Category:

WW1 Letters Home - Dec 19, 1916

12/19/2016

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

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

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

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.

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.

0 Comments

1911 Courtship: The 1912 Wedding

3/16/2014

0 Comments

The image on the top page of Noah Draper's and Ethel Nelson's 1912 four-page Marriage Certificate

It's finally here...

Noah's and Ethel's 1912 Wedding Day!

If you read last week's post, you know that Noah Draper is now with Ethel Nelson in the Belhaven area of York County, Ontario, and their wedding day is finally here. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate a photo of the happy event, although I was able to scan their Marriage Certificate when we visited Nelson's cousins, granddaughters of Noah and Ethel, last summer. Norma's girls are the holders of the albums and photos which I refer to as the Norma Draper Personal Photograph Collection.

Scanning the marriage certificate was very tricky though as I didn't want to disturb its 100 yr old appearance by undoing the polished twisted cotton string because I knew I'd never get it back in the same position and it would then end up looking messy. Instead, I scanned each page as best I could which means you don't get to see the ribbon running through the holes at the top, and have to trust me that it's there. The dark areas are from the scanning process due to the knotted string.

The handwriting in Noah's and Ethel's Marriage Certificate is written in black ink and it's approx 5 inches x 6.5 inches. Made of 4 vellum sheets tied together, there is a copyright notification on the bottom left cover as such: COPYRIGHT 1898, J. S. KENNARD.

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - front cover/Page 1

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - Page 2

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - Page 3

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - Page 4

1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - back of Page 4

As usual, I wanted more, and since newspaper snippets of the wedding weren't included in either Ethel's Treasure Box, nor Norma's Collection, I pulled up The Newmarket Era looking for any information about Noah and Ethel surrounding this date. As stated last week, there is no record of December 1911 issues on file, but I had hopes for January.

Nope. There were no mention of them - or anything Belhaven - in the first 2 wks of Jan 1912. And then when I pulled up the January 19, 1912 edition, I almost cried. Instead of telling you about it, I made this collage to show you what found...

Collage of remaining pages of The Newmarket Era, January 19, 1912 edition.

And when I checked the following week's January 26 edition, there was no mention of Noah or Ethel either. But that couldn't be, could it? After all those letters and news snippets? I needed closure!

For the lack of anything else to do, I pulled pulled up the Our Ontario News website which shows not only the Era but many more Ontario historical newspapers, and I searched for both Draper and Nelson. Two hits came up - both for the Jan 19 edition above. Ugh!

But a blink later, I realized Ethel's shower news made it through ... in the bottom right corner of Page 7:

Belhaven.
On Sat. Jan. 6, the young ladies
of this vicinity met at the home of
Miss Ethel Nelson and gave her a
shower. We are sorry to lose Ethel
from our midst.

The Newmarket Era. Jan 19, 1912, Pg 7

Well, that was something at least. With trepidation, I checked on the next hit and this time almost cried with relief because miracle upon miracles... it was the snippet I was looking for. Now, you have to ignore the dark parts, and I've adjusted the exposure a bit, but it's quite legible considering that we have it at all.

Wedding News:

The Newmarket Era. January 19, 1912 - Page: 8

BELHAVEN
Too Late for last week.
Belhaven has now been invaded by
the prevailing North Gwilimbury
fever and has taken away one of our
bright young women. Miss Ethel
Nelson who on Wednesday, Jan. 10th,
at the home of her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. James Nelson, was married to
Mr. Noah C. Draper. The wedding
was a very quiet one, the ceremony
being performed by Rev. W. P. Flet-
cher, Keswick. The bride was mar-
ried in her travelling dress, and the
young couple left after the wedding
dinner for Huntsville and other plac-
es. They expect to return to Bel-
haven to say good-bye to their friends
before leaving for their new Western
home at Grand Coulee, Sask. The
bride will be very much missed by
her many friends and the workers in
the Belhaven Sunday School.

Although we don't have a record of Noah and Ethel's gifts, I found some gift tags in Ethel's Treasure Box amongst a couple Congratulatory letters which I'll be posting in the coming weeks.

