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1911 Courtship Special: Letter from Noah's Mother

3/10/2014

Grand Coulee, Saskatchewan, Octobert 1913; Courtesty of the Norma Draper Personal Photograph Collection

Noah is on his way to Ethel!
For more info, read the Genealogy Notes below.

Author of Letter: S S Draper
Dated: The 17 (presumed to be Dec 17, 1911)
Addressed to: Mr N C Draper, My Dear boy
Mailed from: Grand Coulee
Relationship: Noah's mother (Sarah Sophia Deverell)
Profession: Widow of Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine BlueInk
Written on: Very thin Ivory-colored lined notepaper 5" x 8"

People/places mentioned in this letter:

Eva - *Eva Amelia Perrault, Noah's sister who married *Joe Perraul
Veda - *Veda Perrault, 16 yr old daughter of *Eva and *Joe
Viola - *Viola Rigler, 14 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, *Ethel and *Will Rigler
Will - *Will Rigler, husband of Noah's sister *Ethel Maud
Fred & Louie - *Fred Coventry, who married Noah's sister, *Sarah Louisa aka *Louie
Percies - *Percy Draper - Noah's brother

Mrs H Winch - Margaret & Herb *Winch
Nettie - Nellie? Winch - records show Margaret & Herb having a Nellie born in 1910
Sam - Will's *hired man
Alf - Noah's *hired man

Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
dora - the sow (pig) will "come in" or farrow (give birth)
wheat 91 cts - he sold his wheat for 91 cents a bushel
sistern - a big tank called a cistern to hold water
Regina, Saskatchewan
Ravenshoe, Ontario
Keswick, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
West - the Western Canadian provinces

Cliches mentioned in this letter:
"...will wonders never sease" (cease)

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

Grand Coulee The
17

Mr N C Draper

My Dear boy
received your letter and
too cards on the 14 was glad to hear you
was well hope this may find you the same
we are all well and getting on nicely was
up home on sunday the children have all
got bad colds Viola was real sick but
is better the things all loock well but
I never seen the snow piled up around
there as it is now we have had very cold
weather and the worst stormes I ever seen
but it is a lovely day to day the snow
is settling fast I stayed up all night
then Fred and Louie come up Monday
and I come down with them they are well
Fred come and got Veda and I last wens
day and toock us to his place it is far
better than I thought They are very
comfortiable but the roads are a fright to
travel on but then I se you have had

Stormes down there to but before this
I sapose it has stopped so you haie got to
belhaven Well how did you find them at Mr
Nelsons all well I hope remember me to
Them and all inquireing friends I sapose
ere this you have been to our old home
how does it loock did you goe and se
Mrs H Winch I feel so sorrow for her
I hope Nettie is better ere this you did
not say what ailed her
Alfs was Just up to our place and said
one of Percies horses was sick Will and
Percy are goind to kill the pigs this
week they are not goeing to kill dora
they think she will come in in a fiew
weeks wonders will never sease
Sam got drunk and brought to
flasks home with him so Will
shipped him so he is doeing the chores
alone but when the roads get do he
can get straw and watter he will get
a man the sistern is dry and
they have to melt snow for all the watter
they have and feed the horses snow

Alf said Myres was drawing watter
with fore horses and the tank slewed of
the road and went down so far that the tank
up set and he said they lost their watter and
had a turble time to get it up again ' '
So you doe not think as mouk of down there
as you might. but I hope you will have a
good time I had a letter from Eva she
seemes to think they are haveing a big
time your letter reads as tho you had a good
time goeing down ' ' you wanted to
know how much Will got for the
wheat he got 91 cts but could have got
more if he could have held it longer
but when it was drawed on he had to
sell it well I will close my scribble
now be a good boy and remember
your Mother never for gets you in
her prair, that god may keep you
safe from harm from your ever
loveing Mother S S Draper
let me hear from you often

Genealogy Notes

Last week I posted the last of the 1911 Courtship letters between Noah Draper and Ethel Nelson. Ethel's Treasure Box didn't contain any from Noah for November, and there aren't any more from Noah or Ethel until Noah joins the Royal Canadian Naval Voluntary Reserve and starts writing to Ethel once more. (I do have much more to post of the family though.)

For whatever reason, the December 1911 issues of The Newmarket Era are not online. It seems that every issue before and after is accounted for, but not the one that announces Noah's homecoming.

