Category: Excursion

1911 Courtship Special: Letter from Noah's Mother

3/10/2014

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

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

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

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)

The 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.

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.

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Ontario Bound

8/7/2013

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This week's 1911 Courtship letter has been delayed until Aug 11th. I didn't have time to create it before leaving for my trip and once I hit that Ontario border, I couldn't get any 3G service to text or message on my iPhone never mind trying to read email messages and work on my website.

Although I had planned on visiting my mom in Thunder Bay this summer, my plans didn't come to fruition until I learned that Auntie Taimi Discala - who regularly comments on this blog - was coming over from France. I hadn't seen her in a dozen years or more and this time she was bringing my cousin, Edward, whom I've never met as he was born in England.

I hoped to see my Dad this trip, but with all that driving and my arthritis acting up, the Sault Ste. Marie area seemed a long way to go - another 8-10 hrs drive east of Thunder Bay along Lake Superior's North Shore.

My schedule fell into place when my sister, Bonnie, became available having taken time off work and could accompany me. Together, we traveled from Saskatchewan, through Manitoba, and into Ontario. We stopped in Thunder Bay awhile to see our mom, then continued east to WaWa to have lunch with our dad and his wife, Judy. It was the best solution to the distance with each of us traveling halfway. We sat with them for 3-4 hrs talking of our families and looking at photos. Judy had made a collage with info on the Muir side of the family and it was the first time I'd seen pics of Dad's sisters. That was a treasure, as was this photo...

Annie B Gibson Muir, Bill Muir, Crystal Anne Draper, Anita Mae Muir Draper, 1982, Geraldton, Ontario.

I'm not sure how funny Dad's pants were, but I loved the pants I was wearing, patches and all. I treasure the image above because it is one of the 2 times I met Gramma Muir.

And here's the photo I took last week using the delayed timer function on my camera which was mounted on my tripod. Yes, that meant once I pushed the button, I had 10 seconds to scurry around the tripod and get in my place before the camera clicked. :)

Bill Muir flanked by daughters Bonnie on the left, and Anita on the right, with wife, Judy in front. Taken on Aug 2013 in Wawa, Ontario.

So even though I didn't make it all the way to the Lake Simcoe area of York County where Ethel Isabell Nelson lived, I saw many relatives, discussed the family tree, and added lots of pics to the family album.

And speaking of Ethel, it's time I got back to this week's letter.

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1911 Courtship: July 19 Dear Ethel

7/1/2013

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Reaping, Indian Head, Assiniboia, on Canadian Pacific Railway. c1886. Prairie Postcards PC002464. Courtesty of http://peel.library.ualberta

See the Genealogy Note at the bottom of this post for more info on the above photo and the Experimental farm, mentioned by Noah in this letter.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: July 19th/1911
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, My Dear Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, but looks blue-grey in places
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, written on front and back like a book, but inside, paper is turned sideways and written across short length and down both pages.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:
- *Joe & Eva - Joe Perrault and Eva Amelia - Noah's sister
- *Parthena - wife of Noah's brother, *Percy Draper
- Parthena's baby - Royden Wallace Draper b Jul 1911 but what date?
- *Stewart Draper, Noah's cousin, in Indian Head, Saskatchewan
- *Louie: Noah's sister, Sarah Louisa Nelson, married to Fred Coventry
- Fred's sister in Alberta - Probably Margaret Jane *Coventry

* Regina, Saskatchewan
** Experimental Farm, Indian Head, Saskatchewan
Local - Twice daily passenger train that runs from Regina to Indian Head. Used for excursions such as field trips to see the world famous Bell Farm, etc.