This 1st one is from Alice Winch, a Belhaven friend of the family.
Alice has written in black ink on a beige manilla card, blank on the back.

To Ethel
With Best Wishes for
a very Happy Life.
Alice Winch

Jan. 6th 1912.

This card is from close neighbor Cecil Daniel Prosser who has been spoken of often this past year and will marry Sadie in 1915. Cecil has used black ink on a card that is similar in thickness to the letters Noah has sent Ethel. From the 2 holes above the word, YOU, I suspect this card may have been pinned to a package or bouquet.

With All Good Wishes
for You a
Happy Future
Sincerely C.D.P.
Cecil Prosser.

Florence Sweet is the 15 yr old daughter of neighbors Willson Sweet and Susannah Thompson, the oldest of their 8 children. Florence has written in black ink on a cream colored piece of lined foolscap, newsprint weight. It is 5 inches wide and has a watermark with 'Vic' before it runs off the right edge.

To Ethel with Best Wishes
From Florence Sweet.

This last one is a bit over 3 in x 5 in unfolded and consists of some type of slippery paper reminiscent of parchment. It's blank on the back and without a name so we don't know who gave the gift, but it must have meant something for Ethel to have kept it. My guess is that it came from a box of candy or chocolates - from Noah perhaps?

As for the house Noah spent the summer building for them... here's one of the best views because it shows the depth of the house. It's also the only photo of the house before the porch was damaged and subsequently changed after the Summer of 1912 Cyclone hit the Regina area. More of the cyclone in a couple weeks.

The house Noah Draper built for Ethel Nelson in 1911 at Adams, SK. Courtesty of the Norma Draper Personal Photograph Collection.

The photo looks neglected because of the ripped corner and edges, but most of the ones I've found in this condition were once glued in those old photograph albums with the black pages. When the owner wanted to remove the photo to either put it in a frame or give it to someone, etc, it was physically pried from the page with dire results.

With this photo of Noah's house, I didn't want to cut the damaged portion off because a good part of the house - and porch detail - would have been lost in the process.

Doesn't this remind you of the problem we're having with those magnetic photo albums of the 70's and 80's? The glue at the back is ruining the photos, but ripping them out is sometimes doing more damage than leaving them in. I'm so glad I saved all my negatives, especially since Nelson bought a negative reader to turn all our photos into digital images.

Well, that's it for this special wedding post. Noah and Ethel are on their way to Huntsville for a honeymoon. January in cottage country? Well, they'll certainly have privacy and solitude. I daresay they'll have to cozy up to each other for warmth, too. Ha!

Next week we'll keep the celebration going with a letter from Veda Perrault asking Uncle Noah how it all came off.

0 Comments

1911 Courtship: Oct 8 Dear Noah

12/17/2013

2 Comments

"Beechnuts" from A Year in the Fields, by John Burroughs, a Project Gutenberg EBook. 1st Printing 1875 by The Riverside Press, Cambridge.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  8th Aug 1911 (Markham Fair dates and beechnut picking confirm date should be 8 Oct vice 8 Aug)
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 - Once again, the ink still smudges upon touch as if it still hasn't dried.
Written on: Off-white, textured, plain, linen-like paper, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form and written as 1, 3, 2, 4 although I've set them in order here for legibility.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- Harold *Winch - one of the Belhaven men who went west in Aug 1911
- Adele - neighbor and unmarried sister of Harold Winch
- Frank Terry - Noah's uncle who lives in Newmarket, Ontario
- **Mary Smith - This week's Genealogy Note #1
- Della *Mahoney - close neighbor and friend
- Stanley and Mae - Stanley *Mahoney and Mae Anderson - friends/neighbors
- Norman *Yorke - neighbor (not a relative until Sadie marries Cecil Prosser)
- **Gertie Glover - This week's Genealogy Note #2
- Wm King - William *King - friend and neighbor

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Newmarket - largest town between Belhaven and *Toronto
- Markham *Fair - Markham, Ontario - near *Toronto
- Beechnuts
- Song - I Love You Only
- Hymn - Nearer, Still Nearer - Lyrics and Midi available here.

Cliche/Phrase
- hustle - seems to be a favorite word of Ethel's

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. P. O.
8th Aug. 1911.

