Was all Well but
Alice and she wos prettey
sick The folks hear is all
rite so far i did not get
eney card or eney thing about
youre barn but mamey said
tha did Emanuell is bisey
harvisting his Wife and young

3

ones Was down 2 days doing
the Baking as i cod not and
annie Went out and help
to shok oats Well we ave
lots of frout this year and
the Cosn loks good now
i ad a good time Wen i
Was in Caleforna and i wood
ave stade longer but the
peapil that i went With
tha got home sick and i
did not like to Com back
a lone i saw som Wonderfull
sites Willes is a talking of
seling is plase and if he
do it may be posable we
ma go out there a gain ari
ave no one to stop With me
so i must do som thing

4 (across the top) did you get your pictor that mamey sent you

i hope saday Will be able
to teach Willes and anney as
gone up to my garden to pick
chereys and curents the treas
Was so loded i sold 3 dolars
Worth and there is lots yet
so i told them tha cod ave
them if tha ad a mint to
pick them as i cod not now
you give my love to mode
and John and all so to Idas
mother how is Cristey
and tehm to boys Rose and
her famley and Emanuell and
his famley Was all down hear
on the 4 asit is quite a holoday
and tha made hyse Cream
and ad a good time in general
now as I ave told you
turn over

5

all i can think an i want
you to be sure and ancer
quick and dont for get
and tell me how you are
getting a long i was very
much disapointed in not
sean Jim and hunkle for
i sure thoght if tha com
to the states tha wood
com and see me now as
i cant think of eney more
i Will say good by trusting
god Will bles us all and
gather us all in to is
kindomn Wase parting
Will be no more this is
from youre loving mother
mrs JH nelson Atkins Iowa

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note #1 - Henry Nelson and Eliza Crouch

I've mentioned the Iowa branch of Ethel's family a time or two before in passing, but this is the first post detailing the Henry and Eliza Nelson family. (Hubby Nelson's 2 great-grandfather)

The Nelson family has been a mystery trying to figure out because one branch emigrated to Ohio in the United States after immigrating to Canada from England. And if it hadn't been for Eliza Crouch Nelson's letter posted above then I wouldn't have known anything about them. But when I added the basic information to the family tree on ancestry.com a nice lady named Sharon who happens to be the 2 x granddaughter of Eliza Crouch contacted me and said some of my information was wrong and/or missing. Between Sharon and ancestry.com I was able to fill in so many leaves on our tree it looks quite coloringful and interesting now. Thank you, Sharon for sharing your tree info and photos with us - like the one below which is the only one we have of Ethel's grandfather and grandmother. (For the full photo, see 1911 Courtship: May 7 Dear Noah)

Henry Nelson (1835-1900) and Eliza Crouch (1840-1919). Photo taken about 1890, Iowa, USA.

Henry Nelson - b 3 Mar 1835 in England married Eliza Crouch - b 16 Apr 1840 in England on 5 Oct 1857 in Ontario, Canada

I have the following census records for Henry and Eliza after their marriage:
- 1861 Canada Census: living in East Gwillimbury Township of York County, Ontario
- 1871 Canada Census: (same as above)
- 1881 Canada Census: (same as above)
- 1895 Iowa State Census: living in Benton, Iowa
- 7 Oct 1900: Henry Nelson died and was buried in Benton Co, Iowa
- 1900 US Census: Eliza living in Atkins, Benton, Iowa
- 1910 US Census: (same as above)
- 28 Oct 1919: Eliza Crouch Nelson died and was buried in Benton, Iowa

We've been above to correlate that Henry and Eliza had the following children born in East Gwillimbury, York County, Ontario, although several of them died here:

Born in Canada

- George Caleb b 1857
- John Thomas b 1860
- Mary Pricilla b 1863
- James Henry b 1864 - Ethel's father
- Elizabeth Jane b 1866
- Unnamed Nelson b 1868
- Eliza Alice b 1869
- Eliza Ann (twin of Edwin) b 1872
- Edwin (twin of Eliza Ann) b 1872
- Jemima Isabelle b 1874
- Emanuel (Manuel) Francis b 1876
- Rosetta b 1878
- Mariah Victoria b 1880
- Fannie Louisa b 1882

Died in Canada

- born and died in Oct 1868

- died in 1872 - 19 days days
- died in 1882 - 8 yrs old

- died in 1891 - 10 yrs old
- died 1884 - 17 months old

Eliza's brother, Alfred Crouch, had emigrated to Ontario with the family, but in 1860 moved to Fremont, Iowa. Eliza's other siblings followed. Henry and Eliza decided to emigrate to the US as well which they did in the early 1880's taking most of the family with them. Eliza's brother, Francis Croutch, was the only sibling to stay in Ontario. He is also the only member of the family who uses a 'T' in the Croutch name.

