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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 Special: Aug 8 Dear Ethel From Ma

9/16/2013

L to R - Ida Amelia Glover Nelson, Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper, Ethel Nelson Draper, James H Nelson, and a very young JD Nelson. ca 1916

The above image is part of a bigger photo that we found last summer in Ethel's Treasure Box but I didn't post it here because I couldn't place everyone. Now, thanks to the photos in the Norma Draper Family Albums, I've been able to confirm that the photo is 1916 and includes Ethel with her parents and her mother-in-law. I'm posting it here because this week's letter is from Ethel's ma and I thought you might like to see who's doing the writing.

Author of Letter: Ida Amelia Glover Nelson
Dated:  Aug 8th (1911)
Addressed to: Dear Ethel (Ethel is up in Huntsville, Ontario visiting Ida Amelia's sister, Sarah Elizabeth Glover Winter)
Mailed from: Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship:  Ethel's ma
Profession:  Farmer's Wife
Writing instrument: Blue pen
Written on: Off-white, textured, and heavily stained, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half with a flowery bough and hanging basket motif. Ida has written the pages in this order: 1, 3, 2, 4, although I've rearranged them for legibility.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Sadie - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- Uncle - *Emanuel Nelson - paternal uncle of Ethel's pa
- Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover - Ida Amelia's sister
- Gorden Crouder - Gordon *Crowder - a neighbor
- Loal Dales - Minister Lowel *Dales (not sure if related to Prof. Dales)
- Misses/Mrs Perry *Morton - a neighbor

Topics:
- **Doing the Wash

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 Aug 8th

Dear Ethel
got your letter
friday but have
been slow about
Writing you had
better come home
when your month
is in I am getting
tired I washed yester
had a big washing.
want to iron to
day Sadie is talking
to Crouders Gorden is
acting like goose went

with sadie friday night
we went to quartley metting
sunday and he had to come
and kept then from sunday
school then Sadie come home
from church with him and
left Christie co come with
anyone she could then
he was here last till
10 oclock. I am out with
them all to gether.
Uncle is some better is
up but doctor says he
will not live long you
tell us what day you can
come and get of at Uncles

then we can get you
there get some of
that thread if it is
nice for me. enough for
a pair of shams sadie
can be working some
Sadie failed so you
see there will be lots
of sewing to do if she
goes to school again.
and the pickles and
fruit soyou had better
come home I had the
headache again Sunday
after noon but done a big
days work yesterday.

(Written upside down across the top and down the left side)

How is Sarah would like to have her come down good by

good bye

washed 2 blankets and to
quilts besids the other clothes
cleaned the cellar made
a cake and had 9 men
have no men to day have
got the barn nearly all
done and all the cutting
done men are coming
this after noon to start
cemmenting the stable
floor Loal Dales was
here for tea on friday
and then he shingled
another half day misses
perry Morton said she
was coming down some
day but I wont have her till

(written up the right side)
you come home

Genealogy Notes

Wash day in the Ponoka, Alberta area, April 1913. Courtesy of the Glenbow Archives.

In this week's letter, Ethel's ma is feeling the strain of the extra workload while Ethel has a much needed vacation up in Huntsville. Electric washing machines didn't come along until 1916 so until then, the washing had to be done with the crank wheel like in the above photo. Let's take a walk through the early history of washing machines in this weeks' Genealogy Notes.

ca 1989, Visitors washing clothes, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

The photo shows clothes lying on the ground to dry for the lack of a clothesline. I can imagine this is what the majority of the pioneers had to do as they traveled across the United States and Canada in conestoga wagons and red river carts.

ca 1913, Dave Blacklock doing his laundry, Black Diamond, Alberta

If you were lucky enough, you had a washboard and tub to scrub your clothes with before hanging them on the line. Whether they were out on the range or living on the ranch, cowboys have always been responsible for their own laundry.

ca 1897, Bachelor washing clothes, Beynon, Alberta

An early washing machine had a handle to push and pull to agitate the clothes thereby relieving you the job of scrubbing them on a washboard. It also contain a roller mechanism which squeezed the water from the clothes instead of having to physically wring them all out.

ca 1901 Inscription: "Improved Imperial Washer. T. Eaton Co. Ltd. Canada." Courtesy of http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/M999.38.1/

According to the McCord Virtual Museum, the 1901 T. Eaton Co. catalogue showed this washing machine which contained a hand crank to agitate the clothes instead of the push/pull lever. Again, a roller system for squeezing out the water was included. From the height, it looks like this model saved a lot of back pain compared to the model in the previous photo.

The McCord Museum states, "It would take many years to discover the ideal material for the tubs of washing machines. After wood in the 1890s, came metal in the 1910s, which was replaced in the 1930s with enamelled steel, a material that had proved that it could stand up to a wide range of temperatures."

ca 1910's Thomas Iredale family doing laundry on verandah, Groton area, Alberta.

As I mentioned at the top of this post, electricity wasn't available for washing machines until about 1916, but some mechanically-minded folks were using belts to hook their washing machines to gasoline engines and other motors to save their arms from the dreary task of cranking the wheel.

This style of washing machine was so successful at washing clothes and wringing them out, that other than changing the composition to enamel on steel, it would be decades before improvements were made to the actual design of the machine.

It may have done a decent job of washing clothes, but raise your hand if you ever wore a shirt that was missing part, or a complete button because it'd been snapped off by the powerful wringer. Or have you ever been pulled into the wringer because it nabbed part of the clothing you were wearing when you weren't paying attention?

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 30 Dear Noah

8/19/2013

Royal Lyceum Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, ca. 1888. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library online collection.

In this week's Courtship letter, Ethel mentions going to the Lyceum show. Read the Genealogy Notes, after Ethel's letter, to discover the world of Lyceum.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 31 May 1890)
Dated:  July 30 (1911)
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 blue forget-me-not 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:

Mother (usually called Ma) - *Ida Amelia Glover Nelson
- *Elva Mitchell - Ethel's cousin in Indian Head, Sask
- Aunt Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's mother
- Ernie - Aunt Sarah's 9 yr old son
- Uncle *Emanuel Nelson - Ethel's Pa's paternal uncle
- Percy - Noah's brother in Saskatchewan

Huntsville locals:
Mr Bradley's - the whole family as shown by use of the apostrophe
Mr Mays - no apostophe - unsure if him alone or family as well
Mrs. Harman
Mrs. Wallace Youngs' mother

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
**The Lyceum Show

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 30.

Mr N. C. Draper.
Grand Coulee.
My Dearest Noah; -
I rec'd your letter
last week & was glad I'm sure to
get it. and to know you were still
able to be hard at work. & have a good
time. You must'nt work too hard
for that is what is killing me. So
take warning! 'ha ha'. Had a letter
from Mother on Sat Morning. they are
well, & have got the barn nearly done.

Poor Old mother working & me up here.
I was out for a row on Friday evening
Mr Bradley's took me & Mr Mays out
& say we certainly did enjoy ourselves.
We are going to have a private picnic.
Some of these days before I go home. I
just do wish you were here to go out
for a row. Say you don't want to get
to nce a girl. or I am afraid you
may. think she the only one. 'he'
I had a letter from Elva. asking me
to come & see her when I went west.
She has been made wise, "eh. Every body
even here in Huntsville seems to be.
Ernie here the other night, we had
company. Aunt Sarah was sort of
joking & Ernie shouted to the top of

his voice, She's going to get married.
I felt like saying. "You little rat".
Aunt Sarah & I were down town last
night to the Lyceum Show 1 play was
The shadow of the Past
Young man married a very extravagant
wife. she wanted a diamond necklace
but could'nt afford it, so her husband
stole it. So of course he had to go to jail
He returned after 30 yrs. all in rags &
his wife about the same. He did'nt
want to be friends & she did. finally
he pushed her over & she died. Oh
is'nt it awful to watch them
sometimes. & yet I enjoyed myself.
Mrs. Harman, Mrs Wallace Youngs' mother
is here this afternoon. My it is lonesome
on Sunday's. As you say, you're certainly

not far from me in my mind, but I
wish you were nearer. Well I have had my
tea & been to church & home again. it is
just a lonely evening. Uncle Emmanuel
Nelson isvery low I guess. the Doctor says
he cannot live long. & I would like
awfully well to be home to see him, but
dont know whether I will get there in time
or not. I expect to stay about 2 weeks
longer if it is so I can. I suppose there
isnt another boy in all the West like Percy's.
Your country surely isnt so forsaken
that the people here are all afraid to go
up there. No I dont know of anyone going up
Just at that time. "Wish I were". I guess I
have scribbled enough foolishness for this timew. So Bye Bye with love & kisses
from youre Sweetheart faraway. x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x x

Genealogy Notes

"Aunt Sarah & I were down town last night to the Lyceum Show 1 play was The shadow of the Past" (Page 3)

When I googled "Lyceum Show" a list of Lyceum Theatres in the UK, US, and Canada appeared. My first thought was that it was a theatre chain such as the Odeon, Famous Players, and Strand theatres, among others. It wasn't.

My dictionary.com app shows the following definitions for lyceum:

1. an institution for popular education providing discussions, lectures, concerts, etc.
2. a building for such activities.
3. (cap.) the gymnasium where Aristotle taught, in ancient Athens.
4. a lycee.

The Lyceum movement was about community groups and organizations who sponsored educators, lecturers, and entertainment groups like plays and minstrels to educate and entertain their communities.

Although many public speakers used the lyceum approach to promote their cause, the movement branched out into drama clubs, literary societies, Chautauqua, and vaudeville. Although some lyceums were traveling shows, many were permanent venues that still stand today.

For more information, check out these sites:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyceum_movement
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyceum_Theatre,_London

To get back to Ethel's letter, she attended a Lyceum Show with at least 2 plays. She doesn't say if it was a travelling Lyceum show, or a weekly or monthly event in a play or opera house. My research in Huntsville history hasn't overturned any information, and the local newspaper, The Huntsville Forester, isn't online.

However, I find her statement, "Oh is'nt it awful to watch them sometimes. & yet I enjoyed myself" a fascinating study of human nature.

Don't you?

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1911 Courtship: Aug 20 Dear Noah

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1911 Courtship: Aug 13 Dear Noah

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1911 Courtship Special: Aug 8 Dear Ethel From Ma

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1911 Courtship Letter: Aug 6 Dear Noah

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1911 Courtship: July 30 Dear Noah

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