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right column for more on posts on the above people.
**More info under Genealogical Notes

Grand Coulee, Sask
July 19th/11

Miss. E. Nelson,
huntsville. Ont.
My Dear Ethel;-
Received your letter last
week and was glad to hear
you were going to get a few
holidays & hope you have
a good time,
Well we are good and buisy
here just now. just got
the cellar cemented and am
now digging a drain. expect
the well diggers and carpenters
tomorrow. so will have 7 men
here for a while and a girl
if I can get one but they are

like hens teeth few and far between.
Joe. Eva. & I were down to the
experimental farm at Indian Head
yesterday. I went into Regina on
the morning Local with out any
intentions of going down but I got
through with my business by
the time the excurtion train
came along so I jumped on and
went down. it rained nearly all
afternoon. but we hired a livery
rig and got out to Stewarts before
it started so we didnt mind
it. but there was a good many.
dissapointed people on the train
coming home.
Osay Ethel Parthena has a baby
boy. about a week old have not seen
it yet but i hear it looks like
the Drapers. Ha. Ha.
Louie & Fred went up to his
sisters in Alberta last Saturaday.
to pick raspberries. they said but
I guess they wont get many.
Say you must be getting old to
be able to say the heat is the worst
for a 100 years back. Eh.

I hear it has been very dry
down there this summer how
do the crops seem. they are
very good here only a little late
but we have had such a
cold summer we will likely
have a hot fall. hope so
any way.
Well it is getting nearly
time to get out to work again
am writing this at noon
and expect to post this to
night. Well i guess this is
all for this time so Bye Bye
write soon and a long letter
to your Western Lover. N.C.D.
X X X X X X X

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Margaret Jane Coventry

Fred Coventry had 2 sisters. Mary Catherine stayed in Ontario, married, and died there.

But Margaret Jane is shown on the 1901 census where she and her parents are living in Kenlis, Assiniboia - about 10 miles northeast of Indian Head. She is not with them on the 1916 census, though, where they have moved close to Fred and Louie near Grand Coulee. Did Margaret Jane marry and move to Alberta? Or did she just move there because of a job opportunity?

Update!
- Mary Catherine did NOT marry and die in Ontario - her Aunt Catharine did. In 1911, Mary Catherine and her husband lived in Strathcona, Alberta.
- Margaret Jane moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada sometime between 1916 and 1920. She didn't show up on the 1916 census because it was a special one for the prairie provinces only so that the government could keep track of immigrants on the newly opened prairie land.

Genealogy Note 2: The Experimental Farm

The Experimental Farm had it's beginnings as part of the 53,000 acre Bell Farm which started operations in 1882 by the Qu'Appelle Valley Farming Company - before the railroad tracks had been laid on the bald prairie - before there was the town of IndianHead - and before Saskatchewan became a province, which is why the postcard at the top refers to it as Indian Head, Assiniboia. Once the railroad went through, the Bell Farm built a hotel, grain elevator and flour mill and Indian Head came into being.

Using the most modern farming practices and equipment of the time, the Bell Farm drew interested people from several countries to see for themselves how farming had/could progress. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) carried tourists and farmers on daily excursions from Regina out to Indian Head to explore the farm for the day.

The unique round shape of the Bell Farm Round Barn was one of the main attractions of the Bell Farm. Due to having its silo in the centre of the building, the layout provided ample space to stable 36 horses surrounding the silo - a time-saver when it came to supplying feed for the hard-working heavy horses.

Stable, Major William R. Bell's farm, Indian Head, SK, 1884, by William McFarlane Notman. VIEW-1388 © McCord Museum

In 1887, part of the Bell Farm was sold to create a Dominion Experimental Farm - one of Canada's first agricultural stations.

Experimental farm, Indian Head, SK, about 1920, MP-0000.25.431, © McCord Museum

A lasting legacy of the Indian Head area is the tree nursery located one mile south of the town which had been established in 1897 to supply trees for shelterbelt purposes to cut down on wind erosion. Called the Prairie Shelterbelt Program, the nursery of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) supplied seedlings free of charge to all legitimate homesteaders and farmers.

Although The Shelterbelt Program ended in the Spring of 2013, the PFRA tree nursery is a showcase of tree varieties which is open to the public and a favorite spot for summer picnics as well as information gathering.

Image of a man holding a cloth sack and picking something off of a tree - possibly at PFRA tree nursery. Courtesy of http://saskhistoryonline.ca/fedora/repository/indianhead%3A31270

According to the Indian Head History Page by 1902, the Town of Indian Head was incorporated and had become "...one of the world's largest initial shipping points for wheat."

1900-1909 Image of ten grain elevators at Indian head that read "Jos Glen No. 1", "Jos Glen No. 2", "Dominion Elevator Co. Ltd. No. 72", "Ogilvie's No. 67" - various structures in between elevators, Canadian Pacific railroad cars next to elevators - man and several cows in foreground on other side of fence. Photographer: Denison Indian Head. Courtesy http://saskhistoryonline.ca/fedora/repository/indianhead%3A31195

And that's the history of Indian Head, Saskatchewan, which Noah mentions in this week's letter and which has been mentioned several other times when talking about Elva Nelson and Will Mitchell, and Stewart Draper and Bertha Hamilton.

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1911 Courtship: May 28 Dear Noah

3/10/2013

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1910 Jackson's Point, Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Valentine & Sons' Publishing Co. Ltd, Courtesy http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca

Since Ethel talks about picnics, beaches, and Jackson's Point, I'm posting a 1910 postcard from the Baldwin Room Postcard Collection, Toronto Public Library, which shows that exact scene. More on this topic below under Genealogy Notes.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  May 28, 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N. C. Draper... My Dear Noah, Grand Coulee, Sask.
Mailed from:  Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black 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 written straight across the width of both pages, hence this letter has only 3 pages.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Pa -  *James Henry Nelson
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister (see photos last post)
- Aunt Maggie - *Margaret Glover Barker
- *Elva Jane is Ethel's cousin. Their grandparents are Henry Nelson and Eliza Crouch pictured in  1911 Courtship: May 7 Dear Noah. Elva and her husband, William Mitchell are working for Noah's cousin, *Stewart Draper in Indian Head, Saskatchewan.
- *Maud Bruels - Ethel's school friend
- *Professor Dales
- Norman Anderson - ?
- the English man (*hired man)
- Martha Brooks and her young man ?
- Mabel Wright in Queensville

The following locations are shown on a map under Genealogy Notes
- Queensville
- ** Morton Park / Brighton Beach
- Jackson's Point

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Belhaven, May 28th, 1911.

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

My Dear Noah, -
Well my dear boy
I hardly know what to say
or write that will express
my feelings. So unworthy as I
was, yet you sent me that
beautiful watch and pin, and
Noah what have you ever got in
return, Nothing. I think your choice
is simply grand. Oh! I just
wish you were here so I could
give you a good embrace
and tell you my love and thanks.

Maud Bruels came home with me to-night from Sunday School we were up to Belhaven Church. Professor Dales preached.
Well Noah I guess you think I am rather careless in
answering you sometimes. I got your post card. Sadie you know
forgot to post my letter to you, that was the reason you had
a feast or famine.
Norman Anderson is going to start work here in the
morning. I think Pa intends keeping the English man until
Wednesday his two months is in then. I say for him "Good riddance
to bad rubbish".
I had a letter from Elva. she speaks as though she liked
it fine up there. She spoke of you being down for Easter. and
said she heard you were to be married. she thot it was
to some girl in Toronto. "ha ha". I wonder if she wont
get great a surprize some day.
Well it is Monday noon now and Pa and Ma are going
to Queensville this afternoon so I will send this letter with them.

Martha Brooks and her young
man are just going by. They came
home saturday to spend Sunday.
Sadie did'nt come home this
week she went home with Mabel
Wright at Queensville.
Well i don't know what we are
going to do for picnic's I guess they
will all be private ones. if we have
any. Morton Park is called Brighton
Beach now. and is private. Jackson's
point is all so closed to the public.
Well I again say many. many
thank you's for that lovely birth
day present. Aunt Maggie brough
me up one the other day also.
I now must close for this time
with all love and xxxx from your
Ever thankful, Sweetheart.

Genealogy Notes

Before I forget, last week's Genealogy Notes were about John Prosser and his seasonal job as the Fox Island Lighthouse Keeper. On the map below, I've flagged Fox Island at the top of image, where it's located in Lake Simcoe.

Note the mention and drawing of the Fox Island Lighthouse as a Point of Interest in the Morton Park newspaper snippet below. (Morton Park/Brighton Beach is the yellow pin above the word Ewert on the map. (Eeps - that should be Bell Ewart!)

Ontario Places mentioned in 1911 Courtship Letter May 28 Dear Noah: Queensville, Morton's Park, Brighton Beach, and Jackson's Point.

Ethel mentions Jackson's Point and Morton Park have been turned into private resorts and the name Morton Park is now called Brighton Beach. This week's delve into history is about Morton Park since it played such a huge part in recreational activities while Ethel was growing up.

The image above is what you see if you zoom in on the map below, more or less.

Red square is Lake Simcoe, and the Townships of Georgina and East Gwillimbury, York County, Ontario, Canada.

I came across some newspaper articles about Morton Park while I was searching the www.ourontario.ca online newspaper archives looking for info for our family tree. I can't stress how valuable this website is for genealogical and historic research.

The Newmarket Era. May 20, 1898

Ethel was born in 1890 and Morton Park was the closest beach to Belhaven. From everything I've read, it was a favourite place for a summer outing.

Following is an 1899 new article in The Newmarket Era telling the history and amenities of Morton Park. Altough it's found on the right side of Page 1, I wonder if it was actually paid advertising. I'm posting it in its entirety, although it's too long for one image, so I've had to split it in half. I'm sorry about the mess at the bottom right corner, but that's the way it is with 100 year old newspapers.

The Newmarket Era. May 26, 1911

The name of Morton Park has been
changed to Brighton Beach and the
whole property laid out in lots, the
sale of which was to take place on
Wednesday last. A number of peo-
ple were up from the city.

Note: The reference to a city in the above snippet is the City of Toronto, Ontario, Can.

The Newmarket Era. June 2, 1911

The name Morton Park has been
changed to Brighton Beach, accord-
ing to the new trolley time table.

An interesting side note to this is the following information from Library and Archives Canada concerning Post Offices and Postmasters about Morton Park/Brighton Beach, keeping in mind this was a seasonal post office only:

Establishment Re-openings - 1896-08-11
Closings - 1974-08-31

Former Office Information:
Former Name Date of Change
Brighton Beach (SO) 1919-07-03
Morton Park (SO) 1913-02-01

Postmaster Information:
Name of Postmaster - Neil Morton
Date of Birth - 1896-08-11
Date of Vacancy - 1911
Cause of Vacancy - Death

So from the Post Office information, we find that the Post Office started when Neil Morton bought Morton Park in 1895 from the previous owner, Sir James Edgar, Speaker of the House of Commons, and that Neil died in 1911, which is when Ethel and the news snippets say it became the private Brighton Beach. (Photo of Neil Morton on the first section of large writeup.)

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1911 Courtship: May 21 Dear Noah

3/3/2013

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In this Courtship letter, Ethel mentions that her Pa will buy whatever he needs from Eatons. That's the T. Eaton Co. Ltd - a giant retail and mail order family- owned business. Eaton's had everything a person and their house and barn needed - including the house itself. Eaton's houses bought by mail order and shipped in kit form are still standing strong across the prairies 100 years after assembly.

Like this one to the right:
Henry Rockel ordered this house from the T. Eaton Co. Ltd. It was shipped on the train from Winnipeg to Lanigan. The package, including the house and building materials, was $1,509.10. A return of 20 cents a sack for unused cement was allowed.

T. Eaton Co. Ltd. House, ca. 1927, Location: R.M. of Usborne, Saskatchewan, Credits: Ruth Wildeman, Lanigan and District Heritage Assoc.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21
Dated:  May 21, 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N. C. Draper... My Dear Noah, Grand Coulee, Sask.
Mailed from:  Belhaven, P.O.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black 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 written on the right side first, and then the left.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover
- Noah's mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell
- Herb Nelson's - Ethel's cousin Herb and his wife, Francis Jane Smith & 2 kids
- *Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva & Joseph Perrault who live nearby
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister (see photos last post)
- *Christie Nelson - Ethel's 11 yr old sister (see photos last post)
- Uncle John Rogers married *Victoria Maud Nelson, Ida Amelia's sister
- R Glover's - possibly Ida Amelia's family although Family Tree not advanced there yet
- *Elva - Ethel's cousin, Elva Jane and husband, Wm Mitchell
- *Crowder's
- Sam Cuthbertson's mother
- Jack Hopkins
- Mary Smith - school friend
- Martin Rose's
- Blanche Morton
- Mr. Davidson - Mr. Robert Davidson and his family have been mentioned in other posts (click on the search box to find them). At first, however, I thought he was talking about his daughter being like no other on the fifth, but upon reflection, I believe he's talking about his barn. Haha. By the Fifth, he means the Fifth Concession which was one of the major thoroughfares through North Gwillimbury.

** John Prossers - farmer and Fox Island Lighthouse Keeper (see lighthouse photo below). I'm using John Prosser as the subject of a mini-research genealogy lesson under this week's Genealogy notes.

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.
May 21. 1911.

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

My Dear Noah, -
Well I was rather
disapointed last night. I did'nt get
a letter from you. I will be looking for
one to-morrow night.
We are having very
hot weather the last week or so.
The heat Friday & to-day is some
thing fierce. We had a very heavy
thunder storm last night about
Eleven o'clock. It struck R. Glover's
barn & burnt it. Also struck a tree in
Crowder's lane and burnt it.

I guess I would like to be the
first one to have a ride in that
newly painted buggy. We have'nt got
us one yet. Except one Mr Kings
let us have until we could get another.
Pa thinks he shall go to Eatons
to get what things he really has
to have now.
Mr. Sam Cuthbertson's mother is
buried to-day.
We hav'nt got our barn started
yet, but Pa has had extra men
on trying to get ready to start as
as soon as possible. He is going
to build a longer barn & not quite
so wide as the old one.
I am not sure but I think Jack
Hopkins will be puting it up.
Mr Davidson has his barn nearly
completed. He says there isnt a girl

on the fifth like his. Suppose Mrs
Davidson will have lots of help now.
There little boy is better now of the
pneumonia.
When does your Mother expect to
come East. Will it make any difference
in the time if you come, or not?
Oh Noah! I wish you could come, but I'll
wait and hear what you have to say.
in your next letter. for I ask your
opinion.
Herb Nelson's are just driving in
and as it is nearly dinner time I guess
I will have to say good Bye for just the
present.
Monday. Well as you say, I am back.
again. I was up to S.S. and home with
Mary Smith for tea yesterday.
Herb was telling us there were
three different barns struck by
lightning and burnt, and Martin
Rose's was struck but they got the fire out.

I think I am keeping you well posted
on the engagements. Blanche Morton
and Milton Hamilton are to be married
in June.
Hope you are not manless yet as
you say. especially if you are as busy
as pa seems to be. Uncle John Rogers
was here all last week helping him.
I think I shall go up to night and
post this. and call to see Mr John
Prossers they both are very low.
Hope Veda is successful in
having her hands doctored. and
will be able to go to college. I
suppose she is quite anxious to go.
Sadie is feeling a little discouraged
there school has'nt been graded &
now they have to take up some more
subjects. and she is afraid she wont
pass. I close now with love and
lots of xxx from, Ethel. P.S. I hope I get your letter to-night. Ethel Nelson, Christie has just brought your
letter, also one from Elva.

Genealogy Notes

Ethel mentions that she is going to visit the John Prosser's because they are low. That means they aren't in the best of health. The Prossers are neighbours, and although Ethel isn't related to any of the Prossers in 1911, she will be before the decade is out. (Hint, hint.)

I have to admit, when I first found the census record showing a John Prosser with the occupation of a Lighthouse Keeper, I sat up and took notice. After all the yeoman/farmers and labourers, it was refreshing to see something different.

John Prosser: born 14 Jul 1825 in North Gwillimbury Twp, York Co, Ontario, Canada
Father: Eld. John Prosser born 8 May 1796 in Florida, Montgomery, NY, USA
Mother: Sarah Willoughby born 9 Aug 1803 in Midland, Ontario, Canada

The first record I've found of John Prosser is in this 1851 Canada West census:

1851 Canada West census Image 35 for John Prosser, North Gwillimbury, York, Ontario, Canada.

Genealogy Tip #1: To find out where your ancestor is located on the image when it first opens, look at the bottom right where I have the red arrow. That is the indication where the name you've searched will be on the page. Then, move the image up or down until you see it. Usually, the transcript (the typed lines at the bottom) will show the line numbers of the image, so #1 on the bottom - Sarah Prosser - will match #1 on the image, which it does.

Genealogy Tip #2: On the 1851 Canada West census, the transcript lines match the image HOWEVER they don't start at #1. That is why in this case, Line #1 - Sarah Prosser, is beneath Line #50 Margaret Keef in the transcript only. (Yes, I took a learning curve figuring that one out.)

Line #1 (blue) is Sarah Prosser, John's mother. She's followed by John's brother, George, and the rest of John's siblings. John is recorded on line #9 (red) - out of order if you look at their ages. Why is he down there?

Genealogy Tip #3: Subsequent censuses will have a column for 'Head of the Family'. Wherever you see the word, HEAD, that means everyone listed next will belong to that family until you see the next word, HEAD. Generally, the Head is the Father, followed by the mother, eldest child, and so on until the youngest child. Then, a new Head of a family will start.

Other choices for Head could be a Widow, Eldest Adult Child if orphans, Grandparent if custodian of grandchildren, etc. In a multi-generational family, the Head is the person who is the Head of that household, so it could be a matriarchal or patriarchal family. If the son takes over the family farm but the parents are still there, the son will be listed as the Head, and his parents listed beneath the children.

The 1851 Canada West Census is different than other years because it contains more information on the next page (Image 36), and this is where we go to find out if John lives with the rest of his family:

1851 Canada West census Image 36 for John Prosser, North Gwillimbury, York, Ontario, Canada.

This image doesn't have the typed transcript at the bottom of the page, but we know that Sarah Prosser was on Line 1, and John was on Line 9:

Line 1 - Sarah Prosser and her family lived in a Frame house, 1 storey, 1 family dwelling.
Lines 2-8 are people who live with Sarah.
Line 9 - John Prosser lived in a Frame house, 2 storey, 1 family dwelling.

This 2nd page/image of the 1851 census shows Marital Status:
Line 1: Sarah Prosser was a widow (W)
Lines 2-8: John's siblings were all single (S)
Line 9: John was single (S)

Genealogy Tip #4: The letter following the line number is the Marital Status of the individual.

What we've learned from the 1851 census is that John Prosser was an enterprising young man. Although he lived next door to his family, he lived in his own house, which would have been a fine one at that time. We know this because you could generally tell the monetary worth of a man and his family by the type and size of his dwelling, and by the amount of people/families who reside in it. Census records usually indicated the type of dwelling by its construction starting with the most expensive to the least: Brick, Stone, Frame/Wood Boards, Log, or Shanty. Also, the bigger the home, the more expensive to build.

In the 1851 census, John lived alone in a 2 storey frame home.

In 1853, John married Lucretia Emes, also from North Gwillimbury, as shown on their marriage record:

1853 marriage record of John Prosser and Lucretia Emes

In the above record of John and Lucretia's marriage (1st red box) we see that they married on 25 Nov 1853, by licence, and the names of their 2 witnesses. The bottom red box shows the transcript. If you notice in the transcript, Lucretia's name is in italics. That's because it originally read 'Lucritia Ennes' and I put in an update to read 'Lucretia Emes'. Anyone looking at the record will now see both names and either confirm or dispel my update. The bottom right of the image shows the location where the marriage took place, which in this case, is North Gwillimbury.

Genealogy Tip #5: The final column, Marriage County or District, shows HOME DISTRICT. Back when Ontario (Canada West) was first settled, York (now Toronto) and York County, was considered the Home District. Ontario records which simply state Home District will mean York County.

The next time we see John and Lucretia is on the 1861 Canada West census which shows everything on a single page:

1861 Canada West census for John Prosser

This image shows John married to Lucretia with 4 children, although only 2 children show up on the official typed transcript at the bottom because it is limited to viewing 4 people at a time. Scrolling with show the rest.

The 1861 census shows marital status and dwelling along with ages and religous denominations, etc. However, we now find John and his family living in a 1 storey frame house which means it's smaller than the previous census. Is it an error? Although census records can be wrong, in this case, John has moved away from the family farm as evidenced by the other people on the lines above and below him. He may have sold his farm to a sibling, or someone else, or even is renting it out. All I know is that after marrying, John moved to a farm in the Belhaven area of North Gwillimbury where his land bordered the family farm of Noah Draper (before David Draper moved Noah's family to the North West).

Genealogy Tip #6: The 1861 and subsequent censuses recorded the age of the person. The estimated birth year (red arrow) was then filled in during the transcription process.

For the record, don't assume it's right because it's in the transcript. The 1891 Canada census is notorious for age and date errors, but they can happen anywhere. Census takers didn't always have the best handwriting and transcribers took their best guesses.

Between 1861 and 1881, John and Lucretia raised over a dozen kids on their farm, with nothing much changing except for kids leaving home and others being born. The census records continually show John's occupation as Farmer.

But things change in the 1901 census because at the age of 76 (his age, not the census estimate), John's occupation is now listed as Lighthouse Keeper - shown beside the little hand in the centre of this image:

1901 Canada census for John Prosser, wife Lucretia (Emes) and youngest child, Ida.

Since when did he become a Lighthouse Keeper? Or perhaps a better question was, is this the John Prosser I've been researching? But yes, same man, same wife, same youngest child. Birth dates as close as you can get on a census. Religion the same, location the same.

Still skeptical, I searched out the 1911 Canada census and found this:

1911 Canada census for John and Lucretia (Emes) Prosser, James Nelson's, Crowder's, and King's.

The 1911 census shows John Prosser as a Retired Farmer (red arrow). Well, at 86 yrs of age, he deserved to be retired. But look at who his neighbours are:
- James Nelson and family - that's Ethel!
- Crowder's and King's - both families regularly mentioned in Ethel's letters

This confirms that we have the right John Prosser, but where does the lighthouse keeper come in? For that, I turned to the wonderful Our Ontario website with its online newspaper collection. Being the largest town between Belhaven and Toronto, The Newmarket Era printed tidbits of information from the surrounding area. Here's what I found in my search about John Prosser and the Fox Island Lighthouse:

The Newmarket Era. February 19, 1897 - Page: 3

Fox Island Lighthouse, courtesy of www.lighthousedigest.com

The Newmarket Era. April 23, 1897 - Page: 6

The Newmarket Era. April 30, 1897 - Page: 6

The Newmarket Era. October 22, 1897 - Page: 6

On the left below is an article about an excursion on Lake Simcoe including a stop-over at Fox Island Lighthouse for Tea. It doesn't give credit to the author, but I can only imagine that the person who was so cordially received by the Lighthouse Keeper was a member of the wide-spread Prosser family, since Queensville is only a stone's throw from Belhaven. Not only that, but I'd assume it would be lonely for a father of over a dozen children to suddenly be alone.

The Newmarket Era. August 27, 1897 - Page: 7

The following news items show us John Prosser working the Fox Island Lighthouse from 1902 - 1910, except for 1909 when his son, Leslie takes over.

The Newmarket Era. April 4, 1902 - pg. 2

The Newmarket Era - Mar 7, 1902 - Pg. 7

The Newmarket Era. April 3, 1903 - Pg: 7

The Newmarket Era. March 28, 1957 - Page: 2. Under the heading, 50 YEARS AGO. (1907)

The Newmarket Era. Oct 29, 1909 - Pg: 6 (Leslie is recorded as a Blacksmith on the census records.)

The Newmarket Era. Mar 4, 1910 - Pg: 6

The Newmarket Era. May 12, 1911, p. 6 (Should be Leslie vice Lester)

The Newmarket Era. May 31, 1912 - Pg: 8

I couldn't find any further news items in The Newmarket Era mentioning the
Fox Island Lighthouse.

One further note to the story of John Prosser and Lucretia Emes... in Ethel's 1911 letter above, she's going to visit John and Lucretia because they've been 'down'.

They will recover. I know, because of this:

John Prosser died in his Belhaven home on April 30th, 1916 at the age of 91 yrs. The immediate cause of death is listed as Sclerosis of Arteries, in part due to 8 months of Senile Decay/Old Age.

Lucretia Emes died on May 9th, 1916, just 9 days later. Her death record is listed next to John's and states that she died, at 81 yrs of age, in Belhaven, after 9 days of Pneumonia.

Both John and Lucretia are buried in Queensville Cemetery, Queensville, Ontario.

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