Anita Mae Draper
  • Home
  • Books
    • Secret Admirer
    • American Heiress Brides
    • Austen in Austin
    • Here We Come A-Wassailing
    • Riding on a Christmas Wish
  • Blogs
    • Author Memories
    • Inkwell Inspirations
    • Heroes, Heroines, & History
    • Draper's Acres
    • Photo Blog
  • Research
    • The Oregon Trail Ruts
  • Fun
    • Text-Free Photos
    • Recipe Blog
    • Jigsaw Puzzles >
      • Christmas
      • Fauna
      • Flora
      • Travel Destinations
    • Free Reads >
      • The Shepherd
    • Poetry >
      • You Were By My Side

1911 Courtship: Sep 25th Dear Noah

11/25/2013

 
Picture
Distance from Belhaven Methodist Church to Family Farm of James H Nelson & Ida Amelia Glover
Since Ethel says she goes up to Sunday School, I thought this Google Earth photo is a good representation of the distance and elevation of the Nelson farm in relation to the village of Belhaven.  In this view, we're looking south and so the Nelson farm is on the left/east side of the road, right where that first shelterbelt starts.


Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  Sep 1911 (events confirm date as 25th)
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, Dearest Noah  
Mailed  from:  Belhaven, Ont. 
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter  
Writing  instrument: Fine point pen, black ink
Written on:  Off-white, textured, plain, linen-like paper, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half with inner page written straight across short width and down length to the bottom before continuing to page 3. The letter is very hard to read - as if the ink was still wet when the letter was closed and folded.



People/places mentioned in this letter:
 
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover Nelson- Pa - *James Henry Nelson

- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, *Eva Amelia and *Joe Perrault of *Grand Coulee, SK
- Percy's - *Percy Draper (Noah's brother) and wife *Parthena Fisher
- Uncle Stephen Draper - brother of Noah's deceased father, *David Draper 
- *George Draper - brother of *Stewart Truman Draper in Indian Head, SK)
- *Manford Terry - Noah's 1st cousin on *David Draper side
(George Draper, Stewart T, and Manford's wife, Mary Jane, are all offspring of Uncle Stephen)

- Dester *Sheppard - 18 yr old son of the nearby Sheppard family
- Mr **Walker Prosser - see Genealogy Notes
- Harold *Winch - who went west in Aug 1911
- Adele - neighbor and unmarried sister of Harold Winch
- Annie *King - close neighbor 
- Robert *Davidson's wife, Lily May *Kellington, is a distant cousin of Noah's
- Davidson's little boy - *Davidsons have 5 boys born between 1902 and 1909.
- *Maud Bruels - Ethel's good friend as well as neighbor
- Ellie *Sheppard - Ethel's friend and neighbor
- Gertie *Yorke - Ethel's friend and neighbor
- Chris *Willoughby - older widowed gentleman (mentioned in other Genealogy Notes)
- Dora *Mahoney - close neighbor
- Ivan and Geraldine *King - relatives of Ethel's King neighbors
- Uncle Harry Barkers - Harry *Barker and Margaret E. *Glover (Ma's sister)

- Old Mrs. Pine - local resident
- Belhaven Choir


- Orville *King 
- Elgin Barker (unsure if relative of Harry Barker) is at Phillips - ?


Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Ravenshoe - a few miles south of Belhaven
- *Huntsville
- Holt
- Chicken Pie Social 
- **Box Social

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



Picture
Belhaven. Ont. 
Sept. 1911.

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

Dearest Noah, - 
                              Well one more week
past and one more nearer the
time I am looking forward to.
but there are weeks yet. only wish
they were days. This is rather a
cloudy morning, so of course I am
rather a dull girl to-day and this
pen I am using is worse than an
old quill. I am sure I can't say much 
for it.
I hear you have run across one of 
the boys., heard Harold Winch was
staying with you a few days.

Picture
2.
 How does Harold like it up there? Adele said she 
thought he would be home in about 2 weeks.
Say you ought to have been here for the box social
I had the pleasure of eating my tea with the
honorable Dester Sheppard, "ha ha" Sadie had
Mr Walker Posser. We did very well though
Made $24.00.
 It has started to rain now. Say how did election
suit you? My there were some sick looking people
around here. Of course it isnt always the smartest
man that wins. The rogues are sure to. and of course
there's no rogues on the Reform side. "ha ha"
 Pa tells ma to look out for hard times now. "ha"
Sadie had a letter from Veda Friday. I think
she surely will be lonesome for a while anyway
What does she intend studying? Sadie was given
a pass after all. She is now trying for her first
part of the first class certificate
Annie King and I spent most of the day
yesterday down at Mr Robt Davidsons. one of there
little boys fell off a beam in the barn and was
quite badly hurt. They think he is out of danger
now. Mr Manford Terry spent the day there last
Sunday. Mrs Davidson said she heard there was
a new house up there. and it was nearly finished
What a lively pair Mr Davidson's are.
Maud Bruels is coming up for tea next Sunday.
Remember the night you were there. Ellie Sheppard
Gertie Yorke was there too. was'nt she. Gertie was 
telling me she met you. "ha ha"

