Category: Map

1911 Courtship: Nov 26 Dear Noah

3/2/2014

Brandon College, Brandon, Man, 1910. Courtesty of http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/postcards.html

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  Nov 26 inst. 1911  (inst. = Latin meaning this month)
Addressed to: Dear Noah
Mailed from: Belhaven, P.O.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Beige lined foolscap, newsprint quality, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form with only page 2 numbered. It seems that Ethel has run out of quality notepaper - a common gift of the Edwardian period. A good thing Christmas is only 4 weeks away.

People mentioned in this letter or Genealogy Notes

Pa - *James H Nelson
Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover
*Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister*Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
Uncle Will *Glover's - Ida's older brother living in East Gwillimbury
Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva Amelia and Joseph Perrault
Mr. *Dafoe - resident of Belhaven until widowed in Mar 1911
Herbie Hainer - a member of the Hainer preaching dynasty from Newmarket

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
*West
the office - Belhaven post office
*Newmarket
*Brandon
Christmas

Cliches mentioned in this letter:
- "Hot time in the old town"
- "they say no news is good news"
- "better late than never"

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

Belhaven. P.O.
Nov 26 inst. 1911.

Dear Noah, -
Well here I am again. the
same old story 'eh' but thank goodness
I'll only be found or have the same
privelege of writing to you two or
three more times. Something better
to take its place, 'eh' better than a
dozen letters. Four weeks from to-day
is Christmas Sunday. I look forward
to see you by that time anyway. and
I don't in the least expect to be
dissapointed. But if I am. Oh say!
I don't know what will happen: have you
any ideas? Hot-time in the old town, eh.

Well Noah. I wrote the first page of this
letter this forenoon, and now am going to
try and finish it up. Pa and I were
down to Uncle Will Glovers this afternoon
and Sadie and myself were up to
church to-night. Herbie Hainer preached.
You din'dat say how Veda was. but
they say no news is good news. hope
so in this case anyway.
Christie says to tell you she is sitting
here beside me seeing that I write
properly. "ha ha"
Well Noah as to your last letter, I
hardly know how to answer it. But
if you come Christmas and stay
until sometime in February (about the
six weeks..) I supose we had better be
made one about the middle of January.

For you intend to come home here again
after we are married before going
West don't you, Oh Noah if you were
only here we would know exactly
each others ideas. and so could arrange
things much nicer. I don't feel like
setting the day this time anyway. perhaps
when you come everything will be
made right. I feel though now as
though anytime will suit me. Ma
says we can't go away until the
very last minute. not until you think
you really have to go back. All I seem
to be looking forward to now is
seeing you. and I hope I soon
can close my eyes to that and see
the rest.
Guess you will wonder why you

did'nt get a letter sooner last
week. But really it just seemed
as no one was going to the office
after I did get it wrote. But I
hope it is better late than never.
Well there does'nt seem to be
much that I can write to-day, for
I can't seem to settle my mind on
any one thing. But I know or hope
there's a great Day coming by and
by, "eh".
Mr Dafoe was here Saturday
he has been out west all summer
he was saying if he knew then that
I was going he would have stayed. and
so on it goes. ha ha. I guess you
know about what it tis. "eh". I must
close for this time. so Bye-Bye Love from
your Sweetheart, Ethel x x x x

Genealogy Notes

In this week's letter, Ethel mentions Veda once again. In the post entitled 1911 Courtship: Oct 30 Dear Noah, I showed a photo of Veda as an older adult - the only image I have of her, but this time - with only a couple courtship letters left, I wanted to know exactly where Veda was attending school back in 1911. In a recent letter, Ethel had asked Noah if Veda was taking music in Brandon, but we don't know Noah's answer because we're missing his letters - the ones that cover these last few week before he returns to Belhaven to claim his bride.

However, once again I've been going through Ethel's Treasure Box in preparation for the next stage in Noah and Ethel's life. While sorting Noah's WW1 letters from those received from friends and family I found a letter from Veda with Brandon College letterhead and her mention of Clark Hall.

With the confirmation of where Veda was attending post-secondary school, I did some digging. For those who missed the first time I posted this map, here it is again with Brandon located in the southwestern corner of the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Map showing places mentioned in the 1911 Courtship letters.

The image on the right is a sketch of what Brandon College looked like when it began as Prairie College in 1880. Located in Rapid City, Manitoba it was an academic school for the general public as well as a training ground for Baptist ministers. In 1890 the school had moved to the growing city of Brandon, 20 miles south of Rapid City.

1900 saw the laying of the cornerstone of the renamed Brandon College, a new 3 1/2 story brick and Manitoba limestone building. (see postcard above) It offered a liberal arts program with theology courses and included high school and commercial departments.

Sketch of Prairie College. Source: Archives of Manitoba, Schools 5, Prairie Baptist College, c1884

In 1906, a school of music was added, and in 1910 Brandon College officially affiliated with McMaster University in Ontario. At first I thought Clark Hall was the actual music department of Brandon College, but the Historical Sketch page for Brandon University records that Clark Hall was first used as the women's residence of the college.

By the time Veda started her instruction in 1911, Brandon College music graduates in voice and piano were gaining national reputation, but I haven't found a source yet for any of those graduates. Hopefully I'll discover more by the time I post her actual letter which will be in a couple week's time. Meanwhile, here's a list of courses Veda could have been taking during 1911...

Henderson's Brandon City Directory for 1911, page 22 - Brandon College. Source: Peel's Prairie Provinces from the University of Alberta

1911 Courtship: Aug 20 Dear Noah

10/6/2013

The James H Nelson family farm, Belhaven, Ontario. Courtesy of the Norma Draper Photo Collection.

In this week's letter Ethel is back in Belhaven and she mentions the new barn. The above photo is one of the ones from Norma Draper's Photo Collection and since Aunt Norma lived most of her life in Saskatchewan, the back of this photo simply says, "Nelson home in East, Belhaven, Ont." When I asked Nelson's cousin, Patty, who's the family custodian of these photo albums, she confirmed it was the home Ethel grew up in, and the barn in the image is the one Ethel's Pa built in 1911 after fire razed the original one.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson and Sadie Nelson (blue transcript)
Dated: Aug 20th, 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask - Dearest Noah
Mailed from: Bellhaven, P.O. (Province of Ontario)
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink
Written on: Off-white, beautifully textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half with a red carnation motif. This is standard early 20th century pre-folded notepaper. Ethel has written on the pages in booklet form numbering 1-4.

People/places mentioned in this letter:
- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- *Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- Mr. W. *York(e ) - husband of Minnie *Pollack York
- Herb *Nelson's - Ethel's cousin (son of Pa's brother *George Caleb Nelson)
- **Mr. & Mrs. Kellington - John Wesley *Kellington and wife, Charlotte Fairbarn
- Veda - *Veda Perrault, Noah's niece
- Veda's father - *Joe Perrault, married to Noah's sister, *Eva Amelia Draper
- Uncle *Emanuel Nelson - Ethel's Pa's paternal uncle
- *Uncle John Winter - husband of Ethel's maternal aunt *Sarah Elizabeth Glover

**The men who are heading/have headed West:
- George Morton
- Howard Mortons
- Harold Winch
- Percy Willoughby
- Harland Huntley
- Orville King

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- Belhaven Choir
- The West - comprised of all those Canadian lands west of and including the province of Manitoba
- North Portal - in the Genealogy Notes, not the letter

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.
Aug 20th, 1911

Mr N. C. Draper
Grand Coulee. Sask.

Dearest Noah.
Well here I am
home once again, came home
on Wednesday evening, found,
everything fine. Pa was all
done harvesting I guess he
must be ahead of the Western
people, but the crops here are not
very good this year, on account

of so much dry weather. Say what
do you think of this Mr W. Yorke was
just here to the door & he found no-body
at home. Sadie & I are all alone to-day
we both have been sleeping & Sadie is
yet. I did'nt see much use of going down
to let him in. anyway he had started
out by the time I saw who it was.
There are quite a number going West this
week. George Morton is going to-morrow. I
think his family are going in the spring also
Howard Mortons, Harold Winch, Percy Willoughby, Harland Huntley & Orville King are going
Tuesday. I think Orville said he intended
to be some where near your place. liklly he
will be to see you, Hello Noah!
have just got home from church

got your card and it certainly was
a busy time for me just then too.
Don't know what Ethel will say
when she sees this. She went
down stairs in such a hurry
that she forget and left her letter
lying right where I could get it.
Here she comes Good-bye S.E.M.
Say what would you do if you had
such a sister as I have got. Herb
Nelson's drove in here so I had to go
down & get tea, we were up to church
seemed rather nice to get back to our
church again. Sadie wants to know
if you remember she went to the front
of church & then had to come back
and sit beside of you.

Mr & Mrs Kellington went home last week.
They made quite a stay, are they anywhere
near you? Say if you like music you just
want to come to hear Belhaven Choir they are
Just starting one up now. Well time is
passing, and nearing the time when
I'll expect to see you again, only wish
it were to-night. Sadie had a letter
from Veda since her father went away.
Hope he is stronger when he comes back.
Uncle is gaining strenth, although we
don't expect him to last long. Uncle John
Winter is talking of goint West to homestead
I think I will some day. 'eh' I wish I could
get Pa persuaded to go out sometime. Maybe
to go next fall. 'eh' I guess I must close for this
time hoping to hear from you soon. from your
all x x x x x x x Sweetheart.

Genealogy Notes

Miss Ethel Nelson has returned after spending
a few weeks visiting friends and relatives.

The Newmarket Era. August 25, 1911 - Page: 3

Genealogy Notes #1 - Westward Ho

When The Newmarket Era came out a week following Ethel's return from Huntsville, the Belhaven correspondent reported Ethel's return on Page 3 as well as the men who were heading west:
- Elgin Barker
- Harold Winch
- Orman Willoughby
- Orville King

On page 6, a similar list appears under the heading Local Items:

The following left for the West this
week :- Messrs E. J. Barker, H.
Winch, O. King of Belhaven, Mr. Wm
Horner and wife also Mr. G. J.
Morton of Zephyr and Reeve ????-
berry of Virginia. They all secured
their tickets from Mr. F. G. Tremayne.

On the same page, we find this tidbit:
Hr. Howard Morton has returned
from his trip West.

The Newmarket Era. August 25, 1911 - Page: 3

Local Items

The Newmarket Era. August 25, 1911 - Page: 6

The Newmarket Era. August 25, 1911 - Page 6

Genealogy Notes 2 - The Kellingtons

In this weeks' letter, Ethel asks Noah if the Kellingtons are "anywhere near you?" In fact, they are 260 Km/162 Miles southeast of Grand Coulee. Of course, that distance is on present day highways. The map below shows where North Portal, SK hugs the border with Portal, ND. Today, Kellington descendants live on both sides of the Canada/USA border.

Ethel first mentioned the Kellingtons in Genealogy Notes #2 in the July 2 Courtship Letter. Since then, I have visited North Portal and found the headstones and graves of many Kellingtons who were alive in 1911, as well as some of their descendants.

North Portal Cemetery showing the combined headstone and graves of John Wesley Kellington and Charlotte Fairbarn, taken July 2013 by Anita Mae Draper

I won't post the photos of the individual or combination headstones and grave sites here as I've posted them all on the Find A Grave website. The link will bring you to John Wesley Kellington's page. If you wish to see other Kellingtons graves, click the link for North Portal Cemetery in the left sidebar of John's page.

1911 Courtship: Aug 13 Dear Noah

9/23/2013

The Portage Railway running the 1 1/8 mile track between North Portage on Peninsula Lake and South Portage on Lake of Bays, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. Published by Stedman Bros, Brantford, Ontario.

Since Ethel mentions "the portage" in this week's letter, I'm taking the opportunity to talk about the Portage Railway in this week's Genealogy Notes. So if you're a train buff, or know someone who is, you might want to let them know about the video, photos and links at the bottom of this post.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated: Aug 13, 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask - My Dear Noah
Mailed from: Huntsville, Ont.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink
Written on: Off-white, beautifully textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half with a pansy motif. This is standard early 20th century pre-folded notepaper. Ethel has written on the pages in booklet form numbering 1-4.

People/places mentioned in this letter:
- Aunt Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's mother
- *Uncle John - John Thomas Winter, Sarah's husband
- *Ernie (Ernest) Winter - 9 yr old son of Uncle John and Aunt Sarah
- Aunt Mary Rigler - Uncle John's aunt *Mary Breckon Rigler Sibley
- Uncle *Emanuel Nelson - Ethel's Pa's paternal uncle
- Mother - Ida Amelia Glover Nelson
- Pa - James Henry Nelson
- Ella Smith of Huntsville area
- Mary Smith of Belhaven

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- the portage - see Genealogy Notes
- *Toronto - 146 miles south of Huntsville
- Play: Modern Courtship

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

Huntsville Aug. 13, 1911

Mr N.C. Draper,
Grand Coulee,
My Dear Noah,
Oh, I hardly know
how to wrie to-day. I am
feeling so lonesome. Idont know
what is the matter with me but
I just feel as though I couldn't
stand it any longer, but this is
me right over, get the blue's I guess.
Well Noah I am not particuarly
run down with hard work.
Although I was feeling rather down
mostly all last week, but am

feeling better now. I guess you dont
need to worry about me. I think
I am too lazy to ever hurt myself.
Uncle John has just come in he has
been down to the station to try & get my
ticket extended, but the agent said we
had left it to - long. you see it runs
out to-morrow & my ticket would have
to go to Toronto, so I guess I will be
going home to-morrow afternoon.
Uncle John is going back to work to
night on the midnight. He didn't know
what to say when we told him his
Aunt Mary Rigler was married
We were to the show last night, one
play was "modern courtship". Say
it was certainly fine. The poor young
man was bald headed.

Had a letter from home saying they
were all quite well. although Uncle
isnt any better. I guess his time is short
& I am rather anxious to go home to see him
I guess you must be busy with all
your extra work this summer. Say!
dont you wish you had never saw the
East last winter. You think of me
perhaps overworking myself but what
about yourself. remember your just as
important in this world as I am. and
life is to short at is best. and we
must try & not do or use anything to
shorten our days. Aunt Sarah & I were
talking of who we thought we would
miss most. she thought she would rather
die than Uncle John or her children.

I have often thought I would rather die
than you. or any of my sisters or brothers
or mother & pa. I have often wondered if any
thing happened to you. if your folks would send
me word. I am sure I would want to know. I guess
you would know by my writing that I
was kind of out of my mind. (haha)
Ernie is trying his best to coax me
to stay until Wed. he wants me to
go to their S. School pincic on Tuesday
at the portage. I was to the portage on
Wednesday. & enjoyed my boat ride fine.
I expect a Miss Ella Smith to call
this afternoon. she is a 1st cousin of
Mary Smiths & Belhaven. Well I guess
the next mail I get from you will
be at Belhaven. I close for this time
With lots of love & xxxx from one whose
love is all for thee your Sweetheart.

Genealogy Notes

In this week's letter, Ethel writes that Ernie is going to a Sunday School picnic at the portage, and that she was there on Wednesday and enjoyed the boat ride.

All my research into what and where they were talking about pointed to one place: the portage between Peninsula Lake and Lake of Bays which was a short boat ride from Huntsville. The portage was only 1 1/8 mile long, but because there was a 100 foot height difference between the two lakes, the only way in 1911 to get from one lake to the other was on the Portage Railway - the shortest commercial railway in the world.

Also known as the Portage Flyer, the railway's main purpose was to transport cottagers and tourists from one steamboat to another. During my research, I happened upon Charlie Cooper's Railway Pages where a wealth of information can be found not only on the Portage Flyer, but on railroad history, railroad modelling, and toy trains.

The following map from Charlie Cooper's Railway Pages has the best diagram for showing you the location of the Portage Railway, while his website shows more detailed drawings of the actual route.

Black and white line drawing of the Portage Railway map courtesy of Niall MacKay at www.railwaypages.com

In the above map, I took the liberty of adding a red box to draw your attention to Huntsville, and a red line for the Portage Railway, the north end of which was called, North Portage, and the south end was known as South Portage.

ca 1925 The original Porter locomotives and the steamship Algonquin at North Portage. Photo by Leonard Davis. Courtesy of Huntsville & Lake of Bays Railway Society www.portageflyer.org

North Portal, Peninsula(r) Lake viewed from the water. Courtesy of Wiki Commons.

1948 - The Portage Flyer at South Portage, Lake of Bays, Muskoka, Ont. Photo by Annabelle Studio. Courtesy of Huntsville Public Library http://images.ourontario.ca/muskoka

In the following video on The Portage Flyer, John Allen gives a brief history of the this short narrow gauge railway using family photos, archival footage, and memories. This video really is a treat:

The rolling stock of the Portage Flyer was moved to the present location of the Muskoka Heritage Place in Huntsville where a group of dedicated volunteers from the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway Society have worked to put the Portage Flyer back in operation.

On July 1st, 2000, the Portage Flyer made it's inaugural run from the Muskoka Heritage Place to the round table at Fairy Lake and back again. Once billed as the World's Smallest Railway, the Portage Railroad now opens it's doors for tourists and historians every summer.

The Portage Flyer, Muskoka Heritage Place, Huntsville, Ontario. Photo courtesty of www.muskokaheritageplace.org

1911 Courtship Letter: Aug 6 Dear Noah

9/3/2013

Regatta Scene at the Town dock, Huntsville, Ontario, c1908. Courtesy of Muskoka Images - a project of the Huntsville Public Library and the Muskoka Parry Sound Genealogy Group

I found the address where Ethel is visiting her Uncle John and Aunt Sarah while in Huntsville and my, oh my, the above photo is what Ethel can see from the back yard, although about twice the distance away. Check the Genealogy Notes for more info.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated: Aug 6 . 11
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask - My Dearest Noah
Mailed from: Huntsville, Ont.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink
Written on: Off-white, beautifully textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half with a red carnation motif. This is standard early 20th century notepaper, pre-folded in booklet form. Ethel has written on the pages in booklet form numbering 1-4.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Aunt Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's mother
- *Uncle John - John Thomas Winter, Sarah's husband
- Uncle *Emanuel Nelson - Ethel's Pa's paternal uncle
- *Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Veda Perrault - Noah's 16 yr old niece in Grand Coulee
- Glover cousins

**Mr Bradley - Huntsville next door neighbor
**drunken men

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
Huntsville Fire Tournament
*Burk's Falls Fire Brigade (another post shows location on map)
H. Landing - Holland Landing, southwest of Belhaven

Cliches/Phrases:
- Try. & Try again, you'll succeed at last.
- put in lockup (jail)

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

To get you started, here's a photo I found in Aunt Norma's Treasure Box (see last post) of Uncle John and Aunt Sarah. Since the photo is taken at the wedding of their son Ernest, they look about 20 years older than they would in 1911. Read the names, too, because most of the front row have been mentioned in these courtship letters.

Wedding of Ernest R Winter and Lillian Dodd. Possibly early 1930's, location unknown. Courtesy of the Norma Draper Family Collection.

Huntsville, Aug 6. 11

Mr N. C. Draper.
Grand Coulee, Sask.
My Dearest Noah, -
Rec'd your letter
last week and was glad to hear
from you once again. It still found me
here at Uncle Johns having a very good
time. but am going home on Tuesday.
Aug 15th. I guess we will be busy
this next week running around &
working too. We are going on a boat
excursion on Wednesday. Had a big time

on Thursday last at the Fire Tournament.
Burk's Falls Brigade won the banner, but
Huntsville was the quickest. but they couldn't
take the banner on account of thier running
on thier own grounds. Now I wonder if I too
would'nt like for you to be here and
give me a little advice. Never mind
when we get the chance, I wonder if we
will have forgotten how to give advice. Eh
Well we have been rather lazy to-day
hav'nt been to church to-day. it has
been so dredfully hot. I wish your
busy time was over now, and that
you were on your way down here
Remember you are to come as
soon as you finish up nicely and
can get away. I don't want you

to stay away any longer than possible
It certainly is long enough as it is.
Sorry to hear you were defeated in
your base ball game. Try. & Try
again, you'll succeed at last. Aunt
Sarah is reading some comic jokes
Uncle John is coming home next Sat
to spend over Sunday. Well here I am
again, we have been out on the lawn
talking with Mr Bradley, the next door
neighbor. Mr Bradley was telling of
seeing so many young girls, (school girls
he called them) running around with
boys. It certainly is true here in town.
And say! the drunken men you see.
Some nights after we have gone to
bed you will here them going by. swearing

and yelling to the top of thier voice, and
the day of the Tournament, it was simply
awfull to see so many young men drunk.
& put in the lockup. Have saw more
drunkenmen since I came up, than I ever
seen before I believe. I hav'nt had a letter
from home this last week. but I guess they
must be all alive or I would have heard
Uncle Emmanuel was very low the last I
heard from them. I don't know whether
Sadie has passed her exams or not.
How is Veda? is she as lively as ever.
Say I have never answered her card. but
will some of thse days. Am going to stop
a couple of days on my way home at
H. Landing to see my cousins Glovers I am
to getting rather lonesome to see home once
again. I now must close for this time with
love from Ethel (xxxxxxxxxx lots of them & love)

Genealogy Notes

The Genealogy Notes this week involve the search for Uncle John and Aunt Sarah's house in Huntsville. Ethel has left clues in different letters without giving the address:

1911 Courtship: July 16 Dear Noah - Uncle John was. at the station to meet me. he had a row boat there. and so I had a good boat ride first of all...The river is just about 20 rods from their door. The boats are running all the time Sundays too.

1911 Courtship: July 23 Dear Noah - The big boats are running here everyday. The Ramona went out this afternoon. I have been down to the Wa Wa, and have been up on the Mountain.

This week Ethel mentions seeing and hearing all the drunken men walking by, which indicates she was living near the downtown core since that's usually where the dregs of society congregate due to it's normally central location.

But the clincher came when she mentioned Mr. Bradley as their next door neighbor. She's mentioned him before, but not who he was. Armed with that knowledge, I went back to the 1911 census record and searched for Mr. Bradley near John Winter's entry. And there it was - boxed in blue - right above the red box of John, Sarah, Ernest, and baby Mabel.

1911 Canada Census record for John Winter and family. Courtesy of Ancestry.ca

So now what? The profile of this page showed John Winter living on 11 Elne Street which I hadn't been able to find on a Huntsville map. But the page index also showed a Mr. Beadley vs Bradley. And then I noticed something I hadn't before... farther up the page - circled in red - is the word Elm. Not Elne, but Elm. And a few lines above that, the number 11. But that would mean all those families were living at 11 Elm St. Could that be right? Especially if they were visiting their neighbor on the lawn instead of a hallway like an apartment?

I opened Google Earth and searched for 11 Elm St, Huntsville, Ontario. The program zeroed in to a spot near downtown and near the river - across the river in fact, where I guessed Ethel was staying.

Huntsville, Ontario, Canada courtesy of Google Earth

As you can see in the above pic, it was a short boat ride from the train station on the left of the screen to the Winter house indicated with a yellow pin. Using Google Earth's red pin marker, you can see there is room for several houses in the trees at 11 Elm St. There was back then, and when I zoomed closer, there still are although the trees obscure them at ground level.

Ethel said they lived 20 rods from the river and could see all the boat traffic going by. The photo at the top of this post shows that she could see the town dock where the big boats berthed, as well as the swing bridge. It must have been exciting for her!

Huntsville Street View, courtesy of Google Earth.

Using Google Earth's Street View, we can stand on the street where the Swing Bridge begins and look toward the black arrow pointing to the location of Uncle John and Aunt Sarah. Puts it all in perspective, doesn't it.

Now about those drunken men mentioned in this letter... Huntsville had only been settled in the last quarter of the 19th century. Due to the rocky terrain however, farms were few and far between. Most people made their money by with the fledgling tourist trade or the logging industry. Huntsville was a gateway to the northern places like North Bay where the logging industry was the main industry. During the forest fire season, crews of fire fighters would be brought in to combat the blazes.

That put a lot of young, strong men in an area where they outnumbered the young single women by about 10 to 1 or more. And without a home life, the single men were spending their leisure time looking for a girl or trying to keep the one they had. Along with drinking away their loneliness - and maybe even homesickness, I'm sure a lot of fisti-cuffs erupted.

I think it's ironic that in a recent letter Ethel was worried about Noah hiring a girl to help feed his men in case he found the new girl was 'the one', when he's back on the prairies and probably spending too much time thinking about her and all those available men.

1911 Courtship: July 16 Dear Noah

6/24/2013

1914-1916 Looking west on Main St Huntsville, Muskoka District, Ontario, Canada. Courtesy of Huntsville Public Library and ourontario.ca

Ethel is finally in Huntsville!

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  July 16th, 1911
Addressed to: Dear Noah (Noah Clement Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.)
Mailed from: Huntsville, Ont.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Off-white, beautifully textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half with a red carnation motif. This is standard early 20th century notepaper, pre-folded in booklet form. Ethel has written on the pages in order from 1 to 4.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Uncle John - **John Winter - husband of *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's ma
- Pa -  *James Henry Nelson
- Mr & Mrs. Taylor - Huntsville residents
- Mrs Bradley - Huntsville resident
- **Chris Willoughby
- *Elva Mitchell - see last weeks Genealogy Notes as well as Label list
- Mr John Warriner (Ethel spells it Warner) (John Warriner died recently)

- **Huntsville
- *Washago - south of Huntsville
- *North Bay - north of Huntsville

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

Huntsville.
July 16. 1911.

Dear Noah:-
Rec'd your letter
on Griday as luck would have
it. "eh" Glad you are still so
you can be hard at it. Well
here I am way up here. I left
home yesterday about half past
seven. and got here about
half past three. Uncle John was.

at the station to meet me.
he had a row boat there. and
so I had a good boat ride first
of all. The thing I like best of all.
Nothing i like better but to be
on the water.
We had our barn raising
on Tuesday. Everything went
along fine. About 150 were
there, Pa did the framing
himself. Mr John Warner was
to have done it.
Greatest old place here for
a good time. Uncle John will
keep you laughing all the time
The river is just about 20 rods
from their door. The boats are

running all the time Sundays too.
Hav'nt been out any where
to-day. Mr & Mrs Talyor are
coming here to-night and a
Mrs Bradley is here now. but
I would like to see someone a
great deal better. "eh"
Say i certainly would not
want to live down near
Washago. Yesterday when I
was coming up. of all the old
Shacks we passed. I don't
know how many families
were living in onehouse. Uncle
John was telling that up to North
Bay. there is 2 families living
in 1 hut about 8x10. (haha)

Aunt Sarah is just talking about our
fire, it reminds me did I ever tell you
how. how we heard our barn was
fired. Some one said Manuel was
trying to set a hens tail afire. Iguess
that hen would run some "eh".
Mr Chris Willoughby was to our place
the day of our raising. he said he saw
Elva Mitchell while he was up West.
was he up to your place. He says there
is a lot of bachelors up there and
they want him to ship up a car
load. he said he wanted me to
go when he had some more girls
ready. He's quite a joker, "eh". Well
you were defeated "eh" Say you said
they won that time you did nt go
I wonder if you had better stay at
home next time. "ha ha" Oh you know
me, dont you don't think of anything I say.
Goodbye from your lonesome Sweetheart.
I'd love to see you just now. Ethel xxxxxxxx

Genealogy Notes

There are 2 Genealogy Notes this week.

Genealogy Note 1: Uncle John and Aunt Sarah

Ethel is staying in Huntsville in the District of Muskoka at the house of her ma's sister, Sarah Elizabeth Glover who married John Thomas Winter in 1901. John and Sarah lost one son in 1906 a week after his 1st birthday. The doctor wrote on the death record that he "never did well in life. Just failed to thrive and didn't grow." In 1911 Uncle John and Aunt Sarah have 9 yr old Ernest, and 1 yr old Mabel.

Ethel left Newmarket (south of Belhaven) at 7:30 am and rode the train to Huntsville, arriving at 3:30 pm.

Uncle John Thomas Winter was the son of Reuben Winter and Nancy Maria Rigler. If you think the name Rigler sounds familiar, you're right. Over in Saskatchewan, Noah's sister, Ethel Maude, married Will of the same Rigler family.

Uncle John's grandparents, John Winter and Jane Gilbert were in their mid-twenties when they left Lincolnshire, England in 1851 and emigrated to Canada with their infant son, Reuben. They stopped in York County, Ontario and had 5 more children.

In 1868, the Free Grants and Homestead Act of 1868 passed into law which opened up the District of Muskoka to settlement. The 1881 Canada census shows Uncle John's grandparents and their children as residents of Muskoka. Since latter Census records show them living in the village of Huntsville in Chaffey Township, I went looking for a map.

Partial map of Chaffey Township, District of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. Orange squares belong to Winter. Orange circle is Huntsville train depot.

A n 1879 map similar to the above shows 3 homesteads with the Winter name which I've outlined in orange. The double lot above Fairy Lake belonged to Jane Winter (John's grandmother), and the 2 on the top right belonged to Reuben Winter and William Winter. However, I don't know if the Winter family still owned those lots in 1911.

Uncle John picked Ethel up at the Huntsville train depot and they took a rowboat to Aunt Sarah's. But where did they live? Jane Winter's land is close, but the blue lines which designate water routes are mere streams. Reuben's and William's land has a great river route, but it's about 15 miles from Lake Vernon - not including all the twists and turns - which seems way too far for Uncle John and Ethel's rowboat.

Genealogy Note 2 - Chris Willoughby

Ethel wrote that Chris Willoughby, a friend of the family, was at her pa's barn raising and he said he saw Elva Mitchell while out west. Here's what I discovered about this man who teased Ethel about shipping her out west with a carload of girls...

Chris Willoughy and his wife, Lois were farmers in North Gwillimbury until they retired in 1901. But Lois died in 1908 leaving Chris alone at 78 years of age. When the census was taken in June 1911, Chris is found boarding near Indian Head, Saskatchewan which is where he saw Elva Mitchell.

Chris is listed as a farmer on the census, but he seems to be a recruiter for the prairie farmers who were scrambling for workers to harvest one of the biggest grain crops in Canadian history.

Although I couldn't find a newspaper notice or obituary on Chris, I found his death record that shows he died on Sep 19th, 1913 in Keswick, Ontario after suffering 2 months of gangrene.

I don't know about you, but the story of Chris Willoughby and his lonely demise just makes me sad.

Forward>>

1911 Courtship: Nov 26 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: Aug 20 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: Aug 13 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship Letter: Aug 6 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: July 16 Dear Noah

Genealogy Notes

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