Hence, I'm so thankful for this week's letter where Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper writes to Noah or we wouldn't know when he left. It also seems that Noah travelled with his sister, Eva Amelia, although we don't know who else went along since no mention of Joe is made and Veda is still back in Grand Coulee. When Sarah writes that "...Eva she seems to think they are haveing a big time..." could be Eva and Joe, or Eva and the family she left behind when she moved West with Joe.

Although Sarah isn't clear about which date she sent the letter, certain events in the letter show it to be December 1911. Namely, the mention of:
- how she hoped everyone was well at Mr. Nelson's place (Ethel's home)
- the Herbert Winch Family and Nettie's burns (see 1911 Courtship: Oct 22)
- cold weather and the worst storms she's ever seen (weather info below)

The Morning Leader (Regina) - Dec 19, 1911

Sarah says she received a letter and 2 cards on the 14th, so Noah was gone by then. I'm guessing he left soon after December began because Ethel's letters stop at the end of Nov. (I sure would have liked to have been there for that meeting between them!)

The ad on the right is from Regina's Morning Leader newspaper from December 19 of that year and shows the most likely way Noah would have traveled east. If he chose the Canadian Northern Railway, then his fee would have been $47.15 from Regina to Toronto.

At Toronto, Noah would have taken the Toronto and York Radial Railway north to either Ravenshoe or Keswick. We don't know which relative he's staying with, but there are many since Noah's great grandfather and his siblings were some of the original settlers of York County and the township of North Gwillimbury.

1910, Keswick, Ontario Radial Station; Courtesy of Wikipedia and the Georgina Pioneer Village exhibit at Virtual Museum

About that cold weather... Grand Coulee is within sight of Regina and the coldest Nov 11th on record was in the year 1911 where temperatures dropped to -37.2C /-35F. (Wikipedia's List of Extreme Temperatures in Canada). Although it didn't stay that cold, the temperatures over that winter averaged out to being one of the coldest winters on record.

Actually, weather men are still talking about it. Check out this recent blog post from the United States National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office which talks about The Great Blue Norther of November 11, 1911:

...As dramatic as these weather changes were, we must go back further in time to look at one such cold front (also known then as The Great Blue Norther) that established a set of weather records that arguably are unique in modern weather history. On November 11, 1911 (remembered easily for now as 11/11/11), the afternoon temperature in Oklahoma City reached a record high for the date of 83, before plunging 66 degrees to a record low of 17 at midnight that evening. Both daily temperature records remain unbroken and untied since 1911...

The Wikipedia entry for The Great Blue Norther of 11/11/1911 has this to say:

The Great Blue Norther of 11/11/1911 was a cold snap that affected the central United States on Saturday, November 11, 1911. Many cities broke record highs, going into the 70s and 80s early that afternoon. By nightfall, cities were dealing with temperatures in the teens and single-digits on the Fahrenheit scale. This is the only day in many midwest cities' weather bureau jurisdictions where the record highs and lows were broken for the same day. Some cities experienced tornadoes on Saturday and a blizzard on Sunday. A blizzard even occurred within one hour after an F4 tornado hit Rock County, Wisconsin. The main cause of such a dramatic cold snap was an extremely strong storm system separating warm, humid air from frigid, arctic air. Dramatic cold snaps tend to occur mostly in the month of November, though they can also come in February or March.

So finally, Noah and Ethel are together once again and can now plan the details of their wedding. Next week I'll post everything I can dig up on that happy event. Hope to see you here for the happy event.

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Courtship Letter Special: July 20 From Ma & Sadie

7/7/2013

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The Massey Harris binder about to start cutting the wheat. Courtesy of wikipedia.

In this week's letter, Ethel's ma tells Ethel that Pa bought a new binder and already has some wheat cut. This was necessary since their old binder burned in their barn fire. Although the above photo shows a binder pulled by a tractor, in 1911 Ethel's pa would use horses to pull his binder which would cut the wheat, tie a string about a bunch of stalks to bind them in a sheaf, then drop the sheaves by the side where someone would come along and stand them in stooks or shooks to dry. The shape allowed the rain to slide off.