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

My Dear Noah, -
Well another Sunday is
here, and say it is a much different
day that last Sunday. it is just a
beautiful day. the sun is so nice and
warm. Friday was a dredful day
rained, hailed & snowed of course
the snow didnt stay on at all. but
lately it just seems to rain every
other day. We were all back in the
bush this forenoon, looking for some
beech nuts. but we didnt get a one.
We had a good walk anyway.

Harold Winch is home. came on
Friday morning. The West certainly
seemed to agree with him. It was
quite a surprize to his people when he
walked in. Adele was telling me last
night up at choir practice about Harold
being at your place. said he had a fine
time.
I was down to New market yesterday. I
saw your Uncle Frank Terry there too.
I am thinking of going down in a
couple of weeks to stay over Sunday.
Well Noah you said you thot I must
have found some one else that had changed
my mind. But I don't think there is any
one else living for me. Perhaps there is for
you though. I guess you have often heard
the song. (I love you only". and for me the
"you" is to be emphasised for I am sure
your the only one in my eyes. So now
the rest lies with you. Oh Noah, if you
were only here.

We are going up to S.S. and Mary Smith is
coming home with us to practice. she &
Sadie are going Duet to-night. - "Nearer
Still Nearer: They'll do-it won't they.
Della Mahoney is away on a couple of
weeks visit. and Stanley & Mae drove
down to Markham Fair Friday & hav'nt
returned yet. I guess they must be
getting married "eh: Norm Yorke is to
Married a week from Wednesday. so I hear
Mr Stacey, a student, is to be at Belhaven
to-night.
Say! what is it you, get your lectrises over
you might tell me and then maby I
could sympathise with you. unless it
is some thing awfully bad. and I know
its not so bad as that. I tell you I caught
it on Saturday. i met Gertie Glover and
she flew into my wool. She didnt know
any thing about you and me until that day. she
said she was told after she got to New market.

Well "Evergreen Farm" was certainly
alive yesterday. Mr Wm King had Ladies
Aid. Did your place have your place
named when you were here.
I am awfully glad your grain is turning
out as well as you think it is.
Noah hustle up your work and send
me a letter saying you are coming
East (Such & Such a time) and there'll
be one happy girl, if ever there was one.
You speak of getting lone some, but really
I simple don't hardly know what I am
doing some times. I got your letter last
night, it seems like a long time from
the time I get one until the next one
comes. There's never one comes before I
am ready for it. The girls are hustling
me up to get ready for Sunday School.
I am neare a close for this time anyway.
So bye-bye with all love & xxxxx
from Your Loving Sweetheart
Ethel

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note #1 - Mary Smith

Ethel has mentioned Mary Smith several times during the course of these letters, including the time that Mary was visiting Huntsville during Ethel's holiday there. So who was Mary Smith other than a school friend and neighbor?

Once again I used the Search pattern that I used last week (and other weeks) as well as below when I searched for Gertie Glover, and that began by searching for Mary Smith of Belhaven, York County with a date of 1911 because that was the current year, as well as a census year. By the time I finished my search, I had discovered:

Step 1: Results: Mary Elizabeth Smith, b 4 Jul 1885 in Belhaven, York County, Ontario. That put Mary at 26 yrs old during 1911.

Step 2: Mary's marriage record for 27 Dec 1916 to Malcolm McDonald.
Results: Mary's Parents: William Henry Smith and Sarah Diana Wass. This rang a memory bell because we have a Rebecca Wass in the Family Tree.

Step 3: Marriage record for William H Smith and Sarah D Wass
Results: Sarah's parents: Noah Wass and Mary Ann Marshal
Realized that Noah and Mary Ann were also the parents of Rebecca Wass, which meant Sarah and Rebecca were sisters, but I hadn't filled out the tree that far.

Rebecca Wass was married to Thomas Barker who was the father of Harry Barker - a familiar name to me because Harry was married to Ethel's Aunt Maggie Glover who I recently posted a photo of with her house.

Final Result: Since Mary Smith was the daughter of Sarah Wass and William Smith, that made her official relationship "1st cousin of husband of aunt". That's such a mouthful, forgive me if, in future, I simply refer to Mary as Ethel's cousin.

Genealogy Note #2 - Gertie Glover

Since I didn't have a Gertie Glover in the family tree yet, I used the search engine of the Ancestry.ca site to search for a Gertrude Glover and found these facts:

Step 1: Search for Birth Record for Gertrude Glover
Results: Elizabeth Gertrude Glover born 25 Jan 1887, East Gwillimbury, York, Ontario. Parents William Daniel Glover and Maryette Willson
Note: Gertie is 24 yrs old in this letter

Step 2: Search for Marriage Record for William D Glover and Maryette Willson
Results: Marriage Record of Oct 2, 1883 in Pickering, Ontario for:
Groom: William Daniel Glover, 28, Bachelor, Farmer, residing in Ravenshoe, York County
Groom's Parents: William Glover and Mary Ann Bunce
Bride: Maryetta Wilson, 26, Spinster, residing in Pickering Twp, Ontario County
Bride's Parents: Seth C. Willson and Mary Ann Ernest
Witnesses: *Thomas J. Glover of Ravenshoe, and Susan Willson of Pickering

*Although Thomas J. Glover is not in our family tree, we do have 2 x Thomas Glover's.

Step 3: Search for for William Glover and Mary Bunce
Results: Marriage Record of 20 Feb 1837, Home District (York Co)
Groom: William Glover of East Gwillimbury
Bride: Mary Bunce of East Gwillimbury
No parents names given on this marriage record
Witnesses: William Miller and John Bunce
Married by Publication of Banns, Home District Record Vol #10 1831-1840

Step 4: Search Census Records for actual location and names of offspring for William Glover and Mary Bunce
Results: 1871 Canada Census for East Gwillimbury:
Father: William Glover born 1813, England, Primitive Methodist, Married Farmer
Mother: Mary A. Glover born 1819, England, Prmitive Methodist, Married
Child #1 - Charlotte b 1850 - age 21
Child #2 - William D b 1855 - age 16
Child #3 - Thomas Joseph b 1859 - age 12
Child #4 - Albert James b 1864 - age 7

Results confirm that Thomas Joseph is William Daniel's brother so I have the right William and Mary A Glover, and the right location since all our Glovers live in East Gwillimbury area.

Step 5: Search for William Glover, b 1813 in England and Thomas Glover, b 1811 in Yorkshire, England to discover if they are brothers.
Results: I didn't find anything conclusive on the ancestry.ca or .com or .uk sites, but I was successful on familysearch.org (a free site) which found records for:
- Thomas Glover, Christened 1 Jan 1811 at Loftus, York, England, Father: Thomas,
Index Project (Batch) Nbr: C10551-1
- William Glover, Christened 5 Apr 1813 at Loftus, York, England, Father: Thomas and Mother: Mary, Index Project (Batch) Nbr: C10551-2

Since Thomas Glover is Ethel Nelson's great grandfather, if William is his brother, then Gertie Glover would be Ethel's ***third cousin. Phew.

***Update on Gertie Glover (eff Dec 28, 2013):

After receiving confirmation from another Glover descendent (through my contact page here) that William and Thomas were indeed Glover siblings, I've filled in the Draper Family Tree on ancestry.ca and they have deduced that:
Gertie Glover is Ethel's second cousin 1x removed.

2 Comments

1911 Courtship: Oct 1, Dear Noah

12/10/2013

0 Comments

1900 Belhaven, Ontario looking South. Courtesy of http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/

2013 Belhaven, Ontario looking South. Courtesy of Google Earth.

Can you spot the differences between the 2 photos above? If you click them they enlarge for clear views of Belhaven taken from the same spot but 102 yrs apart. Sure, the false front is gone from the bottom photo and the front verandah is enclosed, but look at the shape and positions of the windows, as well as the placement of the power poles.