When Eliza and Henry left Canada, only 2 of their children stayed behind and they are the 2 marked in red in the above list, namely, George Caleb and James Henry.

Eliza's parents, George Crouch and Percilla, are listed on the 1852 census and then they moved down to Iowa. But George shows up on the 1861 Canada census with a wife named Mary. Percilla died in 1876 and is buried in Mound Cemetery, Benton, Iowa. But not George. Family rumour says George broke up with Percilla and came back to Canada, however no one can find a record of him dying and being buried in Ontario, either.

Genealogy Note #2 - George Caleb Nelson

In Eliza's letter, she says, "i Was much saprised as i thoght you Was like gorge you ad for got that you ad a mother on the earth eney more"

Eliza is talking about her son, George Caleb Nelson, who - along with Ethel's dad, James Henry, didn't emigrate to the US once they'd settled in Ontario. I checked the family tree to see what could have prevented George Caleb from writing to his mother and at the first glance, saw the problem...
1857 - George is born. He is 17 yr old Eliza's 1st child.
1880 - 23 yr old George marries 18 yr old Hannah Victoria Latham
1894 - Hannah dies of consumption leaving George with 4 children aged 4-12 yrs***
1895 - George marries Hannah's sister, 22 yr old Emma Latham
1896 - Emma dies, childless
1897 - George marries 25 yr old widow, Mary Tryphena Smith
1913 - Mary dies of heart failure leaving an additional 11 yr old and 1 month old baby
1914 - 57 yr old George marries 55 yr old Mary Ellen Travis

By the time 1911 rolled around and Eliza wrote her letter, George was on his 3rd wife with a 9 yr old and 3 yr old still at home. And then Mary dies a month after giving birth in 1913. So yes, George is busy with children and wives, but that shouldn't stop him from writing to his mother.

But perhaps this is the reason... when George marries Mary Ellen Traviss, he makes an X in place of his signature.
In other words, he can't sign his name.

Mark of X for George Nelson

Wife #3, Mary, could have written Eliza in 1911, but perhaps she didn't want to or perhaps she was too sick. She signed the marriage certificate, so we know she was able to write, but I guess we'll never know why she didn't.

*** You've met 2 of George Caleb's children before in Ethel's letters:
- Elva Jane married Will Mitchell and is working for Stewart Draper in Indian Head
- Leslie is the missing cousin who is 'somewhere out west'

1911 Courtship: July 23 Dear Ethel

7/21/2013

1910 Regina Exhibition Livestock Grounds, Valentine and Sons' Publishing Co. Ltd. Courtesy of the University of Saskatchewan Library, Special Collections.

The above photo from http://saskhistoryonline.ca shows the numerous barns housing the livestock exhibits on the Exhibition grounds. As a former exhibitor of our goats, I've been in the livestock barns too many times to count, and even camped in them while we exhibited. Unfortunately, the barns in the image were devasted by fire and the ones I'm used to seeing are huge window-less metal structures which do the job of keeping the animals sheltered, but lack the beauty and charm of the original ones.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: July 23 (1911)
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, Dear Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed to: Huntsville, Ont
Mailed from: Grand Coulee (Sask)
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink which lightens as the letter lengthens.
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 straight down both pages.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:

Ma - Noah's mother, *Sarah Sophia Deverell
*Elva Jane Nelson - Ethel's cousin, currently living in Indian Head, Sask
*Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister back home in Belhaven
Manuel - *Emanuel, Ethel's 6 yr old brother back home in Belhaven

**Dominion Exhibition
*Regina, Sask
the head - *Indian Head, Sask, located east of Regina on Hwy #1

Phrases/Cliches in use at the time:
- "going to get hooked up"

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right column for more on posts on the above people.
**More info under Genealogical Notes

Grand Coulee July 23

Miss. E. Nelson,
Huntsville. Ont.
Dear Ethel, -
Received your welcome
letter last week and was glad
to hear you were having
a good time. Hope it may last.
Say you want to have lots
of boat riding this summer
for you are apt to be a
long time up here with
out seeing much water here.
Well we have four
carpenters and two well
diggers here so you see
Mother has plenty to do.
have sent down to Manitoba

for a girl & I certainly hope she
comes for it is to much for mother.
Am going into Regina to-morrow
to get a furnace and see about the
plasterers. so you see we will
be buisy right along untill
after harvest or rather threshing.
Well I suppose you know
wheather Sadie has passed
her examinations by this time.
dont think there is much danger
of her failing.
Dominion exhibition starts
in Regina Monday next and
lasts untill the 13th of August
dont think I will be able to spend
muchtime at it tho for it is
harder work to keep the other
men going than it is to work
My self.
Suppose that new barn is
about finished by this time
or at least the rough work.
Oh say I dont know wheather
I told you I saw Elva at the
head on the 18th or not. she was
telling me she heard I was going
to get hooked up. Ha. Ha.