Author of Letter: Ida Amelia Glover Nelson and Sadie Nelson
Dated:  July 20th, 1911
Addressed to: Dear Ethel (Ethel is up in Huntsville, Ontario visiting Ida Amelia's sister, Sarah Elizabeth Glover)
Mailed from: Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship:  Ethel's ma, and Ethel's 16 yr old sister
Profession:  Farm Family
Writing instrument: Blue Ink
Written on: Off-white, beautifully textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 7 inches, folded in half. Two notepapers, one with a pansy motif, the other with a forget-me-not motif.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Christie - Christine Maud Nelson - Ethel and Sadie's 6 yr old sister
- Crouders - *Crowders
- *Noah Draper - Ethel's fiance out on the Canadian prairies
- *Elva Mitchell - see Special Letter of July 15 as well as Label list
- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- Grandma - *Eliza Crouch Nelson in Aikens, Benton, Iowa, USA
- Aunt Lill - Lillian Maria Blizzard married to Pa's cousin, James A. Nelson- **Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's ma
- Theao Ralston
- Francis Slingerland
- Edna, Wilmot, Gertie, and Lottie
- Sweets and Thompsons
- Gertie and Walt Brooks
- Nancy
- Perry Morton

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

Page 1 - Written by Ethel's ma, Ida Amelia Glover

Belhaven July 20. 1911
Dear Ethel.
got your letter tuesday
I suppose you are going
to the picnic. we are
staying at home having
a good time watching the
people go by Crouders just
went by in a buss it is Just
1/2 past 9 oclock. I washed tuesday
Sadie and Christie went picking
berries got 2 quarts we had 7
men tuesday. yesterday Just

Page 2 - Written by Ethel's ma, Ida Amelia Glover

our own men and J and
your pa went to theao
Ralstons raising and I
got the sick head ache
came home and went to
bed. there was only about
50 men and 15 women
and some kids. they had
a nice supper but I couldnt
eat any they were very
clever with me. and there
was Noah Draper from
the west there. when I heard
them peeking about Noah
you bet I did some squinting
untill i saw him but it
wasnt tall Noah.

Page 3 - written by Sadie

Ma is getting to be a
regular gad about
since you went away
She has been away
nearly everyday. Tuesday
was the only day she
stayed home. Christie
wants us to tell you
that she can comb her
hair. I have got two
cards and you got
a letter from Elva
and pa got one from
grandma. I am having
a fine time since you
went away. Francis
Slingerland came here

Page 4 - written by Sadie

Sunday after dinner
and stayed until
after nine at night
Edna, Wilmot, Gertie
and Lottie have been
here. I was down to
Sweets and Thompsons.
The rigs are just stringing
along here to the picnic.
There has been an awful
lot go. Mine hasn't come
yet but will be here soon.
Gertie was here last
night and Walt Brooks
walked home with her.
Ma is going to see how
Aunt Lill is if she can

Page 5 switches to Ethel's ma where she writes, "Well Sadie has been spinning yarns..."

over the 'phone
She did and she
is better. We have
got beets and
beans on for
dinner and we
are going to have
green apples for
supper. (Don't your
mouth water?) We have
got liver too for dinner.
well Sadie has been
spinning yarns I was
to Crouders 1/2 a hour was
not in house and to

Page 6 - written by Ethel's ma

Nancies about 3/4 hours
took her nives home
well i must quit
this and get to work
perry Morton is working
here to day Christie
has got to go to
belhaven for salt
for dinner.
Sadie has got the blues every rig goes
by it makes her worse
there was a big storm
yesterday. we have got
our new Binder set
up and one piece
of wheat cut

Page 7 - written by Ethel's ma

well my head aches
and i dont feel
very good wish
i could scribble
some more. but i
must quit how
is Sarah hope she
is better did you get
a return tickit if
you did you will have to come
in a month for it is only good
for a month unless you got
if for longer. say you
write soon for i get
the blues once in a while.
Sadie is looking bad she is
holding her mouth on one side
she looks so cross.

Page 8 - written by Sadie

Ma wants to know
if we can set the old
hen behind the bee boxes
If so how soon? How
many eggs do you
think she can cover.
It is the grey hen that
has a red feather for
a collar. They have
got the barn boarded
in and the floor
nearly all laid. As we
can't afford to waste
any more paper over
you we will have to quit
Write soon
Ma and Sadie

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Update on Fred Coventry's Sister in Alberta

Update to Louie and Fred Coventry going to visit his sister in Alberta which Noah mentioned in his last letter in 1911 Courtship: July 19 Dear Ethel... we have a new development. While researching the Coventry family and trying to find out what happened to Louie (Noah's sister), I hit a newspaper goldmine on the usual ourontario.ca website I use for the Newmarket Era except this time, I've discovered the Halton News which encompasses the Acton Free Press and Georgetown Herald.

The Coventry family came from the Halton area of Peel Country, Ontario and the newspapers covered many of their social events. One of the first items I discovered was a wedding announcement for Maggie Coventry aka Margaret Jane Coventry and a Mr. W. T. Campbell.

Acton Free Press (Acton, ON), 1 Aug 1901, p. 2

CAMPELL-COVENTRY - At the residence of the Bride's parents, Kenlis, Assa., on Wednesday, 10th July 1901, by Rev. A. Robson, Mr. W. T. Campell to Miss Maggie Coventry, daughter of David Coventry.

From the same newspapers I've found the obituary for Fred's father, David Coventry, as well as the brief announcement on Louie's death. They are both almost illegible due to the inking process and I need to decipher them. However, I've read enough to know that David Coventry's daughter, Mrs. W. T. Campbell (Margaret Jane) lives in Vancouver, BC and his other daughter, Mrs. C. F. Powell, lives in Alberta. So it's not Maggie in Alberta, but rather Mary Catherine whom I thought stayed in Ontario. (I've updated last week's Genealogy Note 1)

Genealogy Note 2 - The Lennox Picnic

Can't you just picture 16 yr old Sadie in this week's letter as she stands by the door watching all the rigs and outfits (autos and conveyances) filled with excited people as they make their way to the Lennox Picnic?

I love the part where Ethel's ma writes on page 7, "Sadie is looking bad she is holding her mouth on one side she looks so cross."

For more info on the Lennox Picnic, check the Genealogy Note 3 on July 2: Dear Noah. Here is a news article about the post 1911 Lennox Picnic:

The Newmarket Era. July 28, 1911 - Page: 5, Part 1

That's 15,000 people attending the Conservative Party's annual picnic and a good portion of those people drove right past the Nelson farm where Sadie stood by the door watching them go by. No wonder she felt she was missing out.

However, other snippets tell of pickpockets in the crowd, as well as people coming home with empty pockets due to buying the refreshments. Many people commented that their neighbors either got home late and loud, or didn't get home until the next day. By most accounts, it sounds more like a 'liberal' party than a 'conservative' one.

The Newmarket Era. July 28, 1911 - Page: 5, Part 2

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1911 Courtship: July 19 Dear Ethel

7/1/2013

2 Comments

Reaping, Indian Head, Assiniboia, on Canadian Pacific Railway. c1886. Prairie Postcards PC002464. Courtesty of http://peel.library.ualberta

See the Genealogy Note at the bottom of this post for more info on the above photo and the Experimental farm, mentioned by Noah in this letter.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: July 19th/1911
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, My Dear Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, but looks blue-grey in places
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, written on front and back like a book, but inside, paper is turned sideways and written across short length and down both pages.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:
- *Joe & Eva - Joe Perrault and Eva Amelia - Noah's sister
- *Parthena - wife of Noah's brother, *Percy Draper
- Parthena's baby - Royden Wallace Draper b Jul 1911 but what date?
- *Stewart Draper, Noah's cousin, in Indian Head, Saskatchewan
- *Louie: Noah's sister, Sarah Louisa Nelson, married to Fred Coventry
- Fred's sister in Alberta - Probably Margaret Jane *Coventry

* Regina, Saskatchewan
** Experimental Farm, Indian Head, Saskatchewan
Local - Twice daily passenger train that runs from Regina to Indian Head. Used for excursions such as field trips to see the world famous Bell Farm, etc.

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right column for more on posts on the above people.
**More info under Genealogical Notes

Grand Coulee, Sask
July 19th/11

Miss. E. Nelson,
huntsville. Ont.
My Dear Ethel;-
Received your letter last
week and was glad to hear
you were going to get a few
holidays & hope you have
a good time,
Well we are good and buisy
here just now. just got
the cellar cemented and am
now digging a drain. expect
the well diggers and carpenters
tomorrow. so will have 7 men
here for a while and a girl
if I can get one but they are

like hens teeth few and far between.
Joe. Eva. & I were down to the
experimental farm at Indian Head
yesterday. I went into Regina on
the morning Local with out any
intentions of going down but I got
through with my business by
the time the excurtion train
came along so I jumped on and
went down. it rained nearly all
afternoon. but we hired a livery
rig and got out to Stewarts before
it started so we didnt mind
it. but there was a good many.
dissapointed people on the train
coming home.
Osay Ethel Parthena has a baby
boy. about a week old have not seen
it yet but i hear it looks like
the Drapers. Ha. Ha.
Louie & Fred went up to his
sisters in Alberta last Saturaday.
to pick raspberries. they said but
I guess they wont get many.
Say you must be getting old to
be able to say the heat is the worst
for a 100 years back. Eh.

I hear it has been very dry
down there this summer how
do the crops seem. they are
very good here only a little late
but we have had such a
cold summer we will likely
have a hot fall. hope so
any way.
Well it is getting nearly
time to get out to work again
am writing this at noon
and expect to post this to
night. Well i guess this is
all for this time so Bye Bye
write soon and a long letter
to your Western Lover. N.C.D.
X X X X X X X

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1: Margaret Jane Coventry

Fred Coventry had 2 sisters. Mary Catherine stayed in Ontario, married, and died there.

But Margaret Jane is shown on the 1901 census where she and her parents are living in Kenlis, Assiniboia - about 10 miles northeast of Indian Head. She is not with them on the 1916 census, though, where they have moved close to Fred and Louie near Grand Coulee. Did Margaret Jane marry and move to Alberta? Or did she just move there because of a job opportunity?

Update!
- Mary Catherine did NOT marry and die in Ontario - her Aunt Catharine did. In 1911, Mary Catherine and her husband lived in Strathcona, Alberta.
- Margaret Jane moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada sometime between 1916 and 1920. She didn't show up on the 1916 census because it was a special one for the prairie provinces only so that the government could keep track of immigrants on the newly opened prairie land.

Genealogy Note 2: The Experimental Farm

The Experimental Farm had it's beginnings as part of the 53,000 acre Bell Farm which started operations in 1882 by the Qu'Appelle Valley Farming Company - before the railroad tracks had been laid on the bald prairie - before there was the town of IndianHead - and before Saskatchewan became a province, which is why the postcard at the top refers to it as Indian Head, Assiniboia. Once the railroad went through, the Bell Farm built a hotel, grain elevator and flour mill and Indian Head came into being.

Using the most modern farming practices and equipment of the time, the Bell Farm drew interested people from several countries to see for themselves how farming had/could progress. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) carried tourists and farmers on daily excursions from Regina out to Indian Head to explore the farm for the day.

The unique round shape of the Bell Farm Round Barn was one of the main attractions of the Bell Farm. Due to having its silo in the centre of the building, the layout provided ample space to stable 36 horses surrounding the silo - a time-saver when it came to supplying feed for the hard-working heavy horses.

Stable, Major William R. Bell's farm, Indian Head, SK, 1884, by William McFarlane Notman. VIEW-1388 © McCord Museum

In 1887, part of the Bell Farm was sold to create a Dominion Experimental Farm - one of Canada's first agricultural stations.

Experimental farm, Indian Head, SK, about 1920, MP-0000.25.431, © McCord Museum

A lasting legacy of the Indian Head area is the tree nursery located one mile south of the town which had been established in 1897 to supply trees for shelterbelt purposes to cut down on wind erosion. Called the Prairie Shelterbelt Program, the nursery of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) supplied seedlings free of charge to all legitimate homesteaders and farmers.

Although The Shelterbelt Program ended in the Spring of 2013, the PFRA tree nursery is a showcase of tree varieties which is open to the public and a favorite spot for summer picnics as well as information gathering.

Image of a man holding a cloth sack and picking something off of a tree - possibly at PFRA tree nursery. Courtesy of http://saskhistoryonline.ca/fedora/repository/indianhead%3A31270

According to the Indian Head History Page by 1902, the Town of Indian Head was incorporated and had become "...one of the world's largest initial shipping points for wheat."

1900-1909 Image of ten grain elevators at Indian head that read "Jos Glen No. 1", "Jos Glen No. 2", "Dominion Elevator Co. Ltd. No. 72", "Ogilvie's No. 67" - various structures in between elevators, Canadian Pacific railroad cars next to elevators - man and several cows in foreground on other side of fence. Photographer: Denison Indian Head. Courtesy http://saskhistoryonline.ca/fedora/repository/indianhead%3A31195

And that's the history of Indian Head, Saskatchewan, which Noah mentions in this week's letter and which has been mentioned several other times when talking about Elva Nelson and Will Mitchell, and Stewart Draper and Bertha Hamilton.

