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1911 Courtship Letter: Nov 12 Dear Noah

2/17/2014

Elva Nelson Mitchell and Ethel Nelson Draper, cousins, Swift Current, Saskatchewan. From the Norma Draper Family Collection.

The above photo is one of several I scanned from the photo albums passed down from Ethel Nelson which now make up the Norma Draper Family Collection. I'm including the others in this week's Genealogy Notes below.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  Nov 12th 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N C Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.
Mailed from: Belhaven, P.O.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Off-white, textured, plain, linen-like paper, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form with pages numbered 1, 3, 2, 4 but I've posted them here in the order they are to be read.

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

Pa - *James H Nelson
Mother - *Ida Amelia Glover
*Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
*Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
S. Draper's - family of *Stewart Draper, paternal cousin of Noah
Walter *Yorke - stepson of Noah's 1st cousin 2x removed
Squire *Yorke - Walter Yorke's son
*Fanny - niece of Noah's brother-in-law, Joe Perrault
*Mary Smith - Ethel's neighbor and friend
**Elva Mitchell - Ethel's paternal cousin
**Aunt Mary - Mary Glover *Linstead - Ethel's maternal aunt
**Florence P - Ethel's 2nd cousin (they share great-grandfather George *Croutch)

Places/things mentioned in this letter:

*Indian Head
the *West & North West - Canadian prairie provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta)
*Toronto

- Bram or Brown Dick - ? - book or story - possibly in a reader

- Peck's Bad Boy - by George W. Peck , late 1800's
Stories of a naughty boy. Free online read available at http://www.readbookonline.net/title/32610/

- Astray in the Forest - by Edward S Ellis, Illustrations by Stanley Wood, 1908

Legend:

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing. If you don't see a label, use the search box at the top of page.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Belhaven. P. O.
Nov 12th 1911.

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

My Dear Noah, -
Sunday is here once
again, and say such a cold
stormy day as it is. I think it
must be one of your North West
blizzards. We were up to Sunday
School this afternoon, and you would
certainly think the wind would blow
your head off. Would'nt be any loss
if mine did go, be some body's gain
for when they found it they'd
think they had a pumpkin sure.
Talk about blizzards. Indeed I wouldnt

care a bit, if one would land you right
here on this farm. Hope something will
bring you along soon, anyway. Six weeks
sounds much better than six months
but 6 days will sound ever so much
better "eh"
I had a letter from Elva Mitchell
on Friday, she spoke as though
they were going to stay with Mr
S Draper's this winter. Said they
had been looking for you down
but that you never had come yet.
Mr Walter Yorke is talking of
going West in the spring, Say's
after he and Squire have been out
there two or three years they will
own over half of the West. He
has high ideal's "eh"

We are not going to church to-night
I guess we. think we will be most
comfortable here in the house. Christie
is reading, "Bram Dick" to Pa & Ma
and Sadie is here with me reading
"Pecks bad boy" Say! it certainly is
a book worth reading, I read "Astray
in the forest" this forenoon.
How is your face now? and did it
prove to be much of a comforter, "ha ha"
The mason's are coming to-
morrow to put in Stable floors
and we certainly will be glad when
the Stables are finished, for it certainly
is getting cold enough for to put
the stock in.
Mary Smith is in Toronto now.
A cousin of her's is to be married this
month so of course she is to be at the wedding

Now you never told me in your
last letter. how Fanny was getting
along. you must'nt forget to mention
her, for you know how anxious I am
to hear about her. "ha ha", not her,
but your the one I am anxious to hear
from. Oh Noah if you were only here,
we would forget all about the storm
just think though only five more
letters we will have to write, and
then the next Sunday instead
of writing we can just make
our tongues run "eh" I am afraid
there would'nt be any church
for us, even if it was'nt
storming. I guess I must say
Good Bye for this time with
love and kisses from your Sweetheart.
x x x x x x x E. Nelson.

Genealogy Notes

Ethel Nelson Draper and Elva Nelson Mitchell at Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Courtesy of the Norma Draper Family Collection.

Ethel has mentioned her paternal cousin, Elva Jane Nelson, several times before in these courtship letters, but this is the first time I'm posting photos which I scanned from Ethel's albums. If you recall, Elva married Will Mitchell and are working on the Indian Head area farm of Stewart Draper, paternal cousin of Noah.

In this week's letter, Ethel says she received a letter from Elva saying her and Will were staying with Stewart through the winter and that they hadn't run into Noah yet. The 1911 Canada census shows William and Elva Mitchell living near Indian Head. This is confirmed in the Courtship Letter Special: July 15 From Elva Mitchell where Elva writes that "we only live 4 miles from the head."

The caption written in the album that holds the above photographs says "Elva and Ethel in the coulee, Swift Current." According to the 1916 and 1921 census records though, Elva and Will lived in Johnston Lake near Mossbank which is a couple hours east of Swift Current, and a couple hours west of the Grand Coulee/Regina area.

Google map showing Swift Current (left), Mossbank (middle), Grand Coulee (right).

From reading Ethel's journals I know she had a penchant for travel. So it's quite possible Ethel & Noah, and Elva & Will had gone on a sightseeing trip to Swift Current. Especially since the back of this next photo shows them in Mossbank in 1926.

1926 Mossbank, SK possibly at the Mitchell farm. Contains Ethel, Noah and Norma Draper; Elva, Will and Merle Mitchel; Laura and Wes Cain.

As you can see, I've added the names on the front of the image so it's easier to make them all out. Also note that Will and Elva's only child (that I can find so far) is Hannah Merle Mitchell who is standing between Laura Linstead Cain and Wesley Cain.

Ida Glover, Florence P Croutch, Mary Glover

Laura Linstead is Ethel's cousin as her mother, Ida Amelia, is sister to Mary Ann Glover who married William David Linstead.

Mary is the Aunt Mary mentioned in several of these letters who was living in Sintaluta, Saskatchewan in 1911, although they had only moved there from the Gwillimbury area in the past few years.

This photo on the right was taken at the Ida Glover & James Nelson house on Baseline Rd, Sutton West sometime in the 1940's. The back of the photo is written in Ethel's handwriting and it is one of the photos she passed on to her daughter, Norma.

Florence P was a mystery to me but after some time spent in research, I believe her to be Florence P Croutch, daughter of John Francis Croutch and Cordelia/Fedelia Cryderman of East Gwillimbury. Florence P is Ethel's 2nd cousin as they share a paternal great-grandfather George Caleb Croutch.

Back of photo of Ida Glover Nelson, Florence P Croutch, Mary Ann Glover Linstead

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1911 Courtship: Oct 1, Dear Noah

12/10/2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing. If you don't see a label, use the search box at the top of page.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Belhaven. P.O.
1st Oct. 1911.

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

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

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

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

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

Genealogy Notes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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1911 Courtship: Aug 13 Dear Ethel

9/30/2013

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1911 Regina street scene on a postcard published by Valentine & Sons. The opening day of the Dominion Fair on July 28th, 1911 was the inaugural run of the Regina streetcar system. Courtesy of http://peel.library.ualberta.ca

Peel's Prairie Postcard Collection describes the above postcard as "Corner of 11th Avenue and Scarth Street with Post Office (later Old City Hall) on left, Imperial Bank of Canada on left foreground. A streetcar is visible in the road."

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: Aug 11/11, but has been overwritten to show 13/11
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, My Dear Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed to: Huntsville, Ont
Mailed from: Grand Coulee. Sask.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Black ink pen
Writing Paper: Thick 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 the short width and down both pages.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:

- Mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell
- Joe's - Noah's sister, *Eva Amelia, and her husband, *Joe Perrault and family
- *Fanny - Niece of Joe Perrault

- my man *hired man
- well diggers - they are on the 3rd well site as the first 2 were dry

- the big Regina fair *Exhibition
- the coulee - *Grand Coulee
- 6 30 train - to *Regina
- **harvest
- **hail - see a recent video of hail in our yard

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right column for more on posts on the above people.
**More info under Genealogical Notes below this week's letter

Grand Coulee, Sask.
Aug. 13/11.

Miss. E. Nelson,
Huntsville, Ont.
My. Dear Ethel; -
Well this is the end of a
nother week also the end
of the big Regina fair. was
in 3 days. had Fanny in on
Wed. had a big time but she
was not feeling very well don't
know how she is now havent
seen her. but I guess she
is alive. ha.ha.
Well I hope you feel as
well as this leaves me at
present only I am so lazy
I hate to get up for meals.
Ha. Ha.

Well I am all alone to day. Mother
went down to church and stayed
down and I am to go down tonight
after her but I am getting used to being
alone. for Thursday morning Mother
took my man down to the coulee
in time to catch the 6 30 am train
and came back Friday after noon
then I went down and met him
Friday night. Saturaday morning
when I got up he was out at the wagon
fooling with a blanket and & I went
in and built a fire & went out &
he had dissappeared and I havent
saw him since. but his clothes
are all here i guess he got dry and
went back to town. Ha. Ha.
Well we are having nice weather
here now to make up for the summer
I guess. will be starting harvest
week after next I guess and every
thing looks fine now if it dont get
frozen or hailed.
Well it is now Monday after-noon
just as I finished the other line along
come 3 fellows so I did'nt finish my
letter.
Went down after mother last
night & while there it hailed &
rained but the hail did not do

much damage. Mother & I went
over to Joes to wait untill
the storm was over & about
9 oclock we struck for home
and just got about half
way when it started to
pour. say I felt just as if
I had sat down in a
tub. Ha Ha. Mother got
wet to but not as much
as I did.
Well the well diggers
are still here but I hope
they will have water before
long I am getting tired of them.
Well. I guess this is all for
this time so good Bye. With
Lots of Love & a great big hug. xxx
And half a million kisses. xxxx
N.C.D.

Genealogy Notes

In this week's letter, Noah writes that the weather is finally nice and the crop will be ready for harvesting in the week after next. Of course, weather plays a big part in the timing of the harvest and there's always the threat of hail.

Hail can best be explained as chunks of ice, from tiny to golf-ball size or bigger, that fall in the summer when the weather is hot. You can have a perfectly wonderful day and suddenly, the sky will cloud over and you hear pinging as the hail bounces off of any exposed metal and plastic. It could be devastating to a gardener whose perfect tomatoes are bombarded, an orchardist whose fruit is pitted, and a farmer whose crop is flattened. One farmer might have a field of grain plastered to the ground, while in the next field, another farmer's crop is stil standing straight and waving as if in defiance of the weather.

The following video was taken this past July when a pebble-sized hail fell in our farmyard.

Before an hour or so had passed, the farmer who rents our land zipped down our road on his quad as he checked all his fields for damage. He was blessed because he didn't find any damage to speak of.

And if it wasn't hail, it was frost. But the harvest of 1911 had other problems because this new bread-basket of Canada had potentially the biggest crop ever. And now men were needed to get the grain off the land - hand labor for the most part. Because the western harvest was being been predicted as HUGE, the shortage of manpower had everyone scrambling, as can be attested by these newspaper snippets and ads...

The Newmarket Era. July 28, 1911, Pg 1

Like I said, the Canadian government had this huge harvest and they plastered the eastern newspapers with their ads. These ads are from just one newspaper - the Newmarket Era in York County, Ontario - and at a glance you see the cry for harvesters are listed on 4 different pages. Similar ads were carried for both the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The CNR on the right, however reads: Where the best crops are, the best wages are paid.

And this:

IMPORTANT - To reach Canadian Northern points it will be necessary to travel by Canadian Pacific Railway to Winnipeg.

Now that's interesting. So is the fact that the CPR is giving a discount for the ride home on a FARM LABORER TRAIN if the laborer can prove he worked 30 days or more in the west.

How many papers carried these ads? Take a wild guess and you begin to feel the magnitude and urgency the Canadians felt at getting the harvest off the ground.

But what happens when 50,000 men reach the west and the crops aren't ready? Keep reading...

The Newmarket Era. July 28, 1911, Pg 3

The Newmarket Era. July 28, 1911, Pg 7

The Newmarket Era. July 28, 1911, Pg 6

The Morning Leader (Regina), Aug 7, 1911, Page 8 of 18

The Morning Leader (Regina), Aug 9, 1911, Page 9 of 28

It must have been mayhem in the west at that time. Thousands of strange men walking the streets just waiting for the crops to ripen. Where did they sleep and eat? They went west to work, not to sleep in hotel rooms while sitting idle.

And yet, they weren't going to leave the populated areas and head out to the farms where they were needed until they were needed.

All anyone could do was wait for the crops to ripen and pray the weather stayed nice. What a stressful time.

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1911 Courtship: Aug 6 Dear Ethel

9/8/2013

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Bathing at Cave and Basin, Banff, Alberta ca1900-1903

In this week's Courtship letter Noah writes that Joe is spending a few weeks in Banff for his rheumatism. For more information on the healing waters of Sulphur Mountain, check out the Genealogy Notes at the bottom of this post.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: Aug 6/11
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, My Dear Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed to: Huntsville, Ont
Mailed from: Grand Coulee. Sask.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Black ink pen and the ink is still wet when he folds the paper to write on the last page because it left impressions on the middle two pages.
Writing Paper: Thick 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 the short width and down both pages.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:

- mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell
- Steward - *Stewart Draper - Noah's cousin from Indian Head
- Joe - **Joe Perrault - husband of Noah's sister, Eva Amelia
- *Fanny - Niece of Joe Perrault
- carpenters
- furnace man
- plumber
- plasterers

- the show - the Regina *Exhibition
- the Head - *Indian Head, Sask
- Bannf - **Banff, Alberta
- Rheumatism

Phrases/Cliches in use at the time:
- eh
- lathing: nailing thin lath strips to the inner walls prior to plastering
- own up - admit

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

Grand Coulee. Aug, 6/11

Miss. E. Nelson,
Huntsville, Ont.
My. Dear Ethel;-
Received your letter Friday
and you bet I was glad to
hear from you. Say Ethel you
never said you were run
down by hard work but I
beleive you are now own up
if you knew how I feel about
it you would take care of
your self, and as for me Iam
too lazy to work hard
enough to hurt me. guess
you know that. Eh.
Well Ethel the carpenters
are away at last but they are
not finished yet. they just done

the rough work this time. and they
will be away about 3 weeks and then
come back and finish.
The man was out here to day and
put in the pipes for the furnace
and the man is here now to do the
plumbing then when I get it lathed
the plasterers will be along.
Well I have been in to the show
twice Thursday & Sat was in alone
Thursday. & had mother Sat. was to
go in to-morrow & take Fanny. but it
is raining so I guess that is all off.
and I dont care much HaHa.
Say I wish it were you and I would
get in no mater what happened but
I guess it will be you next year eh.
Steward was up from the Head.
Sat and was going home to-night
but I guess he would not go for it
has been raining since about 3 pm.
Well Ethel I have just been laughing
untill I could hardly move the plumber
just came in and I got him ahold
of my Elitric battery and he didnt
think it was very strong but I
shoved in the wire in the post
& you should have seen him
jump & yell christ man. Ha Ha.
oh say it was rich.
Joe went up to Bannf last
week and expects to begone for

two or three weeks went up.
for his rheumatism hope
it does him good.
Well it has stoped raining
but dont know for how
long. I tell you it makes it
very disagreeable raining so
much we have had rain
every Sat now for 8 weeks
can you beat that.
Well I guess I am getting
near the end of this
epistal. Ha. Ha. say this has
been a long summer and
I will be glad when it is
over. how ever ithas been
a buisy onealso and that
helps some. Well good Bye for
this time with lots of love I
remain yours for ever. N.C.D.

Genealogy Notes

Joseph Andrew Perrault c1895

In this week's letter, Noah writes, "Joe went up to Bannf last week and expects to be gone for two or three weeks went up for his rheumatism hope it does him good."

Noah is writing about Banff in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, where many people go to soak in the healing waters of the sulphurous hot springs.

The Banff Hot Springs are a fascinating story of discovery because it was here, back in 1883 that Canadian Pacific railway workers, Frank McCabe and William McCardell used a fallen tree branch to descend into little-known underground cavern on the northeast face of Sulphur Mountain and then claimed ownership to the springs in the cave as well as the above-ground pool called the basin.

The Cave, Banff, Alberta c1880's heated by geothermal waters 3 kilometres down.

The men tried to charge a fee for admittance to the hot springs as well as sell specimens, but their claim was disputed as other parties claimed first discovery.

c1886 Sulphur Springs Basin, Banff, Alberta. Courtesy of the Glenbow Archives.

The government stepped in and reserved 10 square miles around the hot springs until the dispute could be settled. As it turned out, this was the birth of Banff National Park although it would be years before it became a reality.

From "Calgary Weekly Herald" newspaper, June 7, 1886.

With the claims settled, the government set about making the Cave and Basin accessible to all.

The Cave and Basin building, Banff, Alberta c1886-1894

c1911 Basin at Banff, Alberta.

Due to popular demand for the curative powers of the Sulphur Mountain hot springs, 1912 saw the water bottled and sold to the public. Due to its popularity, the original basin pool proved inadequate so in 1914, a new naturally heated swimming pool was built.

Cave and Basin Swimming Pool ca 1914-1918, Banff, Alberta

Back in the 1980s when my family explored Banff, there were 3 or 4 different hot springs open to us. Unfortunately, the Cave and Basin was closed due to the fact that it had recently been declared a National Historic Site and was going under renovations to include an Interpretive Centre. However, we enjoyed the healing waters of the Upper Springs, about 5 kilometres away, higher up the mountain. It was June, but that high up we were in the snow area, and all I remember was sitting in the beautiful, silky water, watching the steam rise into the cold mountain air, and observing the gorgeous mountains around us. What a fantastic experience.

But I'm getting far ahead of Joe's story... One hundred years earlier in the 1880's, another Canadian Pacific Railway employee, a Doctor Robert Brett, realized the healing power of the sulphur hot springs and established the Brett Sanitorium and Hotel. As well as treating railway workers, he treated the 'rich and famous' who came to experience the springs.

I'm guessing that if our Joe expects to be gone for 2-3 weeks, he's probably staying at the Sanitorium Hotel, also referred to as The Chateau or Brett's Chateau.

Sanitorium Hotel, 'The Chateau', Banff, Alberta c1910

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1911 Courtship: June 18 Dear Noah

4/22/2013

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Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper, c 1922

Another relative - a grandson of Noah's brother, Percy - has found his way to this blog. And he's blessed us with pictures!

The image on the left is Percy and Noah's mother, Sarah Sophia Deverell, born in 1846 in Whitby, Ontario, and widowed in 1909 when David Draper died in Regina, Saskatchewan.

In this week's letter, Ethel mentions Sarah's decision not to go east for the summer, which from Noah's last letter, we know is because Sarah doesn't like travelling alone.

Thank you, Norm, for the gift of photos.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  June 18th, 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N. C. Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask. (Dearest Noah)
Mailed from:  Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Light bluey/gray, slightly thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6 inches, folded in half. The paper is folded in half with the first page on the front and last on the back, but inside, she's turned the paper and written across the short width and turned both pages into one long page. Hence this letter has only 3 pages.

People/places mentioned in this letter:
- Pa -  *James Henry Nelson
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover
- Noah's mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell (see photo above)
- Mr. *Bruel's - Belhaven neighbours of the Nelson's
- *Fanny - niece of Joe Perrault, husband of Noah's sister, Eva Amelia

The following men are mentioned as part of the work bee to bring the new lumber from Keswick home to the James Nelson farm: Mr. Young, Wilbert Anderson, and Wallace.

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

Belhaven. P.O.
June. 18th 1911

Mr. N.C. Draper,
Grand Coulee,

Dearest Noah;-
Your letter
reached me yester day evening
was glad to know you were
still able to write. Really I
don't know what I would do
if any thing should happen so
as to prevent you from writing.
I look for your letters like a cat
watches for a mouse.

Suppose you are very busy just now getting
ready to build. Pa had a bee on Friday
and had one carload of timber drew home
There is one carload to draw yet. The masons
finished the wall yesterday. They were just
2 weeks.
Well I am sorry your Mother is thinking
of changing her mind. I so wish I could have
said come this summer and yet I know Ma
would have so much extra work sometimes. I
wonder if I am doing wrong by you but Noah
you know it is not because I dont love you
I try to do what I think is best for us all, and
yet if I am not, why I want to know and
do whats right. Oh Noah I guess you will think
I am a little crazy. but I am so lonesome to
day to see you I hardly know what do do with
myself.
Mr Bruel's have Scarlet Fever in their
home. I think it is a light case though.
Pa & Ma were down to Toronto on
Thursday. They got us a new buggy & harness
The buggy has'nt got here yet.

I think if I was up there I should
have to take pity on poor Fanny.
Nothing like having a good time, "eh"
The day of the bee Mr Young was so
mad he wouldnt stay for his dinner.
He was supposed to be third team. but
the men loaded all the other teams
first & so made him come last. but
he thot he could try & get head anyway
so started driving by. but Wilbert
Anderson run him into a telephone post
a broke a spoke in Wallace's waggon.
So Wallace un hitched and started for
home with his team, some one persuaded
him to bring his load. Says he will fire
that Anderson boy. I guess I must close
for this time. I will be more than glad
when I am where you are. and dont
have to write, but can just talk. Good Bye
from your ever loving Sweetheart
xxxxxxxxxxxx Ethel Nelson

Genealogy Notes

1912, Barn Raising Contest Teams, Roland, Manitoba, Courtesy of Glenbow Archives

This image is entitled, "Barn raising contest teams, Roland, Manitoba" dated July 4, 1912. The Glenbow Museum have it annotated as:
Remarks: West team, J. McCallum, captain and east team J. Parkinson, captain.
Two teams ready to start. The sections of frames are put together on the ground with mortise and tenon and pinned. The sections, or "bents" are raised and the plates, purline plates, and braces are put into place and pinned.

undated Barn Raising Bee, Redwater, Alberta, Courtesy of Glenbow Museum

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1911 Courtship Letter: Nov 12 Dear Noah

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1911 Courtship: Oct 1, Dear Noah

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1911 Courtship: Aug 13 Dear Ethel

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1911 Courtship: Aug 6 Dear Ethel

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1911 Courtship: June 18 Dear Noah

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