Picture
3.
Mr Chris Willoughby was here a few days
last week. You ought to hear him blow
the west up. Says he is going up next
Summer. Wanted to know if I would go
with him. I guess I will have to
soon go and get dinner. we are
going up to S. School. and church to-
night if it dont rain to much. 
  Dora is going to give a solo to-night
& the choir a chorus.
  Well I have been up to S. School & home
again. Ivan & Geraldine King came
home with us. There appointed me for
organist. but I told them I could'nt fill
the place as well as someone else. so it
was left. I think perhaps they can get
Adele Winch. she was'nt there to-day.
I would hope not to be able to stay
more than 2 or 3 mos, I tell the time
isnt passing 1 minute to fast to suit
me. I never was more lonesome to see anyone
than you. Love from Ethel xxxxxx
(Last line written up the right side of page)



Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Mr. Walker Prosser

There were several Walker Prossers including Charlie Walker Prosser and William Walker Prosser. Usually when they said Walker Prosser, they meant William, a Belhaven area farmer. 

William Walker Prosser was born in 1856 in North Gwillimbury Township, the eldest of eleven children to farmer Elijah Prosser (1830-1909) and his wife, Cinderella Morton (1834-1925).  

In 1881 Walker married Margaret Hester Soules (1858-1945) whose father ran a grist mill on Concession 6, Lot 2, East Gwillimbury. Walker and Hester had 3 children:
1. Warren Soules Prosser born 1882
2. Cecil Daniel Prosser born 1891
3. Alice Alma Prosser born 1896 and died in 1901 after suffering a week of diphtheria

Ethel mentioned Cecil once when he was back in town after working in the States for a year. She also wrote, "Sadie say's she thinks he is going to Stay all summer, I guess he is
beginning to think, "There is no place like home".


Ethel also wrote, "Say that Cecil Prosser is a clip. he goes out of an evening and reaches home sometime the next day."  

Although I don't like to get too far ahead of the letters so readers don't get confused, in this case I feel you ought to know that in a few years, Sadie will marry Cecil Prosser. I'm telling you now so that you may get some enjoyment out of their courtship whenever Ethel and Noah, and even Sadie, talks about Cecil. 

Take this letter, for instance, when Ethel writes that Walker Prosser bought Sadie's decorated box at the Box Social. I would have loved to been privvy to that conversation, considering how forthright and spunky our Sadie has shown herself. I wonder, too, if Walker knew he was bidding on Sadie's box and wanted to get to know her - possibly curious at something Cecil allowed to slip. Or maybe - as a 20 yr old, Cecil is too busy playing the field and hasn't taken notice of 16 yr old Sadie. Whatever the case, there is more mention of Cecil in the upcoming letters. 

One thing about the Box Social... I thought only single men bought the boxes, but if Walker Prosser is indeed Cecil's dad, then he was married to Hester at the time of this Box Social. If anyone knows the rules of this event, please let me know. Meanwhile, here's a snippet I found about a Box Social in the 1913 paper.

Picture
Newmarket Era (Newmarket, ON), 19 Mar 1915, p. 6

1911 Courtship: Sept 18 Dear Noah

11/17/2013

 
Picture
Aunt Maggie Barker (Margaret Ellen Glover) in front of her home on Concession 5, Sutton West, York North, Ontario, Canada.
Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  18 Sep 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, My Dear Noah  
Mailed  from:  Belhaven, Ont. 
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter  
Writing  instrument: Fine point  pen, black ink
Written on:  Off-white, textured, plain, linen-like paper, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form as 1, 3, 2, 4 although I've showed them here in order. The letter is very hard to read - as if the ink was still wet when the letter was closed and folded.



People/places mentioned in this letter:
 
- Uncle Harry Barkers - family of Harry *Barker and Margaret Ellen *Glover (Aunt Maggie) sister of Ethel's ma
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover Nelson
- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- Ellie Sweet - Elizabeth Lepard - 1st of 3 wives of Alexander Sweet (1864-1929)
- **Willie Sweet & Laura Traviss (both have Draper Tree connections)
- Uncle Stephen Draper - brother of Noah's deceased father, *David Draper (Stephen Draper is the father of *Stewart Truman Draper in Indian Head)- *George Draper -  Stewart's brother (both cousins of Noah)
- Percy's - *Percy Draper (Noah's brother) and wife *Parthena Fisher

- Old Mrs. Pine - local resident
- Belhaven Choir

**The men who headed West:
- Orville *King 
- Elgin Barker (unsure if relative of Harry Barker) is at Phillips - ?


Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Ravenshoe - a few miles south of Belhaven
- *Huntsville
- Holt
- Chicken Pie Social 
- **Box Social

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



Picture
Belhaven. Ont.
18 Sept. 1911

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

Dear Noah, - 
                         Rec'd your letter
last week and was very glad
to hear once again. It certainly
was quite a letter I rather
enjoyed what you wrote from 
your own mind. rather than 
the dictators. You see I like queer
peoples letters better the ones from
the ---------  Say I had my fortune
told yesterday. Even if it was 

Picture
2
Sunday. We were down to Uncle
Harry Barkers for dinner. and
Old Mrs. Pine was there. Say you
certainly would nearly die laughing
to hear her talk & tell our fortunes.
They had Harvest Home services
at Ravenshoe yesterday & there
is a chicken Pie social there
to-night. I don't expect to go 
to-night.
Our Belhaven Choir is getting
up a box social it is to be held
Friday evening in the Sunday
School Hall. You had better come
along & get a box & enjoy your
tea.
I was weighed yesterday & i have
gained nearly 10 pounds since I went

Picture
to huntsville. so I guess that is
proof enough that I am not very
bad. "eh" getting lazier every day
I guess.
I was awfully sorry to know that 
your grain was all frozen. It 
seems funny one goes to work and works
all that time & then lose nearly
all. The crops down here were
not up to much. Pa says the oats
are light in weight. (not color) ha ha.
The men are cutting corn to-day.
The phone is ringing in great
style to-night. Wish you were
on this line: and I  wonder how 
many wishes I made this last year
& they never seem to come true
The young people are going to decorate
the hall on Wednesday evening for
this great social of ours. 

Picture
4
Say there is a big wedding to-morrow
(Wed) Willie Sweet. Ellie Sweet's son
is to be married to Laura Traviss of
Holt.
Well have you run across any of the 
boys yet. Orville is with his cousin & 
Elgin Barker is at Phillips so we heard.
Pa was talking with your Uncle Stephen
last night and he said George was
having very good luck hunting.
You never told me what Percy's
call their little boy.
Well I guess I must close for this
time hoping to see you some
time soon. but I hope you
dont have to walk by rail.
you might happen to play out
before you got here and that would
be worse than ever. ha ha.
                              Bye-Bye
                                            from Ethel Nelson.


Genealogy Notes

There are 3 Genealogy Notes this week:
1. Pie and Box Social
2. 1911 Telephones
3. Willie Sweet and Laura Traviss



Genealogy Note 1 - Pie and Box Social

These events were used in the past and are still used today as fundraisers. For the box social, single ladies would decorate a box and fill it with a meal - a boxed lunch. At the Box Social, an auctioneer would hold up the decorated box and the single men would bid on it without knowing who had contributed it, nor what it contained.  Sometimes, a lady would give her beau a hint so he'd buy the right one. Once all the boxes were auctioned, the men would claim their box and dinner partner and they'd enjoy a meal together. 


Picture
Genealogy Note 2 - 1911 Telephones

In 1911, this is the type of telephone Ethel would use when she writes in this week's letter ... The phone is ringing in great style to-night. Wish you were on the line.


To phone out, the person would grasp the funnel shaped receiver in their left hand and place the wide part to their ear. They would then lean in with their mouth close to the speaker - broken on this old phone - and they would use their right hand to crank the handle on the right side which would making a ringing sound as it turned. It would also make a ringing sound in the headset of an operator at the local switchboard who would ask who you wished to speak to and then she would connect you by physically plugging in your line. 

When your conversation was done, you would turn the crank and ring off which would signal the operator that you were finished so she could unplug your line. In reality, however, the operator had a grand old time listening in on everyone's phone call and rarely needed to hear the ringing to confirm the fact. 


Genealogy Note 3 - Willie Sweet and Laura Traviss

In this week's letter, Ethel says, "Say there is a big wedding to-morrow (Wed) Willie Sweet. Ellie Sweet's son is to be married to Laura Traviss of Holt."

As I mentioned in the previous post, the Draper Family Tree has descendants named both Sweet and Traviss, but because they were distant cousins, I hadn't filled in all their historic details. I've taken several days to do that and finally have this Sweet - Traviss connection figured out...

William Sweet (1775-?) of Pitney, Somserset, England married Keziah Rogers (1781-1828) of England
William and Keziah had 7 children between 1796 and 1818 including a William, but it's the Andrew Sweet line we're interested in. Half of the children were born in New York State, and the rest in Upper Canada (now Ontario).

Andrew Sweet (1810-1893) b in New York, moved as a child to Ontario, married:
- 1834 - Laurilla ? (1813-1840) offspring: Eunice b1834, Orrin b1836, William b1838
- 1840 - Matilda Lydia Ryner (1820-1854) offspring: 7 children
- 1854 - Elizabeth Willoughby (1801-1881) 2 x widow, offspring: 1 daughter

In 1851, Andrew Sweet lived next door to Joel Draper Jr, grandfather of Noah Clement Draper, the groom of these Courtship letters.

