1912: Letter Fm Hester Soules Prosser

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

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.