If you compare these photos with the one in last week's 1911 Courtship Letter you see that the James Nelson family farm is situated down the road and among those trees on the left.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  1st Oct 1911 (events confirm date as 25th)
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 - In Ethel's last letter she blamed the pen for the messy letter with smudges, but this letter is almost as bad, if not worse. I believe it may be the ink and not the pen because even after 102 yrs, the ink smudges on my hands - as if it still hasn't dried. Good thing I've made a point of placing each opened letter in a large ziploc bag while handling it or it will be illegible before the next 100 yrs rolls around.
Written on: Off-white, textured, plain, linen-like paper, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form and written as 1, 3, 2, 4 although I've set them in order here for legibility.

People/places mentioned in this letter:
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Christie Nelson - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- *Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, *Eva Amelia and *Joe Perrault of *Grand Coulee, SK
- *Fanny - 16 yr old cousin of Veda's on the Perrault side (Noah teases her)
- **Mabel Wright of Queensville - this week's Genealogy Notes
- Mrs. Walker *Prosser - neighbor and mother of *Cecil Prosser
- *Cecil Prosser - future husband of Sadie
- Frank *Morton - neighbor and friend
- Stanley *Bruels - neighbor and brother of Ethel's friend, Maud
- Edith Draper of Belhaven - check labels for *Edith/Edythe Draper
- *Mahoney girls & Dora - close neighbors and friends
- Stanley *Mahoney - brother of the Mahoney girls
- West boys - the men who went to work the huge *western *harvest in August

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Sutton Fair - Sutton is a few miles northeast of Belhaven
- *Queensville - several miles south of Belhaven

Cliche/Phrase
- hustle - I've always thought this was a modern word

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. P.O.
1st Oct. 1911.

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

My Dear Noah, -
Well another Sunday
is here. and it is much like last
Sunday. raining of course. we are
having such of a lot of rain. It
rains about ever other day. We had
planed on going to church this
morning. but guess we will stay at
home now. Say you must be getting
in a hustle for winter having it
snow up there all ready. we heard that
it snowed nearly 8" and that you
could'nt see the shocks of grain for
snow. You have your threshing done.
hav'nt you? hope so anyway.

Mabel Wright of Queensville came
home with Sadie Friday night to stay
over Sunday. We three girls are going
up to Sunday School and home with
Mrs Walker Prosser for tea. that was
our plans but of course if it keeps
on rainging why it just means
Stay at home. Say Cecil Prosser
has left home. and is working for
Frank Morton. We heard Stanley Bruels
left home also. I hav'nt saw any of
our West boys home yet. Suppose there
would be some of them disapointed
that is as far as work goes. Say Noah,
May I ask how long do you intend to
Stay down here this winter? until
Spring "eh" as long as you get home
in time to do your spring work. and
come as soon as you can, for. I am
rather lonesome. for its a long time to be

apart from one whom I really
love, Time is passing though.
Edith Draper of Belhaven has been
very low. with her heart, they think
She is better though now.
Saw Mahoney girls & Stanley up at
at choir practise last night, Say
Dora is the same old girl. She
certainly can talk. There is no danger
of going to sleep at our practises.
The girls are down in the front
room playing the organ, so am
having lot of music while I am
writing. I wonder how many more
Sundays I will be found here at
this certain place writing. I hope
not many, that is as I am writing
to-day. Oh say! it is just pouring
now. Wish it only quit for a while.

I hav'nt saw a soul go to church yet.
Suppose Veda has got started at College
now. think I shall have to write her a
card. I guess she will have a lively time
something like Sadie has at H. School.
I don't blame them for it, do you?
I'll never forget the last year I went
to school. if we did'nt have a good
time it was'nt our fault. we did our
best. Christie is here waiting for me
to study our S. School lesson to-gether.
Such good little girls as we are "eh",
Well Sutton Fair is over. and such a
day as they had, rained all day long,
Newmarket isnt until nearly a month
yet. Say would'nt I delight in walking
into your place now. I wonder what
I'd find you doing. or would I find you
down at Fanny's. "ha ha" you kid.
I must close for this time. Love & xxxxxEthel
and a good embrace. xxxxxx

Genealogy Notes

Mabel Wright - Mabel Wright of Queensville came home with Sadie Friday night to stay over Sunday.

Ethel had written the line about Mabel as if Noah knew who she was talking about. Was Mabel one of the many relatives of the Draper and Nelson families who resided in and around Queensville, East Gwillimbury Twp?

A quick search of the family tree showed only one person of the Wright family - Clarinda Wright b 1794 who married Lewis Card b 1793. But with Wright being Clarinda's maiden name, any offspring would bear the surname of Card. Of course, Mabel could descended from one of Clarinda's brothers, but with 100+ years between Clarinda's and Mabel's birth dates, I'd need more information before trying to search for that connection.

Instead, I decided to go backwards using the ancestry.ca search engine...

Step 1 - Search for Mabel Wright, Queensville, 1911
Result: 1911 Canada census showing Mabel Wright, 16 yrs old of East Gwillimbury
Parents - John and Mary Wright and lots of siblings
Ancestry Hints - Mabel Wright Birth Record

Step 2 - Pull up Mabel Wright's Birth Record for Mother's Maiden Name
Result: Parents - John A Wright and Mary Ann Cunningham

Step 3 - Search for marriage record of John Wright and Mary Ann Cunningham
Results: Marriage Record of Oct 16, 1878 in East Gwillimbury
Parents of John A Wright: John and Mercy Wright

Step 4 - Search for marriage record of John and Mercy Wright as no hint given
Results: Early Marriage Record showing Jan 11, 1848
No parents listed, but shows bride as Mercy Pearson and John's birth of abt 1809

Step 5 - Search for John Wright b 1809 and Mercy Pearson
Results: Another member's tree showing John William Wright b 1809 Hull, England

Step 6 - Search for John William Wright, b 1809, Hull, Yorkshire, England
Results: - Several member tree's with slightly different dates and spouses
- many 1841 England census records for John Wright

Step 7 - Search Passenger and Immigration lists for travel between 1808 and 1848
Reason - John married Mercy in 1848 Ontario which is where she was born
Results - pages of listings for several England & Wales Criminal Registers, 1791-1892, and the discovery that the name of John Wright is as common in the UK as John Smith is in the US
Summary - I stopped searching the ancestry records as it became too intensive and I wasn't getting anywhere.

New Search using Local history book on East Gwillimbur :
East Gwillimbury in the Nineteenth Century by Gladys M. Rolling, Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1967

This book contains several mentions of the Wright family in East Gwillimbury and Queensville including some of those mentioned above. It also has many references to other families who are related to the Drapers, Glovers, and Nelsons. Again, it's too inconclusive to make a direct connection at this point, so I'll let the search end here for now.

Although I didn't get the answer I was seeking, I hope that by following the steps of my search, you will have gained an idea of how easy it is to find people, and in particular maiden names, etc to help in your own search.

0 Comments

1911 Courtship: Aug 27 Dear Noah

10/13/2013

0 Comments

ca 1899-1900 James H Nelson and wife Ida Amelia Glover with daughters Ethel Isabell and Sarah Eliza (Sadie/Sadye). Courtesy of the Norma Draper Photo Collection

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson
Dated: Aug 27th, 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N.C. Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask - Dear Noah
Mailed from: Bellhaven
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 pansy motif. This is standard early 20th century pre-folded notepaper. Ethel has written on the pages in booklet form but she must have been very distracted because her page numbers are all mixed up for she has written them in this order: Unnumbered, 4, 3, 4 whereas the writing shows she has written them in this order: 1, 3, 2, 4 - her normal writing order. Regardless, as usual, I've posted the letters in the order they should be read.

People/places mentioned in this letter:
Grandpa - *Albert Rogers - 2nd husband of Ma's mother Sarah E. *Greenwood
Pa - *James Henry Nelson
*Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
*Sadie/Sadye - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
Uncle Harry's - family of Ma's sister Maggie Glover & husband Harry *Barker
Percy - Noah's brother *Percy Draper and wife *Parthena Fisher live near Noah
Will Linstead's - Family of William *Linstead and Mary Ann *Glover (Ma's sister)
Laura *Linstead - daughter of William and Mary Ann who all live in Sintaluta, SK
Orville *King - close neighbor
Dora *Mahoney, Della and Hattie - close friends of Ethel
Mr. Walker *Prosser's - family of Walker Prosser and Margaret Hester Soules
*Cecil Prosser b 1891 - son of Walker Prosser and Hester Soules
Stanley & Mae - Stanley *Mahoney and Mae Anderson
**Mr. Robinette - Liberal Candidate for North York
Mr. Mann ?

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Exhibition - held in Ontario Provincial Exhibition held in Toronto
- great fair in Regina - the Dominion *Exhibition
- North York - that part of York County north of Toronto
- **Silent Places - a novel
- examinations - Entrance Exam
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. Aug 27.

Mr N. C. Draper,
Grand Coulee Sask.
Dear Noah,
We are just getting
ready to go up to Sunday School
so had a few cpare minutes just
now to start my letter. Its the
first Sunday I've been up for about
seven weeks so it is time I was
starting eh! Grandpa is here to
day. he came up to bring Christie
home she has been down there for
a weeks holiday's. Well I guess may be

3. (should be 2.)

by the time you get this you will see Orville
for I thinks he intends staying not far
from your place
Well I started this letter on tuesday,
Sunday I mean, to-day is tuesday.
We had Uncle Harry's here on Sunday.
Dora Mahoney & I were up to Mr
Walker Prosser's on Sunday for tea.
Say that Cecil Prosser is a clip. he
goes out of an evening and reaches
home sometime the next day.
Exhibition started yesterday. none of us
are going down. Della, Dora & Hattie
are going Tuesday & stay until Friday.
Stanley & Mae are going to stay over
Sunday. What do Percy's call their
son. I suppose their isn't any name
nice enough for him.

4. (should be 3.)

Sadie failed her examination by
two marks. but they are letting her
gown just the same. Do you ever see
anything of Will Linsteads. Sadie had
a letter from Laura. but of course she
never says how they are! You know
about what I mean. Do you know
whether Will works any or not? or is he
any better than what he was down
here. If you know, you need not be
afraid to tell me just how they are getting
along. for we would like to know. very much.
Laura said she was in to Regina one
day to that great fair.
I am glad you are coming when you
are it will be four months from the
day I received your last letter. I only
wish it were sooner but I know you are

doing what you think best. Pa, Sadie
and I are going to political meeting to night
to hear Mr Robinette. He was here this afternoon.
Noah did you say that a new railway
track was going through your place. Pa
was asking me th other night. But I didn't
know if it went through your place. Mr. Mann
is going up in a couple of weeks to see a lot
he bought somewhere near this track
Say! you certainly will have quite a number
all of you. How do you think yu like such
a houseful. I think you must be taking
great pains with that new huse. & I guess you
will think there is a lot of work building
one. Sadie is reading 'Silent Places! she
says she don't like it , & yet she can't
seem to stop reading it. I guess I must
close for this time hoping to get your
letter as soon as it possible.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx Love from your Sweetheart

Genealogy Notes

The Newmarket Era. Aug 18, 1911

Genealogy Note #1 - T.C. Robinette Esq, K.C., The Liberal Candidate for North York

One thing I've learned while working on the genealogy of the Nelson family is that they were very much into politics. They went to political rallies and events, and hosted candidates in their home, such as the Liberal Candidate mentioned in this week's letter, T.C. Robinette.

Ethel's father, James H. Nelson, was a councilman of North Gwillimbury Township for many years as were other members of their family.

Genealogy Note #2 - The Silent Places by Stewart Edward White (1873-1946) ; illustrated by Philip R. Goodwin; Published by McClure Phillips & Co.; April, 1904.

"A strenuous detective story, laid in the author's chosen field of the North Woods. The dramatic power of the book alone would make it famous. In addition, it has the fascination of the great, white, quiet forests--the Silent Places." goodreads

Wikipedia says this about the author: From about 1900 until about 1922 he wrote fiction and non-fiction about adventure and travel, with an emphasis on natural history and outdoor living. Starting in 1922 he and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Grant White wrote numerous books they say were received through channelling with spirits.

Ethel said, "Sadie is reading 'Silent Places! she says she don't like it , & yet she can't
eem to stop reading it." I wonder if Sadie felt the 'spirit influence' while reading the book and that's why she has mixed feelings for it?