Coronation Day, Moose Jaw, a living flag. : c1911, Prairie Postcards, Courtesy of Peel Library, UofAlberta
As a Commonwealth country, Canadians embraced the new King George V and Queen Mary with celebrations all over the country including Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in the above photo. It's one of the Prairie postcards from the Peel Library at the University of Alberta. The caption reads, Union Jack flag formed by school children at fair, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Children on horse - drawn float are visible on the left side.
In present day terms, Moose Jaw is a 45 minute drive west of the Grand Coulee/Regina area - the next big whistle stop if you were Noah heading west.
In present day terms, Moose Jaw is a 45 minute drive west of the Grand Coulee/Regina area - the next big whistle stop if you were Noah heading west.
Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated: June 25th, 1911
Addressed to: Dearest Noah (Mr. N. C. Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.) (This is the first letter Ethel has left off Noah's postal info on the first page.)
Mailed from: Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Light bluey/gray, slightly thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6 inches, folded in half. The paper is folded in half with the first page on the front and last on the back, but inside, she's turned the paper and written across the short width and turned both pages into one long page. Hence this letter has only 3 pages.
People/places mentioned in this letter:
Percy - *Percy Roy Draper, Noah's older brother
Veda - *Veda Perrault - Noah's 16 yr old niece (Joe & Eva Amelia's daughter)
Sadie - *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yrs old sister
Pa - *James Henry Nelson
Alice Sprague**
Mrs. Walter Yorke** (Martha Ann "Minnie" Linstead)
Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below
Dated: June 25th, 1911
Addressed to: Dearest Noah (Mr. N. C. Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.) (This is the first letter Ethel has left off Noah's postal info on the first page.)
Mailed from: Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Light bluey/gray, slightly thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6 inches, folded in half. The paper is folded in half with the first page on the front and last on the back, but inside, she's turned the paper and written across the short width and turned both pages into one long page. Hence this letter has only 3 pages.
People/places mentioned in this letter:
Percy - *Percy Roy Draper, Noah's older brother
Veda - *Veda Perrault - Noah's 16 yr old niece (Joe & Eva Amelia's daughter)
Sadie - *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yrs old sister
Pa - *James Henry Nelson
Alice Sprague**
Mrs. Walter Yorke** (Martha Ann "Minnie" Linstead)
Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below
| Belhaven. P.O. June 25 1911. Dearest Noah;- Well here I am again with some more of my writing but oh if I could only talk instead of write, what happy hours we could spend now if it were only possible. though as you say we will make up for lost time when you come. I was rather dis apointed last night I did;nt get a letter but I will have something to look for to morrow night. Your letters Generally reach me on Saturday's or Mondays. Sometimes when I am feeling rather lonesome, I wish that it was either of |
| 2 Saturday or Monday, whichever night your letter happened to come that week. Keswick, Bethel & Belhaven Sunday Schools are having a picnic, They don't know yet were they will go. Don't you think Belhaven needs a long line drawn. The carpenters are going to start work here in the morning. I hope they can get along fine, for I would like to go to Huntsville about the middle of July. and I can't unless the barn raising is over with. Was Percy successful in getting water! I hope he was for it would make it so much better for you. would'nt it |
| 3. Did I ever tell you Veda sent Sadie a photo of herself. Sadie was very glad to get it. Say one day not long ago there was soneone talking to the men & I just got a glimpse of him and I thot it was you. and Oh you could'nt imagine how I felt at the time. I think this little verse refers to you. To see him is to love him, And love but him forever. For Nature made him what he is And never made another. Where you acquainted with Alice Sprauge, she is now given up to die, with typhoid fever. Mrs. Walter Yorke is dead. |
| 4. Sadie's school has stopped now for about a week & then she has to go back and try her examinations. How are Veda's hands? I hope she will be able to go to College after Midsummer. what does she intend to take up? Well how are you getting along with all your work. hope your mother will be able to stay with you until _________ Have you been defeated yet in any of those baseball games. I wish your team success. & you success in everything. Pa has just called me to come to supper. I am so near a close I think I will say Bye Bye for this time. With love and all your wish for from your Sweetheart. X X x x x X x x x X x x x X |
Genealogy Notes
This week's Genealogy Notes highlight 2 people Ethel mentioned in her letter:
#1 - Mrs. Walter Yorke
#2 - Alice Sprague
Genealogy Note #1 - Mrs. Walter Yorke
Ethel conveys such feeling when she writes bluntly, Mrs. Walter Yorke is dead.
From this we can deduce that Noah knows Mrs. Walter Yorke, and either he knows why she died or it doesn't matter why, but that she's dead.
Who was Mrs. Walter Yorke, and did she fit in the family tree - if in fact she did?