Well. who in the world was
telling that Manuel was
trying to set a hen's tail
on fire. (poor hen) I guess
she would go some. Eh.
Say do you know any
one who is coming up to
the exhibition or do they
all think it is out of their
reach and to God forsaken
a country to travel in. Ha. Ha.
Well I guess I will have to
close for this time wish I
were there to take you
out for a row. when you
get this but you will not
be far away in my thoughts.
Well bye. Bye. Write a long
letter to your little Lover.
xxxxxxxx N.C.D.

Genealogy Notes

In this week's letter, Noah mentions that the Dominion Exhibition will start on Monday. The above images are taken from the 1911 Dominion Exposition Regina Prize List which I found as a free download PDF at University of Alberta Libraries.

However, it notes the Regina Fair as the Dominion Exposition instead of an exhibition. In all my years, I've always known it as an exhibition or fair, although fair is usually reserved for smaller locations and exhibition for provincial capitals - like Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, etc. I checked dictionary.com and it states:
expositon - a large-scale exhibition or show

Calling the 1911 Exhibition an Exposition fits then, because it was the year Regina hosted the Dominion Fair - a privilege awarded annually from 1879 to 1913 to Canada's biggest fairs. This meant that exhibitors from all over Canada vied for the chance to win not just a ribbon that said Provincial Exhibition, but a medal confirming the exhibitor won it at the Dominion Exhibition. As you can see from the lettering below, even the organizers weren't sure if is was an exhibition or exposition.

Obverse: 1911 bronze Dominion Exhibition Regina Medal. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1979-13-232M

Reverse: 1911 bronze medal donated by the Ontario Sheep Breeders' Ass'n for THE BEST ___ WON BY ____ Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1979-13-232M

Although cash prizes were handed out, the top breeder for each breed would receive a medal like the one above which were sponsored by commercial associations, like the Ontario Sheep Breeders, who used the Dominion Exhibition for promotion. The above medal isn't engraved with a breed of sheep nor a winner. The medals would have been struck ahead of time, but sometimes there aren't enough exhibitors in category so a medal isn't awarded.

Much like the Olympic medals are different for each game's location, so are the Dominion Exhibition medals.

On the right is the style of medal handed out at the 1904 Dominion of Canada Exhibition. Unlike the 1911 Regina medal, this one comes with a ribbon and badge for hanging on your chest.

I like the Winnipeg one, except for the hole they've drilled into the medal to enable it to hang. Truthfully, it's hard to find medals without a hole, but as a coin and medal collector, I tend to steer clear of the holed ones unless they were manufactured in that fashion, such as this one.

(Click the image for a larger version.)

“DOMINION OF CANADA EXHIBITION 1904 WINNIPEG” brass medal with ribbon and badge.

Exhibitions are made up of Livestock and Homecraft Exhibits, a Midway with rides, games, etc, and a commercial Trade Show where you can buy anything from homemade jams to farm equipment.

The on-line McCord Museum has a brief write-up about the trade shows on their site, which states in part, "Agricultural fairs and industrial exhibitions were an excellent opportunity to reach huge numbers of people." I always find interesting images at the McCord Museum, but I never imagined I'd find an engraving of a late 19th/early 20th century trade show booth for a corset manufacturer...

1850-1885 engraving by John Henry Walker showing The Crompton Corset Company trade booth. Courtesy of © McCord Museum

The Crompton Corset Company which was located in Toronto, Ontario displayed its line of corsets at trade fairs and exhibitions across Canada.

I wonder if Noah passed a booth like this at Regina's Dominion Exhibition?

1911 Courtship: July 23 Dear Noah

7/16/2013

Ethel is still in Huntsville, and Uncle John is working up in North Bay.

1910 On the Mountain looking across Huntsville to Lake Vernon by Nerlich & Co., Toronto. Courtesy of The Baldwin Room at www.torontopubliclibrary.ca

In this week's letter, Ethel mentions watching the steamboats (see Genealogy Notes for pics), as well as going up "up on the Mountain". The postcard above shows what Ethel would have seen when she looked westward. On the postcard below Ethel would have stood above the steep rocky wall to see the view in the above image because that's where the 'Huntsville Lookout' is located, up on the hill they called 'the Mountain'.

