c1932 - Miss Hunt at 82 yrs and Cousin Alice This week we learn the identity of Miss Hunt, a retired teacher according to Ethel's granddaughters, who lived her remaining years with Ethel's parents. The girls showed me Miss Hunt's 1849 Bible which they'd received from their mother, Norma, a daughter of Ethel.
Although Noah & Ethel included Miss Hunt several times in their letters, they never referred to her by a Christian name, so this week's research was discovering the identity and life of Miss Hunt.
A puzzle for another time however, is the woman in this photo with Miss Hunt. The woman is also in the Nelson Family photo below and is simply identified as Cousin Alice in Ethel's handwriting, although after that someone has added Great, Great Cousin. The latter writing looks like Nelson's and probably is because he sat down with his father, Wayne Draper, and looked over the contents of Ethel's Treasure Box when he first inherited it upon his sister Norma's death.
Although Noah & Ethel included Miss Hunt several times in their letters, they never referred to her by a Christian name, so this week's research was discovering the identity and life of Miss Hunt.
A puzzle for another time however, is the woman in this photo with Miss Hunt. The woman is also in the Nelson Family photo below and is simply identified as Cousin Alice in Ethel's handwriting, although after that someone has added Great, Great Cousin. The latter writing looks like Nelson's and probably is because he sat down with his father, Wayne Draper, and looked over the contents of Ethel's Treasure Box when he first inherited it upon his sister Norma's death.
Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated: Oct 30th. 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, Great Coulee, Sask. (should be GRAND Coulee)
Mailed from: Belhaven, P.O.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink - Ethel starts this letter with a light colored ink, but then changes to blue. This is better quality ink than she's been using as it is dry and doesn't smear.
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 - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- the kids - includes Ethel's other siblings: JA (Jay) 3, Emanuel (Manuel) 6
- **Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva and her husband, Joe Perrault
- Pa and Ma - *James H Nelson and *Ida Amelia Glover
- Margaret *Barker - Ethel's maternal aunt
- Uncle Emanuel (newspaper shows Manuel) - Ethel's paternal grand uncle
- **Miss Hunt
- Herb *Winch - neighbor whose little girl received burns from hot ashes/coals
- Orville *King - friend and neighbor who went West for harvest
- Edna *Crowder - friend and neighbor
- Jorden *Crowder (Gordon?) & Miss Little John
- Helen Munro - friend
- Desten *Sheppard - 19 yr old neighbor
- Mr. Stiles
Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Sutton - a few miles northeast of Belhaven
- *Toronto - within an hours drive of Belhaven
- *Brandon- where Veda is attending school
Cliche/Phrase
- 'kids' in reference to Ethel's siblings
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
Dated: Oct 30th. 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, Great Coulee, Sask. (should be GRAND Coulee)
Mailed from: Belhaven, P.O.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink - Ethel starts this letter with a light colored ink, but then changes to blue. This is better quality ink than she's been using as it is dry and doesn't smear.
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 - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- the kids - includes Ethel's other siblings: JA (Jay) 3, Emanuel (Manuel) 6
- **Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva and her husband, Joe Perrault
- Pa and Ma - *James H Nelson and *Ida Amelia Glover
- Margaret *Barker - Ethel's maternal aunt
- Uncle Emanuel (newspaper shows Manuel) - Ethel's paternal grand uncle
- **Miss Hunt
- Herb *Winch - neighbor whose little girl received burns from hot ashes/coals
- Orville *King - friend and neighbor who went West for harvest
- Edna *Crowder - friend and neighbor
- Jorden *Crowder (Gordon?) & Miss Little John
- Helen Munro - friend
- Desten *Sheppard - 19 yr old neighbor
- Mr. Stiles
Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Sutton - a few miles northeast of Belhaven
- *Toronto - within an hours drive of Belhaven
- *Brandon- where Veda is attending school
Cliche/Phrase
- 'kids' in reference to Ethel's siblings
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. Oct 30th. 1911 Mr N.C. Draper. Great Coulee, Sask. My Dear Noah, - Received your letter Friday evening and as I always am. was much pleased to get it. We are not going up to Sunday School to-day. it is so awfully windy and I guess perhaps a little on the lazy side 'eh' I think maybe we will be able to get ready in time for church. Sadie & myself were in to Mr Herb Winches for a few minutes last night before going to choir practice There little girl is getting along nicely. Well Orville has reached home at last. but hav'nt had a talk with him yet. to know how he likes it out West. |
| 2. We had the threshermen yesterday threshing buckwheat and cutting corn. Sadie & Edna Crowder were to Sutton yesterday. said they heard that I was married and living in the West. Helen Munro was telling them, so of course when I heard the news. I congratuled my self imensely. You ask who I had tea with at the Social. Desten Sheppard and say what a time. Suppose you know what a sport he is. Good ness me! I thought fruit season was over long ago. you people out there must be behind times. fruit is all gone here unless it is some grapes and say I had some grapes the other day that came from a friend of Miss Hunts in California. |
| 3 Pa and Ma got ready and went to Church this morning and it happened their was'nt any. Edna Crowder was telling Sadie yesterday that she thot Jorden was engaged to a Miss Little John in toronto She told Sadie she was'nt to tell so you see she only told me. and so on I am only telling you. "ha ha" I don't care how many get married, I've got the best of them all. Well Noah I started this letter when the kids where going to Sunday School and Christie has just come in now. I have simply just been sitting here dreaming writing part of it down and the rest I am dreaming over it yet I am a great day dreamer as well as a night dreamer. I often see you in my dreams. |
| 4. I only wish some of them were real, Herb Winch is here, trying to bother the kids. Is Veda's special subject at school Music. I like you do think that music is some thing worth while. I often wish that I had taken more time and so understood music better, I guess. I can talk enough Mr Stiles says I use to be able to talk a wheel of a wagon. I've never tried it yet. ha ha Well time seems to be passing but very slow it seems sometimes In two more months at the least I hope to see you, do you think I will? Well this certainly is a funny letter. but you can guess my mind to-day. I am lonesome, just simple love sick as you may call it. Must close for this time with lots of love and xxxx Ethel |
Genealogy Notes
Genealogy Note #1 - Veda Josie Perrault Thomson
Veda Thomson On the right is the only photograph I have of Noah's young niece, Veda Josie Perrault born 1895, who has been mentioned so many times in these Courtship Letters. First, Noah and Ethel were talking about Veda's hands and how she was being treated by x-ray for them, and now about Veda going to school in Brandon, Manitoba. Veda married Leslie Peter Thomson in 1913. This cropped photo is from the Norma Draper Personal Photo Collection and was taken in the late 1960's.
Genealogy Note #1 - Miss HuntMiss Hunt has been mentioned several times in these Courtship Letters:
Prior to this week's research, this was all I knew of Miss Hunt:
- the 1911 Canada Census shows Miss Hunt working as a domestic for Emanuel Nelson. Uncle Emanuel is the brother of Henry Nelson, Ethel's paternal grandfather who died in 1900 down in Iowa.
- that Miss Hunt was included in a family photo because she lived with Ethel's parents.
- 1911 Courtship: May 21 Dear Ethel - Info and photo
- 1911 Courtship: May 14 Dear Noah - Uncle Emanuel is very sick. We are afraid he'll not recover. Miss Hunt speaks of you each time I see her.
- 1911 Courtship: Oct 15 Dear Noah - Uncle Emanuel & Miss Hunt were here last tuesday.
- Courtship Letter Special: July 15 From Elva Mitchell - is Uncle better now. is Miss Hunt married yet.
Prior to this week's research, this was all I knew of Miss Hunt:
- the 1911 Canada Census shows Miss Hunt working as a domestic for Emanuel Nelson. Uncle Emanuel is the brother of Henry Nelson, Ethel's paternal grandfather who died in 1900 down in Iowa.
- that Miss Hunt was included in a family photo because she lived with Ethel's parents.
Back in August when I visited Norma's girls, they'd lent me Ethel and Norma's photo albums to scan. Upon my return to Grand Coulee after digitizing all the images and information, Norma's girls bestowed Miss Hunt's Bible in my care to be kept with Ethel's Treasure Box.
Miss Hunt's 1849 Bible included a marriage record and birth information for the Joseph Joshua Hunt and Emily Lundy and Family. And that's where my search for Miss Hunt began.
Miss Hunt's 1849 Bible included a marriage record and birth information for the Joseph Joshua Hunt and Emily Lundy and Family. And that's where my search for Miss Hunt began.
Hunt Family as recorded in their 1849 Bible
Joseph J. Hunt and Emily Lundy were married by
Rev'd Edmund Sheperd, August 27th 1839
Joseph Joshua Hunt Born Carlton Nottinghamshire, England
April 19th 1815
Emily Hunt Born the township of Windham, London District,
Canada West, December 31st 1818
Rev'd Edmund Sheperd, August 27th 1839
Joseph Joshua Hunt Born Carlton Nottinghamshire, England
April 19th 1815
Emily Hunt Born the township of Windham, London District,
Canada West, December 31st 1818
|
Starting at the bottom, I added Ann Eliza Hunt's information to the ancestry.com search box and received hints for dozens of females named Ann Hunt, Annie Hunt, Eliza Hunt, Elizabeth Hunt, etc as both maiden and married names. For the location, most said York County but when I checked them, they were for the city of York - the old name for Toronto - instead of the rural areas of York County.
I tried searching for Lundy but there were dozens of hits and none were names I recognized.
My next step was to see if there were any newspaper items such as birth, wedding, and death announcements, so I pulled up the Newmarket Era and typed Lundy with the same results as above. Finally, I put Hunt into the search box although I didn't have much hope. Sure enough, hundreds of hits popped up for Hunt, Huntley, Hunter, and all other names with those letters. Included in the hits was everything I wanted to know about hunting like who was hunting, what was hunted, and when were they doing it. And back then, many if not most people hunted for their food.
Finally, I pulled up the free www.familysearch.org site. I've used this a few times before when I was stymied, but not often because it only gives a name or two and not all the records that you find on www.ancestry.com (which is where your membership fees go). However, in this case, all I needed was a name confirmation and hopefully a death date.
On the Family Search site, it's easy to get overwhelmed with lists of names, so I only typed in Ann Eliza Hunt with North Gwillimbury for the location since that's where the Nelsons lived. And then I clicked Death as my search filter.
I couldn't believe it when Eliza Anna Hunt showed up on the first page with the parents as Joshua Hunt and Emily Lundy thereby confirming I had the right person! I clicked the link to pull up the record and there it was - Ann Eliza died in North Gwillimbury on 23 Feb 1934. That date is consistent with the Nelson Family photo which was taken in 1932.
I now had a name, location, and enough vital statistics to kick the ancestry system into gear and start giving me some hints to relevant records.
I tried searching for Lundy but there were dozens of hits and none were names I recognized.
My next step was to see if there were any newspaper items such as birth, wedding, and death announcements, so I pulled up the Newmarket Era and typed Lundy with the same results as above. Finally, I put Hunt into the search box although I didn't have much hope. Sure enough, hundreds of hits popped up for Hunt, Huntley, Hunter, and all other names with those letters. Included in the hits was everything I wanted to know about hunting like who was hunting, what was hunted, and when were they doing it. And back then, many if not most people hunted for their food.
Finally, I pulled up the free www.familysearch.org site. I've used this a few times before when I was stymied, but not often because it only gives a name or two and not all the records that you find on www.ancestry.com (which is where your membership fees go). However, in this case, all I needed was a name confirmation and hopefully a death date.
On the Family Search site, it's easy to get overwhelmed with lists of names, so I only typed in Ann Eliza Hunt with North Gwillimbury for the location since that's where the Nelsons lived. And then I clicked Death as my search filter.
I couldn't believe it when Eliza Anna Hunt showed up on the first page with the parents as Joshua Hunt and Emily Lundy thereby confirming I had the right person! I clicked the link to pull up the record and there it was - Ann Eliza died in North Gwillimbury on 23 Feb 1934. That date is consistent with the Nelson Family photo which was taken in 1932.
I now had a name, location, and enough vital statistics to kick the ancestry system into gear and start giving me some hints to relevant records.
I started searching the parents' census records and discovered that Miss Hunt was known as E. Annie and or just Annie and that she lived with her parents in Aurora until 1881 at which time she was 32 yrs old without an occupation listed. Here's what follows:
1881 - No further information found on mother, Emily Lundy after this census
1884 - Death of father, Joseph Joshua Hunt
1891 - No census record found for Miss Hunt
1901 - No occupation listed; Living with Uncle Horace & Aunt Kate Lundy, Aurora
1911 - Working as a Domestic for widower, Emanuel Nelson, North Gwillimbury
1913 - Emanuel dies in April and in June, Miss Hunt goes to stay with Maggie Barker
1881 - No further information found on mother, Emily Lundy after this census
1884 - Death of father, Joseph Joshua Hunt
1891 - No census record found for Miss Hunt
1901 - No occupation listed; Living with Uncle Horace & Aunt Kate Lundy, Aurora
1911 - Working as a Domestic for widower, Emanuel Nelson, North Gwillimbury
1913 - Emanuel dies in April and in June, Miss Hunt goes to stay with Maggie Barker
 The Newmarket Era. April 4, 1913 |  The Newmarket Era. April 18, 1913  The Newmarket Era. June 13, 1913 |
1921 - Miss Hunt, 72, is living with her widowed sister, Margaret, 74, in Toronto
1932 - Miss Hunt is living with Ethel's parents, James and Ida Nelson
1932 - Miss Hunt is living with Ethel's parents, James and Ida Nelson
The Nelson Family c1932, (L to R back) Leona Thompson, Christie Nelson, James A Nelson, Emanuel Nelson and wife Vera May Horner, Cousin Alice ?, Miss Hunt, Ida Amelia Glover and James Henry Nelson; (L to R front row) Frank Thompson, Leeland Nelson, Glenna Nelson, Clifford Thompson, Benny Thompson
The above photo of the Nelson family looks like it was taken at the house Ethel grew up in just south of Belhaven on Concession 5, but around that time her father was building a new house on the Baseline, Sutton West. Since I have over a dozen photos taken on that day, I'm wondering if this was a celebration for the 'big move'. Only James and Ida moved to the new house along with Miss Hunt, and also Ethel when she visited during the winters. The house was left to JA (James A) who married Leona in Feb 1933 and raised their family there.
Feb 23, 1934 - Miss Hunt dies and the newspapers report:
Feb 23, 1934 - Miss Hunt dies and the newspapers report:
 Newmarket Era, 2 Mar 1934, Page 4 |  Newmarket Era, 2 Mar 1934, page 8 |
And there you have the story of Miss Hunt which will be typed up and placed in her Bible near the Family Record page for when her Bible is passed on to the next generation.