Our tree listed 12 Yorkes, but no Walters. So I began by checking The Newmarket Era in the couple weeks prior to Ethel's letter. Do you know how many Yorks are listed in a newspaper that:
- covers the County of York
- includes the town of North York
- is the original name of Toronto and still used unofficially
- contains stories of New York city and the state of New York
Let's just say there are oodles of them. And from all those, I found 3 snippets about Mrs. Walter York:
#1 - Mrs. Walter Yorke
#2 - Alice Sprague
Genealogy Note #1 - Mrs. Walter Yorke
Ethel conveys such feeling when she writes bluntly, Mrs. Walter Yorke is dead.
From this we can deduce that Noah knows Mrs. Walter Yorke, and either he knows why she died or it doesn't matter why, but that she's dead.
Who was Mrs. Walter Yorke, and did she fit in the family tree - if in fact she did?
Our tree listed 12 Yorkes, but no Walters. So I began by checking The Newmarket Era in the couple weeks prior to Ethel's letter. Do you know how many Yorks are listed in a newspaper that:
- covers the County of York
- includes the town of North York
- is the original name of Toronto and still used unofficially
- contains stories of New York city and the state of New York
Let's just say there are oodles of them. And from all those, I found 3 snippets about Mrs. Walter York:
 The Newmarket Era. June 2, 1911 - Page: 6  The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 - Page: 8  The Newmarket Era. March 17, 1911 - Page 5 | BELHAVEN Snippet on left - Bottom paragraph: We sympathize with Mr. Walter York in the loss of his wife. The 2nd snippet was found under the Union Street report: We extend our sincere sympathy to Mr. and Mrs. Benj. Linstead, who have recently lost their eldest daugh- ter, Mrs. Walter York, of Belhaven. This was interesting because Ethel's Aunt Mary Ann Glover married into the Linstead family and some of their branch live 30 mins north of me here in Saskatchewan. I found the 3rd hard-to-read snippet way back in the Mar 1911 paper. It says: Mrs. Benj. Linstead and son Wal- ter spent Sunday with her daughter, Mrs. Walter York of Belhaven, who has been ill for some time. |
So the key to figure out Mrs. Walter York lay in finding Benjamin Linstead. I started with Ethel's Aunt Mary Ann Glover. Using ancestry.com's search engine I put in the names I knew from the snippets: Benjamin Linstead and his son, Walter. From that, I found census records which gave Benjamin's wife's name, Sarah Jane, and their children. They had 3 daughters Alice "Addie" b 1872, Martha Ann b 1875, and Verna b 1896. With the help of Ancestry's Family Tree Hints I found a marriage record for Minnie Linstead to Walter York in 1895, and it stated that Minnie's parents were Benjamin Linstead and Sarah Jane Anderson.
But Benjamin and Sarah Jane didn't have a girl named Minnie. Further searching found the following:
1875 Feb 12 - Benjamin and Sarah Jane gave birth to Martha Ann
1881 Census - 2nd daughter, age 6, recorded as Martha
1891 Census - 2nd daughter, age 16, recorded as Martha
1895 Marriage to Walter York, widower w/one son - 20 yr old daughter - Minnie
1901 Census - 26 yr old wife with 3 children - recorded as Minnie
1911 Census - 35 yr old wife dies of Tuberculosis (TB) - recorded as Mary Jane!
So it looks like this Walter York gave Martha Ann the nickname Minnie when they hooked up together. But why did he give Mary Jane to the medical examiner for the death record?
In my searches, I found the marriage record of Walter York and his first wife - and guess what? ... Her name was Minnie Pollack. Can you guess what her birth name was?
Yup - Mary.
So it seems Mr. Walter York was a bit mixed up when Minnie #2 died. Was it grief? Actually, I think it was. No matter how many times I searched, I couldn't find a write-up for Martha Ann/Minnie's funeral service. No obituary. Nothing except that the people on Union Street are sympathizing with the Linstead family, and that the Belhaven neighborhood is doing the same for Mr. Walter York.
That got me thinking... How many kids did Martha Ann/Minnie leave behind for Walter to care for? Not only that, but he had one son from Minnie #1 - how and when did she die? Searching through the Era for the facts brought so many discoveries I was in tears by the end. But to get to the end, I have to start at the beginning of Walter York's journey:
1862 - Walter Frederick York is born near in North Gwillimbury Township
1884 - Walter marries Mary "Minnie #1" Pollack (only sister to 8 brothers)
1888 - Son Raymond is born
1891 - Walter and Minnie#1 move to nearby Keswick
1895 - Mar 15 - death of Minnie #1's brother, John Pollock
1895 - Mar 27 - death of Minnie #1 - after 3 dys sickness & 12 dys after her brother
3 months after Minnie #1 dies, Walter marries Minnie #2:
1895 - Jul 9 - Walter marries Martha "Minnie #2" Linstead
1897 - Birth of son, Squire R York (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1899 - Birth of daughter, Pearl Maria (Mother = Mary Jane Linstead)
1901 Mar 14 - Birth of son, JB York (Mother = Mary Jane Linstead)
1901 Nov 13 - Death of 8 month old JB York from diphtheria***
1901 Nov 15 - Death of 2 yr old Pearl Maria from diphtheria***
1902 - Birth of daughter, Gertrude Viola (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1904 - Birth of son, Elmer/Aylmer (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1907 - Birth of daughter, Thelma (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1909 - Birth of daughter, Dora May (Mother = Mary Jane Linstead)
1911 May - Death of Mrs. Walter York aka Minnie #2
( she left 1 adult step-son and 5 young kids aged 2 to 14 yrs old)
***See Genealogy Notes Apr 2, Dear Noah
During the time Walter and Minnie #2 were married, his in-laws suffered:
1896 Oct - Minnie #1's 45 yr old brother, James, dies at railway crossing near home
1897 Jan - Minnie #1's father, James, dies at son Robert's home in Belhaven
1897 Feb - Robert Pollock has an auction to sell everything and move to the West
1897 Jun - milking cow kicks Richard Pollock's little girl, Winnie, and breaks her leg 30 minutes after cow is sold, but not picked up/delivered
1909 Feb - Minnie #1's mother dies after suffering 2 yrs from cancer
And then to hear ... Mrs. Walter Yorke is dead. You must wonder what poor Walter thought as he buried yet another family member.
Genealogy Note #2 - Alice Sprague
Alice Sprague did not die. But this post is too long already so I'll save her story for another day.
But Benjamin and Sarah Jane didn't have a girl named Minnie. Further searching found the following:
1875 Feb 12 - Benjamin and Sarah Jane gave birth to Martha Ann
1881 Census - 2nd daughter, age 6, recorded as Martha
1891 Census - 2nd daughter, age 16, recorded as Martha
1895 Marriage to Walter York, widower w/one son - 20 yr old daughter - Minnie
1901 Census - 26 yr old wife with 3 children - recorded as Minnie
1911 Census - 35 yr old wife dies of Tuberculosis (TB) - recorded as Mary Jane!
So it looks like this Walter York gave Martha Ann the nickname Minnie when they hooked up together. But why did he give Mary Jane to the medical examiner for the death record?
In my searches, I found the marriage record of Walter York and his first wife - and guess what? ... Her name was Minnie Pollack. Can you guess what her birth name was?
Yup - Mary.
So it seems Mr. Walter York was a bit mixed up when Minnie #2 died. Was it grief? Actually, I think it was. No matter how many times I searched, I couldn't find a write-up for Martha Ann/Minnie's funeral service. No obituary. Nothing except that the people on Union Street are sympathizing with the Linstead family, and that the Belhaven neighborhood is doing the same for Mr. Walter York.
That got me thinking... How many kids did Martha Ann/Minnie leave behind for Walter to care for? Not only that, but he had one son from Minnie #1 - how and when did she die? Searching through the Era for the facts brought so many discoveries I was in tears by the end. But to get to the end, I have to start at the beginning of Walter York's journey:
1862 - Walter Frederick York is born near in North Gwillimbury Township
1884 - Walter marries Mary "Minnie #1" Pollack (only sister to 8 brothers)
1888 - Son Raymond is born
1891 - Walter and Minnie#1 move to nearby Keswick
1895 - Mar 15 - death of Minnie #1's brother, John Pollock
1895 - Mar 27 - death of Minnie #1 - after 3 dys sickness & 12 dys after her brother
3 months after Minnie #1 dies, Walter marries Minnie #2:
1895 - Jul 9 - Walter marries Martha "Minnie #2" Linstead
1897 - Birth of son, Squire R York (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1899 - Birth of daughter, Pearl Maria (Mother = Mary Jane Linstead)
1901 Mar 14 - Birth of son, JB York (Mother = Mary Jane Linstead)
1901 Nov 13 - Death of 8 month old JB York from diphtheria***
1901 Nov 15 - Death of 2 yr old Pearl Maria from diphtheria***
1902 - Birth of daughter, Gertrude Viola (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1904 - Birth of son, Elmer/Aylmer (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1907 - Birth of daughter, Thelma (Mother = Minnie Linstead)
1909 - Birth of daughter, Dora May (Mother = Mary Jane Linstead)
1911 May - Death of Mrs. Walter York aka Minnie #2
( she left 1 adult step-son and 5 young kids aged 2 to 14 yrs old)
***See Genealogy Notes Apr 2, Dear Noah
During the time Walter and Minnie #2 were married, his in-laws suffered:
1896 Oct - Minnie #1's 45 yr old brother, James, dies at railway crossing near home
1897 Jan - Minnie #1's father, James, dies at son Robert's home in Belhaven
1897 Feb - Robert Pollock has an auction to sell everything and move to the West
1897 Jun - milking cow kicks Richard Pollock's little girl, Winnie, and breaks her leg 30 minutes after cow is sold, but not picked up/delivered
1909 Feb - Minnie #1's mother dies after suffering 2 yrs from cancer
And then to hear ... Mrs. Walter Yorke is dead. You must wonder what poor Walter thought as he buried yet another family member.
Genealogy Note #2 - Alice Sprague
Alice Sprague did not die. But this post is too long already so I'll save her story for another day.