1910 Huntsville from the Public School looking east toward the Mountain with Fairy Lake in the distance by H. Booth, Huntsville. Courtesy of The Baldwin Room at www.torontopubliclibrary.ca

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  July 23rd, 1911
Addressed to: My Dearest Noah (Noah Clement Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.)
Mailed from: Huntsville, Ont.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink
Written on: Off-white, beautifully textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half with a blue forget-me-not motif. This is standard early 20th century notepaper, pre-folded in booklet form. Ethel has written on the pages in booklet form however, she's written the inside straight across the widest part so there are only 3 unnumbered pages.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Aunt Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's ma
- Uncle John - *John Winter, husband of Aunt Sarah
- **Mrs. Rigler - Genealogy Note #2
- *Elva Mitchell
- Mrs. Winter - a relative of Uncle John ?
- Miss Gall
- May/Mae Anderson & Stanley *Mahoney
- *Lennox

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Huntsville
- *North Bay - north of Huntsville
- **Steamboats: S.S. Ramona and S.S. Wa Wa

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

Huntsville, July 23, 11.

My Dearest Noah, -
Well I missed your
letter this week. but thot perhaps you
sent it to Belhaven. there will be an
anxious girl until she gets one, I
havent got a letter from home either
since I came up here. Aunt Sarah is
writing to Uncle John he is away up to
North Bay working in a mill. I hope you never have to go away off from home to
work. for I can imagine just how it would
be, I think I ought to know a little, "eh"

when my best friend living is miles and miles away. But for the
meeting some day. Well Thrusday was Lennoxs picnic. and I see
by the paper that they had a big time. They presented Lennox with
a life size oil painting of himself. Be an awful thing for him to look
at, "eh", Are you Conservative or Reformer? I am for the right party.
The fire Tournament is to be here in huntsville on Aug 3rd.
I guess we will be to that all right. I was telling uncle Johns
that Mrs Rigler was married, and they wanted me to ask you
her name and address. So that they can write to her &
congratulate her. We are expecting company sometime this afternoon
a Mrs Winter & a Miss Gall is coming in,
Suppose you will be having a great old time when the Worlds
Fair starts at Regina. I guess the fair would be all the people could
talk about now? "eh" The day of our raising some girls were at me,
wanting to know when I was to be married. I told them in Sept (ha) May
Anderson was one of the girls so I ask her the same old question and
she said in August. Stanley & May are to be married in the spring (haha)

Well it is just 1 week yesterday since I
came up here. and I got a return ticket
so I guess I will stay until that runs out.
Oh, Noah you want to write often.
I guess you think I am a impatient
kid, it is rather lonesome sometimes.
Was down town last night, & think I will
go to-morrow night also. Will go untill
I get some mail. What has become
of Elva I wrote to her some time ago &
she has never answered. The big boats are running here everyday. The Ramona
went out this afternoon. I have been
down to the Wa Wa, and have been up on
the Mountain, - will send you a picture
postcard of them soemday. Will close
With all love from Your Friend & Lonesome
& Loving Sweetheart. Write, - x x x x x x x x x x

Genealogy Notes

Two Genealogy Notes this week:
#1 - Muskoka Steamers Ramona & Wa Wa
#2 - Finding Mrs. Rigler

Genealogy Note 1: Muskoka Steamers Ramona & Wa Wa

In this week's letter, Ethel mentions the big boats - the steamers Ramona and Wa Wa. It took some doing, but I finally found an image of the SS Ramona of Huntsville...and yes, although it's not as big as Ethel made it sound, it is bigger than an Uncle John's rowboat...

S.S. Ramona, Courtesy of the Orillia Public Library

I also found two textual references to the Ramona, the first of which says, "...ships such as the flagship Algonquin (1906-1927) and the Ramona transported goods and people from Portage to Huntsville, and all points between." (Courtesy of www.muskokariverx.com)

And on Wikipedia I found a steamboat chart for the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Transportation Company (HLBTC) which has this notation:
S.S. Dortha, 1894, HLBTC, Lake of Bays, Renamed the Ramona in 1908

Unfortunately a search for an image of the SS Dortha didn't bring up any results.

That left the S.S. Wa Wa, as Ethel mentioned, although this steamer proved even harder to locate than the Ramona. One clue was a reference in passing that the Wa Wa berthed at the dock of the Wa Wa Hotel in Lake of Bays, not far from Huntsville. My research was hampered by the fact that the Wa Wa Hotel burned down in 1923, so what happened to the steamer?

