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WW1 Letters Home - Dec 19, 1916

12/19/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
WW1 Troop Movements of RCNVR from Canada to England, December 1916. Map outline courtesy of macmillanlearning.com

Today's letter was written on the verge of Noah Draper's journey to Chatham, England after being attached to HMCS Niobe for 3 weeks while awaiting orders to go overseas. The route I've drawn is direct from Halifax to Chatham as per Noah's letter here.
Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old
Dated:  Dec. 19, 1916
Mailed from:  Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Attached to: HMCS Niobe
Profession:  Farmer, Temporary Sailor
Rank: Ordinary Seaman
Addressed to:  Mrs. N.C. Draper, Keswick, Ont.
Relationship: Wife
Writing instrument:  Fountain Pen with Black Ink
Writing Paper: 10" x 6.5" medium weight, semi-rough, folded into booklet form. Noah hasn't numbered the pages, but he's using the same technique he used for most of his previously posted courtship letters to Ethel, where his first page is the outside, then he's opened it and written on the right side, then moved over to the left side and written there, and finally, he's closed it and written on the back. For clarity, I'm posting the pages in the order they were meant to be read. 


People mentioned in this letter:
Ethel* - Noah's wife of 5 yrs, Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper
Percy* - Noah's older brother, lives near Adams, Saskatchewan
Sadie* - Ethel's sister, Sadie Nelson Prosser, 21, Grandview Farm, Belhaven, Ont
​Cecil* - Sadie's husband, Cecil Prosser, 24, farmer, Grandview Farm, Belhaven
mother - Noah's mother, Sarah Sophia Deverell* Draper, widow of David Draper
Louie* Coventry - Noah's sister, Sarah Louisa Draper Coventry, 37, lives in Kelowna 

​The babies:
- Mildred* aka Midge, 3 yrs old
- James David* aka Jay, 6 months (later called JD)

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Keswick - where Noah's family lives (the ones who didn't move west)
- Halifax - historic, protected harbor on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia
- Regina - in Saskatchewan, closest city to Noah's farm at Adams
- Kelowna - city in British Columbia where Noah's sister, "Louie" Coventry, lives
- England - a country in the United Kingdom 
- Chatam/Chatham - Royal Naval Barracks in Chatham, England
- London - London, England
- the Thames - the Thames River runs west from coast, past London
- The Olimpic - HMT Olympic* - Dec 13, 1916 post

- quarenteen - under quarantine**
​- proofs - photographs

Word or Phrase Use: 

Legend: 
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this 
  person/place/thing, or use the search box in the header at the top of this page
** see Genealogy Notes below
​
Picture
Halifax, Dec. 19/16.
Mrs. N. C. Draper,
      Keswick, Ont.

Dear Ethel;-
      Well I am told off in
a draft for Chatam and we 
expect to leave to night or
tomorrow morning but
do not know for shure our
leave is stoped & we have
been ordered to be ready
to leave at a moments notice
so am writing to night
for we have no time
after we are told to get


Picture

ready I wrote a card to one
fellows sister in Regina
for him after he left telling
her he had gone but he
is still in Harbour on the
​Olimpic I heard she is in
quarenteen but do not
​know for shure. 
      Well there is to much
excitement on board to
write much so you will
have to excuse me if I
write down something
they are saying and it would
shock a deaf man. HaHa.
      Well Ethel I dont know

​
Picture

what money you mean for
Percy to send down but if
it was for that life insurance
I dont think I would pay it.
​      Say tell Sadie I started
to write her that letter she
spokeabout Sunday, but my
pen went dry so I did'nt
finish it but will try &
do so in old England if
​Cecil does'nt object. Ha Ha.
      Chatham is about 24 miles
​from London on the Thames
I guess so will see part of the
​old historic river any way.


Picture

 Well I guess I will have
to close as we have to fall
in on deck in a minute
so you write to mother
at Kelowna and tell her I
did not have a chance after
I found out. I sent her a card
yesteraday. Say Ethel if
them proofs are better than
the ones you sent they must
be good.
      Well I guess this will be
the last letter for a couple
of weeks but will write whenever
possible. so good bye Oceans of love
​to you and the kiddies. N. C. Draper


​

Genealogy Notes

In Noah's last letter dated Dec 13th, he mentioned that the RMS Olympic had left Halifax. Apparently one of the men didn't have time to write his wife that he was heading overseas, so Noah did it for him...and then Noah discovered that she, the ship, was still in the bay under quarantine. Why?

I did some digging and although this isn't definitive, I found a possible reason in the book,  RMS Olympic: Titanic's Sister, by Mark Chirnside.

The Olympic's surgeon hadn't been aware that one of the crewmates was found suffering from venereal disease. When it was discovered, the man left the ship. The director of transports then advised stricter inspections to avoid putting the onboard troops at risk. 

According to the book, one young soldier said the Olympic pulled away from the dock on the day after 15 December 1916, and anchored in the bay. There, they took on more troops and provisions. Then came 2 days of laying about, sleeping in hammocks, and eating in what used to be the Olympic's sun parlor, except it was now closed off to outside light. 


I suspect the medical examinations were being carried out at this time.

Noah's letter was written on Dec 19th, where he confirms the Olympic was still in the bay.

The book continues with, "Olympic left Halifax...at 4.41 pm on 20 December 1916, drawing 34ft 9in, and she arrived in Liverpool six days later..."


And speaking of the RMS Olympic, here's a diagram that explains the reasoning behind the dazzle paint camouflage shown in my Dec 13 post. I found it on the article Whatever Happened to Olympic, Titanic's Sister? written by Jason Ponic, at Owlcation.
​
Picture
1 Comment

WW1 Letters Home - Dec 6, 1916

12/4/2016

0 Comments

 
HMCS Niobe in Halifax after conversion to Depot Ship Source: ReadyAyeReady.com
HMCS Niobe in Halifax after conversion to Depot Ship Source: ReadyAyeReady.com

Noah Clement Draper and his wife, Ethel Isabell Nelson, lived on a farm at Adams, Saskatchewan, but were known to leave the cold prairie winters and spend the off-season with their families in North Gwillimbury Township, York County, Ontario. 

So when Noah joined the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) in Toronto, we know Ethel and the kids are either with her parents near Belhaven, or his relatives in the Keswick area, which must have eased his mind somewhat. 

This first letter is dated two weeks after Noah joined the RCNVR so we're right there at the start of his journey. The letters will all follow a similar format with the information first, then one page of the actual letter, my transcription of that page, the next actual page, and so on. This enables those who cannot read handwriting to know what is written. Please remember that my transcription will follow exactly as I read what Noah has written, spelling errors, included, and that way we keep the integrity of his writing. 


Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old
Dated:  Dec 6/16 
Mailed from:  Halifax, N.S.
Attached to: HMCS Niobe
Profession:  Farmer, Temporary Sailor
Addressed to:  Mrs. N.C. Draper, Keswick, Ont.
Relationship: Wife
Writing instrument:  Fountain Pen with Black Ink
Writing Paper: Thick, rough standard notepaper of the period. The 10" x 6.5" paper is folded in half and written in booklet form but with the inside page written across the short width and all the way down the length like foolscap. The pages are not numbered.

People (friends and family) mentioned in this letter:
The babies:
- Mildred aka Midge, 3 yrs old
- James David aka Jay, 6 months (also called JD)

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Halifax - historic, protected harbor on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia
- Niobe - HMCS Niobe - a **Depot ship stationed in Halifax
- Petty Officer - Holding a rank below an officer, but above an enlisted sailor


Legend: 
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this 
  person/place/thing, or use the search box in the header at the top of this page
** see Genealogy Notes below

​
Picture

Halifax, N.S. Dec. 6/16
Mrs. N.C. Draper,
           Keswick, Ont.
Dear Ethel,
      Well I have got this far
on the way but do not know
when we will go on, was
on the Niobe for tea they
have five meals a day here.
breakfast. tea Dinner tea &
supper at 6 don't know what
time we get the other 
meals, We arrived here about
3.30 p.m. was met at the 
station by a Petty Officer

​
Picture
and taken right on board the
ship and given our hammocks
and showed our place to put
them & then taken to the mess
room & showed our tables there
is 22 at a table so you see we
are not lonely.
     There is a draft of 50 men
going over seas Friday but
do not expect we will be among
the number as there is about 75
or a hundred men ahead of us
but I hope so as they do not do
any training here at all and I
do not like to lay around on
the boat doing nothing. the boys
I came with seem very nice
and I hope were sent over
to geather. had to laugh at a
jew they had us lined up at
attention & asked if we wanted
to ask any questions (on the ship)


​
Picture

& we had been there about five
minutes when he walked
up to the officer & said he
was sick & wanted to vomit
he will make a great sailor
eh.
   Well Ethel I have not much
to tell you but hope to
be able to write longer
letters after a while after
I see something. Kiss the
babies for me every day &
I wish it were possible to do
it my self. Good bye for this

time from your loving husband. N.C.D.

​Genealogy Notes​
Built in 1897, the Royal Canadian Navy acquired the HMCS Niobe from the Royal Navy in 1910 and made its home in Halifax Harbor.
​
Picture
HMCS Niobe at Anchor, Halifax, N.S., 1910. Courtesy of www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca

The Niobe was almost lost during the night of July 30-31, 1911 when it ran aground off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. The damage was extensive and although repairs were completed at the end of 1912, her maximum speed had been permanently reduced. 

With the start of World War 1, the Niobe joined the Royal Navy's 4th Cruiser Squadron on contraband patrol off the coast of New York.

17 July 1915 saw the Niobe return to Halifax where she was converted into the Depot ship you see at the top of this post.

On 6 December 1917, exactly one year after Noah wrote the above letter, the upper works of HMCS Niobe was wrecked in the horrific Halifax Explosion. Repaired, she continued to serve until decommissioning in 1920.

Sources:
- ReadyAyeReady.com
​
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Niobe_(1897) (includes links to more)
- http://www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca/en/news-operations/news-view.page?doc=niobe-day/i0vikji8

Update: Thanks going out to Noah's grandson, John W. Draper, for this link... On December 4, 2016  The Chronicle Herald published the article, Blast a Fiery Baptism for Navy Town. The article highlights Tues, December 6, 2016 as the 99th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion and includes links to more informative articles. Also included in the article is an image of the Niobe with this caption, The HMCS Niobe was heavily damaged in the Halifax Explosion, and 26 crew members were killed. The force of the explosion was enough to dislodge the ship’s anchor from the floor of the harbour. (Naval Museum of Halifax).


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Mildred Audrey (Midge) Draper

9/12/2014

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Picture
Ethel Isabel Draper holding Mildred (Midge), late 1913, Adams, Saskatchewan
After being married on Jan 12, 1912, Noah Draper and Ethel Nelson welcomed little Mildred Audrey Draper into the world on Sept 17, 1913. Almost instantly she became known as Midge, although I've found reference to both names being used interchangeably by photos, family records, and documents. 

Back in Belhaven, the Draper and Nelson families and neighbours celebrated Noah and Ethel's news. The Newmarket Era ran the  following clipping on their usual Page 2 announcements: 

Picture
The Newmarket Era (Newmarket, ON), October 3, 1913
Since Noah and Ethel lived at the C.N.R. siding of Adams, most people knew the area only from the closest larger community of Grand Coulee, which I'll recap in my next post. 
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1913: Spring Letter from Sadie Nelson

8/4/2014

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Picture
Veda Josie Perrault, ca 1910-1915. Courtesy of Doreen Proctor Burnett.
Finally, a photograph of Veda Josie Perrault, the niece Noah is always teasing. We've posted a couple letters from her so far but I only had the one photo of her as an older woman from the 1960's. So when I was drafting this week's letter where Sadie talks about Veda's upcoming wedding, I was especially blessed when cousin Doreen stepped forward with pictures of Veda and some other Perraults. If you want to read more about Doreen's fantastic timing, check the Genealogy Notes at the bottom of this post.

This week's letter is missing page 1 & 2 which means I've had to do some research to decipher the date, but I think I'm pretty close due to Sadie discussing several people and their events including Veda's wedding in June 1913.

Author of Letter:  Sadie Nelson
Dated:  Spring of 1913 
Addressed to:  Dear Ethel and Noah (presumably)
Mailed from:  Belhaven, Ontario
Relationship: Sister
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter 
Writing instrument:  Pen with Black Ink
Writing Paper: Thin weight, textured, linen-like paper, each written page 5" x 6". Paper is folded in half and written in booklet form but with the inside page written across the short width so it looks like foolscap. Only the first page is numbered with a 3, but we are missing pages 1 and 2.  

People/places mentioned in this letter:


**Veda - Noah's niece, daughter of his sister Eva Amelia & Joe Perrault
*Leslie Peter Thomson - Veda's intended
*Uncle Will - could be Ethel's mom's brother, or their uncle - both *Glover's
Pa - Ethel's dad,  *James Nelson
Uncle *Emmanuel Nelson - uncle of  *James H Nelson
Grandma Nelson - Eliza *Croutch - mother of *James H Nelson
*Leslie Nelson - Ethel's maternal cousin who is somewhere out West
Harry *Barker - husband of the sister of Ethel's mother, *Ida Glover

Edna *Crowder, *Ella, and Mary - friends and neighbors
Gordon *Crowder & Rosie Andrews - Gordon is a neighbor and friend
Carl *Morton & Clara Pringle - friends and neighbors
Dr. Pringle - Sutton physician
*Miss Hunt - check post on her and her Bible. This is 1st mention of her intended. Perhaps died from sickness?

Places/things mentioned in this letter:

- **quincy or quinsy (Sadie spells it quinzy)
- *Sutton - a nearby town


Legend: 
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this 
  person/place/thing, or use the search box in the header at the top of this page
** see Genealogy Notes below




Picture
                            3.
and as to Sadie Nelson, well,
I guess, she is out of it 
altogether. Edna still has
a long list of suitors and
Gordon is to be married to
Rosie Andrews so I have
heard several times. He makes
frequent calls down there
anyway. He and I are, as 
usual, a little on the outs, also
Edna and I. Ella and Mary
have been my chief standbys.
Carl Morton is soon to be
married to Clara Pringle, 
Dr. Pringle's daughter at
Sutton. Next time you
write to Leslie tell him I


Picture
want him to write to me right
away soon. I sent him a couple
of cards soon after he went away
and he never answered them.
   Well Ethel I was weighed yesterday
and the scales went 151 easy. You
can't beat that. Uncle Harry
Barker has been sick with
quinzy but he is getting better
now. Miss Hunt is over to see
her intended this afternoon. He has
a severe cold. Uncle is getting a
little better, he slept fairly well
last night. Pa has sold dan to
some man out near Mt. Albert.
The man bot him & took him
yesterday. I was just real angry
when they told me but he was
getting awful ugly. He Pa has bought
one colt that he is going to break
in soon and he is going to buy
another horse. We are having
quite nice weather now but it
is very cold. Suppose Veda will
be having a swell wedding.


Picture
you had better be getting
your gown ready, and
after you get that one
finished you can start
another for my wedding
I am to be married the 31st 
of June to a flourishing
old bachelor so be ready.
Well I will, speaking in
telephony phraseology, ring
off. 
           Au Revoir.
                  Love sis Sadelia
Answer immediately and
excuse writing. I have just
used 3 diff. pens & none are any good.

          


Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Perrault Photographs

I was pleasantly surprised (interpret that as thrilled to pieces) when Doreen Joan Proctor Burnett left a comment on the post, 1909: To Noah, A Letter From Home. Here's her initial comment:
Sarah Sophia Deverall Draper was my great grandmother
Eva Amelia Draper Perrauault my grandmother
Dora Evelyn Perrault Proctor my mother..I was amazed when I found your web..So very interesting..I just loved Aunt Veda .the letter she wrote to Noah sounded so much like her..Thanks so much

What caught my eye first on her comment was the name of Sarah Sophia Deverell - Noah's mother - because the maiden name of Sarah's mother is still a mystery so I grasp any mention of the Deverell name. And then my gaze latched onto the Aunt Veda part and my day brightened considerably.

A quick check on Ancestry confirmed that Doreen is Nelson's 2nd cousin and although I knew her name on the family tree, I didn't know anything about her branch, other than the fact that her mother was one of Eva Amelia's kids. To put this into perspective, Joe and Eva had 8 children. Born in 1895, Veda was the oldest, and the youngest wouldn't be born until 1914. Doreen's mom, Dora, was born in 1907. So she would have been 4 yrs old during Noah and Ethel's Courtship year, but most of the time, Noah only spoke of Veda - probably because she was teenager and so easy to tease. 

Last night Doreen shared 4 photos with us, including the striking pose of Veda at the top of this post. My, oh, my. Being born in 1895, Veda was 18 in 1913 when this week's letter was written - the year she married 25 yr old Leslie Peter Thomson, a Canadian Pacific Railway station agent. 

Veda mentioned Les once before and that's the post of 1912: Jan 12 Letter fm Veda Perrault when she wrote, "Leslie did not get down.  I was sorry although I expect him down here some time before long. He is working up at Tugaske, Sask, on the Outlook branch from Moose Jaw."

So I'm sending out a bouquet to Doreen Joan Proctor Burnett for leaving a comment on my post and then sharing her photo treasures with us.  

This reminds me of something I read on the Ancestry blog recently where a member said he hesitated switching his family tree from private to public for years in case he and his mom had wrong facts. But finally, they reached a dead end and thus, took the plunge to see if they could rouse out some family members with their cousin bait. The post went on to show a photo of the man and a relative who saw their public ancestry tree and contacted them. 

Cousin bait. That's the affectionate term in the genealogy world. 

And although we didn't intend on using this blog as cousin bait, or making our Ancestry tree public for the same reason, we've been blessed with cousins finding us. In all, 5 more cousins contacted us in the past 2 weeks by either leaving comments on this blog, emailing us through my contact page, or connecting through our Ancestry inbox. 

Cousin bait. It sounds crass, but the results are ... wonderful. 



Genealogy Note 2:  Quinsy and Quincy 

This is an old disease which is still around. A fellow in our area had it a couple years ago, and thousands of cases are seen every year around the globe. Check the links below for more information.

Old Diseases & Their Modern Definitions: 
QUINSY or QUINCY: Severe attack of Tonsillitis resulting in abscess near the tonsils.

NHS Choices:  
Quinsy, also known as a peritonsillar abscess, is a complication of tonsillitis that is left untreated.

Remedy's Health Communities in conjunction with Johns Hopkins and Cornell University: 
Quinsy is usually a complication of tonsillitis, a bacterial infection of the tonsils. 
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1912: Dec 1st Letter from Ma & Sadie

7/13/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
Written on the back: Mr. Jewel & Mr. Brooks at Adams, SK.
The above photo is from Ethel's Treasure Box. The names  of Young and Brooks have come up several times in these letters and yet this photo is in my Unknown folder because I don't know if these 2 men in this circa 1930+ photo are the same ones mentioned in the 1911-1912 letters. If anyone recognizes these men, please email me through my contact page. 

Author of Letter:  Ida Amelia Glover Nelson & Sadie Nelson
Dated:  December 1 (1912)* 
Addressed to:  Dear Ethel and Noah
Mailed from:  Belhaven, Ontario
Relationship: Mother & Sister
Profession:  Farmer's Family
Writing instrument:  Pen with Black Ink
Writing Paper: Medium weight, textured, linen-like paper, each written page 5" x 6". Paper is folded in half and written in booklet form with numbered pages. Although they've been written in the order of 1,3,2,4,5,7,6,8, I've shown them here in the order they were meant to be read. 

People/places mentioned in this letter:


Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
Uncle Will's - could be Ethel's mom's brother, or their uncle - both *Glover's
Grandma Nelson - Eliza *Crouch - mother of *James Nelson
Pa - Ethel's dad,  James Nelson
Marry - Mary the milliner?
**David Sprague - David Henry Sprague, Noah's 2nd cousin 1x removed
Mrs. Draper - Noah's aunt, *Martha Barnhart, wife of *Stephen Draper
*Edith Draper - wife of Frank *Kavanagh
Mrs Rob Smith
Mrs. Andy Tompson (or Thompson ?)
Mrs. Joe Stickland (or Strickland ?)
*Gertie Nelson - Ethel's 2nd cousin (same great-grandfather John *Nelson)
Santy - Santa Claus
Dr Clark - Ethel's old dentist
*Martha & Mr. Brooks - see Genealogy Notes on 1912: Letter Fm Hester Soules Prosser
*Mrs. W. Young - ? Mrs. Walter Young has been mentioned a couple times already, with 2 photos posted of her and her son with Noah & Ethel in Adams, but unsure if this is the same one or if there are 2 with the same name.


Places/things mentioned in this letter:

- Santy heading north
- consumption


Legend: 
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this 
  person/place/thing, or use the search box in the header at the top of this page
** see Genealogy Notes below


Picture
December 1.                  
Dear Ethel and Noah
           I got your letter one
day last week and was
as usual glad to get it.
it has been some time
since I wrote you but
than Sadie has been
writing and I thought
you would rather have
her write as she does
so much better than I do.
Sadie and Christie are 
at church and I am


Picture
2
Writing Grandma Nelson a letter
also we got one from her
a bout a month ago and
got a card from Aunt
anna last week.
     Sadie was in to Newmarket
thursday and came home 
friday.  she got a new hat
and the stuff for a dress
the hat is white felt
trimmed with pale blue
and the dress is blue
I will get marry a day
to start it off and than
I can finish it

Picture
3
I made Christie one last
week. it is navy serge
trimmed with plad.
     I and your pa was down
to Uncle wills last
wensday.  and it was stormy
and I got cold in my face
and it has been verry
sore since an I was
afraid it was going to
gather and brake but
it is getting better I think
I will have to get some 
of my teeth out. 


Picture
4
Mrs W. Young has been
verry poolely but is some
btter  Just now  doctor
said she was apt to
die at any time from
hart trouble and she has
a terrible cough people are
getting afraid to go there
for fear of comsumption so
think I wont go so often
as I have.
        Mrs Andy Tompson
has a little girl a bout a
week old,  and Mrs Joe
Stickland has a little
boy a bout a weak old.


Picture
5
Martha Brooks is home
  got here last tuesday,
mister Brook was in to
day.  and said she think
she would rather live here
but thinks they will stay out
there till they get some money
as they can make more out 
there.
        Mister David Sprague
was burried last friday,
        I suppose you have got your
house cleaning all done by this
time ore did you keep it so
clean that it does not need
it.   I have got mine to do yet


Picture
6
down stairs I done the up
slairs a couple of weeks
ago but didnt feel like
doing much last week  I have
had a lame back
how is your face is it
broke out yet.
Your pa does not have 
to go so far as your place
to hunt. there was a hawk
      chicken hawk lit in
one of the elem trees north
of the house yester day and
he got the gun and killed
it, thinks he is a great
  marksman now,


Picture
7
I was talking to Mrs
Draper one day last week
and she said Edith and
her husband expected
to be hone for christmas.
Your pa said he seen
Santy in Belhaven
one day last week and
he was going north so
you had better get your
stockings ready. as
he might get there by 
christmas.
Hello Ethel - this is Tuesday 
and we have been washing


Picture
this forenoon. We cleaned 
the front room yesterday
and the parlor.   Mrs Rob
Smith is here this afternoon
She just came a little
while ago. I am going
up to the market so
am in a hurry. Dr Clark
was asking Gertie Nelson
how you were getting
along. Guess he thot it
was time you were back
getting your teeth fixed.
Pa and Ma have both
had lame backs and tooth
ache lately. Write soon
and come to see your loving       Mother
                           little Nell - Sadie



Genealogy Notes

As you may have noticed, this letter doesn't give a date it was written. However, it does give 3 dates of reference:
  • Death and burial of David Sprague
  • New baby girl to Mrs Andy Tompson
  • New baby boy to Mrs Joe Stickland

Searching the Newmarket Era, I found this clipping which threw me off guard because it states David Sprague died on Nov. 26, 1913... however it was released on page 2 of The Newmarket Era of November 29th, 1912: 
Picture
The Newmarket Era. November 29, 1912
To complicate matters, I did not find a reference to either of the births but that wasn't too unusual because Ida could have spelled them as variations such as Thompson vice Tompson, and Stickland as Strickland. All were valid names, but none came up in a search for births for Nov 1912 or 1913. 
PictureThe Newmarket Era. April 4, 1913
Another reason I wasn't worried is because not all social news was carried in the paper. Some families didn't like their news being broadcast and the paper respected those wishes. Having a birth or death announcement in the paper has always been a courtesy - not a requirement. 

In my search I stumbled upon one other bit of evidence confirming David Sprague's death of Nov 26th, 1912 and that was the settling of his estate in the spring of 1913.  

Since it usually takes several months to settle an estate, there is no doubt of David Sprague's death in 1912, thus this week's letter of Dec 1st is definitely from 1912. 





And now I'm off to sort through my files for births, deaths, marriages, etc in the coming year and match them up with newspaper clippings and photos and bring them to you in an order that resembles true life in Noah and Ethel's family as well as their loved ones. 

As these posts may be irregular over the coming weeks until I starting posting Noah's WW1 letters, your can keep informed of new posts by clicking on the link for RSS FEED in the right sidebar and you'll get an email notification whenever I publish a new post. 


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