1897 S. S. Belhaven #4, Belhaven, Ontario, Canada. Clipping from Ethel Nelson Draper's Treasure Box. Newspaper source unknown.
I'm showing the 1897 photo of the Belhaven school because the student photo that was included with it is part of this post's Genealogy Notes below. Unfortunately, I don't have a source for this newspaper clipping and accompanying text, but it seems to have been published in 1965 - probably the Newmarket Era or Sutton Review. I'd appreciate any info on this old Belhaven School.
Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated: Oct . 22nd. Oct 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, My Dear Noah
Mailed from: Belhaven. P.O.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink - Once again, the ink still smudges upon touch as if it still hasn't dried. Since writing last week's post with the Genealogy Note about ink and pens, I'm wondering if Ethel is using a low-quality ink instead of a high quality one like the Stephens brand I mentioned.
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, 2, 3 with page 2 being turned and written across the short side and down the length.
People/places mentioned in this letter:
- *Mary Smith - friend, neighbor, relative - 1911 Courtship: Oct 8 Dear Noah
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Christie Nelson - Ethel's 10 yr old sister
- Jennie Draper - Noah's sister - school photo under Genealogy Note #2
- **Walter *Yorke and Squire Yorke - Genealogy Note #1
- **Walker Morton's **Genealogy Note #2
-*Mahoney girls - friends and neighbors
- **Wm Arnold - Genealogy Note #3
- Herb *Winches - neighbor and friends
- Steve Leopard (*Lepard) - many Lepards in Draper family tree
- *Manford Terry - Noah's cousin - 1911 Courtship: Sep 10 Dear Noah
Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Ravenshoe - 7 km/4 ml south of Belhaven
- Aurora - 35 km/22 mls SSW of Belhaven (south of Newmarket)
- *Newmarket *Fair
- **chattel mortgage
- upset - buggy or sleigh accident (now called rollover)
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 . 22nd. Oct 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, My Dear Noah
Mailed from: Belhaven. P.O.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink - Once again, the ink still smudges upon touch as if it still hasn't dried. Since writing last week's post with the Genealogy Note about ink and pens, I'm wondering if Ethel is using a low-quality ink instead of a high quality one like the Stephens brand I mentioned.
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, 2, 3 with page 2 being turned and written across the short side and down the length.
People/places mentioned in this letter:
- *Mary Smith - friend, neighbor, relative - 1911 Courtship: Oct 8 Dear Noah
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Christie Nelson - Ethel's 10 yr old sister
- Jennie Draper - Noah's sister - school photo under Genealogy Note #2
- **Walter *Yorke and Squire Yorke - Genealogy Note #1
- **Walker Morton's **Genealogy Note #2
-*Mahoney girls - friends and neighbors
- **Wm Arnold - Genealogy Note #3
- Herb *Winches - neighbor and friends
- Steve Leopard (*Lepard) - many Lepards in Draper family tree
- *Manford Terry - Noah's cousin - 1911 Courtship: Sep 10 Dear Noah
Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Ravenshoe - 7 km/4 ml south of Belhaven
- Aurora - 35 km/22 mls SSW of Belhaven (south of Newmarket)
- *Newmarket *Fair
- **chattel mortgage
- upset - buggy or sleigh accident (now called rollover)
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 22nd. 1911 Mr N. C. Draper. Grand Coulee. Sask. My Dear Noah, - Rec'd your letter on Saturday morning and the same as usual was very glad indeed to get it. Well to-day is not as fine a day as last Sunday was it is windy & cooler to-day. but not raining yet. Mary Smith & Sadie & myself are going down to Ravenshoe Church this afternoon. Mary says she will be our young man to-day. So you you may depend we are going to have a fine driver. "ha ha" She can't take his place. "eh". |
| 2. Say, you know about what Mr Walter Yorke is? Some man in Aurora is selling him out to-morrow. Every thing is to be sold. even to the place. Mr Yorke has nearly all his stock under a chatill mortgage. Squire Yorke is hired here for a year. he started last Monday. we like him allright So far. but don't know how long it will last. Mr Yorke is talking of going West in the Spring. Do you ever see any more of Walker Morton's? We heard that her Uncle had left. her four thousand Dollars. if he has it certainly will help them out Some. Christie is hear giving me a good, solid lecture. now I think you will know how to sympathise with me. "ha ha" Remember the last time you were to New market Fair. Say if we certainly was'nt a happy three. Little I thot thought it would be one of my last Such days with Jennie. And little I thot. "eh" that I'd break those few words I said I'd never do. time tells & is so un certain. This week is the New market Fair again. I may go down on Thrusday if nothing happens. Sadie will be their to go with me. Mahoney girls & going also. As to the time you had planed on staying down this winter I guess perhaps you will know best just how long you can. So I will try & do as you think best for us both. You certainly ought to be the one to know & say what you think about it. for you are coming from your own home. and you know just how you |
| 3. left things. Mr Wm Arnold was buried on Friday. Herb Winches baby was playing out in the back yard. & went into a bed of ashes where Herb had a bonfire a couple of days before. & her clothing caught fire. & she was burned badly. but they think she will get better. and on Friday also Steve Leopard was working at some bridge with Manford Terry and a heavy timber fell on him. We heard he could'nt get better. but we hav'nt heard of his death yet. Friday seems to be an very unlucky day. Say I heard yesterday you had an upset one day last winter. Oh, I hear lots of news now a day. It don't bother me much though it passes the time as you say. and anything to do that. It must be nearly noon now and we want to have an early dinner for you know our young man for to-day wont want to wait long "ha-ha" So must say good bye for this time write often to you old Sweetheart at Belhaven. xxxxx xxxxxx xxxx x |
Genealogy Notes
Genealogy Note #1 - Walter York and Squire York
Ethel writes... Some man in Aurora is selling him out tomorrow. Everything is to be sold. even to the place. Mr Yorke has nearly all his stock under a chatill mortgage.
I've checked different sites for the best definition of a chattel mortgage, and wikipedia has the easiest to understand:
Under a typical chattel mortgage, the purchaser borrows funds for the purchase of movable personal property (the chattel) from the lender. The lender then secures the loan with a mortgage over the chattel. Legal ownership of the chattel is transferred to the purchaser at the time of purchase, and the mortgage is removed once the loan has been repaid.
Ethel writes... Some man in Aurora is selling him out tomorrow. Everything is to be sold. even to the place. Mr Yorke has nearly all his stock under a chatill mortgage.
I've checked different sites for the best definition of a chattel mortgage, and wikipedia has the easiest to understand:
Under a typical chattel mortgage, the purchaser borrows funds for the purchase of movable personal property (the chattel) from the lender. The lender then secures the loan with a mortgage over the chattel. Legal ownership of the chattel is transferred to the purchaser at the time of purchase, and the mortgage is removed once the loan has been repaid.
The Newmarket Era. Oct 20, 1911 That meant Walter York was in debt up to his eyeballs, so to speak.
Here's the sale listing that shows Walter York's sale on Monday, Oct 23rd. Walter lived on Conc 5, Lot 11, North Gwillimbury, just a few farms south of Ethel's family, and close to where Noah's family lived before they sold out and moved west.
Walter York has been the topic of our Genealogy Notes before when Ethel reported the death of Mrs. Walter York back in her Dear Noah letter of June 25th.
At 14 yrs of age, Squire York, born 1897, is the new hired man of Ethel's family farm. He's also the son of Walter York and Wife #1 Minnie (Mary) Pollock. But as Ethel says, if Walter decides to move West, Squire may choose to accompany his widowed and destitute father.
Here's the sale listing that shows Walter York's sale on Monday, Oct 23rd. Walter lived on Conc 5, Lot 11, North Gwillimbury, just a few farms south of Ethel's family, and close to where Noah's family lived before they sold out and moved west.
Walter York has been the topic of our Genealogy Notes before when Ethel reported the death of Mrs. Walter York back in her Dear Noah letter of June 25th.
At 14 yrs of age, Squire York, born 1897, is the new hired man of Ethel's family farm. He's also the son of Walter York and Wife #1 Minnie (Mary) Pollock. But as Ethel says, if Walter decides to move West, Squire may choose to accompany his widowed and destitute father.
Genealogy Note #2 - Walker Morton's
Walker Morton and his wife Tillie (Matilda) Doane, are shown living in North Gwillimbury in 1901, then in Regina (close to Noah) in 1911, then in Hamiliton in 1921.
I suspect that their daughter, Emma Fern Morton, is the same Fern Morton who went to school with Ethel and Noah because of this photo and caption which I found in Ethel's Treasure Box. Although it came with Noah and Ethel marked, the accompanying newspaper article doesn't give a newspaper name or date other than that it's dated 1965.
Walker Morton and his wife Tillie (Matilda) Doane, are shown living in North Gwillimbury in 1901, then in Regina (close to Noah) in 1911, then in Hamiliton in 1921.
I suspect that their daughter, Emma Fern Morton, is the same Fern Morton who went to school with Ethel and Noah because of this photo and caption which I found in Ethel's Treasure Box. Although it came with Noah and Ethel marked, the accompanying newspaper article doesn't give a newspaper name or date other than that it's dated 1965.
1897 Belhaven School Students, Belhaven, Ontario, Canada. From Ethel Nelson Draper's personal collection. Source unknown.
As you can see above, Ethel is sitting next to Fern Morton. Also in the photo is Noah in the back right corner, and Noah's sister, Jennie, checkmarked in the row in front of Noah. (Several other names may ring a bell if you've been following these courtship letters.)
Anyway, it's Fern's mother, Tillie, who was left $4000 by her uncle - a lot of money back then when prices looked like this:
- a 3 lb tin of beans = 25 cents
- 20 lbs dark brown sugar = $ 1.00
- a roll of wallpaper =8 cents
- in 1919, a Ford Runabout cost $660.00 and a Touring car cost $690.00
But who was this mysterious uncle? I couldn't find anything relevant in the Newmarket Era, and I didn't have the Walker Morton's in our family tree. Although I had found them in the 1911 census, Tillie had too many uncles in her family to figure out which one had money, and I didn't have time for the hours of research it would take to figure out.
So I took the next step of checking out who else had the Walker Morton's in their family tree. I happened on a private Glover Family tree on the Ancestry site which was exciting because we have Glover's in our tree. I sent off a quick email to the Glover Family Tree owner explaining why I wanted to see their tree and within a day, I had received a nice email from a man named Grant who said: Matilda "Tillie" Doane had an uncle Charles Doan, who never married, and who died on September 11,1911 in East Gwillimbury, York North, Ontario, Canada.
Grant also sent an invitation to look at his tree although he confided that his Glover branch originated from the Channel Islands and settled in Welland, Ontario. I accepted his invitation and checked it over, but nothing connected them to us except for the common name. Sending out a big thank you to Grant for the privilege of allowing me to see your tree.
Anyway, it's Fern's mother, Tillie, who was left $4000 by her uncle - a lot of money back then when prices looked like this:
- a 3 lb tin of beans = 25 cents
- 20 lbs dark brown sugar = $ 1.00
- a roll of wallpaper =8 cents
- in 1919, a Ford Runabout cost $660.00 and a Touring car cost $690.00
But who was this mysterious uncle? I couldn't find anything relevant in the Newmarket Era, and I didn't have the Walker Morton's in our family tree. Although I had found them in the 1911 census, Tillie had too many uncles in her family to figure out which one had money, and I didn't have time for the hours of research it would take to figure out.
So I took the next step of checking out who else had the Walker Morton's in their family tree. I happened on a private Glover Family tree on the Ancestry site which was exciting because we have Glover's in our tree. I sent off a quick email to the Glover Family Tree owner explaining why I wanted to see their tree and within a day, I had received a nice email from a man named Grant who said: Matilda "Tillie" Doane had an uncle Charles Doan, who never married, and who died on September 11,1911 in East Gwillimbury, York North, Ontario, Canada.
Grant also sent an invitation to look at his tree although he confided that his Glover branch originated from the Channel Islands and settled in Welland, Ontario. I accepted his invitation and checked it over, but nothing connected them to us except for the common name. Sending out a big thank you to Grant for the privilege of allowing me to see your tree.
Genealogy Note #3 - Wm Arnold
Ethel wrote... Mr. Wm Arnold was buried on Friday. William Arnold had been sick for a long time. The Newmarket Era reported the following:
William's death was not unexpected then, but who was he? I was surprised to discover that he was part of our family tree. Using Noah as the home person in the tree, Ancestry has figured out this progression:
William Arnold (1860 - ) husband of wife of 2nd cousin:
Nellie Ellen Young (1853 - ) wife of William Arnold
*James Edward Wardell (1871 - 1852) husband of Nellie Ellen Young
Thomas Wardell (1829 - 1908) father of James Edward Wardell
Susan Draper (1808 - ) mother of Thomas Wardell
Joel Draper Sr Rev (1789 - 1856) father of Susan Draper
Joel Draper (1815 - 1897) son of Joel Draper Sr Rev
David Draper (1842 - 1909) son of Joel Draper
*Noah Clement Draper You are the son of David Draper
What it means is that James Wardell and Noah are 2nd cousins as they are both great-grandsons of Joel Draper Sr...and that William is a relative by marriage because James Wardell married Nellie who was William's widow.
Ethel wrote... Mr. Wm Arnold was buried on Friday. William Arnold had been sick for a long time. The Newmarket Era reported the following:
- June 30, 1911 - On account of continued ill health, Wm Arnold has deemed it advisable to sell his farm and be rid of so much care. His son-in-law, Mr. Fred Thompson, is the purchaser. It is one of the most productive and valuable agricultural properties in North Gwillimbury and is in perfect condition and modern and commodious buildings. There were many desirous of securing such a paradise.
- Oct 13, 1911 - Sorry to report Wm Arnold is not improving very fast.
- Oct 27, 1911 - We regret to state that Mr. Wm Arnold passed away last week.
William's death was not unexpected then, but who was he? I was surprised to discover that he was part of our family tree. Using Noah as the home person in the tree, Ancestry has figured out this progression:
William Arnold (1860 - ) husband of wife of 2nd cousin:
Nellie Ellen Young (1853 - ) wife of William Arnold
*James Edward Wardell (1871 - 1852) husband of Nellie Ellen Young
Thomas Wardell (1829 - 1908) father of James Edward Wardell
Susan Draper (1808 - ) mother of Thomas Wardell
Joel Draper Sr Rev (1789 - 1856) father of Susan Draper
Joel Draper (1815 - 1897) son of Joel Draper Sr Rev
David Draper (1842 - 1909) son of Joel Draper
*Noah Clement Draper You are the son of David Draper
What it means is that James Wardell and Noah are 2nd cousins as they are both great-grandsons of Joel Draper Sr...and that William is a relative by marriage because James Wardell married Nellie who was William's widow.