And then I found this photo at the Virtual Museum of Canada.

1922 - Steamer Wa Wa at Royal Muskoka Wharf on Lake Rosseau, Ontario. Courtesy of the Virtual Museum of Canada: Up in Flames: The History of Fire in Muskoka Region

So although I can't find it written - yet - it appears that after the hotel burned down, the S.S. Wa Wa was bought by someone in Lake Rouseau and used to ferry passengers back and forth to the Royal Muskoka alone, or to other points on the lake as well.

There is a final note to this story... this research triggered a memory about a souvenir folder of postcards I found in Ethel's treasure box. The postcards are all together accordian-style and feature the Bigwin Inn which sprang up beside the Wa Wa Hotel in Lake of Bays. I won't display the postcards here because we don't have room to discuss the Bigwin Inn here, however, the souvenir folder is from Noah and Ethel's daughter, Midge, and was posted in 1944 when she went up to the District of Muskoka. And it's Midges's note that relates to this week's post...

Hello Everyone. -
We were over to Bigwin this
afternoon, so I got this folder to send to
you. - it certainly is a grand place, - the
Bigwin Dock is where the Wa Wa used to
be, - the Wa Wa burnt down abut 1919
or around there somewhere, - about 15 lost
their life, - Bigwin is on an island.
We went up to the tower today, - you
certainly get a grand view from up there, -
you can see miles.
So long. - love. Midge.

Genealogy Note #2 - Finding Mrs. Rigler

In this week's letter, Ethel asks Noah for the newly married Mrs. Rigler's name and address so that Uncle John can write and congratulate her.

It made sense that Noah would know because his sister, Ethel Maud married William Albert Rigler, and it's at their house where Noah stayed before the weather was warm enough for him to move down the road and camp on his own land - which he's doing now that his house is being built.

What didn't make sense, however, was that Uncle John would ask for Mrs. Rigler's new name and address because his own mother, Nancy Maria, was a Rigler before she married his father, Reuben Winter. However, if the marriage was recent and in the North Gwillimbury area, then perhaps the news hadn't reached Huntsville yet.

Although I could have peeked at the upcoming letters for Noah's answer, I decided to research on my own in case I discovered more history about John's family which is very sparse. Here's my research path:

I have 8 Mrs Rigler's posted on our family tree and there are probably more because we only list the branch relating to Ethel Maud Draper's marriage to William Albert Rigler on 25 Dec 1901. I started by bringing up the Rigler Family View on my laptop screen so that at a glance I could see who had died prior to 1911. Sadly, Uncle John's own mother died 3 yrs after his birth. Of the ones that were left, I looked at their profiles to see if anyone had married in 1911 - and drew a blank.

In another tab on my browser, I pulled up the index for the Ontario newspapers online website and searched for Rigler and then 1911. Lots of news, but no marriage.

I reread what Ethel had written and it dawned on me that if Mrs. Rigler married and had a new name, then Rigler hadn't been her maiden name, but that of her husband. Yes, it makes sense, but it really hadn't clicked before. Knowing that, I began to search the Family View for a Mrs. Rigler whose husband had died prior to 1911.

And there it was... As I just mentioned, Uncle John's mother was Nancy Maria Rigler and her brother was Albert William Rigler. If the name sounds familiar, it's because he was the father of Ethel Maud's husband, William Albert Rigler.

Albert Wm died in 1904 leaving his widow - 49 yr old Mary Elizabeth Breckon aka Mrs. Rigler, 15 yr old Joseph, and 8 yr old Ernest at home since the other children, including our Will, had left home already.

My search on Mary E. Breckon found another marriage record for her...
Bride: Mary Rigler of Newmarket, 63, widow, daughter of Joseph Breckon
Groom: Robert Sibley of Newmarket, 67, widower, son of John Sibley
Marriage: 22 May 1911 in St. Catharines, Lincoln County, Ontario

So, Ethel is asking Noah about Mrs. Rigler because Mary E Breckon is the mother-in-law of Noah's sister. I think part of that was also because the marriage occurred way down in Southern Ontario and The Newmarket Era didn't have any details, which is strange for a community newspaper.

I hope the above research encourages you to try your own paths of discovery.

Courtship Letter Special: July 20 From Ma & Sadie

7/7/2013

The Massey Harris binder about to start cutting the wheat. Courtesy of wikipedia.