Picture
1851 Canada census for North Gwillimbury Twp, York County, Ontario showing the Joel Draper Jr and the Andrew Sweet families
William Sweet (1838-1907) lived in North Gwillimbury, Ontario, married:
- 1859 - Jane Coomer (1841-1864) offspring: Andrew 1860, Hannah 1862, Alex 1864
- 1868 - Mary Matilda Sedore (1850-1915) offspring: 8 children incl'g 1 set twins

Alexander Sweet (1864-1929) lived in North Gwillimbury, Ontario, married:
- 1888 - Elizabeth Lepard (1859-1894) offspring: Ellen 1888, William 1891, John 1893
- 1895 - Edith Ellen Sedore (1870-1911) of illegitimate birth, offspring: none
- 1911 - Mary Ann Sedore (1867-1951), offspring: 6 from previous marriage only

William Sweet 1891 is the one Ethel mentions in her letter of Sep 15. While researching William's family, I found the 1911 census which had been taken June 1st - just three months earlier ...

Picture
1911 Canada census showing Robert Davidson family
In the above census, the red block is the Robert Davidson family whom Ethel and Noah have spoken of often since they were relatives as well as neighbors. But look below the blue line and you find 2 employees in the Davidson household:
- William Sweet, 20 yrs old, Laborer
- Laura Traviss, 19 yrs old, Domestic

So while William worked in the fields for Robert Davidson, Laura worked in the house as a Domestic for Lily Kellington Davidson and helped care for the children. Since both William and Laura are recorded on the census, they lived there as well. I wonder if they applied for work there because they wanted to spend time together, or if they met and fell in love while working there? In any case, William and Laura are about to be married.


Undated Courtship Letters & Huntsville Postcards

11/13/2013

 
Bigwin Island Souvenir Collection
1944 postcard souvenir folder of Bigwin Island, Lake of Bays, Huntsville, Muskoka District, Ontario, Canada
I have run into a problem with the 1911 Courtship letters. Last week's letter didn't have a date, but I guessed it was written on Sep 10, based on certain events. The letter which was to follow didn't have a date, either, so I was going to use Sep 15 because Ethel had a Sep 18 and it seemed to follow. Except Ethel always wrote one a week, not within a few days of each other. 

But when I read the 2 letters again, I realized the 18 talked about an upcoming Box Social and the remaining undated one talked about the result of the box social.  It also talks about the Federal election results which didn't happen until Sep 21st. With that in hand, I concentrated on Sep 15 - and ran into another problem - a BIG one.

This week's letter - the Sep 15 one - mentions Willie Sweet and Laura Traviss being engaged. Since both surnames are in the family tree I didn't think anything was wrong until I looked at the tree and discovered that we did indeed have several Sweets - but their branches of the tree weren't filled out and thus, I didn't have a Willie who would eventually marry a Laura Traviss. After 3 days of sorting through the records, deleting duplicate people, and searching out facts, I've realized that the Sweet men remarried often, as did the women, but not quite as much. I worked the tree back to a common ancestor and started forward again and finally found my man. But it will take another day to write the post now that I have all the facts. 

However, in the same letter, Ethel mentions Huntsville and so while I'm working on the Sweet family, I thought I'd show you the souvenir postcard collection I mentioned briefly weeks ago when Ethel was in Huntsville and talking about the steamboat, the Wa Wa. This collection was sent to Ethel from her oldest child, Midge, in 1944 when she vacationed  in the Huntsville area of Muskoka District, just like her mother did 33 yrs earlier. 

Forgive the overlap in the photos below, but I wanted you to see how the postcards are all joined together.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
And now for the flip side...
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

1911 Courtship: Sep 10 Dear Noah

11/4/2013

 
Reciprocity from Glenbow Museum
G. E. Goddard on "Reciprocity", sired by "Juryman", Bow River Horse Ranch, Cochrane area, Alberta. ca1890's. Courtesy Glenbow Museum.
When I searched my historical photo archives for something to show the 1911 political debate of Reciprosity (Genealogical Note #3), this cowboy and his horse, named "Reciprocity" came up. And honestly, I'd rather show this image than a political one any day.


Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  Sep-    1911  (Possibly Sep 10th due to facts in letter)
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, My Dear Noah  
Mailed  from:  Belhaven, Ont. 
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter  
Writing  instrument: Fine point  pen, black ink
Written on:  Off-white, textured, plain, linen-like paper, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form. Ethel is very talkative this week and has written 7 pages using 2 pieces of writing paper. 

People/places mentioned in this letter:
 
- Mother - *Ida Amelia Glover Nelson
- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- *Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Veda -16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, *Eva Amelia and *Joe Perrault
- Mr. Perrault's - *Joe Perrault's trip to *Banff for his arthritis
*Manuel - Ethel's 6 yr old brother, *Emanuel Nelson
- Uncle *Emanuel Nelson - Ethel's Pa's paternal uncle
- Ursula *Cole - Ethel's 16 yr old 2nd cousin on the maternal *Greenwood side
- **Mr. & Mrs. Frank Terry and daughter Edna May - Noah's cousin
- **Cousin George of Udora (Drury and Alf Westgarth) (*Ida Amelia's cousins)
- *Edith Draper - Noah's 25 yr old cousin whose finace lives in the West
- Noah's mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper
- Uncle - *Emmanuel Nelson - Uncle of Ethel's Pa - *James Henry Nelson

- Mrs Harry Glancey of Newmarket and son Roy, school teacher - local friends 
- 'the boys' - the local men who went west to find work during harvest
- Orville and the rest of the boys - Neighbor Orville *King
- Mr. Merritt - Sadie's school teacher
- Ethel and Noah's friends and neighbors who went to Toronto for the Exhibition:
     - Stanley and May (use search box)
     - Della, Dora, and Hattie M.
     - Gordon *Crowder
     - Morin Yorke
- *Mary Smith of Belhaven - friend who visited Ethel in *Huntsville
- Lulu Sheppard - neighbor
- Mr. Prosser's - could be any of the *Prosser families
- Irene and Maud *Bruels - Ethel's old girlfriend
- John Morris - ? (still researching)
- Professor *Dales - frequent visiting minister

Local Polititians: Mr. Armstrong, *Lennox, and Robinette
Mr. Heise - Previous residents, Mr. Heise and family, were in the newspaper travelling through. Not sure if it's the same one Ethel's talking about. 


Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Toronto, Ontario
- Sutton, Ontario
- Udora, Ontario
- Mount Albert, Ontario
- *Newmarket, Ontario 
- Brandon, Manitoba
- *Banff, Alberta

- **reciprocity - trade agreement between Canada and the U.S. 


Cliches/Phrases/Word Use
- kid
- phone

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


Picture
Belhaven. P.O.
Sept -      1911
Mr N. C. Draper.
          Grand Coulee. Sask.

My Dear Noah, 
                                  Now for a good long letter
I guess you would miss my letter this
last week. but you will have to forgive
me of that. Im sending a good long one
this week to make up for it. Blue  Sunday
"eh" I tell you I was feeling a little blue
last week. I did'nt get you letter until Wed,
I guess I do like, to get letters from a
queer person as you said in your last
letter & (to-day) I saw Mr & Mrs Frank
Terry to-day. I think their daughter is
home from the West. came rathe
unexpectedly. but I guess Welcome "eh"
Mrs Harry Glancey of Newmarket was here
this afternoon. Roy is teaching school at


Picture
2.
Mt Albert. He intends studying for a doctor
after next summer holidays. I don't know
where the boys could of have landed that
you hav'nt saw any of them yet. I met a
girl in Newmarket & I said good-day
& her first salute was. I hear you are
going to be hooked up this winter. I says
come on with me if your coming &
on I went, I didnt wish for any particular
chat just then.
Sadie failed hr exams by 2 marks but
Mr Merritt said he thot she could go
on in the fourth form. She is starting
on Monday. Am glad to hear of Veda
going to College. is she going down to
Brandon? also how is Mr Perrault now
hope his trip to Banff was a help to him.
Quite a few from around here were
down to the Ex - Stanley & May. Della
Dora & Hattie M.) Gordon Crowder.
Morin Yorke & some others. don't include
me though. "ha ha"

Picture
3.
Say Manuel was up to the office one
day. & he came home & said Noah was
there. & of course he knew it was you. ha
Wish it had of been. We are certainly
having a lively time over reciprocity
Suppose you are up there. I have
been to Hear Mr Armstrong & Lennox
also Robinette. Mr. Heise says "whats 
the use of the women coming they
can't vote. Mother was dreaming
of you. thot she had you crying
I told her I would like to see you
cry. ha. ha. 
Ursula Cole has been here for a few
days and she and Sadie certainly
made things lively.
Say George Westgarth from Udora came
in here just before tea. & to-night I 
have certainly heard of nothing but the
West. I suppose all day to-morrow will

Picture
4
be just the same. Wish you were here
to help me out a little. Edith Draper
called me up over the phone, said she
heard I was going West. & wanted to 
know if she could go to. Its just
awful. I hear of it a dozen times
a day. I guess those that don't know
it now are behind the times. eh.
Never mind I will be glad when the
time comes when I can be with
you. then I want be looking so
lonesome. I hope as they are all the
time telling me now. It doesn't
seem so long now. but long enough
"eh" I am glad your Mother is
coming down with you. It will
be her first trip down since she
went West. Wont it. My how nice
it would be if you were just on the
old farm now. A Good time 'eh' we'd have
now. 


Picture
5.
   Uncle is still gaining strength, if he only
keeps on. But he is an old man &
we can't expect him to last long.
Mary Smith is down to Toronto now.
   I started this letter on Saturday but
this is Sunday now. It is a very
nice day. we have had some
quite cool weather.  Some one
was saying you had a frost
up there. If so did it do
much damage. I hope. not
any way. Pa was to Sutton
yesterday & he heard that
Orivelle & the rest of the boys
had'nt got any work yet
was paying for their board.
I guess they wont think much
of that. "eh"

Picture
6.
     Lulu Sheppard is going to
H. School. do you remember
the time she came up for
a electric shock. She is a 
lively kid, "eh"
People are going home from church
I think I must be a bad a you
for I am not going to S. School
either. Ma & Pa are going up to
Mr Prossers this after noon.
Irene Bruels is home now.
Maud was home for over Sunday
She is working at the lake for
John Morris, Well I was up
to Church to-night. Prof Dales
preached.
George has gone home. he is

Picture
7
a cousin of ours, from
Udora. A scaffold he was
on broke & he fell. & broke his
nose & cut his face all up.
Also wrenched his arm badly
So he is off work. & making
short visits since he began getting
better.
Say I am making quite a lengthy
letter. "eh" There is nothing I would
like better than to see you.
I guess I must close for this
time. with love & x x x 
                                Your Sweetheart Ethel.
I think this must be a queer
letter from queer person, too. "eh".




Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Cousin George from Udora

Ethel mentions Cousin George in 2 places in this letter and at first I wasn't sure if she was talking about the same one...
- pg 3 - George ???  from Udora came in here just before tea
- pg 6 - George has gone home. He is a cousin of ours from Udora. A scaffold he was on broke & he fell...

Since I didn't recall any of Ethel's relatives living in Udora, I tried to do an Ancestry.ca search. The problem is that it only lets me search for people, not places. Very inconvenient as I've run into this before. 

However, this week's Newmarket Era mentions a scaffolding accident - one of many back then - and although the names weren't familiar, I clipped it out:

Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 1, 1911 - Page: 2 of 8
     At Aurora on Monday of last week,
two Udora boys, Alf and Drury West-garthe, while putting cornice on a
house they were building, fell with
the scaffold to the ground and took
the consequences of a very quick stop.
Alf jumped up without a scratch but
Drury's face looked like the aftermath
of a scrap with Jim Jeffries, but
we are pleased to say nothing more
serious than scratches and bruises
were experienced. -- Journal.

Of course, the problem with the above snippet is that it mentions Alf and Drury Westgarthe and not cousin George ???, whose last name I couldn't make out from Ethel's writing. But with the light bulb flashing above my head, I looked at Ethel's writing again and sure enough, she had written George Westgarth from Udora, although another check on the family tree still didn't match the name.

So, I did a wide search for a George Westgarth from Udora and a George D Westgarth came up with Ellen Greenwood as his mother. Since Ethel's maternal grandmother is a Greenwood, I checked for Ellen on the family tree and there she was... sister of Sarah Elizabeth Greenwood, Ethel's grandma. Which meant Ethel's mom, Ida Amelia, and George D were cousins. Good to know, but it still didn't match Alf and Drury Westgarthe in the newspaper scaffolding accident. However, a search for George D's birth record confirmed his name was George Drury Westgarth. 

Ethel doesn't mention George's brother Alf, but she does say that George's face looked like he'd had lost a round with the reigning boxing champ. It also adds more cousins to the family tree. 

Genealogy Note 2: The Franklin Terry's 

Ethel writes that she saw Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Terry and that she thinks, "their daughter is home from the West. came rather unexpectedly. but I guess Welcome "eh".

Obviously Ethel and Noah share something that they're not telling us, but I'll tell you all I found out... We first encountered the Franklin Terry's when Noah made a brief mention of their son, Manford Terry, who is Noah's cousin on the Draper side. Manford was married to Etta May Prosser and they lived near Belhaven, North Gwillimbury Township. 

In 1911, Manford is 30 yrs old and he has 2 sisters, Edna May is 28 yrs old, and Olive Gertrude is 12 yrs old. Their sibling, William Burr, died at the age of 12 from erysipelas 
which is a skin infection caused by acute streptococcus bacteria. 

Edna May is the daughter mentioned in this week's letter. In January, 1908, she married George Robert Fogg, a saddle merchant from Togo, Saskatchewan, who was visiting relatives in the North Gwillimbury area. George took Edna May back West where he lived in the same community as his parents and a couple siblings. Since his father was a harness maker, and George was a saddle merchant buyer, I suspect he worked for his father although that's not written on the Census records. 

I found a birth record for George and Edna's 1st child - a son born December 1908. But then I can't find anything else until the 1916 Saskatchewan census which shows them living in Saskatoon, SK, with a 2nd child, a daughter born in 1913. George is a wholesale saddle buyer and the rest of his family seem to be out in Alberta. 

