Category: Horses

WW1 Letters Home - Dec 29, 1916

12/29/2016

Sinking of the Linda Blanche out of Liverpool, 1915, Painting by Willy Stower (1864-1931). Courtesy of wikipedia

My previous post showed a map with Noah Draper's presumed route to Chatham, England, according to his letter of Dec 19, 1916 where he wrote that he was headed overseas. Since I read his letters beforehand, I knew he wasn't going straight there, but I didn't want to give out information before Noah himself told us. This letter, dated Dec 29, explains how he arrived in Chatham. Read the History Notes under his letter below for an explanation of how the above image relates to his journey.

Author of Letter: Noah C Draper, 29 yrs old
Dated: Dec. 29, 1916
Mailed from: Chatham, England
Attached to: HMS Pembroke (21 Dec 1916 to 31 Dec 1916)
Profession: Farmer, Temporary Sailor
Rank: Ordinary Seaman
Addressed to: Mrs. N.C. Draper, Keswick, Ont.
Relationship: Wife
Writing instrument: Fountain Pen with Black Ink
Writing Paper: 10" x 6.5" medium weight, semi-rough, folded into booklet form. Noah hasn't numbered the pages, but he's using the same technique he used for most of his previously posted courtship letters to Ethel, where his first page is the outside, then he's opened it and written on the right side, then moved over to the left side and written there, and finally, he's closed it and written on the back. For clarity, I'm posting the pages in the order they were meant to be read.

People mentioned in this letter:
Ethel* - Noah's wife of 5 yrs, Ethel Isabel Nelson Draper
Percy* - Noah's older brother, lives near Adams, Saskatchewan
mother - Noah's mother, Sarah Sophia Deverell* Draper, widow of David Draper

The babies:
- Mildred* aka Midge, 3 yrs old
- James David* aka Jay, 6 months old (later called JD)

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Keswick - where Noah's family lives (the ones who didn't move west)
- Liverpool** - a huge busy port on the River Mersey (**see map below)
- London** - on the River Thames, the capital of England, and the U.K.
- Royal Naval Barracks Chatham - aka HMS Pembroke
- the N.P. - Naval Police (see Naval Police and Shore Patrol)
- whiffletree and tandem hitches (**see Historical Note #2 below)
- hut - barrack building

Word or Phrase Use:
car - short for street car
navel barracks - Noah's spelling should read naval barracks

Legend:
* 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 at the top of this page
** see History Notes below

Chatham, England
Dec.29. 1916

Mrs. N. C. Draper,
Keswick, Ont.
My Dear Wife & all; -
Well I have arrived here
all safe & sound and right
side up & am fealing fine
got here last night after
midnight .left Liverpool about
2 P.M. but could not see much
of the country as it gets dark
about 4 P.M. here now. had
a fine trip over no rough
weather at all they said
although I was sick 1 day

but enjoyed the trip very much.
Say I wrote a long letter
on board (3 pages) but the
N. P. told me it was held up
as I was giving information
which I had no right to
give, but I dont know what
it was so will have to be
careful I guess the letters are
censured from Canada to
so private news is not
private.
Al that came over here
with me are quartered in
one hut. about 50. and we are
quite comfortable. there is
two long tables & three is told
off for cooks for each day I

am cook to day.
Well I have not been out
in the city yet so can not
tell you much about the
place but you never see
a team hitched up as we
hitch them they are all
driven tandem or else
the tugs are hitched right
onto the frame of the tongue
no whiffletrees. but they
draw big loads, of course the
roads here are all good nearly
as good as our paved streets.
Had supper in London last
night was there about 45 min.
but just took the street car

from one station to the other
so did not see much (only Lady
guards) they take the railway
tickets before you get on the car
here & it saves a lot of trouble.
Well I want to write to
Percy & Mother so will have have
to close soon in order to
get my address on this page
it is N.C Draper.
Hut 16 East Camp
Royal Navel Barracks, Chatham,
England.
Will try & send some little presents
next week if the stores are open
when I am out on leave, get out
every other night I guess. Well.
this is all for now. Write soon, love to
you and the kiddies. N.C. Draper

History Notes

There are 2 History notes for this letter...

History Note 1 - Port of Liverpool
In this letter, Noah mentions that he disembarked at Liverpool and left there shortly after 2 pm, crossed the country, stopped in London for supper, and arrived in Chatham after midnight. Historical references mention Troop trains crossing England. I've also found reference to boat trains carrying troops. Boat trains are dedicated trains carrying passengers from a particular place to/from a port.

However, there was one major hurdle before arriving in Liverpool: In February 1914, Germany had announced that the waters surrounding Great Britain and Ireland, including the English Channel, and the western portion of the North Sea, was a war zone and any ships, be it British, neutral, or merchant, would be fired on and destroyed without warning.

Germany wasn't fooling. In the seven-month period between March and September of 1916, 480 vessels were sunk by German U-boats in that area alone. In case you're wondering, a U-boat stands for undersea boat aka submarine. And that's where the image at the top of this post comes in... you never knew where the U-boats were hiding or if the ship you were traveling on would get fired on by torpedoes. We must never forget the brave captains, sailors, troops, and even passengers who risked everything by running the U-boat gauntlet, and to the ones who lost their lives along the way.

Whatever ship Noah sailed on to get to Liverpool, he would have had to go through U-boat territory, yet he doesn't give Ethel any inkling of the danger.

Upon disembarkation in Liverpool, it seems most troop ships used the Riverside Railway Station to send the troops on their way, and although I couldn't confirm this is the dock where Noah disembarked, considering that I don't know what ship he sailed on, the following shows the station as it appeared around 1914.

ca 1914, Riverside Station and Princes Landing Stage, Liverpool, England

The Port of Liverpool's 7.5 mile/12.1 kilometre dock system is mostly on the eastern shore of the River Mersey, but also contains docks on the west side of the river. See wikipedia for detailed 1909 maps of the dock system.

History Note 2 - Whiffletrees

In this letter, Noah mentions that the British don't use wiffletrees, so here's the definition of a whiffletree and it's other name variants.

Wiffletree, whippletree, swingletree

Four-hitch with a set of whiffletrees. Courtesy of wikipedia

He goes on to say that instead of using a single or set of whiffletrees as pictured above, the British hitch their horses in tandem or right onto the frame of the tongue. Tugs and traces are also regional name variants as you can see by the following diagram.

Harness Diagram. Courtesy of wikipedia

To end this post, here's an image of two ponies being driven in tandem, much as you would see two riders on a tandem bicycle. I wonder if this is what Noah meant.

Ponies Driving in Tandem. Courtesy of Wikipedia

1912 Harvest Photos & Noah's Sisters

6/30/2014

ca1900-1910 - The 4 daughters of David Draper & Sarah Sophia Deverell. (L to R) Sarah Louisa "Louie" (Coventry), Eva Amelia (Perrault), Ethel Maud (Rigler), and Jennie F., sitting. Photo courtesy of Jim, grandson of Sarah Louisa.

If you're wondering if you missed any posts...no, you haven't. I've been busy writing and time slipped away on me, but I haven't been idle. Besides my writing, I've been working on the family tree and making contacts with new family members. One of these is a grandson of Noah's sister, Sarah Louisa Draper who is always referred to as Louie. The grandson is Jim - a 2nd cousin - and we are honored that he's made contact with us and is willing to share photos and information.

I've also been scanning old newspapers for info on Noah and Ethel and it seems our newlyweds have nested quietly. Since they both like a social life of visiting with family and friends, I'm sure they're doing it in the Adams-Grand Coulee area, but it's not making the Regina newspapers.

Interesting articles I found in the Newmarket Era included their articles on Regina's cyclone which was the subject of my post June 1912: Regina's F4 Cyclone. Here's what the Era said:

The Newmarket Era. July 5, 1912

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. Noah really blends in with background so click to enlarge.

The Newmarket Era. September 27, 1912

I first posted the above threshing photo on 1911 Courtship: Dear Ethel Sep 3. As you can see, it took a large crew to run the threshing machine of the early 1900's.

However, I found the article on the right in the Sept 27, 1912 issue of the Newmarket Era where they talk about a new threshing machine which only requires a crew of 4 instead of the previous crew of 14 like Noah needed.

The photo below is another one from Noah & Ethel's 1910-1924 album. I believe Noah is the man on the right side of the top row. Either of the women could be Ethel, but from the photo at the top of this post, I'm thinking that Ethel is on the left. Or perhaps the women are Noah's sisters, Eva Perrault and Ethel Rigler, and our newlywed Ethel is taking the photograph with Noah's camera.

Regardless of who is in the photo, it's a 16 man threshing outfit.

ca1912-1916 Noah Draper's Threshing Outfit, Adams, Saskatchewan

This next photo looks like there are only a few men working while the thresher is in action which makes me suspect that not only is it a different year, but that Noah has bought one of the new thresher's mentioned in the above newspaper article.

ca1912-1919 Threshing on the farm of Noah & Ethel Draper, Adams, Saskatchewan.

The threshing photos on this page are courtesy of the Norma Draper Photograph Collection.

June 1912: Regina's F4 Cyclone

5/18/2014

Front page of the pamphlet which contains information and pictures of the cyclone-tornado that hit Regina at 5 pm on June 30th, 1912.

1912 RPPC by Noah Draper showing Ethel Nelson Draper and their horses, Adams, Saskatchewan. Courtesy of the Norma Draper Family Photograph Collection.

Remember this Real Photo Post Card (RPPC) from last week? Ethel must have written it on June 30, 1912 because of what she wrote on the back...

Ethel wrote to her 11 yr old sister, Christie, on the back of the above RPPC except I don't believe she actually mailed it due to the lack of a stamp and the fact that it was still in Ethel's possession. I've found other notes and letters in her Treasure Box written in draft form which implies that she wrote a practice one first, and then mailed a second one. Or, she could have kept it as a souvenir because of the date and information.

I've posted the same backing in two directions so you can read it for yourself, but here's what Ethel wrote to Christie:

Christie why don't you
write anymore. Will
you see what Annie
Owens & Olive Lee's addresses
are. I think they are on one
of those post cards hanging
on the wall, Noah and I are going to

Miss Christie Nelson

Belhaven,

Ontario

Regina to-morrow. also Eva
& Joe. Louie & Fred & Mrs Draper,
going to see the ruins. I guess
it is something fierce. the main
part of the town is all wiped out
Carried a loaded street car 40 rods.
Bye-Bye. Love from sister Ethel.

The Cyclone

On June 30, 1912 Canada was making final preparations the next day's Dominion Day celebrations and Regina was no exception. At 5 pm after a day of extreme heat, a combination of a cyclone and tornado due to two storm clouds colliding, hit the ground 18 km (12 mls) south of the city and cut a swath 400 yds (2-3 blocks) wide heading north through grain elevators, business and warehouse districts, and manufacturing plants, with the worst of the damage downtown and in the affluent residential area between Wascana and Victoria Parks.

The Morning Leader - Jul 1, 1912, Page 2

It was over in 20 mins leaving 28 people dead or dying, hundreds seriously injured, 2500 homeless, and over 400 of the finest buildings in the city - some the finest in the province - destroyed or missing. Total cost in 1912 - over 5 million dollars.

For sure Noah and Ethel and the family went to Regina to see the aftermath of the cyclone because Noah took this RPPC of the YWCA:

YWCA ruins on 1900 block of Lorne St. 1912 Regina Cyclone. Photo by Noah Draper

The thought occurs to me as I look at these photos is that Noah, Ethel, Louie, Fred, Joe, Eva, and Sarah Draper could be some of the people walking around looking at the ruins, but from the distance, I can't tell.

Some of the photograph captions mention that being taken atop a building and I can only assume that's what the man on the roof of the YWCA above is doing.

Here's another view - a lighter one - of the YWCA and surrounding buildings at the corner of Victoria and Lorne.

1912 Regina Cyclone - Corner of Victoria Ave and Lorne St., Ruins of the Metropolitan Methodist Church on the left, and then the YWCA , Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

The Metropolitan Methodist Church was constructed in 1910 at a cost of $100,000 only 1 1/2 yrs before the 1912 cyclone. Here's what it look like before June 30th.

ca 1910 Methodist church, Regina, Sask., The Valentine & Son's Publishing Co., Ltd.

These were brick and stone buildings!

Here's a different view of Lorne St as we look north toward the railway tracks and beyond to the warehouse district. Note the Knox Presbyterian Church down the street on the right.

1911 - Corner of Lorne Street and Victoria Avenue - Victoria Park on the right, Metropolitan Methodist Church on the left, and Knox Presbyterian Church down the street. Courtesy of City of Regina Archives Photograph Collection.

Before the 1912 Regina Cyclone: Knox Presbyterian Church at the corner of Lorne and 12th, and the YMCA at the Cornwall and 12th. Taken from Victoria Park. Courtesy of the Prairie History Room at the Regina Public Library.

Here's the Knox Presbyterian Church after the cyclone left it in ruins.

1912 Cyclone Ruins - Knox Presbyterian Church, Lorne Street and 12th Avenue. Courtesy of City of Regina Archives.

After 1912 Regina Cyclone - YMCA at the corner of Cornwall and 12th. Courtesy of City of Regina Archives.

Downtown Regina after the 1912 cyclone. Far left: Scarth Street looking north from 11 th Avenue. Courtesy City of Regina Archives.

After the 1912 Regina cyclone on warehouse district. Dewdney Avenue between Cornwall and Scarth Streets with Regina Cartage in foreground to right. Looking north.

Damage caused by 1912 Regina cyclone in warehouse district - looking south toward tracks and across to downtown Regina. Courtesy of City of Regina Archives.

According to REGINA: The Early Years...

Regina 's residents were left to pick up the pieces of their broken city. The dead were buried, the injured were treated, and the rubble was hauled away. An apocryphal story says that Boris Karloff, best known as Frankenstein's Monster of movie fame, was acting in a play at one of Regina 's theatres that day. Karloff supposedly stayed in Regina and helped with the cleanup operation.

It took only a year for most of the city's buildings and houses to be rebuilt. Carpenters and other tradesmen came from as far away as Winnipeg to help with the massive rebuilding efforts. The debt stayed behind considerably longer – it took almost 40 years to pay off the loans that the city and its residents took out to aid in the rebuilding efforts.

Links to more information and photographs on the 1912 Regina cyclone:

Regina the Early Years: Cyclone of 1912
The Regina Cyclone of 1912 (Saskatchewan Archives Board)
MAP: Path of death left behind by Regina cyclone of 1912
Path of the tornado superimposed upon a map of Regina
A Window into the Regina Tornado of 1912 (Regina Plains Virtual Museum)
Regina remembers tornado on June 30, 2012

Downtown Regina Historic Map guide - City of Regina

The Morning Leader - Jul 1, 1912
The Morning Leader - Jul 2, 1912
The Morning Leader - Jul 3, 1912
The Morning Leader - Jul 4, 1912

Twitter Simulation: Tweeting the 1912 Regina Tornado

The Morning Leader - Jul 3, 1912, Page 1

1912: Letter Fm Hester Soules Prosser

5/11/2014

1912 RPPC Ethel Draper with horses, Adams, SK. Photo by Noah Draper from Noah & Ethel's 1912-1924 Photo Album. Courtesy of the Norma Draper Family Photograph Collection

Ethel is now in Adams, Saskatchewan and enjoying her life as a newlywed. How do I know? Because this week's post contains a letter from Hester Prosser - close neighbor and friend of Ethel back in Belhaven - and Hester mentions what Ethel wrote her.

In the above RPPC, it looks like the object on the near right is the CNR track laying machine from last week's post.

Author of Letter: Hester Prosser (nee Soules, wife of Walker Prosser)
Dated: Mar 21st, 1912
Addressed to: My Dear Friend Ethel
Mailed from: Belhaven (Ontario)
Relationship: Close friend and neighbor
Profession: Farmer's wife
Writing instrument: Black ink
Written on: Linen-like cream-colored folded notepaper. Hester hasn't numbered the pages but if she had they would read 1, 2, 3, 4 in booklet form

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Noah Draper, age 23 (Newlywed, moved west in 1905)
- *Ethel Nelson, age 21 (Newlywed, moved west Feb 1912)
- *Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- *Sadie/Sadye - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Ethel & *Will Rigler - Noah's sister and her husband, living near Noah & Ethel

- **Mr. Brooks & Martha - we find them in Regina later on
- Annie *King & Mr. King - neighbor
- Mr S. *Winch - Stephen Winch? - neighbor
- Lulu ?
- Mr Dave *Sprague's - neighbor
- Mary *Sheppard, John *Sheppard - neighbor
- *Breuls boys, Whetford & Mr. Breuls - neighbors
- Herbert *Winch, Erwin *Winch, Adele *Winch - neighbors
- **Prof. Dales & Lowell - ministers (mystery solved)
- Mr. Frank *Morton's - neighbor
- Blanche B ?
- Alma & Johnnie - probably elementary school-aged children
- Alice - Hester Soules & Walker Prosser's only daughter, Alice Alma (1896-1901) died at 6 yrs old from diphtheria
- Isaac Prosser (1846-1912) died 24 hrs after apoplexy attack (stroke)

Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
- *Toronto
- Owen Sound - 170 km/106 ml fm Keswick on the southern shore of Georgian Bay
- Paisley - 55 km/34ml south of Owen Sound
- The West - Canadian prairie provinces of Man, Sask and Alberta
- Newmarket Era - local newspaper
- the car - the streetcar

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 Mar 21st 1912

My Dear Friend Ethel
Your very welcome
letter was duly received and read
with a great deal of interest. Am
so glad to hear you like your
new house, and that the climate
agrees with you. so far, I presume
it is pretty well settled, Where you
are. So nice to be near Ethel Rigler.
I would like that part of it myself.
She was my neighbor here for a short time
and I was sorry indeed to lose her. I
liked both her and Will, give them
my kindest regards. When you see
them next. Mr Brooks called in
for a while yesterday. Martha is at
home this week, but expects to start
for the West next week. She and a

sister-in-law, their husbands went
a couple of weeks ago. I think you are
wise to subscribe for the Newmarket Era
am sure it would be an interesting
letter to me, if I were to move away
there is so much home news in it.
Say, Ethel. We had the worst storm
last Friday that I ever witnessed, all
day long, and half the night. the roads
were in a terrible state, and the scholars
from High School, will not be apt to
forget it very soon, they had such
an experience getting home. & some did
not reach home. Annie King stayed at
Mr. S. Winch's all night, and Lulu stayed
at Mr Dave Sprague's. Mr King started
to go for Annie, but only got as far
as your place, the road was full.
We heard the sleigh pass here about

nine o'clock, with Mary Sheppard and
the Breuls boys. Whetford & Mr Breuls
had went after them, each put in a horse
the car was late getting in, and then the
horses tired out, or got discouraged, several
times, the men had to go ahead, and
tramp roads. Herbert Winch & his family
(they had been to the city.)
were all in the sleigh, and Erwin Winch
so it was heavily loaded, twelve altogether,
but Saturday morning the road breaking
commenced. Our Choir was invited to
Mr John Sheppard's that night, and
bad as the roads were, there was eleven
young people there for practise. We
had a very pleasant evening. Lowell
preached on Sunday, his last two
sermons have been the best he has
ever preached, he is a fine boy
just what he seems to be. We are
expecting Prof. Dales for the next two

Sundays. the Choir spent a pleasant
evening at Your Father's two weeks ago
(We are invited to Mr. Frank Morton's this week.)
and I got Sadie to come home with us
we spent the next day together, it was
a busy one too. We went to Isaac Prossers
funeral in the morning. S.S. in the afternoon
and Belhaven service in the evening.
hope to have her again if she will
come. Adele came home with us last Sunday
from S.S. She & her Father have gone away
to spend a couple of weeks, they started out
Monday. will visit in Toronto, Owen Sound, &
Paisley, his two brothers live in the two
places & his sister in Toronto. Adele deserving
the trip. She is a good worker. Christie sang
(she did fine)
a pretty solo in S.S. last Sunday. Blanche B.
is to sing one next Sunday. Alma & Johnnie
sang one two weeks ago. I love the pieces from
the little ones, it reminds me so much of Alice
Glad to hear you are attending Presbyterian Church.
How much we miss you here, but our loss is Noah's
gain. God bless you both in your far away home.
Your Sincere friend,
H. Prosser
Write again

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1 - Mr Brooks and Martha

At the bottom of page 1, Hester mentions Mr. Brooks and his daughter Martha:

Mr Brooks called in for a while yesterday. Martha is at
home this week, but expects to start for the West next week. She and a sister-in-law, their husbands went
a couple of weeks ago.

And here's what the local newspaper had to say about the wedding:

The Newmarket Era. March 8, 1912 - Page: 2

The Newmarket Era. March 8, 1912 - Page: 6

Genealogy Note 2 - The Great Storm

Hester relates about kids unable to get from school due to the snowstorm that descended upon them that March. Here's what the newspaper said about it:

The Newmarket Era. March 22, 1912 - Page: 7

The Newmarket Era. March 22, 1912 - Page: 1

The Newmarket Era. March 22, 1912 - Page: 6

Genealogy Notes 3 - Prof. Dales & Lowell

Prof Dales has been mentioned as a minister several times over the course of the 1911 Courtship letters, and the closest I've came to his identity was that he came from the Toronto area.

And now in this week's letter, Hester Prosser mentions:

Lowell preached on Sunday, his last two sermons have been the best he has ever preached, he is a fine boy just what he seems to be. We are
expecting Prof. Dales for the next two Sundays.

From Hester's words, I wondered if Lowell might be a son of Prof Dales and following in the old man's footsteps. A quick search on Ancestry.ca for Lowell Dales brought up this 1911 census listing:

In 1911 Professor John Nelson Dales, and his family, including 20 yr old Lowell, were living in Drayton, Ontario. A few columns to the right on this census shows Prof Dales as a minister and Lowell as a student. Although we don't know what or where Lowell was studying, I'm presuming it was theology like his dad.

Stay tuned for next week when we find out about the 1912 Regina cyclone which Ethel mentions on the back of the RPPC shown at the top of this post.

1911 Courtship: Sep 10 Dear Noah

11/4/2013

G. E. Goddard on "Reciprocity", sired by "Juryman", Bow River Horse Ranch, Cochrane area, Alberta. ca1890's. Courtesy Glenbow Museum.

When I searched my historical photo archives for something to show the 1911 political debate of Reciprosity (Genealogical Note #3), this cowboy and his horse, named "Reciprocity" came up. And honestly, I'd rather show this image than a political one any day.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated: Sep- 1911 (Possibly Sep 10th due to facts in letter)
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, My Dear Noah
Mailed from: Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink
Written on: Off-white, textured, plain, linen-like paper, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form. Ethel is very talkative this week and has written 7 pages using 2 pieces of writing paper.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

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

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

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

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

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

Cliches/Phrases/Word Use
- kid
- phone

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

Belhaven. P.O.
Sept - 1911

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Cousin George from Udora

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

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

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

The Newmarket Era. September 1, 1911 - Page: 2 of 8

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

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

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

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

Genealogy Note 2: The Franklin Terry's

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

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

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

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

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

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

Genealogy Note 3: Reciprocity

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

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