Category: Barn

1911 Courtship: July 30 Dear Noah

8/19/2013

Royal Lyceum Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, ca. 1888. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library online collection.

In this week's Courtship letter, Ethel mentions going to the Lyceum show. Read the Genealogy Notes, after Ethel's letter, to discover the world of Lyceum.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 31 May 1890)
Dated:  July 30 (1911)
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask - My Dearest Noah
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 numbering 1-4.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

Mother (usually called Ma) - *Ida Amelia Glover Nelson
- *Elva Mitchell - Ethel's cousin in Indian Head, Sask
- Aunt Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's mother
- Ernie - Aunt Sarah's 9 yr old son
- Uncle *Emanuel Nelson - Ethel's Pa's paternal uncle
- Percy - Noah's brother in Saskatchewan

Huntsville locals:
Mr Bradley's - the whole family as shown by use of the apostrophe
Mr Mays - no apostophe - unsure if him alone or family as well
Mrs. Harman
Mrs. Wallace Youngs' mother

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
**The Lyceum Show

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 30.

Mr N. C. Draper.
Grand Coulee.
My Dearest Noah; -
I rec'd your letter
last week & was glad I'm sure to
get it. and to know you were still
able to be hard at work. & have a good
time. You must'nt work too hard
for that is what is killing me. So
take warning! 'ha ha'. Had a letter
from Mother on Sat Morning. they are
well, & have got the barn nearly done.

Poor Old mother working & me up here.
I was out for a row on Friday evening
Mr Bradley's took me & Mr Mays out
& say we certainly did enjoy ourselves.
We are going to have a private picnic.
Some of these days before I go home. I
just do wish you were here to go out
for a row. Say you don't want to get
to nce a girl. or I am afraid you
may. think she the only one. 'he'
I had a letter from Elva. asking me
to come & see her when I went west.
She has been made wise, "eh. Every body
even here in Huntsville seems to be.
Ernie here the other night, we had
company. Aunt Sarah was sort of
joking & Ernie shouted to the top of

his voice, She's going to get married.
I felt like saying. "You little rat".
Aunt Sarah & I were down town last
night to the Lyceum Show 1 play was
The shadow of the Past
Young man married a very extravagant
wife. she wanted a diamond necklace
but could'nt afford it, so her husband
stole it. So of course he had to go to jail
He returned after 30 yrs. all in rags &
his wife about the same. He did'nt
want to be friends & she did. finally
he pushed her over & she died. Oh
is'nt it awful to watch them
sometimes. & yet I enjoyed myself.
Mrs. Harman, Mrs Wallace Youngs' mother
is here this afternoon. My it is lonesome
on Sunday's. As you say, you're certainly

not far from me in my mind, but I
wish you were nearer. Well I have had my
tea & been to church & home again. it is
just a lonely evening. Uncle Emmanuel
Nelson isvery low I guess. the Doctor says
he cannot live long. & I would like
awfully well to be home to see him, but
dont know whether I will get there in time
or not. I expect to stay about 2 weeks
longer if it is so I can. I suppose there
isnt another boy in all the West like Percy's.
Your country surely isnt so forsaken
that the people here are all afraid to go
up there. No I dont know of anyone going up
Just at that time. "Wish I were". I guess I
have scribbled enough foolishness for this timew. So Bye Bye with love & kisses
from youre Sweetheart faraway. x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x

Genealogy Notes

"Aunt Sarah & I were down town last night to the Lyceum Show 1 play was The shadow of the Past" (Page 3)

When I googled "Lyceum Show" a list of Lyceum Theatres in the UK, US, and Canada appeared. My first thought was that it was a theatre chain such as the Odeon, Famous Players, and Strand theatres, among others. It wasn't.

My dictionary.com app shows the following definitions for lyceum:

1. an institution for popular education providing discussions, lectures, concerts, etc.
2. a building for such activities.
3. (cap.) the gymnasium where Aristotle taught, in ancient Athens.
4. a lycee.

The Lyceum movement was about community groups and organizations who sponsored educators, lecturers, and entertainment groups like plays and minstrels to educate and entertain their communities.

Although many public speakers used the lyceum approach to promote their cause, the movement branched out into drama clubs, literary societies, Chautauqua, and vaudeville. Although some lyceums were traveling shows, many were permanent venues that still stand today.

For more information, check out these sites:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyceum_movement
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyceum_Theatre,_London

To get back to Ethel's letter, she attended a Lyceum Show with at least 2 plays. She doesn't say if it was a travelling Lyceum show, or a weekly or monthly event in a play or opera house. My research in Huntsville history hasn't overturned any information, and the local newspaper, The Huntsville Forester, isn't online.

However, I find her statement, "Oh is'nt it awful to watch them sometimes. & yet I enjoyed myself" a fascinating study of human nature.

Don't you?

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 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.

Stable, Major William R. Bell's farm, Indian Head, SK, 1884, by William McFarlane Notman. VIEW-1388 © McCord Museum

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

Experimental farm, Indian Head, SK, about 1920, MP-0000.25.431, © McCord Museum

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: July 16 Dear Noah

6/24/2013

1914-1916 Looking west on Main St Huntsville, Muskoka District, Ontario, Canada. Courtesy of Huntsville Public Library and ourontario.ca

Ethel is finally in Huntsville!

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  July 16th, 1911
Addressed to: Dear Noah (Noah Clement Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.)
Mailed from: Huntsville, Ont.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Off-white, beautifully textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half with a red carnation motif. This is standard early 20th century notepaper, pre-folded in booklet form. Ethel has written on the pages in order from 1 to 4.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Uncle John - **John Winter - husband of *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's ma
- Pa -  *James Henry Nelson
- Mr & Mrs. Taylor - Huntsville residents
- Mrs Bradley - Huntsville resident
- **Chris Willoughby
- *Elva Mitchell - see last weeks Genealogy Notes as well as Label list
- Mr John Warriner (Ethel spells it Warner) (John Warriner died recently)

- **Huntsville
- *Washago - south of Huntsville
- *North Bay - north of Huntsville

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 16. 1911.

Dear Noah:-
Rec'd your letter
on Griday as luck would have
it. "eh" Glad you are still so
you can be hard at it. Well
here I am way up here. I left
home yesterday about half past
seven. and got here about
half past three. Uncle John was.

at the station to meet me.
he had a row boat there. and
so I had a good boat ride first
of all. The thing I like best of all.
Nothing i like better but to be
on the water.
We had our barn raising
on Tuesday. Everything went
along fine. About 150 were
there, Pa did the framing
himself. Mr John Warner was
to have done it.
Greatest old place here for
a good time. Uncle John will
keep you laughing all the time
The river is just about 20 rods
from their door. The boats are

running all the time Sundays too.
Hav'nt been out any where
to-day. Mr & Mrs Talyor are
coming here to-night and a
Mrs Bradley is here now. but
I would like to see someone a
great deal better. "eh"
Say i certainly would not
want to live down near
Washago. Yesterday when I
was coming up. of all the old
Shacks we passed. I don't
know how many families
were living in onehouse. Uncle
John was telling that up to North
Bay. there is 2 families living
in 1 hut about 8x10. (haha)

Aunt Sarah is just talking about our
fire, it reminds me did I ever tell you
how. how we heard our barn was
fired. Some one said Manuel was
trying to set a hens tail afire. Iguess
that hen would run some "eh".
Mr Chris Willoughby was to our place
the day of our raising. he said he saw
Elva Mitchell while he was up West.
was he up to your place. He says there
is a lot of bachelors up there and
they want him to ship up a car
load. he said he wanted me to
go when he had some more girls
ready. He's quite a joker, "eh". Well
you were defeated "eh" Say you said
they won that time you did nt go
I wonder if you had better stay at
home next time. "ha ha" Oh you know
me, dont you don't think of anything I say.
Goodbye from your lonesome Sweetheart.
I'd love to see you just now. Ethel xxxxxxxx

Genealogy Notes

There are 2 Genealogy Notes this week.

Genealogy Note 1: Uncle John and Aunt Sarah

Ethel is staying in Huntsville in the District of Muskoka at the house of her ma's sister, Sarah Elizabeth Glover who married John Thomas Winter in 1901. John and Sarah lost one son in 1906 a week after his 1st birthday. The doctor wrote on the death record that he "never did well in life. Just failed to thrive and didn't grow." In 1911 Uncle John and Aunt Sarah have 9 yr old Ernest, and 1 yr old Mabel.

Ethel left Newmarket (south of Belhaven) at 7:30 am and rode the train to Huntsville, arriving at 3:30 pm.

Uncle John Thomas Winter was the son of Reuben Winter and Nancy Maria Rigler. If you think the name Rigler sounds familiar, you're right. Over in Saskatchewan, Noah's sister, Ethel Maude, married Will of the same Rigler family.

Uncle John's grandparents, John Winter and Jane Gilbert were in their mid-twenties when they left Lincolnshire, England in 1851 and emigrated to Canada with their infant son, Reuben. They stopped in York County, Ontario and had 5 more children.

In 1868, the Free Grants and Homestead Act of 1868 passed into law which opened up the District of Muskoka to settlement. The 1881 Canada census shows Uncle John's grandparents and their children as residents of Muskoka. Since latter Census records show them living in the village of Huntsville in Chaffey Township, I went looking for a map.

Partial map of Chaffey Township, District of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. Orange squares belong to Winter. Orange circle is Huntsville train depot.

A n 1879 map similar to the above shows 3 homesteads with the Winter name which I've outlined in orange. The double lot above Fairy Lake belonged to Jane Winter (John's grandmother), and the 2 on the top right belonged to Reuben Winter and William Winter. However, I don't know if the Winter family still owned those lots in 1911.

Uncle John picked Ethel up at the Huntsville train depot and they took a rowboat to Aunt Sarah's. But where did they live? Jane Winter's land is close, but the blue lines which designate water routes are mere streams. Reuben's and William's land has a great river route, but it's about 15 miles from Lake Vernon - not including all the twists and turns - which seems way too far for Uncle John and Ethel's rowboat.

Genealogy Note 2 - Chris Willoughby

Ethel wrote that Chris Willoughby, a friend of the family, was at her pa's barn raising and he said he saw Elva Mitchell while out west. Here's what I discovered about this man who teased Ethel about shipping her out west with a carload of girls...

Chris Willoughy and his wife, Lois were farmers in North Gwillimbury until they retired in 1901. But Lois died in 1908 leaving Chris alone at 78 years of age. When the census was taken in June 1911, Chris is found boarding near Indian Head, Saskatchewan which is where he saw Elva Mitchell.

Chris is listed as a farmer on the census, but he seems to be a recruiter for the prairie farmers who were scrambling for workers to harvest one of the biggest grain crops in Canadian history.

Although I couldn't find a newspaper notice or obituary on Chris, I found his death record that shows he died on Sep 19th, 1913 in Keswick, Ontario after suffering 2 months of gangrene.

I don't know about you, but the story of Chris Willoughby and his lonely demise just makes me sad.

1911 Courtship: Jul 9 Dear Ethel

6/3/2013

Hoodoos, Dinosaur Valley, Drumheller, Alberta, 1939, by Vogue Photography Studio. Courtesy of the Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta.

This week's letter is missing a huge chunk of writing, but there's enough there for me to see that Noah is comparing something to the Hoodoos. Hoodoos are weather-beaten land formations created by years of the wind carving into sandstone. Dinosaur Valley in Drumheller, Alberta is the closest batch of Hoodoos to Noah and are about a modern 5-6 hour drive west of Grand Coulee.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: July 9 (1911)
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, 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.

This week's letter is missing a huge chunk which I couldn't find anywhere in Ethel's treasure box.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:
- *Veda 16 yr old daughter of Joe Perrault & Noah's sister, Eva Amelia
- *Fanny - Joe's niece
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister

- Bell Plaine (Belle Plaine)
- Moos Jaw (Moose Jaw)

Phrase: You could have bought us for a song

* 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 9

Miss. E. Nelson,
Belhaven, Ont.
Dear Ethel; -
Received your letter Friday
and was glad to hear you were
well. Hope this finds you the
same. We are all O.K. and buisy
as setting hens. intend to
do the cement work this week
ing to put in the forms
w and then go into
Tuesday for half a
and make short
the carpenters will
I guess they
ed so much
et weather it
mmer I ever
ained every Sat.
onth.

Did not go up to Bell Plaine on the 1st on
account of rain but we went up the 4th and
got beat for the first time this summer
score was 12 to 3. say you could have bot.
us for a song. and we had about 30 or 40
people along to yell for us. Ha. Ha. I took
Ved Fanny along & after the game I told
were the Hoodoos. Ha Ha.
ine comes down here tomorrow
the last League game and
at we (will try) do to them
still after the game &
re on the envelope
nt beat us to bad.
we the letter open
de. Ha. Ha.
de is in Moos Jaw
ill not be able to get
ld sure like to go as

passing away and
s fine & I hope it keeps
. Eh. I tell you a fellow
more like working when he can
see a chance for returns & things look
promising now. Oh say I bot a cow
Tuesday gave $60. for her & I sure have all
the milk I can drink. Ha. Ha.
Well little girl I wish I were driving
up the fifth just now. oh say I guess
there would be no church to night for
us. eh. say. it seems queer to be writing
you all the time & not seeing you

but I guess that will not last
much longer. hope not anyway.
So Sadie is going to teach in
the West eh? Well I dont blame
her. just look at the difference in
the salary out here they get from
$6.60 to a thousand Dollars and
do not have near as big a school
to look after. fifteen to Twenty
Five is a good sized country
school of course they
in the towns, but I g
would be satisfied in
for a start.
Well Ethel I gues
to ring off and so
space for the big
night. it has started
So. good Bye for the
Your lonely. Lover.
PS Well we were beaten a

Genealogy Notes

In last week's letter of 1911 Courtship: July 9 Dear Noah Ethel mentioned the heat they were enduring especially since they had to do extra baking and cooking to feed all the men who came to help build the barn. The heat wave took its toll in Canada and the United States as can be seen in the following snippets. Location is Newmarket, Ontario unless otherwise stated.

The Newmarket Era. July 7, 1911, Pg 6

From Newmarket Era, but under:
TORONTO NEWS

The Newmarket Era. July 7th, 1911 - Page: 7

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 3

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 6

The Newmarket Era. July 14, 1911, Pg 6

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 6

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 5

The Newmarket Era. July 14, 1911 Pg 6

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 1

And on the same page, this reality:

The Newmarket Era. July 14, 1911, Pg 1

The heat on Sunday was fierce--
100 in the shade is reported.

Sunday and Monday last were rec-
ord breakers for heat. Fancy the
thermometer bobbing around 103 deg.
Monday was Toronto's hottest day in
more than half a century. Three peo-
ple became victims of the heat. --
Nearly all Sunday night people were
lying about the lawns and door-steps.
During Saturday, Sunday and Monday
43 children died in the city. The
same days in Montreal there were
151 deaths among children.

New York, July 11. - Yesterday a
dozen victims were added to the toll
and scores of prostrations were re-ported. The death list at 11 o'clock
last night had 18 victims on it, the
count including the entire metropol-
itan district. Prostrations numbered
above 200.

Chicago, Ill., July 11. - Heat deaths
and prostrations continued yesterday,
although the maximum temperature
was only 89 degrees. Twelve deaths,
superintended by heat, and many
prostrations were reported.

...Two hundred people died from
sunstroke in New York last week.
...1200 horses died in five days of
New York's hot spell last week.

"Too Bloomin' Hot."

Three hundred immigrants arrived
from England Tuesday. WOne hun-
dred and seventy-five remained in
Toronto.
Several farmers who were on hand
looking for help, failed to induce any
of them to accept a position on the
farm-
"It is too blooming hot in this
country," was the answer one man
made.
The farmer was so disappointed
that he replied with some vigor.
"By gosh, it will be cold enough
for you in a little while."

The hot weather this week is liter-
ally cooking the raspberries which
promised a very large yield. The
gooseberry crop is also burnt so as
to be unsaleable. Young strawberry
beds are in a bad way for rain. Cur-
rants are not more than half a crop.
Plums are a complete failure, and ap-
ples are but a very small crop. Hay
was a short crop, and unless rain will
come soon barley will not be worth
cutting.

No service in the Presbyterian
Church Sunday evening on account
of the extreme heat.

Mrs. Jane Crew, who died in this
city last week was in her one hundred
and third year. Her death was caus-
ed by the intense heat wave. She has
been a widow for fifty-seven years,
never wore eyeglasses in her life, and
whenever feeling unwell, always took
pure cold water as a cureall. She
was the mother of eight children,
three of whom are still living. There
are Twenty-nine grandchildren, and
twenty-two great grandchildren.
It seems incredible that a city with
100,000 population, should use 60,000
gallons of water in one day, but the
official record indicates that Toron-
to's citizen took that amount from
the reservoir, on Tuesday of last
week.
Eighty-nine deaths were registered
during the first four days of July --
very many having succumbed from the
fearful heat which prevailed.

Heat prostration the past 2 weeks
beat all previous records in this city,
and the death toll among children
from heat has never been equalled.

<<Previous

Forward>>

1911 Courtship: July 30 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: July 23 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: July 19 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: July 16 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: Jul 9 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories