Category:

1911 Courtship: Oct 1, Dear Noah

12/10/2013

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.

1911 Courtship: Oct 1 Dear Ethel

12/1/2013

1914, Adams, Saskatchewan (L to R) Mr. Walter Young, Noah Draper holding daughter Midge, Mrs. Young, Johnny Young.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: October 1st 11
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, Belhaven, Ont., My Dearest Ethel
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Black ink pen, but looks grey in places and then darkens as he dips his pen in the ink jar.
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half and written in booklet form. Noah hasn't numbered the pages, but he has written them - as usual - in the order of 1, 3, 2, 4. For your benefit, however, I've shown them here in the order they should be read.

People/places/things mentioned in this letter:

Will - *Will Rigler married to *Ethel Maud, Noah's sister. Will and Ethel's kids:
1. Viola - Mary Viola b 9 Sep 1903
2. **Violet - Clara Violet May b 7 Jul 1905
3. Merlin - David Murlin/Murland b 28 Mar 1908

Percy - *Percy Draper - Noah's brother
Mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper - Noah's widowed mother
Eva & Joe - Noah's sister, *Eva Amelia and her husband, *Joe Perrault

- **whooping cough

*Cliche/Phrasing:
- his bite was not as bad as his bark
- ring off

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing or use the search box in the header
** see Genealogy Notes below

Grand Coulee, Sask.
October 1st 11.

Miss. E. Nelson,
Belhaven. Ont.
My Dearest Ethel; -
Well Ethel a nother week
has passed & it is that
much shorter time before
I can squeeze you again
say it certainly will be a
happy day when I leave
for the East. for I get as
lonesome as the d---l. Ha. Ha.
Well we are good & buisy
here now. threshing has
started. Will has his wheat
threshed. Percy is threshing

and I will start Tuesday if it
dont rain or any thing else
happen, Say you seem to
think our crops are all spoiled
but they are not I should have
at least 5000 bushels of fair wheat
so that will help some and
about 2400 bu. of feed which
will help some more. eh.
and wheat is a good price
this year so things are
not so bad. Will had
between 35 & 40 hundred bu.
of good wheat & has 100 acres of
flax yet to thresh & Percy
has a lot but I dont know
how much yet.
Well I guess this is enough
of this kind of talk sonow
for something else.

Mother went down to church
with Ethel this morning
so I am at home alone & expecting
them at any minute. guess
Eva & Joe will be up to but
I had rather spend the
after noon with you than
a week with them. but that
is impossible.
Say I dont know wheather
I told you last week that
Viola Violet & Merlin have
the whooping cough. I was
over yesteraday & asked Merlin
what he was barking at & he
said at me. Ha. Ha. told him
I was glad his bite was not as
bad as his bark.

Oh say Ethel do you remember
Mrs. Walter Young. I think I
told you she went over to
England four years ago. she is
back here now & I guess she
will be up for a few days
on Monday. she said she was
going to bring her sister back
with her for me. but I guess
she forgot. Ha. Ha.
Say Ethel I don't know wheather
Percy's have named that boy
yet or not but will find out
later. HaHa guess there is no
name good enough - eh.
Well I guess I will have to ring
off for this time so good bye with
lots of love and 1 000 000 xxxxxxx
PS. guess I will go down N.C. Draper
to night & post this. N.D. x x x x x x x

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note #1 -Whooping Cough

The definition of Whooping Cough according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is, "Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis."

You can check the CDC website for more official information, because I thought I'd share my family's experience with this disease...

Back in the late '90s, my kids and I developed a cough. We didn't think much about it, but over a few days the phlegm thickened in our throats. Jessie was around 9-10 yrs old, and Nick was 3-4. I don't remember if little JJ was affected as he was just a baby at the time.

But after a couple days, the coughing sounded like barking - just like Noah says in this letter. The kids would cough and cough and then suddenly throw up without warning. It wasn't fun. But it was different for me, because the phlegm clogged my throat and interfered with my breathing. I remember standing in my kitchen unable to catch my breath - straining for air. Several times I kicked the cupboard in frustration and I don't know if it was the kicking that did it, but the phlegm would come up and it would be okay for a couple hours.

The doctor said we were the first confirmed cases of whooping cough in Saskatchewan for years and they didn't have any antibiotics to combat the new strain.

Please don't take what I say next as medical advice in any way, but I can't say the above without telling you the rest... After another day of puking and breathing problems, I turned to natural herbal remedies and bought a bottles of cough syrups known for clearing chest congestion with ingredients like garlic, coltsfoot, elderberry, and mullein. Within a week, the doctor confirmed we were free of whooping cough - and then with pen poised over his note pad, he asked what we'd taken for the disease. As Noah and Ethel would say, Ha Ha.

Genealogy Note 2: Clara Violet May Rigler

Remember Ethel's Treasure Box - the source of all of these letters and many of the photos? Here's one of the photos I found in that box:

Merlyn Rigler, George Nelums, Ted (Violet) Rigler, May Kent, June 27, 1928 on George and Violet's Wedding Day

Merlyn Rigler, George Nelums, Ted Rigler, School Teacher - Back

As you can see in the above image, it doesn't seem to match the people it's referring to: Merlyn Rigler, George Nelums, Ted Rigler, School Teacher. Mainly because Ted Rigler in the photo is a female and Ted is usually attributed to a male.

The names are written in Ethel's handwriting, and since Noah's sister, Ethel Maud married Will Rigler, I was able to confirm that Merlyn was indeed Ethel and Will's son, who was also written as Merlin, Merlund and Merland on census records and other documents, although his birth record had him listed as David Murlin.

Next in the image was George Nelums, but he didn't match anyone in the Draper family tree, nor was he shown in any other photos.

My research began by using the ancestry.ca search engine where I found a Death Certificate for Violet Sarah May Nelms. It didn't sound promising, but as I read down the document, I saw that Violet Sarah May was born on July 7, 1905 in Grand Coulee, Sask and her parents were Ethel Maud and William Albert Rigler. Although the birth month and date was off by a month, the year was correct and the informant for Violet's death was her husband, George Nelms. That document provided a well of information for the family tree about the woman Noah called Violet, but it didn't mention anyone named Ted.

I googled George Nelums and all known different variations of Violet's name and finally got a hit on www.ourroots.ca for the Peace River, Alberta history book, Across the Smoky, for a George and Violet Nelms.

The history book contains a listing written by George Nelms and although it's chock-full of information, he doesn't say anything personal. Of the several photos he included, however, is this one with a caption that reads...
Nelms family, back row: George Nelms, Roy, Ted, (mother) holding Joyce. Front: Margaret and Cousin Joan Mitchell.

The comma after Ted threw me off at first, but clearly, Ted is the mother in this family photo.

I'm confident I finally found the Ted Rigler from Ethel's photograph, who happens to be the Violet Noah mentions in this week's letter.

The George and Violet Nelms Family, Page 220, Across the Smokey. Courtesy of ourroots.ca

1911 Courtship: Dear Ethel Sep 3

10/28/2013

ca 1930s James Henry Nelson and his driver, Belhaven, Ontario. Courtesy of the Norma Draper Photo Collection.

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

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

People/places mentioned in this letter:

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

- plasters (plasterers)
- carpenters
- painters

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

Cliche/Phrasing:
- "Well kiddo..."

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing or use the search box in the header
** see Genealogy Notes below

Grand Coulee. Sask.
Sept. 3rd 1911.

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

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

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

Genealogy Notes

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

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

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

Noah & Ethel Draper and Family History in Picures 1912-1924, courtesy of the Norma Draper Family Collection.

There are 2 harvest scene photos below and each has been cropped a couple times. The originals show so much sky and ground that the people are minuscule. Therefore, I cropped each photo first by cuttting one third off the top and the same from the bottom. What you see in the next 2 images are the result of that first cropping.

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

ca 1912-1916 Noah Draper's Threshing Crew, Adams, Saskatchewan. Percy Draper far right standing on the wagon. Noah Draper 3rd from right standing on thresher behind horses.

These next 2 images have been cropped further by cutting another third off the left side so we can clearly see Noah and Percy.

ca 1912-1916 Noah Draper's Threshing Crew, Adams, Saskatchewan. Noah Draper farthest on the right, Percy Draper 3rd from the right. (Cropped from wide image above.)

The image below wasn't annotated by Ethel like the one above, however, it appears that the men stopped their work and then moved forward together for the shot. When I zoomed in as much as I dared without losing definition, I could clearly tell that Percy Draper is on the wagon because of the jaunty angle of his light colored hat. But where was Noah?

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

ca 1912-1916 Noah Draper's Threshing Crew, Adams, Saskatchewan. Percy Draper far right standing on the wagon. Noah Draper 3rd from right standing on thresher behind horses. (Cropped from wide image above.)

There's a good probability that the husbands of Noah and Percy's sisters, Ethel Maud and Eva Amelia, are somewhere in the photographs so if any of those family members see this and recognize someone, please contact us.

1911 Courtship: Aug 28 Dear Ethel

10/21/2013

Postcard c1911 Young man harvesting with horse drawn binder and a man carrying grain stooks. Published by The Valentine & Sons Publishing Co. Courtesy of Peel Library, University of Alberta Postcard Collection.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: Aug 28/11
Addressed to: Miss E.Nelson, Belhaven, Ont., My Dearest Ethel
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, but looks grey in places and pencil-like in others.
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, written in booklet form, but Noah has written the pages in this order: 1, 3, 2, 4.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper, Noah's widowed mother
- Steward - Noah's cousin, **Stewart Trueman Draper of Indian Head, Sask
- **George Draper - Stewart's brother from North Gwillimbury, Ontario
- Uncle - *Uncle Emanuel Nelson is an uncle of Ethel's Pa
- 3 men for stooking (stooks are shown in postcard above)
- well-diggers
- plasterers
- carpenters
- Regina - nearest city to Grand Coulee

Cliche/Phrasing:
"Will ring off..." - reference to new telephone system where the caller must turn the handle to sound a bell that makes a ringing sound so the Operator knows the caller is finished his call

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing or use the search box in the header
** see Genealogy Notes below

Grand Coulee, Sask.
August. 28/11

Miss E. Nelson,
Belhaven, Ont.
My Dearest Ethel; -
Received your letter Friday
and was glad to hear you
were still able to be around.
Hope this may find you as
well as this leaves me at
present.
Well Ethel I have not started
harvest yet I got out to the
field Sat. morning when
it started to rain so had
to quit and will start again
Tuesday if nothing hapens.
George Draper is up at
Stewards now got a card from

him Sat. he is comeing up as
soon as Steward gets thro
harvest (I wish it were you)
for a hunt.
Say do you know where
all the fellows went to from
down there? I havent saw
any of them yet!
Well the well diggers are
away at last but they didnt
get water that hole turned
out to be no good but it
cost me $375. to find it out.
The plasters were here
and put on the first coat
and will be back on Wed.
to finish up. the carpenters
are here now or are supposed
to be. it will take about

2 weeks yet to finish it up.
Well Ethel I guess Mother
is going down East with me
this winter but I dont think
she will come back as soon
eh.
I am expecting the machine
agent out this afternoon to
start my binder have not
git it going yet.
Was in Regina Sat for
a piece for the binder and
stayed all night & came
back yesteraday. say I will
be glad when the harvest
is over I have 3 men for
stooking and they cant do
anything while it is wet &
I dont like them laying around.

Well I hope your Uncle is better
by this time, sickness is an
awful thing. There is quite
a few sick around here now.
Say there is over 500 men
in Regina waiting for harvest
some of them have been
here 3 weeks I guess they must
be tired of it by this time.
for I know how it goes only
I am waiting for something
else. eh. & it cant come to
soon for it seems lonesome
out here now. far more so
than before last winter.
Well dear I guess this is
about all for this time
so I will ring off. so Bye Bye.
Write long letters to your lazy
lover. N.C.D xxxxxxxxxx

Genealogy Notes

In this week's letter Noah mentions that George Draper is at Steward's place. Noah is talking about his 1st cousin, Stewart Truman Draper who farms in the Indian Head area east of Regina, and Stewart's brother, George, who lives in North Gwillimbury Township - the same township where Ethel lives.

Stewart brought his immediate family west, leaving the rest of them in North Gwillimbury. When Noah says that George is now out west with Stewart, I wanted to know if George had also brought his family out west.

George Milburn Draper was born on 28 August 1880, 4 yrs after Stewart's birth, which makes George 31 yrs old at the time Noah wrote this letter.

In 1908, George married Eliza Alberta Hamilton whom I suspected was a sister of Stewart's wife, Bertha Hamilton. When I couldn't find evidence of that relationship, I went back a generation to see if the wives were cousins. I couldn't find a relationship there, either. However, I noticed that Bertha's father, Robert Hamilton, and Eliza Alberta's father, David Hamilton, were born 5 years apart in Nova Scotia. That was too much of a coincidence not to investigate.

I found an 1861 Canada West census with a Hamilton family that looked similar to the one I was seeking. At that time, Canada West was Ontario as the real west was under exploration and still run by the Hudson's Bay Company.

1861 Canada census showing George Hamilton and Jane Patchell and their 5 children, 4 of whom were born in Nova Scotia with the youngest, John (from Image 1214) being born in Canada West/Ontario.

I realized I'd found the right family when the census jived with the following information I'd already collected:

Eliza's Father: David
David's Birth Place:
David's Father: George
David's Mother: Jane

Bertha's Father: Robert
Robert's Birth Place:
Robert's Father: Unknown

My records

David b 1845
Nova Scotia
George b 1801
Jane b 1807

Robert b 1840
Nova Scotia

1861 CW census

David b 1845
Nova Scotia
George b 1800
Jane b 1802

Robert: b 1840
Nova Scotia

The above chart has enough compelling evidence to show me that David and Robert are brothers, that their father is George Hamilton b 1800 in Ireland, and their mother was Jane (Patchell) also born in Ireland. I'd like to add that I clicked over to the next census image/page to see if there were any other family members and there was - the youngest in the family - John Hamilton, whom I added to the above screenshot, was born in 1847, 2 yrs after David.

I now knew that Bertha and Eliza were Hamilton cousins who married two brothers, Stewart and George Draper. It also meant that I now had a whole lot more people to add to the family tree when you include all the brothers and sisters as well as 200 yrs of descendants. Plus, I can research the Irish records with the names George Hamilton and Jane Patchell.

Getting back to George and Eliza, although I couldn't find a newspaper snippet, their marriage record shows they were married 23 Sep 1908 in North Gwillimbury.

The 1911 Canada census finds the couple living next door to his parents, Stephen Draper and Martha Barnhart, and his sister Edith, all whom we've met before in the Genealogy notes of 1911 Courtship May 7.

1911 Canada Census showing Stephen Draper and his wife, Martha Barnhart, and daughter, Edith, followed by son George, and his wife, Eliza Hamilton. (The transcription only shows four names at a time)

According to this 1911 census, George and Eliza don't have any children. Although one other Ancestry.com family tree shows George and Eliza with a girl born in 1911, my search of the newspapers and records, including the 1916 census record, didn't produce any mention of live or still births until 1921 when a little one-year-old boy appears with them.

So to answer my question if George went west alone, I found these snippets. The first one mentions that George, or Geo. as they call him in short form, is leaving for the west, and the 2nd one states that Geo. Draper has left Keswick for the west.

The Newmarket Era. August 11, 1911

The Newmarket Era. August 18, 1911

Since Aug 1911 had a huge demand for harvest workers, I can only assume that the above mentioned men have gone west to find work and perhaps have a look-see around while they're there. And where else would George go but to help out his brother, Stewart.

I'm looking forward to Noah's letter where he next mentions cousin George so we can perhaps learn what he thinks of the new Canada West.

1911 Courtship: July 30 Dear Ethel

8/25/2013

Barn built by Noah Draper, 1911, Adams, Sask. From the Collection of the Norma Draper Family.

Take a look at the above photo because you are all in for a treat! Have you seen the TV commercial where the woman checks her receipt as she's leaving IKEA and shouts to her husband, "Start the car! Start the car!"

Well, that's how I felt last weekend in Grand Coulee... and if you check the Genealogy Notes after this week's letter, you'll find out why.

And the treat... a photograph of Noah with a small portion of the house he's building for Ethel behind him. (Note - Like most pioneers, Noah had to hunt for their food, so if you're squeamish, or an animal activist, you may not want to look.)

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: July 30/11
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, My Dearest Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed to: Huntsville, Ont
Mailed from: Grand Coulee. Sask.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Black ink pen which lightens as he writes, until he dips it in the ink pot.
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 the wide width of both pages.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:

- *Percy Draper - Noah's 28 yr old brother
- my man - *hired man
- carpenters
- well diggers
- plasters
- furnace men
- plumbers

*baseball
*Belle Plaine

Phrases/Cliches in use at the time:
- O.K.
- eh
- loading a car of oats: filling a railroad grain car
- lathing: nailing thin lath strips to the inner walls prior to plastering
- drawing sand: ?
- greenhorns
- plod along

* 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 30/11.

Miss. E. Nelson,
Huntsville. Ont.
My Dearest Ethel; -
Received your letter all
O.K. and was glad you were
having a good time hope
it may last as long as time
and then some. Eh.
Well Ethel I guess you will
be wondering what I am
doing, but I wish you
were here to see and give
me a little advice once
in a while but I wish you
were here to see and give
me a little advice once
in a while but it could
not be that way. buthope
it will be soon eh.
Well. the carpenters are

here yet. they have the frame up. and two ply of board's
on also shingled and they will be here about a week yet
before it is ready for the plasters. expect to have the men
out to put in the furnace and also the plumbers
this week.
Have been loading a car of oats for Percy and
we will finish it tomorrow. I guess. then I will be
lathing and my man drawing sand. I can tell
you I will be glad when the house is finished.
The well diggers are still here. they have went
down 75' in two holes and struck stones in both
so they could not go any farther. they are down about 30'
in another. but the other holes will not cost me any
thing.
Say Ethel after our good start in base ball we
did not get the cup. Bell Plain beat us the last
game. 5 to 3. boo hoo. but out of 11 games we played we
won 8 and lost 3. not bad for greenhorns. Eh.

Well Kid in less than 5 months
you will I hope change your
name. Gee I wish it were
days. but I have a lot to
do before that time or rather
in the next 16 weeks for by
that time the rush will be
over thank goodness. say I
dont think I am much good
in a rush. or any other
time but still I manage to
plod along and intend to
keep on aploding as long
as possible. Ha. Ha. Well I
guess I will have to close
for this time so Bye Bye.
wish Icould deliver these
xxxxxx personally. write long letters
to your lover. N.C.D.

Genealogy Notes

I had to go to Moose Jaw last week, so I had phoned Sharon, grand daughter of Noah, several days ahead and asked if I could stop in Grand Coulee for a visit on my way. I told her I'd be bringing my portable scanner and asked if I could scan some photos. She said sure, and that she'd phone her sister, Patty, and see if she could join us since Patty was the family historian.

When I arrived, I was greeted by both Sharon and Patty - and a wide assortment of memorabilia and photo albums. Oh my Goodness there was lots. As Patty showed me image after image of a young Noah and Ethel and their growing family, tears sprang to my eyes. A photo of the first building Noah built on his land at Adams, near Grand Coulee was the barn pictured above. After turning the page, my gaze set on an image of the finished house. Oh, what a blessing to see the house he built for Ethel during those long months of separation filled only by the Courtship letters.

Here's a sneak preview of Noah and their house:

Noah Clement Draper after a hunting trip, standing in front of the house he built in 1911, Adams, Sask.

But as I pulled out my scanner, Patty said that I could take everything with me and scan/photocopy it all at home. Oh my Goodness!

And that's why I felt like the woman in the IKEA commercial as I drove away from Grand Coulee - I couldn't believe they'd let me borrow the hundreds of photos the albums contained. Oh my Goodness!

I think I've said 'Oh my Goodness' more times this past week than I have during my entire lifetime. And I'm not the only one who's amazed at what we're calling Norma's Treasure Box because I've seen Nelson pour over the albums with an expression of wonder on his face - sometimes because he recognizes a person or place, and others because it's the first time he's seen an image of someone - like Ethel's grandma.

It's an amazing time of discovery here at the Draper house, and I sure hope you join us on this adventure as we post photos of people mentioned in the Courtship letters.

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1911 Courtship: Oct 1, Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: Oct 1 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: Dear Ethel Sep 3

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: Aug 28 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: July 30 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

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