I have searched dozens of census records and cannot find George and Edna on the 1911 Canada census anywhere. So either they didn't register, their records are missing, or their records are so badly misspelled that the ancestry computers aren't picking them up. I even did a 30 page line-by-line search for them in the Togo, Sk area without results. So I suppose we'll have to wait and see if Noah knows where they are.

 
Genealogy Note 3: Reciprocity

Ethel tells Noah that "...we are having a lively time over reciprocity. Suppose you are up there."

It's federal election time and the newspapers are filled with the debate over the trade agreement called Reciprocity. Here are a couple samples...

Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 1, 1911 - Page: 7 of 8
Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 1, 1911 - Page: 2 of 8
Picture
The Newmarket Era. Sept 1, 1911 - Pg: 2
Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 1, 1911 - Page: 5 of 8
    Picture

    Recent Posts

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Genealogy Posts Index

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    February 2019
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    November 2015
    April 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    19th Century
    19th Century
    20th Century
    20th Century
    21st Century
    Abingdon Press
    Adams
    Africa
    Africans
    Agriculture
    Alberta
    Albert Rogers
    Alcohol
    Alice
    Ancestry.ca/com
    Ancestry.ca/com
    Anniversary
    Antique
    Antique Photograph
    Antique Photographs
    Arnold
    Auction Sale
    Aunt
    Aurora
    Australia
    Banff
    Barbour Books
    Barker
    Barn
    Barnhart
    Baseball
    Beechnuts
    Belhaven
    Belhaven School
    Belle Plaine
    Bellhaven Choir
    Bennett
    Bertha Hamilton
    Bethany House
    Bible
    Birkenhead
    Birthday
    Birth Records
    Blessing
    Blizzard
    Book
    Books
    Box Social
    Brandon
    Brighton Beach
    Brooch
    Brooks
    Brother
    Bruels/breuls
    Buggy
    Burks Falls
    Canada
    Canadian War Museum
    Car/streetcar
    C Deverell
    Cecil Prosser
    Censored
    Census Records
    Census Records
    Certificate
    Chapman
    Charisma House
    Charivari
    Chatham
    Childhood
    Children
    Christie Nelson
    Christmas
    Church
    Circus
    Civil War
    Cliche Or Phrase
    CNR
    Cole
    Connecticut
    Consumption
    Coronation
    Courtship
    Cousin
    Coventry
    Cowieson
    Cozy Mystery
    CPR
    Crafts
    Croquet
    Crossway Books
    Croutch/Crouch
    Crowder
    Cyclone/tornado
    Dafoe
    Daily Routine
    Dales
    David Draper
    Davidson
    Davidsons3828f1982c
    Depression
    Destruction
    Deverell
    Deverell In Toronto
    Diphtheria
    Discala
    Disease
    Ditty Box
    Document
    Dora
    Draper
    Dry Dock
    Easter
    Eatonaposs30973d10cc
    Eatonscf75de7cf3
    Edith Draper
    Edithedyth Draper7f425b64a8
    Education
    Ella
    Elva & Wm Mitchell
    Emanuel Nelson
    Emmanuel Nelson
    England
    Entrance Exam
    Ernie Glover
    Ernie Winter
    Ethel Marie
    Ethel Maud
    Ethel Nelson
    Europe
    Eva Amelia Perrault
    Even Before Publishing
    Excursion
    Exhibition
    Fabric
    Fair
    Fanny Joes Niece
    Farm
    Farm Equipment
    Farm Equipment
    Fashion
    Father
    Fauna
    Fern
    Ferry
    Finland
    Fire
    Fire Insurance
    Flag
    Flewell
    Florida
    Food
    Foresters
    Fort Battleford
    Fountain Pen
    Fox Island
    France
    Fred Coventry
    Fred Coventry
    Fruit Cake
    Fundraiser
    Genealogy
    Generations
    Geoff Bowerman
    George Caleb Nelson
    George Metcalf
    George Milburn Draper
    Geraldton
    Ghosts
    Glover
    Google Earth
    Grainery
    Grand Coulee
    Grand Coulee
    Grandparents
    Graveyard
    Great Grandparents
    Great Great Grandparents
    Great Lakes
    Great Lakes Romances
    Great Parents
    Greenwood
    Guns
    Hail Insurance
    Halifax
    Hamilton
    Harlequin
    Harvest
    Hearst
    Henry Nelson
    Herbert
    Hired Girl
    Hired Man
    Historical
    Historicals
    History
    HMCS Niobe
    HMS Achilles
    HMS Bacchante
    HMS Pembroke
    Holiday
    Holland Landing
    Hollywood
    Holt
    Homestead
    Horses
    Hot Springs
    House
    Housework
    Hunting
    Huntley
    Huntsville
    Hustle
    Hymn
    Ice Harvest
    Ida Amelia Glover
    India
    Indian Head
    Industry
    Ink & Inkwell
    Insurance
    Iowa Relatives
    Ireland
    Irwin Or Erwin Perrault
    Jacksons Point
    James A
    James H Nelson
    JD (James David)
    Jennie Draper
    Joe Perrault
    Kavanagh
    Kellington
    Kelowna
    Kentucky
    Keswick
    Kidnapping
    Kids
    King
    King George V
    Kings
    Kit
    Lake Superior
    Lanigan Dist Ha
    Laundry
    Lennox
    Lepard
    Leslie Nelson
    Leslie Thomson
    Letter
    Life Insurance
    Lighthouse
    Linstead
    Little Willie
    Liverpool
    Location
    London
    Longlac
    Louie
    Louie Sarah Louisa
    Louie Sarah Louisa39defa3554
    Louisiana
    Love Inspired
    Love Inspired Historical
    Love Inspired Suspense
    Lyceum
    Mabel-winter
    Mahoney
    Mail
    Maine
    Man
    Manfredmanford
    Manitoba
    Mann
    Map
    Margaret Glover
    Marguerite
    Markham
    Marriage Record
    Mary Smith
    Massachusetts
    Matt Or Matte
    Maud Bruels
    Medieval
    Memoirs
    Memorabilia
    Memorial
    Merlin/Murland
    Methodist
    Midge (Mildred)
    Military
    Ministry
    Miss Hunt
    Mitchell
    Money
    Montana
    Moody Publishers
    Moose Jaw
    Morrison
    Mortgage
    Morton
    Morton Park
    Mother
    Mothers Day
    Mount Albert
    Mr Brooks
    Mr Young
    Music
    Muskoka
    Navy
    Nelson
    New Daly House
    New England
    Newlywed
    Newmarket
    New Orleans
    Newspaper
    Niobe
    Noah
    Noah Draper
    Norma Draper
    Norman Draper
    Norman Yorke
    North Bay
    North Dakota
    North York
    Oak Tara Publishers
    Ohio
    Olympic
    Ontario
    Orillia
    Ourroots.ca
    Owen Sound
    Parthena Fisher
    Party
    Patty
    Pembroke
    Pense
    Percy
    Percy Draper
    Percy Draper
    Pets
    Phillips
    Photograph
    Photography
    Pie Social
    Playhouse
    Politics
    Pollack
    Pollock
    Portage Flyer
    Postcard
    Poster
    Post Office
    Poverty
    Prairies
    Prince Albert
    Prohibition
    Prosser
    Queen Mary
    Queensville
    Quincy/quinsy
    Railroad/railway
    Ravenshoe
    RCNVR
    Realms
    Recipes
    Reciprocity
    Regina
    Remembrance Day
    Reuben Perrault
    Rheumatism
    Rigler
    River Mersey
    River Thames
    RNCVR
    Rochester
    Rodeo
    Rose
    Royalty
    Roys
    RPPC
    Ryland
    Sadiesayde Nelson
    Sarah E Greenwood
    Sarah Elizabeth Glover
    Sarah Louisa Louie
    Sarah Louisa (Louie)
    Sarah Louisa (Louie)
    Sarah S Deverell
    Sarah Sophia Deverell
    Saskatchewan
    Scent
    School
    Scotland
    Sedore
    Seeding
    Seneca
    Sentry Duty
    Series
    Sharon
    Sheppard
    Ship
    Shivaree
    Singing
    Sintaluta
    Sister
    Sk
    Sleighs
    Slideshow
    Snow
    Soldier
    Song
    Soules
    Speech
    Sprague
    Stamp
    Stephen Draper
    Stewart Draper
    Stockings
    Stoker
    Store
    Summerside Press
    Suspense
    Sutton
    Sweet
    Taimi Discala
    Tarter
    Teacher
    Terry
    Texas
    Thames River
    The Waltons
    Thomas Nelson
    Thunder Bay
    Tobacco
    Togo
    Tomlinson
    Tornado
    Toronto
    Toys
    Train
    Transportation
    Travel
    Traviss
    Tubercolosis
    Tyndale
    Udora
    Uncle
    Uncle Emanuel
    Uncle Frank
    Uncle John
    Uniform
    Update
    USA
    Vaudeville
    Veda Perrault
    Victoria Maud
    Video
    Vintage
    Viola
    Violet
    Wages
    Wagon
    Wardell
    Washing Machine
    Wass
    Wawa
    Weapons
    Weather
    Wedding
    Well Water
    West
    Western
    Westgarth
    Whitaker House
    Whitefire Publishing
    White Rose Publishing
    Whooping Cough
    Willie Sedore
    Willoughby
    Will Rigler
    Winch
    Winnipeg
    Winter
    Women
    Woodblock Print
    Word
    Work Bee
    World War 1
    World War 2
    WW1
    YMCA/YWCA
    York County
    York/yorke
    York/yorke
    Zenuk


Created on Weebly  - Copyright Anita Mae Draper 2011-2024
​