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1911 Courtship: Oct 1, Dear Noah

12/10/2013

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

Picture
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.

Picture
2. 
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

Picture
3.
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.

Picture
4
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.

1911 Courtship: Sep 10 Dear Noah

11/4/2013

 
Reciprocity from Glenbow Museum
G. E. Goddard on "Reciprocity", sired by "Juryman", Bow River Horse Ranch, Cochrane area, Alberta. ca1890's. Courtesy Glenbow Museum.
When I searched my historical photo archives for something to show the 1911 political debate of Reciprosity (Genealogical Note #3), this cowboy and his horse, named "Reciprocity" came up. And honestly, I'd rather show this image than a political one any day.


Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  Sep-    1911  (Possibly Sep 10th due to facts in letter)
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. Ethel is very talkative this week and has written 7 pages using 2 pieces of writing paper. 

People/places mentioned in this letter:
 
- Mother - *Ida Amelia Glover Nelson
- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- *Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Veda -16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, *Eva Amelia and *Joe Perrault
- Mr. Perrault's - *Joe Perrault's trip to *Banff for his arthritis
*Manuel - Ethel's 6 yr old brother, *Emanuel Nelson
- Uncle *Emanuel Nelson - Ethel's Pa's paternal uncle
- Ursula *Cole - Ethel's 16 yr old 2nd cousin on the maternal *Greenwood side
- **Mr. & Mrs. Frank Terry and daughter Edna May - Noah's cousin
- **Cousin George of Udora (Drury and Alf Westgarth) (*Ida Amelia's cousins)
- *Edith Draper - Noah's 25 yr old cousin whose finace lives in the West
- Noah's mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper
- Uncle - *Emmanuel Nelson - Uncle of Ethel's Pa - *James Henry Nelson

- Mrs Harry Glancey of Newmarket and son Roy, school teacher - local friends 
- 'the boys' - the local men who went west to find work during harvest
- Orville and the rest of the boys - Neighbor Orville *King
- Mr. Merritt - Sadie's school teacher
- Ethel and Noah's friends and neighbors who went to Toronto for the Exhibition:
     - Stanley and May (use search box)
     - Della, Dora, and Hattie M.
     - Gordon *Crowder
     - Morin Yorke
- *Mary Smith of Belhaven - friend who visited Ethel in *Huntsville
- Lulu Sheppard - neighbor
- Mr. Prosser's - could be any of the *Prosser families
- Irene and Maud *Bruels - Ethel's old girlfriend
- John Morris - ? (still researching)
- Professor *Dales - frequent visiting minister

Local Polititians: Mr. Armstrong, *Lennox, and Robinette
Mr. Heise - Previous residents, Mr. Heise and family, were in the newspaper travelling through. Not sure if it's the same one Ethel's talking about. 


Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Toronto, Ontario
- Sutton, Ontario
- Udora, Ontario
- Mount Albert, Ontario
- *Newmarket, Ontario 
- Brandon, Manitoba
- *Banff, Alberta

- **reciprocity - trade agreement between Canada and the U.S. 


Cliches/Phrases/Word Use
- kid
- phone

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.
Sept -      1911
Mr N. C. Draper.
          Grand Coulee. Sask.

My Dear Noah, 
                                  Now for a good long letter
I guess you would miss my letter this
last week. but you will have to forgive
me of that. Im sending a good long one
this week to make up for it. Blue  Sunday
"eh" I tell you I was feeling a little blue
last week. I did'nt get you letter until Wed,
I guess I do like, to get letters from a
queer person as you said in your last
letter & (to-day) I saw Mr & Mrs Frank
Terry to-day. I think their daughter is
home from the West. came rathe
unexpectedly. but I guess Welcome "eh"
Mrs Harry Glancey of Newmarket was here
this afternoon. Roy is teaching school at


Picture
2.
Mt Albert. He intends studying for a doctor
after next summer holidays. I don't know
where the boys could of have landed that
you hav'nt saw any of them yet. I met a
girl in Newmarket & I said good-day
& her first salute was. I hear you are
going to be hooked up this winter. I says
come on with me if your coming &
on I went, I didnt wish for any particular
chat just then.
Sadie failed hr exams by 2 marks but
Mr Merritt said he thot she could go
on in the fourth form. She is starting
on Monday. Am glad to hear of Veda
going to College. is she going down to
Brandon? also how is Mr Perrault now
hope his trip to Banff was a help to him.
Quite a few from around here were
down to the Ex - Stanley & May. Della
Dora & Hattie M.) Gordon Crowder.
Morin Yorke & some others. don't include
me though. "ha ha"

Picture
3.
Say Manuel was up to the office one
day. & he came home & said Noah was
there. & of course he knew it was you. ha
Wish it had of been. We are certainly
having a lively time over reciprocity
Suppose you are up there. I have
been to Hear Mr Armstrong & Lennox
also Robinette. Mr. Heise says "whats 
the use of the women coming they
can't vote. Mother was dreaming
of you. thot she had you crying
I told her I would like to see you
cry. ha. ha. 
Ursula Cole has been here for a few
days and she and Sadie certainly
made things lively.
Say George Westgarth from Udora came
in here just before tea. & to-night I 
have certainly heard of nothing but the
West. I suppose all day to-morrow will

Picture
4
be just the same. Wish you were here
to help me out a little. Edith Draper
called me up over the phone, said she
heard I was going West. & wanted to 
know if she could go to. Its just
awful. I hear of it a dozen times
a day. I guess those that don't know
it now are behind the times. eh.
Never mind I will be glad when the
time comes when I can be with
you. then I want be looking so
lonesome. I hope as they are all the
time telling me now. It doesn't
seem so long now. but long enough
"eh" I am glad your Mother is
coming down with you. It will
be her first trip down since she
went West. Wont it. My how nice
it would be if you were just on the
old farm now. A Good time 'eh' we'd have
now. 


Picture
5.
   Uncle is still gaining strength, if he only
keeps on. But he is an old man &
we can't expect him to last long.
Mary Smith is down to Toronto now.
   I started this letter on Saturday but
this is Sunday now. It is a very
nice day. we have had some
quite cool weather.  Some one
was saying you had a frost
up there. If so did it do
much damage. I hope. not
any way. Pa was to Sutton
yesterday & he heard that
Orivelle & the rest of the boys
had'nt got any work yet
was paying for their board.
I guess they wont think much
of that. "eh"

Picture
6.
     Lulu Sheppard is going to
H. School. do you remember
the time she came up for
a electric shock. She is a 
lively kid, "eh"
People are going home from church
I think I must be a bad a you
for I am not going to S. School
either. Ma & Pa are going up to
Mr Prossers this after noon.
Irene Bruels is home now.
Maud was home for over Sunday
She is working at the lake for
John Morris, Well I was up
to Church to-night. Prof Dales
preached.
George has gone home. he is

Picture
7
a cousin of ours, from
Udora. A scaffold he was
on broke & he fell. & broke his
nose & cut his face all up.
Also wrenched his arm badly
So he is off work. & making
short visits since he began getting
better.
Say I am making quite a lengthy
letter. "eh" There is nothing I would
like better than to see you.
I guess I must close for this
time. with love & x x x 
                                Your Sweetheart Ethel.
I think this must be a queer
letter from queer person, too. "eh".




Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Cousin George from Udora

Ethel mentions Cousin George in 2 places in this letter and at first I wasn't sure if she was talking about the same one...
- pg 3 - George ???  from Udora came in here just before tea
- pg 6 - George has gone home. He is a cousin of ours from Udora. A scaffold he was on broke & he fell...

Since I didn't recall any of Ethel's relatives living in Udora, I tried to do an Ancestry.ca search. The problem is that it only lets me search for people, not places. Very inconvenient as I've run into this before. 

However, this week's Newmarket Era mentions a scaffolding accident - one of many back then - and although the names weren't familiar, I clipped it out:

Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 1, 1911 - Page: 2 of 8
     At Aurora on Monday of last week,
two Udora boys, Alf and Drury West-garthe, while putting cornice on a
house they were building, fell with
the scaffold to the ground and took
the consequences of a very quick stop.
Alf jumped up without a scratch but
Drury's face looked like the aftermath
of a scrap with Jim Jeffries, but
we are pleased to say nothing more
serious than scratches and bruises
were experienced. -- Journal.

Of course, the problem with the above snippet is that it mentions Alf and Drury Westgarthe and not cousin George ???, whose last name I couldn't make out from Ethel's writing. But with the light bulb flashing above my head, I looked at Ethel's writing again and sure enough, she had written George Westgarth from Udora, although another check on the family tree still didn't match the name.

So, I did a wide search for a George Westgarth from Udora and a George D Westgarth came up with Ellen Greenwood as his mother. Since Ethel's maternal grandmother is a Greenwood, I checked for Ellen on the family tree and there she was... sister of Sarah Elizabeth Greenwood, Ethel's grandma. Which meant Ethel's mom, Ida Amelia, and George D were cousins. Good to know, but it still didn't match Alf and Drury Westgarthe in the newspaper scaffolding accident. However, a search for George D's birth record confirmed his name was George Drury Westgarth. 

Ethel doesn't mention George's brother Alf, but she does say that George's face looked like he'd had lost a round with the reigning boxing champ. It also adds more cousins to the family tree. 

Genealogy Note 2: The Franklin Terry's 

Ethel writes that she saw Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Terry and that she thinks, "their daughter is home from the West. came rather unexpectedly. but I guess Welcome "eh".

Obviously Ethel and Noah share something that they're not telling us, but I'll tell you all I found out... We first encountered the Franklin Terry's when Noah made a brief mention of their son, Manford Terry, who is Noah's cousin on the Draper side. Manford was married to Etta May Prosser and they lived near Belhaven, North Gwillimbury Township. 

In 1911, Manford is 30 yrs old and he has 2 sisters, Edna May is 28 yrs old, and Olive Gertrude is 12 yrs old. Their sibling, William Burr, died at the age of 12 from erysipelas 
which is a skin infection caused by acute streptococcus bacteria. 

Edna May is the daughter mentioned in this week's letter. In January, 1908, she married George Robert Fogg, a saddle merchant from Togo, Saskatchewan, who was visiting relatives in the North Gwillimbury area. George took Edna May back West where he lived in the same community as his parents and a couple siblings. Since his father was a harness maker, and George was a saddle merchant buyer, I suspect he worked for his father although that's not written on the Census records. 

I found a birth record for George and Edna's 1st child - a son born December 1908. But then I can't find anything else until the 1916 Saskatchewan census which shows them living in Saskatoon, SK, with a 2nd child, a daughter born in 1913. George is a wholesale saddle buyer and the rest of his family seem to be out in Alberta. 

I have searched dozens of census records and cannot find George and Edna on the 1911 Canada census anywhere. So either they didn't register, their records are missing, or their records are so badly misspelled that the ancestry computers aren't picking them up. I even did a 30 page line-by-line search for them in the Togo, Sk area without results. So I suppose we'll have to wait and see if Noah knows where they are.

 
Genealogy Note 3: Reciprocity

Ethel tells Noah that "...we are having a lively time over reciprocity. Suppose you are up there."

It's federal election time and the newspapers are filled with the debate over the trade agreement called Reciprocity. Here are a couple samples...

Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 1, 1911 - Page: 7 of 8
Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 1, 1911 - Page: 2 of 8
Picture
The Newmarket Era. Sept 1, 1911 - Pg: 2
Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 1, 1911 - Page: 5 of 8

1911 Courtship: Dear Ethel Sep 3

10/28/2013

 
James H Nelson and driver
ca 1930s James Henry Nelson and his driver, Belhaven, Ontario. Courtesy of the Norma Draper Photo Collection.
The back of the above photo is written in Norma Draper's hand and says, "Grandpa and driver." It was only from reading the early 1900 newspapers that I knew the driver was the horse. Actually, the first time I read a news article about a runaway driver I thought they were talking about a person and didn't understand why he'd be running away. After re-reading it though, I came to understand the terminology of the driver being the horse that was used mainly for pulling the family's buggy, wagon, sleigh, or what have you. So when Noah mentions that he's working his driver, he means he's got his main driving horse working out in the field, and since most work horses weren't trained to pull wagons, etc, he has to walk if he wants to go anywhere. 

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: Sept 3rd 1911
Addressed to: Miss E.Nelson, Belhaven, Ont., My Dear Ethel 
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer 
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, but looks grey in places and then darkens as he dips his pen in the ink jar.
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, written in booklet form, but for the 2nd page, Noah turned the paper and written down the length of the 2 pages before closing it, turning it again, and writing page 4 on the back. 


People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper, Noah's widowed mother 
- *Veda - Noah's 16 yr old niece, daughter of his sister *Eva Amelia and *Joe Perrault
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister back in Belhaven

- plasters (plasterers)
- carpenters
- painters

- **harvest
- the office - the Post Office
- my driver - Noah's main horse for pulling the wagon, buggy, sleigh, etc (see pic above)

Cliche/Phrasing:
- "Well kiddo..." 


* 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
** see Genealogy Notes below 



Picture
Grand Coulee. Sask.
Sept. 3rd 1911.
Miss. E. Nelson,
          Belhaven, Ont.
My Dear Ethel: -
     Well kiddo I missed your
letter last week & wonder
if you got mine, hope so
any way for if it is with
you like it is with me it
is a blue Sunday. I was not
down to the office last night
but mother was there in the
afternoon I am working my
driver, so could not go unless
I walked & I was to lazy for
that. eh. 
     Well harvest has started at
last & I have about 160 or 170 acres

Picture
of wheat cut and about 120 more to cut
will finish about Thursday if it doesnt
rain any more. had a rain at noon that
will stop us tomorrow & it looks as if
it were not all over.
     Well Ethel the plasters have got thro
with the house & the carpenters
are here now & will be for about.
two weeks then the painters will
have a turn at it & then for a
move out of the tent. and you bet
I will be glad. I wish you were
here to move into it with me
& it would seem more like home
to me. but I guess if nothing
happens you will be before
long. Eh.
     Well I dont think I will get
down to church to day but I will
have to go twice next Sunday
to make up for it. ha ha. hope
you do better than that.
     Well Veda is going to college
the 26 of Sept. and I bet she will
have a big time wheather it
will do her any good or not for she
is so full of mischief that she
cant keep still.
     Say you never told me wheather
Sadie passed her exams or not
hope she did tell her I enjoyed
her letter fine. ha. Ha.

Picture
The duck season opened. last 
Friday but I have been to
buisy to go. but will go to-
morrow I guess if it dont
rain any more.
     Say it sure seems like a
long time since I saw you
and I will be glad when the
time comes when I can go 
down wish it were tomorrow
but Ihave got along so far &
guess I can untill the time
does come. eh.
     Well this is a queer letter but
it is from a queer fellow as you
well know so I guessyou will
over look that part and
remember only that I love you
& that there is a long road between
or else I would not be writing but
talking instead. Well I guess this
is all for this time so good bye with
lots of love & kisses.  N.C.D. xxxxxx



Genealogy Notes

In this week's letter, Noah writes that he has 160-170 acres of wheat cut and about 120 acres to go. That's just the binding and stooking. Sometime in the next month or so, Noah will get a harvest crew together and they'll thresh the stooks which separates the wheat kernels from the chaff. 

Some farmers owned their own threshing machines, but many hired threshing crews that went from farm to farm similar to the corporate harvest crews of today.

The following photographs were copied this past summer from one of the albums in the Norma Draper Photo Collection.  The album is mostly in chronological order starting in 1912 with the harvest photos being the first pictures in the album. Noah served in WW1 from 1916 to 1919 and then the family moved to Victoria, BC where they lived from 1920 to 1924. 

Picture
Noah & Ethel Draper and Family History in Picures 1912-1924, courtesy of the Norma Draper Family Collection.
There are 2 harvest scene photos below and each has been cropped a couple times. The originals show so much sky and ground that the people are minuscule.  Therefore, I cropped each photo first by cuttting one third off the top and the same from the bottom. What you see in the next 2 images are the result of that first cropping.

Picture
The 1st image shows the men standing around, posing. This was the first photo in the album. But the image below shows the men working as can be seen by the stream of chaff from the thresher blowing out above Percy's head on the far right. (click the image for a bigger view - I hope.)

Noah Draper Harvest Scene
ca 1912-1916 Noah Draper's Threshing Crew, Adams, Saskatchewan. Percy Draper far right standing on the wagon. Noah Draper 3rd from right standing on thresher behind horses.
These next 2 images have been cropped further by cutting another third off the left side so we can clearly see Noah and Percy. 

Noah Draper Harvesting Scene
ca 1912-1916 Noah Draper's Threshing Crew, Adams, Saskatchewan. Noah Draper farthest on the right, Percy Draper 3rd from the right. (Cropped from wide image above.)
The image below wasn't annotated by Ethel like the one above, however, it appears that the men stopped their work and then moved forward together for the shot. When I zoomed in as much as I dared without losing definition, I could clearly tell that Percy Draper is on the wagon because of the jaunty angle of his light colored hat. But where was Noah?

I finally found him by looking for his clothes - the partially unbuttoned coat over coveralls - the only worker to wear his coat in this fashion. He's on the thresher, behind where the horses are standing. Unfortunately, his face appears to be a blur so he might be looking down and his hat is hiding his face, but he's using the same stance in both images and it's one that I've come to recognize from many of his pictures - thanks again to his daughter Norma's preservation of the family pictures.

Noah Draper Harvesting Scene
ca 1912-1916 Noah Draper's Threshing Crew, Adams, Saskatchewan. Percy Draper far right standing on the wagon. Noah Draper 3rd from right standing on thresher behind horses. (Cropped from wide image above.)
There's a good probability that the husbands of Noah and Percy's sisters, Ethel Maud and Eva Amelia, are somewhere in the photographs so if any of those family members see this and recognize someone, please contact us.

1911 Courtship Special: Aug 8 Dear Ethel From Ma

9/16/2013

 
Picture
L to R - Ida Amelia Glover Nelson, Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper, Ethel Nelson Draper, James H Nelson, and a very young JD Nelson. ca 1916
The above image is part of a bigger photo that we found last summer in Ethel's Treasure Box but I didn't post it here because I couldn't place everyone. Now, thanks to the photos in the Norma Draper Family Albums, I've been able to confirm that the photo is 1916 and includes Ethel with her parents and her mother-in-law. I'm posting it here because this week's letter is from Ethel's ma and I thought you might like to see who's doing the writing. 

Author of Letter: Ida Amelia Glover Nelson 
Dated:  Aug 8th (1911)
Addressed to: Dear Ethel (Ethel is up in Huntsville, Ontario visiting Ida Amelia's sister, Sarah Elizabeth Glover Winter)
Mailed  from:  Belhaven, Ont. 
Relationship:  Ethel's ma
Profession:  Farmer's Wife
Writing  instrument: Blue pen 
Written on: Off-white, textured, and heavily stained, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half with a flowery bough and hanging basket motif. Ida has written the pages in this order: 1, 3, 2, 4, although I've rearranged them for legibility. 



People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- Uncle - *Emanuel Nelson - paternal uncle of Ethel's pa
- Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover - Ida Amelia's sister
- Gorden Crouder - Gordon *Crowder - a neighbor 
- Loal Dales - Minister Lowel *Dales (not sure if related to Prof. Dales)
- Misses/Mrs Perry *Morton - a neighbor

Topics:
- **Doing the Wash

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 Aug 8th

                              Dear Ethel
                     got your letter
                     friday   but have
                     been slow about
                     Writing   you had
                     better come home
                     when your month
                        is in   I am getting
                       tired  I washed yester
                       had a big washing.
                           want to iron to
day     Sadie is talking
to Crouders     Gorden is
acting like goose  went 

Picture
2
with sadie friday night
we went to quartley metting
sunday and he had to come
and kept then from sunday
school  then Sadie come home
from church with him and
left Christie co come with
anyone she could   then
he was here last   till
10 oclock.  I am out with 
them all to gether.
Uncle is some better  is 
up but doctor says he
will not live long   you
tell us what day you can
come and get of at Uncles

Picture
3
then we can get you
there   get some of 
that thread if it is
nice for me.   enough for
a pair of shams   sadie
can be working some
Sadie failed so you
see there will be lots
of sewing to do if she
goes to school again.
and the pickles and
fruit   soyou had better
come home   I had the
headache again Sunday
after noon but done a big
days work yesterday.

Picture
(Written upside down across the top and down the left side)

How is Sarah would like to have her come down good by

good bye


4
washed 2 blankets and to
quilts besids the other clothes
cleaned the cellar    made
a cake and had 9 men 
have no men to day have
got the barn nearly all
done and all the cutting
done   men are coming
this after noon to start
cemmenting the stable
floor   Loal Dales was
here for tea on friday 
and then he shingled
another half day   misses
perry Morton said she
was coming down some 
day but I wont have her till

(written up the right side) 
you come home

Genealogy Notes

Picture
Wash day in the Ponoka, Alberta area, April 1913. Courtesy of the Glenbow Archives.
In this week's letter, Ethel's ma is feeling the strain of the extra workload while Ethel has a much needed vacation up in Huntsville. Electric washing machines didn't come along until 1916 so until then, the washing had to be done with the crank wheel like in the above photo. Let's take a walk through the early history of washing machines in this weeks' Genealogy Notes.

Picture
ca 1989, Visitors washing clothes, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
The photo shows clothes lying on the ground to dry for the lack of a clothesline. I can imagine this is what the majority of the pioneers had to do as they traveled across the United States and Canada in conestoga wagons and red river carts.

Picture
ca 1913, Dave Blacklock doing his laundry, Black Diamond, Alberta
If you were lucky enough, you had a washboard and tub to scrub your clothes with before hanging them on the line. Whether they were out on the range or living on the ranch, cowboys have always been responsible for their own laundry.

Picture
ca 1897, Bachelor washing clothes, Beynon, Alberta
An early washing machine had a handle to push and pull to agitate the clothes thereby relieving you the job of scrubbing them on a washboard. It also contain a roller mechanism which squeezed the water from the clothes instead of having to physically wring them all out.

Picture
ca 1901 Inscription: "Improved Imperial Washer. T. Eaton Co. Ltd. Canada." Courtesy of http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/M999.38.1/
According to the McCord Virtual Museum, the 1901  T. Eaton Co. catalogue showed this washing machine which contained a hand crank to agitate the clothes instead of the push/pull lever. Again, a roller system for squeezing out the water was included. From the height, it looks like this model saved a lot of back pain compared to the model in the previous photo. 

The McCord Museum states, "It would take many years to discover the ideal material for the tubs of washing machines. After wood in the 1890s, came metal in the 1910s, which was replaced in the 1930s with enamelled steel, a material that had proved that it could stand up to a wide range of temperatures."

Picture
ca 1910's Thomas Iredale family doing laundry on verandah, Groton area, Alberta.
As I mentioned at the top of this post, electricity wasn't available for washing machines until about 1916, but some mechanically-minded folks were using belts to hook their washing machines to gasoline engines and other motors to save their arms from the dreary task of cranking the wheel.

This style of washing machine was so successful at washing clothes and wringing them out, that other than changing the composition to enamel on steel, it would be decades before improvements were made to the actual design of the machine.

It may have done a decent job of washing clothes, but raise your hand if you ever wore a shirt that was missing part, or a complete button because it'd been snapped off by the powerful wringer. Or have you ever been pulled into the wringer because it nabbed part of the clothing you were wearing when you weren't paying attention? 


1911 Courtship: July 30 Dear Noah

8/19/2013

 
Picture
Royal Lyceum Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, ca. 1888. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library online collection.
In this week's Courtship letter, Ethel mentions going to the Lyceum show. Read the Genealogy Notes, after Ethel's letter, to discover the world of Lyceum.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 31 May 1890)
Dated:  July 30 (1911) 
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask - My Dearest Noah  
Mailed  from:  Huntsville, Ont. 
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 blue forget-me-not motif. This is standard early 20th century notepaper, pre-folded in booklet form. Ethel has written on the pages in booklet form numbering 1-4.

People/places mentioned in this letter:


Mother (usually called Ma) - *Ida Amelia Glover Nelson
- *Elva Mitchell - Ethel's cousin in Indian Head, Sask
- Aunt Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's mother
- Ernie - Aunt Sarah's 9 yr old son 
- Uncle *Emanuel Nelson - Ethel's Pa's paternal uncle
- Percy - Noah's brother in Saskatchewan

Huntsville locals:
Mr Bradley's - the whole family as shown by use of the apostrophe
Mr Mays - no apostophe - unsure if him alone or family as well
Mrs. Harman
Mrs. Wallace Youngs' mother


Places/things mentioned in this letter:
**The Lyceum Show


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
Huntsville.July 30.
Mr N. C. Draper.
        Grand Coulee.
My Dearest Noah; -
                                     I rec'd your letter
last week & was glad I'm sure to
get it. and to know you were still
able to be hard at work. & have a good
time. You must'nt work too hard
for that is what is killing me. So
take warning! 'ha ha'. Had a letter
from Mother on Sat Morning. they are 
well, & have got the barn nearly done.

Picture
2.
Poor Old mother working & me up here.
I was out for a row on Friday evening
Mr Bradley's took me & Mr Mays out 
& say we certainly did enjoy ourselves.
We are going to have a private picnic.
Some of these days before I go home. I
just do wish you were here to go out
for a row. Say you don't want to get
to nce a girl. or I am afraid you 
may. think she the only one. 'he' 
I had a letter from Elva. asking me
to come & see her when I went west.
She has been made wise, "eh. Every body
even here in Huntsville seems to be.
Ernie here the other night, we had
company. Aunt Sarah was sort of
joking & Ernie shouted to the top of 

Picture
3. 
his voice, She's going to get married.
I felt like saying. "You little rat".
Aunt Sarah & I were down town last
night to the Lyceum Show  1 play was
The shadow of the Past
Young man married a very extravagant
wife. she wanted a diamond necklace
but could'nt afford it, so her husband
stole it. So of course he had to go to jail
He returned after 30 yrs. all in rags &
his wife about the same. He did'nt
want to be friends & she did. finally
he pushed her over & she died. Oh
is'nt it awful to watch them
sometimes. & yet I enjoyed myself.
Mrs. Harman, Mrs Wallace Youngs' mother
is here this afternoon. My it is lonesome
on Sunday's. As you say, you're certainly

Picture
not far from me in my mind, but I 
wish you were nearer. Well I have had my
tea & been to church & home again. it is
just a lonely evening. Uncle Emmanuel
Nelson isvery low I guess. the Doctor says
he cannot live long. & I would like 
awfully well to be home to see him, but
dont know whether I will get there in time
or not. I expect to stay about 2 weeks
longer if it is so I can. I suppose there
isnt another boy in all the West like Percy's.
Your  country surely isnt so forsaken
that the people here are all afraid to go
up there. No I dont know of anyone going up
Just at that time. "Wish I were". I guess I 
have scribbled enough foolishness for this timew. So Bye Bye with love & kisses
from youre Sweetheart faraway. x x x x
                         x x x x x x x x x x x 



Genealogy Notes

"Aunt Sarah & I were down town last night to the Lyceum Show  1 play was The shadow of the Past" (Page 3)

When I googled "Lyceum Show" a list of Lyceum Theatres in the UK, US, and Canada appeared. My first thought was that it was a theatre chain such as the Odeon,  Famous Players, and Strand theatres, among others. It wasn't.

My dictionary.com app shows the following definitions for lyceum:
1. an institution for popular education providing discussions, lectures, concerts, etc.
2. a building for such activities.
3. (cap.) the gymnasium where Aristotle taught, in ancient Athens.
4. a lycee.

The Lyceum movement was about community groups and organizations who sponsored educators, lecturers, and entertainment groups like plays and minstrels to educate and entertain their communities.

Although many public speakers used the lyceum approach to promote their cause, the movement branched out into drama clubs, literary societies, Chautauqua, and vaudeville. Although some lyceums were traveling shows, many were permanent venues that still stand today. 

For more information, check out these sites:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyceum_movement 
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyceum_Theatre,_London 

To get back to Ethel's letter, she attended a Lyceum Show with at least 2 plays. She doesn't say if it was a travelling Lyceum show, or a weekly or monthly event in a play or opera house. My research in Huntsville history hasn't overturned any information, and the local newspaper, The Huntsville Forester, isn't online. 

However, I find her statement, "Oh is'nt it awful to watch them sometimes. & yet I enjoyed myself" a fascinating study of human nature.

Don't you?
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