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1911 Courtship: June 12 Dear Ethel

4/7/2013

Saskatchewan c1911, Courtesy of the Prairie Postcard Collection, http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/postcards/PC002983.html

In this week's letter, Noah writes that he's now living in a grannary, (or grainery) next to the tent on his land. A grainery is a small building, traditionally wooden, but more recently metal, which is used for storing grain. In the above postcard, the grainery is the small building in the centre of the image, on this side of the fence. The smaller building beside the grainery could very well be an outhouse or an equipment building of some sort. The above image is a typical layout for a Saskatchewan farm and the house could even be an Eaton's kit house as shown in 1911 Courthship May 21 Dear Noah.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: June 12th, 1911
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, My Dear Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed from: Grand Coulee (Saskatchewan)
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.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:
- Fred's - Noah's sister, *Louie, is married to Fred Coventry, and they live nearby
- Mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yrs old sister- *Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva Amelia and Joe Perrault
- *Fanny - niece of Joe Perrault, husband of Noah's sister, Eva Amelia
- your Aunt's - Ethel's Aunt *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's mom, Ida Amelia Glover
- Dora *Mahoney - a neighbor and school friend of Sadie's

- "get a man" - a *hired man to work on the farm
- Bell Plain - a town (Belle Plain) to the west who play baseball with Grand Coulee

- a rod** = approx 165 feet

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

**More info under Genealogical Notes

Grand Coulee, June. 12./11

Miss. E. Nelson,
Belhaven Ont;-
My Dear Ethel;-
Received your letter Saturaday
Morning and was glad to hear
you were well as this leaves me
at present.
Am going into Regina today
to order the lumber. also a circus
in town but dont know as I will
go. As I want to get a man and
get back home to work.
Well Pense did not get down
to play ball last Wed. on
account of the rain but will
be down this Wed. We were
up to Bell Plain on Sat.
and beat them 10 to 7. not
Bad for the coulee.

Say I guess Dora would be mad all
right when the teachers told her
she could not pass her exams. I'll bet
she told the teachers a few things.
No I dont think mother will go down
in the winter for it is not near as nice
as it would be in the summer time
for her as she does not like the cold.
Say I hope you can go up for a few
weeks to your Aunt's it would do you
a lot of good I am shure.
Guess I will not get down to the
raising but I would like to I guess
I would be a dandy at it as I have
only been at two that I helped
at.
Oh. say Ethel! Veda seems to know
me better than you do but still I guess
I would not have to die an old bachelor
if I had tried very hard. HaHa.
She sure is a great kid I showed
her that part of the letter and she said
it was Fanny sent it. Fanny asked her
what but she wouldnt tell so Fanny
said some more of your lies eh.
I was down to Fred's last night
after church for a couple of settings
of eggs. sothegirls went along and I
laughed untill I thot. I would
hurt my self. Veda kept bothering
Fanny untill she got about half mad.
so she said if we would stop the

horse she would get out & walk
back home. so of course we
stopped & she got out and started
back she went about 10 rod & we
sat in the buggy laughing at
her and she turned around & run
back. Oh gee but it was funny.
Am living in a grannary beside
the tent and having a bigtime.
batching mother will be coming
down this week I guess. so it will
soon be over for this time.
Well I guess this is all for this
time only be a good little girl
untill I get down & after that
I will make you. Ha Ha.
Well good bye untill next time
I am yours as B. 4. N. C. Draper.
xxxxxxxxx and a thousand
and one more.

Genealogy Notes

Note #1: A Rod

In this week's letter, Noah writes, "...she went about 10 rod & we sat in the buggy laughing at her..."

Do you know what a rod is? In its simplest term, a rod = 16.5 ft, so if Fanny walked 10 rods ahead, she was about 165 feet away. I tried writing a good explanation, but after struggling, I decided to give you the wikipedia version:

The rod is a unit of length equal to 5½ yards or 16½ feet. Under an agreement in 1959 between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, the yard (known as the "international yard" in the United States) was legally defined to be exactly 0.9144 metres. Prior to that date, the legal definition of the yard when expressed in terms of metric units varied slightly from country to country.

In surveying, fields were measured in acres, which were one chain (four rods) by one furlong (in the United Kingdom, ten chains). Bars of metal one rod long were used as standards of length when surveying land. The rod was still in use as a common unit of measurement in the mid-19th century, when Henry David Thoreau used it frequently when describing distances in his work Walden.

Note #2 - An update on Melvina Cole

In the Genealogy Notes of 1911 Courtship letter of May 7, Ethel mentions that her cousin, Melvina Cole, will have a June 1911 Wedding. Although Ethel doesn't mention it further in her June letters, I found the following snippet in this week's 1911 Newmarket Era:

1911 Courtship: Mar 6, Dear Ethel

9/17/2012

If you've missed some of the courtship letters, use the drop-down menu under Blogs and then slide to the right of Author Memories, or click here.

Our last 1911 Courtship letter was Mar 5, Dear Noah. This week's letter is dated the day after that as Ethel and Noah's letters cross in the mail somewhere between Belhaven, Ontario and Grand Coulee, Saskatchewan.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper
Dated: 3. 6-11
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, Bellhaven, Ontario
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half and usually written starting on the front as page 1, then inside for 2 and 3, and
ending with page 4 on the back. Noah has changed the way he fills the inner pages again by turning the paper in a vertical position and writing across, and all the way down over both pages.

Mentioned in this letter:
- Joe & Eva - Joseph and Eva Amelia - one of Noah's sisters and her husband
- Maud (Victoria Maud) sister of Ethel's mother, Ida Amelia Glover
- Percy - Noah's older brother
- Arley - no idea who he is yet
- Mother - Sarah Sophia Deverell
- Ethel (Ethel Maud) another of Noah's sisters
- Louie - see the Genealogy notes for a new development!
- Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Joe & Eva
- Fanny - Joe's niece

Grand Coulee, Sask. 3. 6-11.

Miss. E. Nelson,
     Belhaven, Ont.
Dear Ethel; -
     Well Ethel another week
has slipped away and a nother
day of rest is here but not much
rest. Ha. Ha. Was down to church
this morning & over to Joes for dinner
& tea then back to church &
now home. clock just struck
nine.
     Well Ethel I missed your letter
this week but guess I know the reason.
How do you like it at Maud's?
     Have been at office 3 times
& Percy has been down twice
but all th                        was a

Post Card from Arley. Havent saw that
yet Percy has it. but he could not keep
your letter if there had been one.
     Was in Regina last Tuesday with
Mother & Ethel ordered mother a fur
coat made it is to be finished next
Saturday.
     Well I have found plenty to do
since I came home & will not run
out of a job for some time i guess
dont you feel sorry for me. Eh?
     Saw Louie at church today & was
to go home with her this morning but
got over as far as Joe's and Joe & Eva.
went so I stayed there to run the
house & I had a hard time of it I
can tell you. between Veda & Fanny,
Joes. Niece they keep things lively.
     Say Ethel when I got home them
post cards I was telling you about
of the engineer & I were at Percy's
so I am sending ne. Hope it
won't scare you to death. You
know me as I am not as it shows
me. Ha. Ha.
     Say Ethel mother gave. Ethel her
organ & Ethel sold hers so I will
have to whistle for music all next
summer. but never mind I like a
pianno. dont you.

     Well every body is getting back
from there trips now & I can
tell you they are coming back
to bad roads but nice weather
as a rule. it has only stormed one
day since I got back. guess
I must have some influence
with the weather man.
     Welll I am preety nearly
run out for this time. but
I will look for a long newsy
letter next week & if you dont
send expect a storm. Well I
guess this is all for this time
write soon to your. (What
shall I say) little Boy Brown.
x x x x x           N. C. Draper.

Anybody out there know what 'little Boy Brown' refers to? I can only find a book by Isobel Harris, but it was published in 1949.

Genealogy Notes

I found Fred & Louie - I think! It's amazing how the genealogical facts fall into place once that first piece of the puzzle is found. And now the Fred & Louie puzzle is complete. Here's what we knew as of the Feb 27th Courtship Letter where Fred was first mentioned:
- Louie is the nickname for Sarah Louisa - Noah's sister
- Noah had written, "Was at Joe's last night for tea and also Fred and Louie we
had a big time Louie took mother with her so I had to take the girls. O. Joy."
- as explained in the genealogy notes beneath that letter, I hadn't been able to find out who Fred was because I didn't have his last name.

Earlier this week while waiting for the school bus with the boys, I sorted through a bag of assorted sized photos from Ethel's treasure box and put them in a small album* I'd found. I was disheartened that none of the photos showed Fred and Louie and yet Fred's name was so familiar.

I had found a Fred Coventry in JD's small address book, but discounted it not only because the man lived in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan - a 45 min drive at today's highway speeds, but because most of the names in JD's address book were for men and their loved ones in WW2. If JD's Fred had been the husband of Louie, you'd think - as JD's Aunt - he would have put 'Aunt Louisa', or 'Fred and Louie", etc.

Louie's last census appearance was in 1901, age 22, in Ontario. The family's move out west happened about 1904 and since Louie was of marriageable age, I thought she may have stayed out east. During my search, however, I stumbled upon a 1916 census listing:
- Louie Stewart, female, est age 35, married to Fred Stewart, living in Red Deer, Alberta
Our Louie would have been:
- Louie ----------, female, age 37, presumably married to Fred ------------

A further search yielded this Register of Deaths:
- Louisa Stewart, female, est birth 1881, died in York, Ontario, 29 Dec 1919
Our Louisa would have been:
- Louisa -------, female, birth 1879, place of death unknown, (born in York), died 1920

So Louie Stewart in the 1916 census was close, and so was the Louisa Stewart in the death register. And although dates can be off by a couple years, it just didn't feel right. Something kept niggling at me.

I went back to Ethel's treasure box and began searching the dozens of postcards knowing that many were actually photos. An earlier post Early Kodak Advertising showed how simple it was to take photos, label them, and turn them into postcards. Another post Early 1900 Camera Talk showed photos of a camera hubby had received from his father years ago, knowing it had been passed down from his father, Noah Draper. So, many of the photo postcards in Ethel's treasure box were taken from that very camera of Noah's.

So there I was, looking through Noah's postcards of WW1 ships, sailors, English castles, and people he'd come across on his travels... and I came across a ripped photo of a man and his horse and buggy. And a quiver went through me.

Who is this man with his horse and buggy in Grand Coulee, Saskatchewan?

Slowly, I turned the photo over, disappointed to see that it had been ripped out of an album. But wait... something was written on the black paper which I've lightened for visibility...

Fred Coventry, horse & buggy, Grand Coulee, Saskatchewan.

YES! It said, 'Fred Coventry, horse & buggy, Grand Coulee'. It does say when the photo was taken, but it looks like it was kept in a photo album for a long time. That got me to thinking where else I'd seen the name.

The niggle came back and I remembered the little address book in Ethel's treasure box. A quick flip through the pages and I found this:

A note in the back of the notebook says that JD gave Ethel (his mom) the book in 1940, before he went to war. As I said earlier, most of the pages contained names and addresses of soldiers and loved ones. I surmised that Fred Coventry was someone close to JD and his family.

With the knowledge that Fred Coventry was a very real possibilty of being Louie's husband, I went back to Ancestry.com and searched for Sarah Louisa (Louie) Coventry.

And I found her. Or, I should say them... in the 1911 Canada Census. Fred and Louisa Coventry were living on a farm in the Regina area. I continued my search and found a Graveyard notice that Sarah Louisa Coventry was buried in the Kelowna Municipal Cemetery, Pioneer Section. I clicked on the link and found this:

                 IN MEMORY OF LOUISA DRAPER
                               BELOVED WIFE OF
                                 G. F. COVENTRY
                           BORN MARCH 17, 1879
                                DIED FEB. 1, 1920
                                     "AT REST"
                       COVENTRY

Here's what I now know out about Fred and Louie:
1906 - Both lived in the Regina area but not married
1911 - They were married and living in the Regina area
1916 - Unable to locate in the special Western supp census
- no further Canadian census released
- no further record of them until Louie's death in 1920
But most surprising of all, according to the 1911 census, Fred and Louie had no children and although Fred was almost 10 yrs older than Louie, he had never married. So the big question is... Who are the girls Noah is talking about in his letter?

*I'll be adding notes on photo storage and other research stuff gained while searching, to a new page, Archive Storage, which will be available sometime in October.

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1911 Courtship: June 12 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: Mar 6, Dear Ethel

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