In this week's letter, Ethel's ma tells Ethel that Pa bought a new binder and already has some wheat cut. This was necessary since their old binder burned in their barn fire. Although the above photo shows a binder pulled by a tractor, in 1911 Ethel's pa would use horses to pull his binder which would cut the wheat, tie a string about a bunch of stalks to bind them in a sheaf, then drop the sheaves by the side where someone would come along and stand them in stooks or shooks to dry. The shape allowed the rain to slide off.

Author of Letter: Ida Amelia Glover Nelson and Sadie Nelson
Dated:  July 20th, 1911
Addressed to: Dear Ethel (Ethel is up in Huntsville, Ontario visiting Ida Amelia's sister, Sarah Elizabeth Glover)
Mailed from: Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship:  Ethel's ma, and Ethel's 16 yr old sister
Profession:  Farm Family
Writing instrument: Blue Ink
Written on: Off-white, beautifully textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half. Two notepapers, one with a pansy motif, the other with a forget-me-not motif.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Christie - Christine Maud Nelson - Ethel and Sadie's 6 yr old sister
- Crouders - *Crowders
- *Noah Draper - Ethel's fiance out on the Canadian prairies
- *Elva Mitchell - see Special Letter of July 15 as well as Label list
- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- Grandma - *Eliza Crouch Nelson in Aikens, Benton, Iowa, USA
- Aunt Lill - Lillian Maria Blizzard married to Pa's cousin, James A. Nelson- **Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's ma
- Theao Ralston
- Francis Slingerland
- Edna, Wilmot, Gertie, and Lottie
- Sweets and Thompsons
- Gertie and Walt Brooks
- Nancy
- Perry Morton

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

Page 1 - Written by Ethel's ma, Ida Amelia Glover

Belhaven July 20. 1911
Dear Ethel.
got your letter tuesday
I suppose you are going
to the picnic. we are
staying at home having
a good time watching the
people go by Crouders just
went by in a buss it is Just
1/2 past 9 oclock. I washed tuesday
Sadie and Christie went picking
berries got 2 quarts we had 7
men tuesday. yesterday Just

Page 2 - Written by Ethel's ma, Ida Amelia Glover

our own men and J and
your pa went to theao
Ralstons raising and I
got the sick head ache
came home and went to
bed. there was only about
50 men and 15 women
and some kids. they had
a nice supper but I couldnt
eat any they were very
clever with me. and there
was Noah Draper from
the west there. when I heard
them peeking about Noah
you bet I did some squinting
untill i saw him but it
wasnt tall Noah.

Page 3 - written by Sadie

Ma is getting to be a
regular gad about
since you went away
She has been away
nearly everyday. Tuesday
was the only day she
stayed home. Christie
wants us to tell you
that she can comb her
hair. I have got two
cards and you got
a letter from Elva
and pa got one from
grandma. I am having
a fine time since you
went away. Francis
Slingerland came here

Page 4 - written by Sadie

Sunday after dinner
and stayed until
after nine at night
Edna, Wilmot, Gertie
and Lottie have been
here. I was down to
Sweets and Thompsons.
The rigs are just stringing
along here to the picnic.
There has been an awful
lot go. Mine hasn't come
yet but will be here soon.
Gertie was here last
night and Walt Brooks
walked home with her.
Ma is going to see how
Aunt Lill is if she can

Page 5 switches to Ethel's ma where she writes, "Well Sadie has been spinning yarns..."

over the 'phone
She did and she
is better. We have
got beets and
beans on for
dinner and we
are going to have
green apples for
supper. (Don't your
mouth water?) We have
got liver too for dinner.
well Sadie has been
spinning yarns I was
to Crouders 1/2 a hour was
not in house and to

Page 6 - written by Ethel's ma

Nancies about 3/4 hours
took her nives home
well i must quit
this and get to work
perry Morton is working
here to day Christie
has got to go to
belhaven for salt
for dinner.
Sadie has got the blues every rig goes
by it makes her worse
there was a big storm
yesterday. we have got
our new Binder set
up and one piece
of wheat cut

Page 7 - written by Ethel's ma

well my head aches
and i dont feel
very good wish
i could scribble
some more. but i
must quit how
is Sarah hope she
is better did you get
a return tickit if
you did you will have to come
in a month for it is only good
for a month unless you got
if for longer. say you
write soon for i get
the blues once in a while.
Sadie is looking bad she is
holding her mouth on one side
she looks so cross.

Page 8 - written by Sadie

Ma wants to know
if we can set the old
hen behind the bee boxes
If so how soon? How
many eggs do you
think she can cover.
It is the grey hen that
has a red feather for
a collar. They have
got the barn boarded
in and the floor
nearly all laid. As we
can't afford to waste
any more paper over
you we will have to quit
Write soon
Ma and Sadie

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Update on Fred Coventry's Sister in Alberta

Update to Louie and Fred Coventry going to visit his sister in Alberta which Noah mentioned in his last letter in 1911 Courtship: July 19 Dear Ethel... we have a new development. While researching the Coventry family and trying to find out what happened to Louie (Noah's sister), I hit a newspaper goldmine on the usual ourontario.ca website I use for the Newmarket Era except this time, I've discovered the Halton News which encompasses the Acton Free Press and Georgetown Herald.

The Coventry family came from the Halton area of Peel Country, Ontario and the newspapers covered many of their social events. One of the first items I discovered was a wedding announcement for Maggie Coventry aka Margaret Jane Coventry and a Mr. W. T. Campbell.

Acton Free Press (Acton, ON), 1 Aug 1901, p. 2

CAMPELL-COVENTRY - At the residence of the Bride's parents, Kenlis, Assa., on Wednesday, 10th July 1901, by Rev. A. Robson, Mr. W. T. Campell to Miss Maggie Coventry, daughter of David Coventry.

From the same newspapers I've found the obituary for Fred's father, David Coventry, as well as the brief announcement on Louie's death. They are both almost illegible due to the inking process and I need to decipher them. However, I've read enough to know that David Coventry's daughter, Mrs. W. T. Campbell (Margaret Jane) lives in Vancouver, BC and his other daughter, Mrs. C. F. Powell, lives in Alberta. So it's not Maggie in Alberta, but rather Mary Catherine whom I thought stayed in Ontario. (I've updated last week's Genealogy Note 1)

Genealogy Note 2 - The Lennox Picnic

Can't you just picture 16 yr old Sadie in this week's letter as she stands by the door watching all the rigs and outfits (autos and conveyances) filled with excited people as they make their way to the Lennox Picnic?

I love the part where Ethel's ma writes on page 7, "Sadie is looking bad she is holding her mouth on one side she looks so cross."

For more info on the Lennox Picnic, check the Genealogy Note 3 on July 2: Dear Noah. Here is a news article about the post 1911 Lennox Picnic:

The Newmarket Era. July 28, 1911 - Page: 5, Part 1

That's 15,000 people attending the Conservative Party's annual picnic and a good portion of those people drove right past the Nelson farm where Sadie stood by the door watching them go by. No wonder she felt she was missing out.

However, other snippets tell of pickpockets in the crowd, as well as people coming home with empty pockets due to buying the refreshments. Many people commented that their neighbors either got home late and loud, or didn't get home until the next day. By most accounts, it sounds more like a 'liberal' party than a 'conservative' one.

The Newmarket Era. July 28, 1911 - Page: 5, Part 2

1911 Courtship: July 19 Dear Ethel

7/1/2013

Reaping, Indian Head, Assiniboia, on Canadian Pacific Railway. c1886. Prairie Postcards PC002464. Courtesty of http://peel.library.ualberta

See the Genealogy Note at the bottom of this post for more info on the above photo and the Experimental farm, mentioned by Noah in this letter.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: July 19th/1911
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, My Dear 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 & Eva - Joe Perrault and Eva Amelia - Noah's sister
- *Parthena - wife of Noah's brother, *Percy Draper
- Parthena's baby - Royden Wallace Draper b Jul 1911 but what date?
- *Stewart Draper, Noah's cousin, in Indian Head, Saskatchewan
- *Louie: Noah's sister, Sarah Louisa Nelson, married to Fred Coventry
- Fred's sister in Alberta - Probably Margaret Jane *Coventry

* Regina, Saskatchewan
** Experimental Farm, Indian Head, Saskatchewan
Local - Twice daily passenger train that runs from Regina to Indian Head. Used for excursions such as field trips to see the world famous Bell Farm, etc.

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right column for more on posts on the above people.
**More info under Genealogical Notes

Grand Coulee, Sask
July 19th/11

Miss. E. Nelson,
huntsville. Ont.
My Dear Ethel;-
Received your letter last
week and was glad to hear
you were going to get a few
holidays & hope you have
a good time,
Well we are good and buisy
here just now. just got
the cellar cemented and am
now digging a drain. expect
the well diggers and carpenters
tomorrow. so will have 7 men
here for a while and a girl
if I can get one but they are

like hens teeth few and far between.
Joe. Eva. & I were down to the
experimental farm at Indian Head
yesterday. I went into Regina on
the morning Local with out any
intentions of going down but I got
through with my business by
the time the excurtion train
came along so I jumped on and
went down. it rained nearly all
afternoon. but we hired a livery
rig and got out to Stewarts before
it started so we didnt mind
it. but there was a good many.
dissapointed people on the train
coming home.
Osay Ethel Parthena has a baby
boy. about a week old have not seen
it yet but i hear it looks like
the Drapers. Ha. Ha.
Louie & Fred went up to his
sisters in Alberta last Saturaday.
to pick raspberries. they said but
I guess they wont get many.
Say you must be getting old to
be able to say the heat is the worst
for a 100 years back. Eh.

