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Feb 1912: Noah's Cousin, Edith Draper

4/13/2014

 
Picture
1911 Togo, Saskatchewan, Canada. Courtesty of UofA Prairie Postcards Collection
Noah and Ethel are about to head West, but there was one event they would have attended before they left, and that was the wedding of Noah's cousin, Edith Draper, to Frank Kavanagh.

While blogging about Noah and Ethel's Courtship letters I couldn't help but notice how concerned Noah was about Edith and her siblings, his 1st cousins, the children of Stephen Draper and Martha Barnhart. If you recall, Stephen was the brother of Noah's father, David, and their 2 farms pretty much backed up to each other when Noah's family lived in North Gwillimbury.

In other posts I've detailed the lives of Stewart and George. Edith meanwhile was mentioned in these 1911 Courtship Letters:
  • Mar 5, Dear Noah - explains the spelling of Edith/Edythe
  • May 7 Dear Ethel - 1906 image of combined Draper family incl'g Frank
  • Aug 28 Dear Ethel - George Draper and his history
  • Sep 10 Dear Noah - Edith asks if she can go west with Ethel
  • Oct 15 Dear Noah - mentions that Edith will be married

As for the events leading up to Edith Draper marrying Frank Kavanagh, I found this humorous newspaper snippet: 
PictureThe Newmarket Era. December 13, 1907
   Miss Edyth Draper returned from 
the West a few weeks ago. She says 
it is too cold there for her. 

I laughed when I saw that, knowing she would eventually marry and move to the West. I figured she must love Frank very much and heartened at the thought of her deep love. But then I read the next snippet and realized Frank didn't head west until 1908. 

PictureThe Newmarket Era. May 15, 1908
The image at the top of this post shows what Togo, Sask looked liked in 1911. 

So if Frank wasn't out West in 1907, who did 22 yr old Edith go to visit? Noah has mentioned Edith's brother, Stewart Draper, many times in the Courtship letters, and Stewart and Bertha's daughter, Norma, submitted a very detailed write-up on her family in the local history book, From Basket to Bridge - White Bear, Kyle, Matador in which she wrote that her father, Stewart Truman Draper, rented land from Eli Williamson, east of Indian Head, in 1907 prior to homesteading in the White Bear area. 

Since Noah's family was already in Grand Coulee by that time, I'm guessing Edith visited her brother, Stewart, and Noah's family - her Uncle David and Aunt Sarah. 

So we know that Edith was a spinster, a farmer's daughter, and that she doesn't like the West because it's too cold. And although we don't know for sure that Frank and Edith are courting, there must have been a good reason for him to be included in this 1906 family photo. 
Picture
While Edith stayed in her Keswick, North Gwillimbury Township home, we can read a series of news snippets showing Frank's trips back to his family in Queensville, East Gwillimbury Township. It seems he still calls Queensville home and from the looks of these snippets, he made more trips than I could find in the Newmarket Era:
Picture
The Newmarket Era. December 24, 1909
Picture
The Newmarket Era. June 17, 1910
Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 30, 1910
Mr. W. H. Kavanagh mentioned in the middle snippet is Frank's father, William Harvey Kavanagh, b 1857, living in Queensville with an occupation as a butcher and auctioneer. 

That got me wondering what Frank's occupation was way out there in Togo, Sask, so I started researching the records. 

  • 1887 Birth Record for James Franklin Kavanagh, East Gwillimbury Twp
  • 1912 Marriage Record doesn't state an occupation
  • 1921 Canada census states Frank is a butcher

But where was he in the 1911 census? Not only that, but Noah and Ethel refer to Frank as living in Winnipeg. Even his marriage record states he's from Winnipeg. But Winnipeg was a big city even back then and I didn't have time to browse dozens? hundreds? of pages of census records. And where did Togo fit in all this? 

I spent hours searching for anything I could find about Togo and located it on a map north of the Transcontinental Railway line, just kissing the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border:

Picture
Google Map showing approximate route from Keswick, Ontario, to Winnipeg, Manitoba on the Transcontinental Railroad. From there, a person would have to take a secondary train to get to Togo, Saskatchewan.
As you can see from the map, Togo is a very long way from Keswick. I stopped researching and started cropping the snippets. But as I cropped the snippet for Frank's first trip west in 1908, I had an idea. It says Frank and Walter Kaiser went to Togo together. Could I find Walter Kaiser in the 1911 census, and if I did, would Frank still be with him? After all, 3 years had passed.  I pulled up the search box and typed in Frank Kaiser. The only other info I had for him was the locations of Ontario and Togo. 

Bingo! The first name that came up was a Walter Kaiser living in Togo, Sask. I pulled up the census and guess what... he was single, a lodger, and a butcher. And yep, right above him was the messy scribbled name of Frank Kavanagh. Why hadn't Frank come up in all the searches? Look for yourself:
Picture
Part of the 1911 Canada census for Togo, Saskatchewan (click to enlarge)
The top blue arrow is pointing to the messy scribbled name of Frank Kavanagh, Male, lodger, single, born Apr 1887, 26 yrs old, born in Ontario.  The blue arrow in the bottom Index points to Frenk Kewenigh which is what the transcriber saw when he/she looked at Frank's name, scribbled by the census taker.

We know the wedding is coming soon because of this following snippet:
PictureThe Newmarket Era. January 5, 1912
Lila is Frank's 17-yr-old sister and my belief is that the week she spent with Edith was a planning session for Edith's wedding. Although the post-wedding news article doesn't come right out and say that Lila is Edith's bridesmaid, it does state:

"...Miss Lila Kavanaugh sister of the groom, looked charming in shell pink satin with lace and gold fringe, and carried pink roses. The groom was assisted by Mr. J. C Purdy of Keswick..."

Here's the article about the Edith Draper & Frank Kavanagh wedding. Note that the article starts by misspelling Kavanagh with an 'u' and ends without it, as it should be spelled.  

Kavanagh-DraperWedding
Picture
The Newmarket Era. February 2, 1912
Since the wedding took place at Edith's home in Keswick, the reception took place about 8.5 miles away at the home of Frank's family in Queensville, East Gwillimbury Township.
Picture
Listed under KESWICK in The Newmarket Era. February 2, 1912
So Edith has married Frank Kavanagh who was living in Togo until the census was taken a few months prior to their marriage. The snippet says they're heading back to Frank's home in Winnipeg, yet I couldn't find them in Henderson's Winnipeg City Directory for 1911, 1912, or 1915.
PictureThe Newmarket Era. November 27, 1914
However, I found this snippet which places them in Manitoba in 1914. Winnipeg is in Manitoba, but not Togo which is just a spit away inside the Saskatchewan border. 
But where in Manitoba?

Again, we end a post with more questions. Feel free to jump in if you know the answers.

And now that Edith is married to Frank, there isn't anything to report on that would hold Noah and Ethel in Ontario. The next post then will be Noah guiding Ethel on her first trip to the West, and to her new home on the prairies at Adams, Saskatchewan.


1912: Jan 12 Letter fm Veda Perrault

3/24/2014

 
Picture
Clark Hall, Brandon College, at the end of 10th St Brandon, Manitoba, 1915. Just one photo of hundreds on the website of Bill Hillman's Manitoba Photo Archive http://www.hillmanweb.com/brandon/23.html

Author of Letter:  Veda Perrault b 1895 
Dated:  Jan 12/12
Addressed to: Uncle Noah and Aunt Ethel
Mailed  from:  Brandon, Manitoba
Relationship: Niece (16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva and Joe Perrault)
Profession:  student
Writing  instrument: Black ink 
Written on: Textured folded notepaper with Brandon College letterhead. Veda has numbered the pages 1, 3, 2, 4 with the third page turned sideways. 


People/places mentioned in this letter:

Uncle Noah - *Noah Draper, age 23 (b 1887, North Gwillimbury, York, Ontario)Aunt Ethel - *Ethel Nelson, age 21 (b 1890, North Gwillimbury, York, Ontario)
Uncle Fred - *Fred Coventry, husband of Noah's sister Louie (Sarah Louisa)
Grandma - *Sarah Deverell Draper, Noah and Eva's mother
Eva - *Eva Amelia Perrault, Noah's sister, married to *Joe Perrault
Saddie - *Sadie Nelson, Ethel's 16 yr old sister
Leslie - Leslie Peter Thomson, Veda's beau

Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
- landing - getting off the train
- P. Card - post card
- Clark Hall - the women's residence of Brandon College
- Tugaske - northwest of Grand Coulee
- Outlook - northwest of Grand Coulee
- Moose Jaw - west of Grand Coulee

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


Picture
Jan 12./12.

Dear Uncle Noah also Aunt Ethel, -
             " Congratulations! 'and
Many happy returns of the 
day"
         Well I am back at this
crazy whole again. and oh goodness
I hate it. goodness I have been
so nearly getting reported since
landing. nearly every night.
Just miss it by the skin
of my teeth.
          This is Friday and I am
in class as usual. "Some place"


Picture
2.
Well Uncle Noah how did it
come off any way? Did you do as
bad as Uncle Fred get on the
wrong side or did you carry it
out all right. I must have you 
learn me when you return again.
We did not have a very good
Xmas this year. It did not seem
like Xmas to any of us. "Something 
missing" guess it must have been 
you and Grandma.  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 MooseJaw.


Picture
3.
Is Belhaven changed since last winter?
I got a P. Card from you when I returned
here. also a letter while I was at home
Does Grandma seem to be enjoying
herself? It is  certainly a shame I
have not wrote to hersince you left.
But tell her I often think of this and
will write as soon as I have another
chance. Which will be Sunday. They
seem to keep us on the go here all
the time. Is Saddie at home or going
to school Better bring her up here and 


Picture
4
come to Clark Hall.  She has
not wrote me for a long, long
time.  Guess she is angry for me
not writing to her. Is that it?
ask her.
          Well think I shall
have to close. I wrote home
to night for a permit. So
don't forget to stop off. I
shall be very, very glad
to see all of you.
              Bye - Bye
                     your neice
                              Veda



Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1 - Sarah Deverell Draper's letter of 2 weeks ago

Veda's letter is the first confirmation that Sarah Deverell Draper went east with Noah. If you've been reading these letters, you'll have seen two weeks ago where I posted a letter from Sarah as if she had stayed behind and Eva had gone with Noah.  That letter was dated Dec 17th without a year, and yet certain events pointed to it being 1911. I guess it wasn't. Which makes me wonder which year it was written. My next best guess is 1910 - the year Noah went east and proposed to Ethel - because Sarah mentions the Nelson Family only and not Ethel herself as a mother-in-law would do. So the next step would be to scour the local newspaper for evidence that Eva accompanied him in 1910 and that the people/children mentioned in Sarah's letter were all where she said they were. But that is for another day...


Genealogy Note 2 - The Family of Veda Josie Perrault

Veda has been mentioned too many times to list here, but I've never detailed her family's history. Since this is her post, I'll rectify this now..

Veda's mother is Noah's sister, Eva Amelia Draper, born in 1876 in North Gwillimbury. 
Picture
Veda's father is Joseph Andrew Perrault born 1868 in the Sutton area, of French-Canadian heritage. Although Joe's family is easy to locate, they seem to have divided into Perrault and Parent branches which can make it difficult to distinguish accurately.

After their 1894 marriage, Joe and Eva lived in North Gwillimbury Township as they are shown in the 1901 census with two of the four children born to them thus far:

Veda Josie born May '95
Luella born May '97, died in Sep '98 at 16 months due to a cholera infection 
David Clinton born Jan '99 died in Sep '99 at 9 months due to a cholera infection
Reuben Gerald born Feb 1900

In Mar 1902, Joseph Erwin was born.
Picture
Picture
In Mar 1903, Joe and Eva moved their 3 children and household to the Qu'Appelle district of the North West Territories, east of Regina. Their farm was between Sintaluta and Indian Head and although other cousins would move to the area in a few years, at the time, they were alone. 

In 1905, Eva's parents, David Draper and Sarah Deverell moved their family from North Gwillimbury, Ontario to the Assiniboine District of the North West Territories. They lived on the same parallel as Eva and Joe, but on the western side of the growing city of Regina. 

In 1906, Saskatchewan became an official Canadian province and because of the mass of immigration and settlement across the prairies, the first of 2 special censuses were taken. (The 2nd would be in 1916.) Thus, the 1906 census shows:
  • Joe and Eva Perrault along with Veda, Reuben and Erwin still near Indian Head
  • Eva's sister, Ethel,  married to Will Rigler, with 2 children near Grand Coulee
  • Eva's parents, David and Sarah Draper with 4 adult single offspring near Grand Coulee

As you can see by Joe's obituary, he moved Eva and the kids to Grand Coulee in 1907. This is confirmed in the 1911 Canada Census, where we find them living close to Grand Coulee along with five kids:
- Veda born 1895
- Reuben born 1900
- Erwin born 1902
- Dora born 1907
- Marguerite 1910

During the spring of 1911, Noah and Ethel talked about Veda's hands and that she was having x-ray treatment done in Regina for them. According to my research, the early 20th century used radiation treatment to skin conditions and diseases. But by the fall of 1911, Veda continued her education at Brandon College although we don't known what subjects she was taking.

Also, this is the first time we've seen anyone mention the name, Leslie. Veda is talking about Leslie Peter Thomson, born 1888 in Shakespeare, North Oxford, Ontario. 

Leslie's occupation is Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)  station agent and according to this letter, he is west of Grand Coulee working in Tugaske, Sask.

In a year and a half, Veda and Leslie will marry and start their own family. 

1911 Courtship: The 1912 Wedding

3/16/2014

 
1912 Marriage Certificate image
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
1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - front cover/Page 1
1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson
1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - Page 2
1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson
1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - Page 3
1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson
1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson - Page 4
1912 Marriage Certificate for Noah Draper & Ethel Nelson
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...
Picture
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.

Picture
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:
Picture
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.




Picture

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.

Picture
 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.
Picture

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?
Picture

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. 

Picture
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. 


1911 Courtship Special: Letter from Noah's Mother

3/10/2014

 
Picture
Grand Coulee, Saskatchewan, Octobert 1913; Courtesty of the Norma Draper Personal Photograph Collection
Noah is on his way to Ethel! 
For more info, read the Genealogy Notes below. 
Author of Letter:  S S Draper
Dated:  The 17  (presumed to be Dec 17, 1911)
Addressed to: Mr N C Draper, My Dear boy
Mailed  from:  Grand Coulee
Relationship: Noah's mother (Sarah Sophia Deverell)
Profession:  Widow of Farmer
Writing  instrument: Fine BlueInk
Written on: Very thin Ivory-colored lined notepaper 5" x 8" 


People/places mentioned in this letter:

Eva - *Eva Amelia Perrault, Noah's sister who married *Joe Perraul
Veda - *Veda Perrault, 16 yr old daughter of *Eva and *Joe 
Viola - *Viola Rigler, 14 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, *Ethel and *Will Rigler
Will - *Will Rigler, husband of Noah's sister *Ethel Maud
Fred & Louie - *Fred Coventry, who married Noah's sister, *Sarah Louisa aka *Louie
Percies - *Percy Draper - Noah's brother

Mrs H Winch - Margaret & Herb *Winch
Nettie  - Nellie? Winch - records show Margaret & Herb having a Nellie born in 1910
Sam - Will's *hired man
Alf - Noah's *hired man

Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
dora - the sow (pig) will "come in" or farrow (give birth)
wheat 91 cts - he sold his wheat for 91 cents a bushel
sistern - a big tank called a cistern to hold water
Regina, Saskatchewan
Ravenshoe, Ontario
Keswick, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
West - the Western Canadian provinces

Cliches mentioned in this letter:
"...will wonders never sease"  (cease)

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



Picture
Grand Coulee The
17
Mr N C Draper

                My Dear boy
                                 received your letter and
too cards on the 14 was glad to hear you 
was well  hope this may find you the same
we are all well and getting on nicely  was
up home on sunday the children have all
got bad colds Viola was real sick but
is better  the things all loock well but
I never seen the snow piled up around
there as it is now we have had very cold
weather and the worst stormes I ever seen
but it is a lovely day to day  the snow
is settling fast  I stayed up all night
then Fred and Louie come up Monday
and I come down with them  they are well
Fred come and got Veda and I last wens
day and toock us to his place  it is far
better than I thought  They are very 
comfortiable but the roads are a fright to
travel on but then I se you have had


Picture
2
Stormes down there to but before this
I sapose it has stopped  so you haie got to
belhaven  Well how did you find them at Mr
Nelsons  all well I hope  remember me to
Them and all inquireing friends  I sapose
ere this you have been to our old home
how does it loock  did you goe and se
Mrs H Winch  I feel so sorrow for her
I hope Nettie is better ere this  you did 
not say what ailed her
Alfs was Just up to our place and said
one of Percies horses was sick  Will and
Percy are goind to kill the pigs this
week  they are not goeing to kill dora
they think she will come in in a fiew
weeks  wonders will never sease
Sam got drunk and brought to 
flasks home with him so Will
shipped him so he is doeing the chores
alone but when the roads get do he
can get straw and watter  he will get
a man  the sistern is dry and
they have to melt snow for all the watter
they have and feed the horses snow

Picture
3
Alf said Myres was drawing watter
with fore horses and the tank slewed of
the road and went down so far that the tank
up set and he said they lost their watter and
had a turble time to get it up again ' ' 
So you doe not think as mouk of down there
as you might.  but I hope you will have a
good time  I had a letter from Eva she
seemes to think they are haveing a big
time  your letter reads as tho you had a good
time goeing down ' '   you wanted to
know how much Will got for the
wheat he got 91 cts but could have got
more if he could have held it longer
but when it was drawed on he had to
sell it  well I will close my scribble
now be a good boy and remember
your Mother never for gets you in 
her prair, that god may keep you
safe from harm  from your ever
loveing Mother S S Draper
let me hear from you often



Genealogy Notes

Last week I posted the last of the 1911 Courtship letters between Noah Draper and Ethel Nelson. Ethel's Treasure Box didn't contain any from Noah for November, and there aren't any more from Noah or Ethel until Noah joins the Royal Canadian Naval Voluntary Reserve and starts writing to Ethel once more. (I do have much more to post of the family though.)

For whatever reason, the December 1911 issues of The Newmarket Era are not online. It seems that every issue before and after is accounted for, but not the one that announces Noah's homecoming. 

Hence, I'm so thankful for this week's letter where Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper writes to Noah or we wouldn't know when he left. It also seems that Noah travelled with his sister, Eva Amelia, although we don't know who else went along since no mention of Joe is made and Veda is still back in Grand Coulee. When Sarah writes that "...Eva she seems to think they are haveing a big time..." could be Eva and Joe, or Eva and the family she left behind when she moved West with Joe.

Although Sarah isn't clear about which date she sent the letter, certain events in the letter show it to be December 1911. Namely, the mention of:
- how she hoped everyone was well at Mr. Nelson's place (Ethel's home)
- the Herbert Winch Family and Nettie's burns  (see 1911 Courtship: Oct 22)
- cold weather and the worst storms she's ever seen (weather info below)

PictureThe Morning Leader (Regina) - Dec 19, 1911
Sarah says she received a letter and 2 cards on the 14th, so Noah was gone by then. I'm guessing he left soon after December began because Ethel's letters stop at the end of Nov. (I sure would have liked to have been there for that meeting between them!) 

The ad on the right is from Regina's Morning Leader newspaper from December 19 of that year and shows the most likely way Noah would have traveled east. If he chose the Canadian Northern Railway, then his fee would have been $47.15 from Regina to Toronto. 

At Toronto, Noah would have taken the Toronto and York Radial Railway north to either Ravenshoe or Keswick. We don't know which relative he's staying with, but there are many since Noah's great grandfather and his siblings were some of the original settlers of York County and the township of North Gwillimbury.  


Picture
1910, Keswick, Ontario Radial Station; Courtesy of Wikipedia and the Georgina Pioneer Village exhibit at Virtual Museum
About that cold weather... Grand Coulee is within sight of Regina and the coldest Nov 11th on record was in the year 1911 where temperatures dropped to -37.2C /-35F.  (Wikipedia's List of Extreme Temperatures in Canada). Although it didn't stay that cold, the temperatures over that winter averaged out to being one of the coldest winters on record. 

Actually, weather men are still talking about it. Check out this recent blog post from the United States National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office which talks about The Great Blue Norther of November 11, 1911:
...As dramatic as these weather changes were, we must go back further in time to look at one such cold front (also known then as The Great Blue Norther) that established a set of weather records that arguably are unique in modern weather history. On November 11, 1911 (remembered easily for now as 11/11/11), the afternoon temperature in Oklahoma City reached a record high for the date of 83, before plunging 66 degrees to a record low of 17 at midnight that evening. Both daily temperature records remain unbroken and untied since 1911...

The Wikipedia entry for  The Great Blue Norther of 11/11/1911 has this to say:
The Great Blue Norther of 11/11/1911 was a cold snap that affected the central United States on Saturday, November 11, 1911. Many cities broke record highs, going into the 70s and 80s early that afternoon. By nightfall, cities were dealing with temperatures in the teens and single-digits on the Fahrenheit scale. This is the only day in many midwest cities' weather bureau jurisdictions where the record highs and lows were broken for the same day. Some cities experienced tornadoes on Saturday and a blizzard on Sunday. A blizzard even occurred within one hour after an F4 tornado hit Rock County, Wisconsin. The main cause of such a dramatic cold snap was an extremely strong storm system separating warm, humid air from frigid, arctic air. Dramatic cold snaps tend to occur mostly in the month of November, though they can also come in February or March.


So finally, Noah and Ethel are together once again and can now plan the details of their wedding. Next week I'll post everything I can dig up on that happy event. Hope to see you here for the happy event. 




1911 Courtship: Nov 23 Dear Noah

2/24/2014

 
Picture
John Zenuk, paternal uncle of Nelson Draper, driving double-axle sleigh, Chelan, Saskatchwan
Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  Nov. 23rd 1911. 
Addressed to: My Dear Noah
Mailed  from:  Belhaven, P.O. 
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter  
Writing  instrument: Fine point pen, blue-black ink 
Written on:  Beige lined foolscap, newsprint quality, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form and pages labelled as 1, 3,2,4, however, I've posted them here in the order they are to be read.   It seems that Ethel has run out of quality stationery - a common gift of the Edwardian period, but with Christmas a month away, she may get a new supply.


People mentioned in this letter of part of the Genealogy Notes:

Mother - *Ida Amelia Glover
*Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
*Veda - Veda Perrault, 16 yr old daughter of  Noah's sister, Eva & Joseph Perrault
*Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
Herb *Winches - friends and neighbors
Walter *Yorke - stepson of Noah's 1st cousin 2x removed
Raymond *Yorke - son of Walter *Yorke, friend and neighbor
Squire *Yorke - Walter Yorke's son & *Hired Man of Ethel's family
**Stanley and Mae - Stanley *Mahoney & Mae Anderson
Professor *Dales - frequent fill-in preacher from Toronto 


Places/things mentioned in this letter:

- *West - Western Canadian provinces
- **sleighs, cutter, buggy
- *Brandon - community in southwestern Manitoba

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


Picture
Belhaven, P.O.
Nov. 23.rd 1911.
My Dear Noah, --
                                Rec'd your letter all O.K. 
on Monday. I guess you will think
I am a little Slow in writing this time
but I was up to Mr Herb Winches over
Sunday and Monday so did'nt have any
chance to write sooner. So I guess you
can forgive 'eh'.
                                My gracious I'm afraid
you'll freeze to death up there if it gets
any colder. good thing you're coming
down here there'll be more chance for you
living another year or so. "ha ha"


Picture
2.
                    No! Stanley and Mae are not
married. I don't know when they are to
to be married, but I hear sometime before spring.
Again I hear Raymond Yorke has decided
not to marry but go West in the Spring with
his father. 
                        Well I amy very glad indeed to
hear you intend coming as soon as you are
for certainly it can't be to soon for me. for
I am a lonesome girl sometimes, and
often I think if I get as homesick to see the
ones at home as I do to see you now. I
might pity you, for it gives one the blues.
                    My we had a splendid Service in
Belhaven Sunday evening. Professor Dales
spoke he is a Baptist, and he certainly can
speak. What church do you attend? And
do you believe their's a Father above?
Do you believe as I do? You may think these

Picture
3.
funny questions. Noah: I will tell you
sometime why I ask them.
     When ever I meet Herb Winch if
any one else is around he ask's them
if they heard Noah Draper was to
be married, then he'll ask me if I had
heard about it, The great clown he is; 
that's all I have to say for him.
     Well four weeks from now I
Suppose you will be here and you may
depend I want be here writing letters "eh"
Something better. I'll have you
right before me giving you a good lecture
"eh" I am sure I'll enjoy it better than
any show or writing letters.
     Squire has just come in from
Belhaven. and the rest have all gone
to bed.

Picture
4.
     We are having awfully rough and
cold weather this last week or so. but
hav'nt much snow yet. Have saw one
or two sleighs out. Guess we will
have to go sleigh-riding in the buggy
for we hav'nt any cutter or sleighs yet. "ha ha"
They helped to make a fire one day. "eh"
How is Veda? hope she has improved
and was she at Brandon? Sadie was
awfully anxious to hear from her.
     When I told our folks you would be
here in three or four weeks, Christie
was right on hand and said your
mother could come, but you could'nt
What do you think about that? ha ha
You know what a time you had last
winter. You'll remember Christy
"eh" the same old tease. Space says         x x x
you'd better close for this time , 
                      so bye bye love,    Sweetheart




Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note #1 - Stanley Mahoney and Mae Anderson 

While posting these letters, I tried not to post events before they happened, but in the case of Stanley and Mae, a search showed their wedding date of Jun 17, 1912, and since Noah and Ethel marry in Jan 1912, I decided to post the information in case we didn't get back to them. You can read more about Stanley and Mae on the post 1911 Courtship: Mar 26.


Genealogy Note #2 - Winter Travel Vehicles

In this letter Ethel talks about a sleigh and cutter and how they haven't a new one yet. If you recall, the Nelson's lost lots of equipment when their barn burnt down in the early summer. 

The photograph at the top of this post is of Nelson's Uncle John Zenuk up in Chelan, Saskatchewan. John still works the farm where his father homesteaded back in the 1920's although the next generation is taking over in John's retirement. His mother - Nelson's grandmother - was the first white woman in the Porcupine Plain area, a fact detailed in the local history book. 

In the last couple of years, I've published a series of Sleigh posts on my Inkwell Inspirations group blog which show the different types of winter conveyances used throughout the years. It's not a comprehensive list, but one that shows what was available:

19th Century Sleighs - a basic primer on sleighs of all kinds

19th Century Children's Sleighs - small size sleds for kids and animals 

Royal Sleighs - Rich and extravagant sleighs spanning the centuries

Historic Winter Travel: Caboose - Enclosed sleighs for passenger travel


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