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1912: Letter Fm Hester Soules Prosser

5/11/2014

1912 RPPC Ethel Draper with horses, Adams, SK. Photo by Noah Draper from Noah & Ethel's 1912-1924 Photo Album. Courtesy of the Norma Draper Family Photograph Collection

Ethel is now in Adams, Saskatchewan and enjoying her life as a newlywed. How do I know? Because this week's post contains a letter from Hester Prosser - close neighbor and friend of Ethel back in Belhaven - and Hester mentions what Ethel wrote her.

In the above RPPC, it looks like the object on the near right is the CNR track laying machine from last week's post.

Author of Letter: Hester Prosser (nee Soules, wife of Walker Prosser)
Dated: Mar 21st, 1912
Addressed to: My Dear Friend Ethel
Mailed from: Belhaven (Ontario)
Relationship: Close friend and neighbor
Profession: Farmer's wife
Writing instrument: Black ink
Written on: Linen-like cream-colored folded notepaper. Hester hasn't numbered the pages but if she had they would read 1, 2, 3, 4 in booklet form

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Noah Draper, age 23 (Newlywed, moved west in 1905)
- *Ethel Nelson, age 21 (Newlywed, moved west Feb 1912)
- *Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- *Sadie/Sadye - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Ethel & *Will Rigler - Noah's sister and her husband, living near Noah & Ethel

- **Mr. Brooks & Martha - we find them in Regina later on
- Annie *King & Mr. King - neighbor
- Mr S. *Winch - Stephen Winch? - neighbor
- Lulu ?
- Mr Dave *Sprague's - neighbor
- Mary *Sheppard, John *Sheppard - neighbor
- *Breuls boys, Whetford & Mr. Breuls - neighbors
- Herbert *Winch, Erwin *Winch, Adele *Winch - neighbors
- **Prof. Dales & Lowell - ministers (mystery solved)
- Mr. Frank *Morton's - neighbor
- Blanche B ?
- Alma & Johnnie - probably elementary school-aged children
- Alice - Hester Soules & Walker Prosser's only daughter, Alice Alma (1896-1901) died at 6 yrs old from diphtheria
- Isaac Prosser (1846-1912) died 24 hrs after apoplexy attack (stroke)

Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
- *Toronto
- Owen Sound - 170 km/106 ml fm Keswick on the southern shore of Georgian Bay
- Paisley - 55 km/34ml south of Owen Sound
- The West - Canadian prairie provinces of Man, Sask and Alberta
- Newmarket Era - local newspaper
- the car - the streetcar

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

Belhaven Mar 21st 1912

My Dear Friend Ethel
Your very welcome
letter was duly received and read
with a great deal of interest. Am
so glad to hear you like your
new house, and that the climate
agrees with you. so far, I presume
it is pretty well settled, Where you
are. So nice to be near Ethel Rigler.
I would like that part of it myself.
She was my neighbor here for a short time
and I was sorry indeed to lose her. I
liked both her and Will, give them
my kindest regards. When you see
them next. Mr Brooks called in
for a while yesterday. Martha is at
home this week, but expects to start
for the West next week. She and a

sister-in-law, their husbands went
a couple of weeks ago. I think you are
wise to subscribe for the Newmarket Era
am sure it would be an interesting
letter to me, if I were to move away
there is so much home news in it.
Say, Ethel. We had the worst storm
last Friday that I ever witnessed, all
day long, and half the night. the roads
were in a terrible state, and the scholars
from High School, will not be apt to
forget it very soon, they had such
an experience getting home. & some did
not reach home. Annie King stayed at
Mr. S. Winch's all night, and Lulu stayed
at Mr Dave Sprague's. Mr King started
to go for Annie, but only got as far
as your place, the road was full.
We heard the sleigh pass here about

nine o'clock, with Mary Sheppard and
the Breuls boys. Whetford & Mr Breuls
had went after them, each put in a horse
the car was late getting in, and then the
horses tired out, or got discouraged, several
times, the men had to go ahead, and
tramp roads. Herbert Winch & his family
(they had been to the city.)
were all in the sleigh, and Erwin Winch
so it was heavily loaded, twelve altogether,
but Saturday morning the road breaking
commenced. Our Choir was invited to
Mr John Sheppard's that night, and
bad as the roads were, there was eleven
young people there for practise. We
had a very pleasant evening. Lowell
preached on Sunday, his last two
sermons have been the best he has
ever preached, he is a fine boy
just what he seems to be. We are
expecting Prof. Dales for the next two

Sundays. the Choir spent a pleasant
evening at Your Father's two weeks ago
(We are invited to Mr. Frank Morton's this week.)
and I got Sadie to come home with us
we spent the next day together, it was
a busy one too. We went to Isaac Prossers
funeral in the morning. S.S. in the afternoon
and Belhaven service in the evening.
hope to have her again if she will
come. Adele came home with us last Sunday
from S.S. She & her Father have gone away
to spend a couple of weeks, they started out
Monday. will visit in Toronto, Owen Sound, &
Paisley, his two brothers live in the two
places & his sister in Toronto. Adele deserving
the trip. She is a good worker. Christie sang
(she did fine)
a pretty solo in S.S. last Sunday. Blanche B.
is to sing one next Sunday. Alma & Johnnie
sang one two weeks ago. I love the pieces from
the little ones, it reminds me so much of Alice
Glad to hear you are attending Presbyterian Church.
How much we miss you here, but our loss is Noah's
gain. God bless you both in your far away home.
Your Sincere friend,
H. Prosser
Write again

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1 - Mr Brooks and Martha

At the bottom of page 1, Hester mentions Mr. Brooks and his daughter Martha:

Mr Brooks called in for a while yesterday. Martha is at
home this week, but expects to start for the West next week. She and a sister-in-law, their husbands went
a couple of weeks ago.

And here's what the local newspaper had to say about the wedding:

The Newmarket Era. March 8, 1912 - Page: 2

The Newmarket Era. March 8, 1912 - Page: 6

Genealogy Note 2 - The Great Storm

Hester relates about kids unable to get from school due to the snowstorm that descended upon them that March. Here's what the newspaper said about it:

The Newmarket Era. March 22, 1912 - Page: 7

The Newmarket Era. March 22, 1912 - Page: 1

The Newmarket Era. March 22, 1912 - Page: 6

Genealogy Notes 3 - Prof. Dales & Lowell

Prof Dales has been mentioned as a minister several times over the course of the 1911 Courtship letters, and the closest I've came to his identity was that he came from the Toronto area.

And now in this week's letter, Hester Prosser mentions:

Lowell preached on Sunday, his last two sermons have been the best he has ever preached, he is a fine boy just what he seems to be. We are
expecting Prof. Dales for the next two Sundays.

From Hester's words, I wondered if Lowell might be a son of Prof Dales and following in the old man's footsteps. A quick search on Ancestry.ca for Lowell Dales brought up this 1911 census listing:

In 1911 Professor John Nelson Dales, and his family, including 20 yr old Lowell, were living in Drayton, Ontario. A few columns to the right on this census shows Prof Dales as a minister and Lowell as a student. Although we don't know what or where Lowell was studying, I'm presuming it was theology like his dad.

Stay tuned for next week when we find out about the 1912 Regina cyclone which Ethel mentions on the back of the RPPC shown at the top of this post.

1911 Courtship: Sept 18 Dear Noah

11/17/2013

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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 ...

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.

1912: Letter Fm Hester Soules Prosser

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: Sept 18 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

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