I hear it has been very dry
down there this summer how
do the crops seem. they are
very good here only a little late
but we have had such a
cold summer we will likely
have a hot fall. hope so
any way.
Well it is getting nearly
time to get out to work again
am writing this at noon
and expect to post this to
night. Well i guess this is
all for this time so Bye Bye
write soon and a long letter
to your Western Lover. N.C.D.
X X X X X X X

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Margaret Jane Coventry

Fred Coventry had 2 sisters. Mary Catherine stayed in Ontario, married, and died there.

But Margaret Jane is shown on the 1901 census where she and her parents are living in Kenlis, Assiniboia - about 10 miles northeast of Indian Head. She is not with them on the 1916 census, though, where they have moved close to Fred and Louie near Grand Coulee. Did Margaret Jane marry and move to Alberta? Or did she just move there because of a job opportunity?

Update!
- Mary Catherine did NOT marry and die in Ontario - her Aunt Catharine did. In 1911, Mary Catherine and her husband lived in Strathcona, Alberta.
- Margaret Jane moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada sometime between 1916 and 1920. She didn't show up on the 1916 census because it was a special one for the prairie provinces only so that the government could keep track of immigrants on the newly opened prairie land.

Genealogy Note 2: The Experimental Farm

The Experimental Farm had it's beginnings as part of the 53,000 acre Bell Farm which started operations in 1882 by the Qu'Appelle Valley Farming Company - before the railroad tracks had been laid on the bald prairie - before there was the town of IndianHead - and before Saskatchewan became a province, which is why the postcard at the top refers to it as Indian Head, Assiniboia. Once the railroad went through, the Bell Farm built a hotel, grain elevator and flour mill and Indian Head came into being.

Using the most modern farming practices and equipment of the time, the Bell Farm drew interested people from several countries to see for themselves how farming had/could progress. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) carried tourists and farmers on daily excursions from Regina out to Indian Head to explore the farm for the day.

The unique round shape of the Bell Farm Round Barn was one of the main attractions of the Bell Farm. Due to having its silo in the centre of the building, the layout provided ample space to stable 36 horses surrounding the silo - a time-saver when it came to supplying feed for the hard-working heavy horses.

In 1887, part of the Bell Farm was sold to create a Dominion Experimental Farm - one of Canada's first agricultural stations.

A lasting legacy of the Indian Head area is the tree nursery located one mile south of the town which had been established in 1897 to supply trees for shelterbelt purposes to cut down on wind erosion. Called the Prairie Shelterbelt Program, the nursery of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) supplied seedlings free of charge to all legitimate homesteaders and farmers.

Although The Shelterbelt Program ended in the Spring of 2013, the PFRA tree nursery is a showcase of tree varieties which is open to the public and a favorite spot for summer picnics as well as information gathering.

Image of a man holding a cloth sack and picking something off of a tree - possibly at PFRA tree nursery. Courtesy of http://saskhistoryonline.ca/fedora/repository/indianhead%3A31270

According to the Indian Head History Page by 1902, the Town of Indian Head was incorporated and had become "...one of the world's largest initial shipping points for wheat."

1900-1909 Image of ten grain elevators at Indian head that read "Jos Glen No. 1", "Jos Glen No. 2", "Dominion Elevator Co. Ltd. No. 72", "Ogilvie's No. 67" - various structures in between elevators, Canadian Pacific railroad cars next to elevators - man and several cows in foreground on other side of fence. Photographer: Denison Indian Head. Courtesy http://saskhistoryonline.ca/fedora/repository/indianhead%3A31195

And that's the history of Indian Head, Saskatchewan, which Noah mentions in this week's letter and which has been mentioned several other times when talking about Elva Nelson and Will Mitchell, and Stewart Draper and Bertha Hamilton.

1911 Courtship Letter Special: July 14 from Iowa

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: July 23 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: July 23 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

Courtship Letter Special: July 20 From Ma & Sadie

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: July 19 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories