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Feb 1912: Noah's Cousin, Edith Draper

4/13/2014

 
Picture
1911 Togo, Saskatchewan, Canada. Courtesty of UofA Prairie Postcards Collection
Noah and Ethel are about to head West, but there was one event they would have attended before they left, and that was the wedding of Noah's cousin, Edith Draper, to Frank Kavanagh.

While blogging about Noah and Ethel's Courtship letters I couldn't help but notice how concerned Noah was about Edith and her siblings, his 1st cousins, the children of Stephen Draper and Martha Barnhart. If you recall, Stephen was the brother of Noah's father, David, and their 2 farms pretty much backed up to each other when Noah's family lived in North Gwillimbury.

In other posts I've detailed the lives of Stewart and George. Edith meanwhile was mentioned in these 1911 Courtship Letters:
  • Mar 5, Dear Noah - explains the spelling of Edith/Edythe
  • May 7 Dear Ethel - 1906 image of combined Draper family incl'g Frank
  • Aug 28 Dear Ethel - George Draper and his history
  • Sep 10 Dear Noah - Edith asks if she can go west with Ethel
  • Oct 15 Dear Noah - mentions that Edith will be married

As for the events leading up to Edith Draper marrying Frank Kavanagh, I found this humorous newspaper snippet: 
PictureThe Newmarket Era. December 13, 1907
   Miss Edyth Draper returned from 
the West a few weeks ago. She says 
it is too cold there for her. 

I laughed when I saw that, knowing she would eventually marry and move to the West. I figured she must love Frank very much and heartened at the thought of her deep love. But then I read the next snippet and realized Frank didn't head west until 1908. 

PictureThe Newmarket Era. May 15, 1908
The image at the top of this post shows what Togo, Sask looked liked in 1911. 

So if Frank wasn't out West in 1907, who did 22 yr old Edith go to visit? Noah has mentioned Edith's brother, Stewart Draper, many times in the Courtship letters, and Stewart and Bertha's daughter, Norma, submitted a very detailed write-up on her family in the local history book, From Basket to Bridge - White Bear, Kyle, Matador in which she wrote that her father, Stewart Truman Draper, rented land from Eli Williamson, east of Indian Head, in 1907 prior to homesteading in the White Bear area. 

Since Noah's family was already in Grand Coulee by that time, I'm guessing Edith visited her brother, Stewart, and Noah's family - her Uncle David and Aunt Sarah. 

So we know that Edith was a spinster, a farmer's daughter, and that she doesn't like the West because it's too cold. And although we don't know for sure that Frank and Edith are courting, there must have been a good reason for him to be included in this 1906 family photo. 
Picture
While Edith stayed in her Keswick, North Gwillimbury Township home, we can read a series of news snippets showing Frank's trips back to his family in Queensville, East Gwillimbury Township. It seems he still calls Queensville home and from the looks of these snippets, he made more trips than I could find in the Newmarket Era:
Picture
The Newmarket Era. December 24, 1909
Picture
The Newmarket Era. June 17, 1910
Picture
The Newmarket Era. September 30, 1910
Mr. W. H. Kavanagh mentioned in the middle snippet is Frank's father, William Harvey Kavanagh, b 1857, living in Queensville with an occupation as a butcher and auctioneer. 

That got me wondering what Frank's occupation was way out there in Togo, Sask, so I started researching the records. 

  • 1887 Birth Record for James Franklin Kavanagh, East Gwillimbury Twp
  • 1912 Marriage Record doesn't state an occupation
  • 1921 Canada census states Frank is a butcher

But where was he in the 1911 census? Not only that, but Noah and Ethel refer to Frank as living in Winnipeg. Even his marriage record states he's from Winnipeg. But Winnipeg was a big city even back then and I didn't have time to browse dozens? hundreds? of pages of census records. And where did Togo fit in all this? 

I spent hours searching for anything I could find about Togo and located it on a map north of the Transcontinental Railway line, just kissing the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border:

Picture
Google Map showing approximate route from Keswick, Ontario, to Winnipeg, Manitoba on the Transcontinental Railroad. From there, a person would have to take a secondary train to get to Togo, Saskatchewan.
As you can see from the map, Togo is a very long way from Keswick. I stopped researching and started cropping the snippets. But as I cropped the snippet for Frank's first trip west in 1908, I had an idea. It says Frank and Walter Kaiser went to Togo together. Could I find Walter Kaiser in the 1911 census, and if I did, would Frank still be with him? After all, 3 years had passed.  I pulled up the search box and typed in Frank Kaiser. The only other info I had for him was the locations of Ontario and Togo. 

Bingo! The first name that came up was a Walter Kaiser living in Togo, Sask. I pulled up the census and guess what... he was single, a lodger, and a butcher. And yep, right above him was the messy scribbled name of Frank Kavanagh. Why hadn't Frank come up in all the searches? Look for yourself:
Picture
Part of the 1911 Canada census for Togo, Saskatchewan (click to enlarge)
The top blue arrow is pointing to the messy scribbled name of Frank Kavanagh, Male, lodger, single, born Apr 1887, 26 yrs old, born in Ontario.  The blue arrow in the bottom Index points to Frenk Kewenigh which is what the transcriber saw when he/she looked at Frank's name, scribbled by the census taker.

We know the wedding is coming soon because of this following snippet:
PictureThe Newmarket Era. January 5, 1912
Lila is Frank's 17-yr-old sister and my belief is that the week she spent with Edith was a planning session for Edith's wedding. Although the post-wedding news article doesn't come right out and say that Lila is Edith's bridesmaid, it does state:

"...Miss Lila Kavanaugh sister of the groom, looked charming in shell pink satin with lace and gold fringe, and carried pink roses. The groom was assisted by Mr. J. C Purdy of Keswick..."

Here's the article about the Edith Draper & Frank Kavanagh wedding. Note that the article starts by misspelling Kavanagh with an 'u' and ends without it, as it should be spelled.  

Kavanagh-DraperWedding
Picture
The Newmarket Era. February 2, 1912
Since the wedding took place at Edith's home in Keswick, the reception took place about 8.5 miles away at the home of Frank's family in Queensville, East Gwillimbury Township.
Picture
Listed under KESWICK in The Newmarket Era. February 2, 1912
So Edith has married Frank Kavanagh who was living in Togo until the census was taken a few months prior to their marriage. The snippet says they're heading back to Frank's home in Winnipeg, yet I couldn't find them in Henderson's Winnipeg City Directory for 1911, 1912, or 1915.
PictureThe Newmarket Era. November 27, 1914
However, I found this snippet which places them in Manitoba in 1914. Winnipeg is in Manitoba, but not Togo which is just a spit away inside the Saskatchewan border. 
But where in Manitoba?

Again, we end a post with more questions. Feel free to jump in if you know the answers.

And now that Edith is married to Frank, there isn't anything to report on that would hold Noah and Ethel in Ontario. The next post then will be Noah guiding Ethel on her first trip to the West, and to her new home on the prairies at Adams, Saskatchewan.


1911 Courtship: Oct 8 Dear Noah

12/17/2013

 
Picture
"Beechnuts" from A Year in the Fields, by John Burroughs, a Project Gutenberg EBook. 1st Printing 1875 by The Riverside Press, Cambridge.
Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  8th Aug 1911 (Markham Fair dates and beechnut picking confirm date should be 8 Oct vice 8 Aug)
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 - Once again, the ink still smudges upon touch as if it still hasn't dried. 
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 Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- Harold *Winch - one of the Belhaven men who went west in Aug 1911
- Adele - neighbor and unmarried sister of Harold Winch
- Frank Terry - Noah's uncle who lives in Newmarket, Ontario
- **Mary Smith - This week's Genealogy Note #1
- Della *Mahoney - close neighbor and friend
- Stanley and Mae - Stanley *Mahoney  and Mae Anderson - friends/neighbors
- Norman *Yorke - neighbor (not a relative until Sadie marries Cecil Prosser)
- **Gertie Glover - This week's Genealogy Note #2
- Wm King - William *King - friend and neighbor


Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Newmarket - largest town between Belhaven and *Toronto
- Markham *Fair - Markham, Ontario - near *Toronto
- Beechnuts
- Song - I Love You Only
- Hymn - Nearer, Still Nearer - Lyrics and Midi available here.


Cliche/Phrase
- hustle - seems to be a favorite word of Ethel's


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



Picture
Belhaven. P. O. 
8th Aug. 1911.

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

My Dear Noah, - 
                                Well another Sunday is
here, and say it is a much different
day that last Sunday. it is just a
beautiful day. the sun is so nice and
warm. Friday was a dredful day
rained, hailed & snowed of course
the snow didnt stay on at all. but
lately it just seems to rain every
other day. We were all back in the
bush this forenoon, looking for some
beech nuts. but we didnt get a one.
We had a good walk anyway.

Picture
2.
  Harold Winch is home. came on
Friday morning. The West certainly
seemed to agree with him. It was
quite a surprize to his people when he
walked in. Adele was telling me last
night up at choir practice about Harold
being at your place. said he had a fine
time.
I was down to New market yesterday. I
saw your Uncle Frank Terry there too.
I am thinking of going down in a 
couple of weeks to stay over Sunday.
Well Noah you said you thot I must
have found some one else that had changed
my mind. But I don't think there is any 
one else living for me. Perhaps there is for 
you though. I guess you have often heard
the song. (I love you only". and for me the
"you" is to be emphasised for I am sure
your the only one in my eyes. So now
the rest lies with you. Oh Noah, if you 
were only here.

Picture
3.
We are going up to S.S. and Mary Smith is
coming home with us to practice. she &
Sadie are going Duet to-night. - "Nearer
Still Nearer: They'll do-it won't they.
Della Mahoney is away on a couple of
weeks visit. and Stanley & Mae drove
down to Markham Fair Friday & hav'nt
returned yet. I guess they must be
getting married "eh:  Norm Yorke is to
Married a week from Wednesday. so I hear
Mr Stacey, a student, is to be at Belhaven
to-night.
Say! what is it you, get your lectrises over
you might tell me and then maby I
could sympathise with you. unless it
is some thing awfully bad. and I know
its not so bad as that. I tell you I caught
it on Saturday. i met Gertie Glover and
she flew into my wool. She didnt know
any thing about you and me until that day. she
said she was told after she got to New market.


Picture
4.
Well "Evergreen Farm" was certainly
alive yesterday. Mr Wm King had Ladies
Aid. Did your place have your place
named when you were here.
I am awfully glad your grain is turning
out as well as you think it is.
Noah hustle up your work and send
me a letter saying you are coming
East (Such & Such a time) and there'll
be one happy girl, if ever there was one.
You speak of getting lone some, but really
I simple don't hardly know what I am 
doing some times. I got your letter last
night, it seems like a long time from
the time I get one until the next one
comes. There's never one comes before I
am ready for it. The girls are hustling
me up to get ready for Sunday School.
I am neare a close for this time anyway.
So bye-bye with all love & xxxxx
                          from Your Loving Sweetheart
                                                                         Ethel     




Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note #1 - Mary Smith 

Ethel has mentioned Mary Smith several times during the course of these letters, including the time that Mary was visiting Huntsville during Ethel's holiday there. So who was Mary Smith other than a school friend and neighbor? 

Once again I used the Search pattern that I used last week (and other weeks) as well as below when I searched for Gertie Glover, and that began by searching for Mary Smith of Belhaven, York County with a date of 1911 because that was the current year, as well as a census year.  By the time I finished my search, I had discovered:

Step 1: Results: Mary Elizabeth Smith, b 4 Jul 1885 in Belhaven, York County, Ontario. That put Mary at 26 yrs old during 1911. 

Step 2: Mary's marriage record for 27 Dec 1916 to Malcolm McDonald.
Results:  Mary's Parents: William Henry Smith and Sarah Diana Wass. This rang a memory bell because we have a Rebecca Wass in the Family Tree. 

Step 3: Marriage record for William H Smith and Sarah D Wass
Results: Sarah's parents: Noah Wass and Mary Ann Marshal
Realized that Noah and Mary Ann were also the parents of Rebecca Wass, which meant Sarah and Rebecca were sisters, but I hadn't filled out the tree that far.

Rebecca Wass was married to Thomas Barker  who was the father of Harry Barker - a familiar name to me because Harry was married to Ethel's Aunt Maggie Glover who I recently posted a photo of with her house. 

Final Result: Since Mary Smith was the daughter of Sarah Wass and William Smith, that made her official relationship "1st cousin of husband of aunt".   That's such a mouthful, forgive me if, in future, I simply refer to Mary as Ethel's cousin. 


Genealogy Note #2 - Gertie Glover

Since I didn't have a Gertie Glover in the family tree yet, I used the search engine of  the Ancestry.ca site to search for a Gertrude Glover and found these facts:

Step 1: Search for Birth Record for Gertrude Glover
Results:  Elizabeth Gertrude Glover born 25 Jan 1887, East Gwillimbury, York, Ontario. Parents William Daniel Glover and Maryette Willson
Note: Gertie is 24 yrs old in this letter

Step 2: Search for Marriage Record for William D Glover and Maryette Willson
Results:  Marriage Record of Oct 2, 1883 in Pickering, Ontario for:
Groom: William Daniel Glover, 28,  Bachelor, Farmer, residing in Ravenshoe, York County
   Groom's Parents: William Glover and Mary Ann Bunce 
Bride: Maryetta Wilson, 26, Spinster, residing in Pickering Twp, Ontario County
   Bride's Parents:  Seth C. Willson and Mary Ann Ernest
Witnesses: *Thomas J. Glover of Ravenshoe, and Susan Willson of Pickering

*Although Thomas J. Glover is not in our family tree, we do have 2 x Thomas Glover's.

Step 3: Search for for William Glover and Mary Bunce
Results: Marriage Record of 20 Feb 1837, Home District (York Co)
Groom: William Glover of East Gwillimbury
Bride: Mary Bunce of East Gwillimbury
No parents names given on this marriage record
Witnesses: William Miller and John Bunce
Married by Publication of Banns, Home District Record Vol #10 1831-1840

Step 4: Search Census Records for actual location and names of offspring for William Glover and Mary Bunce
Results: 1871 Canada Census for East Gwillimbury:
Father: William Glover born 1813, England, Primitive Methodist, Married Farmer
Mother: Mary A. Glover born 1819, England, Prmitive Methodist, Married
Child #1 - Charlotte b 1850 - age 21
Child #2 - William D b 1855 - age 16
Child #3 - Thomas Joseph b 1859 - age 12
Child #4 - Albert James b 1864 - age 7

Results confirm that Thomas Joseph is William Daniel's brother so I have the right William and Mary A Glover, and the right location since all our Glovers live in East Gwillimbury area. 

Step 5:  Search for William Glover, b 1813 in England and Thomas Glover, b 1811 in Yorkshire, England to discover if they are brothers. 
Results: I didn't find anything conclusive on the ancestry.ca or .com or  .uk sites, but I was successful on familysearch.org (a free site) which found records for:
- Thomas Glover, Christened 1 Jan 1811 at Loftus, York, England, Father: Thomas,
          Index Project (Batch) Nbr:  C10551-1
- William Glover, Christened 5 Apr 1813 at Loftus, York, England, Father: Thomas and                Mother: Mary,  Index Project (Batch) Nbr:  C10551-2


Since Thomas Glover is Ethel Nelson's great grandfather, if William is his brother, then Gertie Glover would be Ethel's ***third cousin.  Phew.

***Update on Gertie Glover (eff Dec 28, 2013):

After receiving confirmation from another Glover descendent (through my contact page here) that William and Thomas were indeed Glover siblings, I've filled in the Draper Family Tree on ancestry.ca and they have deduced that:
Gertie Glover is Ethel's second cousin 1x removed.


1911 Courtship: Oct 1, Dear Noah

12/10/2013

 
Picture
1900 Belhaven, Ontario looking South. Courtesy of http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/
Picture
2013 Belhaven, Ontario looking South. Courtesy of Google Earth.
Can you spot the differences between the 2 photos above? If you click them they enlarge for clear views of Belhaven taken from the same spot but 102 yrs apart. Sure, the false front is gone from the bottom photo and the front verandah is enclosed, but look at the shape and positions of the windows, as well as the placement of the power poles. 

If you compare these photos with the one in last week's 1911 Courtship Letter you see that the James Nelson family farm is situated down the road and among those trees on the left.

 
Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  1st Oct 1911 (events confirm date as 25th)
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 - In Ethel's last letter she blamed the pen for the messy letter with smudges, but this letter is almost as bad, if not worse. I believe it may be the ink and not the pen because even after 102 yrs, the ink smudges on my hands - as if it still hasn't dried. Good thing I've made a point of placing each opened letter in a large ziploc bag while handling it or it will be illegible before the next 100 yrs rolls around.  
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 Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Christie Nelson - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- *Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, *Eva Amelia and *Joe Perrault of *Grand Coulee, SK
- *Fanny - 16 yr old cousin of Veda's on the Perrault side (Noah teases her)
- **Mabel Wright of Queensville - this week's Genealogy Notes
- Mrs. Walker *Prosser - neighbor and mother of *Cecil Prosser
- *Cecil Prosser - future husband of Sadie
- Frank *Morton - neighbor and friend
- Stanley *Bruels - neighbor and brother of Ethel's friend, Maud
- Edith Draper of Belhaven - check labels for *Edith/Edythe Draper
- *Mahoney girls & Dora - close neighbors and friends
- Stanley *Mahoney - brother of the Mahoney girls
- West boys - the men who went to work the huge *western *harvest in August


Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Sutton Fair - Sutton is a few miles northeast of Belhaven
- *Queensville - several miles south of Belhaven

Cliche/Phrase
- hustle - I've always thought this was a modern word


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

Picture
Belhaven. P.O.
1st Oct. 1911.

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

My Dear Noah, - 
                                  Well another Sunday
is here. and it is much like last
Sunday. raining of course. we are
having such of a lot of rain. It
rains about ever other day. We had
planed on going to church this
morning. but guess we will stay at
home now. Say you must be getting
in a hustle for winter having it
snow up there all ready. we heard that
it snowed nearly 8" and that you
could'nt see the shocks of grain for
snow. You have your threshing done.
hav'nt you? hope so anyway.

Picture
2. 
Mabel Wright of Queensville came
home with Sadie Friday night to stay
over Sunday. We three girls are going
up to Sunday School and home with
Mrs Walker Prosser for tea. that was
our plans but of course if it keeps
on rainging why it just means
Stay at home. Say Cecil Prosser
has left home. and is working for
Frank Morton. We heard Stanley Bruels
left home also. I hav'nt saw any of
our West boys home yet. Suppose there
would be some of them disapointed
that is as far as work goes. Say Noah,
May I ask how long do you intend to
Stay down here this winter? until
Spring "eh" as long as you get home
in time to do your spring work. and
come as soon as you can, for. I am
rather lonesome. for its a long time to be

Picture
3.
apart from one whom I really
love, Time is passing though.
Edith Draper of Belhaven has been
very low. with her heart, they think
She is better though now.
Saw Mahoney girls & Stanley up at
at choir practise last night,  Say
Dora is the same old girl. She
certainly can talk. There is no danger
of going to sleep at our practises.
The girls are down in the front
room playing the organ, so am
having lot of music while I am
writing. I wonder how many more
Sundays I will be found here at
this certain place writing. I hope
not many, that is as I am writing
to-day. Oh say! it is just pouring
now. Wish it only quit for a while.

Picture
4
I hav'nt saw a soul go to church yet. 
Suppose Veda has got started at College
now. think I shall have to write her a
card. I guess she will have a lively time
something like Sadie has at H. School.
I don't blame them for it, do you?
I'll never forget the last year I went
to school. if we did'nt have a good
time it was'nt our fault. we did our
best. Christie is here waiting for me
to study our S. School lesson to-gether.
Such good little girls as we are "eh",
Well Sutton Fair is over. and such a
day as they had, rained all day long,
Newmarket isnt until nearly a month
yet. Say would'nt I delight in walking 
into your place now. I wonder what
I'd find you doing. or would I find you
down at Fanny's. "ha ha" you kid.
I must close for this time. Love & xxxxxEthel
      and a good embrace.                                xxxxxx



Genealogy Notes

Mabel Wright - Mabel Wright of Queensville came home with Sadie Friday night to stay over Sunday.

Ethel had written the line about Mabel as if Noah knew who she was talking about. Was Mabel one of the many relatives of the Draper and Nelson families who resided in and around Queensville, East Gwillimbury Twp? 

A quick search of the family tree showed only one person of the Wright family - Clarinda Wright b 1794 who married Lewis Card b 1793. But with Wright being Clarinda's maiden name, any offspring would bear the surname of Card. Of course, Mabel could descended from one of Clarinda's brothers, but with 100+ years between Clarinda's and Mabel's birth dates, I'd need more information before trying to search for that connection. 

Instead, I decided to go backwards using the ancestry.ca search engine...

Step 1 - Search for Mabel Wright, Queensville, 1911
     Result: 1911 Canada census showing Mabel Wright, 16 yrs old of East Gwillimbury
           Parents - John and Mary Wright and lots of siblings
            Ancestry Hints - Mabel Wright Birth Record

Step 2 - Pull up Mabel Wright's Birth Record for Mother's Maiden Name
      Result: Parents - John A Wright and Mary Ann Cunningham

Step 3 - Search for marriage record of John Wright and Mary Ann Cunningham 
      Results: Marriage Record of Oct 16, 1878 in East Gwillimbury
      Parents of John A Wright: John and Mercy Wright

Step 4 - Search for marriage record of John and Mercy Wright as no hint given
      Results:  Early Marriage Record showing Jan 11, 1848 
      No parents listed, but shows bride as Mercy Pearson and John's birth of abt 1809
      
Step 5 - Search for John Wright b 1809 and Mercy Pearson 
      Results: Another member's tree showing John William Wright b 1809 Hull, England

Step 6 - Search for John William Wright, b 1809, Hull, Yorkshire, England
      Results: - Several member tree's with slightly different dates and spouses
                        - many 1841 England census records for John Wright 

Step 7 - Search Passenger and Immigration lists for travel between 1808 and 1848
      Reason - John married Mercy in 1848 Ontario which is where she was born
      Results - pages of listings for several England & Wales Criminal Registers, 1791-1892, and the discovery that the name of John Wright is as common in the UK as John Smith is in the US
      Summary - I stopped searching the ancestry records as it became too intensive and I wasn't getting anywhere. 


New Search using Local history book on East Gwillimbur :
East Gwillimbury in the Nineteenth Century by Gladys M. Rolling, Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1967

This book contains several mentions of the Wright family in East Gwillimbury and Queensville including some of those mentioned above. It also has many references to other families who are related to the Drapers, Glovers, and Nelsons. Again, it's too inconclusive to make a direct connection at this point, so I'll let the search end here for now. 

Although I didn't get the answer I was seeking, I hope that by following the steps of my search, you will have gained an idea of how easy it is to find people, and in particular maiden names, etc to help in your own search.

1911 Courtship: May 28 Dear Noah

3/10/2013

 
Picture
1910 Jackson's Point, Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Valentine & Sons' Publishing Co. Ltd, Courtesy http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca
Since Ethel talks about picnics, beaches, and Jackson's Point, I'm posting a 1910 postcard from the Baldwin Room Postcard Collection, Toronto Public Library, which shows that exact scene. More on this topic below under Genealogy Notes.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  May 28, 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N. C. Draper... My Dear Noah, Grand Coulee, Sask.
Mailed  from:  Belhaven, Ont. 
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter  
Writing  instrument: Fine point  pen, black ink
Written on: Light bluey/gray, slightly thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6 inches, folded in half. The paper is folded in half with the first page on the front and last on the back, but inside, she's written straight across the width of both pages, hence this letter has only 3 pages.


People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Pa -  *James Henry Nelson
- Ma - *Ida Amelia Glover
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister (see photos last post)
- Aunt Maggie - *Margaret Glover Barker
- *Elva Jane is Ethel's cousin. Their grandparents are Henry Nelson and Eliza Crouch pictured in  1911 Courtship: May 7 Dear Noah. Elva and her husband, William Mitchell are working for Noah's cousin, *Stewart Draper in Indian Head, Saskatchewan. 
- *Maud Bruels - Ethel's school friend
- *Professor Dales
- Norman Anderson - ?
- the English man (*hired man)
- Martha Brooks and her young man ?
- Mabel Wright in Queensville

The following locations are shown on a map under Genealogy Notes
- Queensville 
- ** Morton Park / Brighton Beach 
- Jackson's Point 

Legend: 
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this 
  person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below


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Belhaven, May 28th, 1911.
Mr N.C. Draper,
             Grand Coulee,
                         Sask.

My Dear Noah, -
                       Well my dear boy
I hardly know what to say
or write that will express
my feelings. So unworthy as I
was, yet you sent me that
beautiful watch and pin, and
Noah what have you ever got in 
return, Nothing. I think your choice
is simply grand. Oh! I just
wish you were here so I could
give you a good embrace
and tell you my love and thanks.

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          Maud Bruels came home with me to-night from Sunday School we were up to Belhaven Church. Professor Dales preached.
          Well Noah I guess you think I am rather careless in
answering you sometimes. I got your post card. Sadie you know
forgot to post my letter to you, that was the reason you had
a feast or famine.
          Norman Anderson is going to start work here in the
morning. I think Pa intends keeping the English man until
Wednesday his two months is in then. I say for him "Good riddance
to bad rubbish".
          I had a letter from Elva. she speaks as though she liked 
it fine up there. She spoke of you being down for Easter. and
said she heard you were to be married. she thot it was
to some girl in Toronto. "ha ha". I wonder if she wont
get great a surprize some day.
          Well it is Monday noon now and Pa and Ma are going
to Queensville this afternoon so I will send this letter with them.

Picture
      Martha Brooks and her young
man are just going by. They came
home saturday to spend Sunday.
       Sadie did'nt come home this 
week she went home with Mabel 
Wright at Queensville. 
       Well i don't know what we are
going to do for picnic's I guess they
will all be private ones. if we have
any. Morton Park is called Brighton
Beach now. and is private. Jackson's
point is all so closed to the public.
       Well I again say many. many
thank you's for that lovely birth
day present. Aunt Maggie brough
me up one the other day also.
       I now must close for this time
with all love and xxxx from your
           Ever thankful, Sweetheart.

Genealogy Notes

Before I forget, last week's Genealogy Notes were about John Prosser and his seasonal job as the Fox Island Lighthouse Keeper. On the map below, I've flagged Fox Island at the top of image, where it's located in Lake Simcoe.

Note the mention and drawing of the Fox Island Lighthouse as a Point of Interest in the Morton Park newspaper snippet below. (Morton Park/Brighton Beach is the yellow pin above the word Ewert on the map. (Eeps - that should be Bell Ewart!)
Picture
Ontario Places mentioned in 1911 Courtship Letter May 28 Dear Noah: Queensville, Morton's Park, Brighton Beach, and Jackson's Point.
Ethel mentions Jackson's Point and Morton Park have been turned into private resorts and the name Morton Park is now called Brighton Beach. This week's delve into history is about Morton Park since it played such a huge part in recreational activities while Ethel was growing up. 

The image above is what you see if you zoom in on the map below, more or less. 
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Red square is Lake Simcoe, and the Townships of Georgina and East Gwillimbury, York County, Ontario, Canada.
I came across some newspaper articles about Morton Park while I was searching the www.ourontario.ca online newspaper archives looking for info for our family tree. I can't stress how valuable this website is for genealogical and historic research.

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The Newmarket Era. May 20, 1898
Ethel was born in 1890 and Morton Park was the closest beach to Belhaven. From everything I've read, it was a favourite place for a summer outing.

Following is an 1899 new article in The Newmarket Era telling the history and amenities of Morton Park. Altough it's found on the right side of Page 1, I wonder if it was actually paid advertising. I'm posting it in its entirety, although it's too long for one image, so I've had to split it in half. I'm sorry about the mess at the bottom right corner, but that's the way it is with 100 year old newspapers.

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The Newmarket Era. May 26, 1911
     The name of Morton Park has been
changed to Brighton Beach and the
whole property laid out in lots, the
sale of which was to take place on 
Wednesday last.   A number of peo-
ple were up from the city. 
Note: The reference to a city in the above snippet is the City of Toronto, Ontario, Can.
Picture
The Newmarket Era. June 2, 1911
      The name Morton Park has been
changed to Brighton Beach, accord-
ing to the new trolley time table.

An interesting side note to this is the following information from Library and Archives Canada concerning Post Offices and Postmasters about Morton Park/Brighton Beach, keeping in mind this was a seasonal post office only:
Establishment Re-openings - 1896-08-11
Closings - 1974-08-31

Former Office Information: 
Former Name                       Date of Change
Brighton Beach (SO)          1919-07-03
Morton Park (SO)                1913-02-01

Postmaster Information: 
Name of Postmaster - Neil Morton
Date of Birth -  1896-08-11
Date of Vacancy - 1911
Cause of Vacancy - Death

So from the Post Office information, we find that the Post Office started when Neil Morton bought Morton Park in 1895 from the previous owner, Sir James Edgar, Speaker of the House of Commons, and that Neil died in 1911, which is when Ethel and the news snippets say it became the private Brighton Beach. (Photo of Neil Morton on the first section of large writeup.)
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