2 Comments

1911 Courtship: June 21 Dear Ethel

4/29/2013

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His Majesty King George V, Real Photograph on a Tuck Postcard #1459, first used 1906, sold in Great Britain and Canada.

Her Majesty Queen Mary, Real Photograph on a Tuck Postcard #1460, first used 1906, sold in Great Britain and Canada.

Although Noah and Ethel haven't mentioned it, the newspapers are full of images and snippets of the June 22nd Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary. The above images are the same ones published on the first page of the June 23, 1911 edition of The Newmarket Era except those images are so dark, you can barely make anything out. From what I did see however, I was able to find the matching images on a huge database website called TuckDB Postcards which states: TuckDB is a free on-line database listing antique postcards published by Raphael Tuck & Sons. Thank you to creators and maintainers of this wonderful look at history portrayed in postcards.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: June 21st, 1911
Addressed to: Dear Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed from: Grand Coulee, Sask
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, but looks blue-grey in places
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, written on front and back like a book, but inside, paper is turned sideways and written across short length and down both pages.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:
- *Louie: Noah's sister, Sarah Louisa Nelson, married to Fred Coventry
- Mother: *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper
- *Sadie Nelson: Ethel's 16 yr old sister

- a Scotch man: *hired man to work on the farm
- your Englishman: *hired man to work on the farm

League Games: Base ball played between the following 3 close towns:
- Grand Coulee (Noah's town)
- Bell Plain (Belle Plain)
- Pense

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right column for more on posts on the above people.

**More info under Genealogical Notes

Grand Coulee, Sask.
June. 21st/11.

Dear Ethel;-
Received your letter Sat.
& was glad to hear from you
Hope you are well as this
leaves meat present.
Well Ethel I am buisy as
a hen drawing rails drawing
lumber & cement & ect for the
house have the lumber
nearly all home & the carpenter
is coming up in the morning
to put up the form for
the cement cellar.
I wish I could walk in
and see you to-night but
I guess I wont. eh.

Say I would certainly like to see
you for a while.
Louie came up with mother today &
is going back tomorrow she just
told me to send you her best love.
Well Ethel we have had another
game of base ball with Bell Plain
and beat them 9 to 7. so we have
won the first 3 league games wheather
we win any more or not. We have
to go up to play B.P. onthe first so
I will have a holiday. was to play
Pense tomorrow but it was postponed
& I dont know when we will play
them.
Suppos Sadie will soon be trying
her examinations & wish her all
kinds of success.
Say wont you be glad to getout
of a place where they have such
thunder storms as you have there
We have not had any thunder
to speak of for two years but cant
tell when it will start.
Say I have a Scotch man
working for me now and he is a
dandy. and can be depended on
to take care of things. hope you
have got rid of your Englishmen. Haha

Well it is just 10 minutes
after twelve by your time
& 22.10 by ours or 10 after 10.
Oh say did I tell you I am
in the tent & it is fine &
cool at night. Ha.Ha.
How are the men getting
along at the barn?
Well Ethel I guess I will
have to close for this time
& dont you be as slow about
writing as I am but I am
to lazy to write much at
this time so good Bye
with lots of Love & a great big
hug and half a million
kisses. N. C. D. x x x x x x x

Genealogy Notes

Since this week in 1911 is the Royal Coronation, I'm posting an image and snippets to give you a sense of the grandeur of this period.

The Coronation Ceremony of His Most Gracious Majesty King George V in Westminster Abbey. 22nd June 1911, by John Henry Frederick Bacon, Courtesy of Wikipedia

The Newmarket Era. June 9, 1911 - Pg 4

The Newmarket Era. June 23, 1911 - Pg 2

A brilliant function held last
Friday night, was the Coronation
ball of the Royal Club at the Bota-
nic Gardens, in London, England.
The grounds were illuminated - the
trees being studded with 50,000 elec-
tric lights in various colours--form-
ing a veritable picture of fairyland.
The ball-room was large enough to
hold a thousand couples in comfort.
It was temporary erected for the
occasion.

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1911 Courtship: June 12 Dear Ethel

4/7/2013

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Saskatchewan c1911, Courtesy of the Prairie Postcard Collection, http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/postcards/PC002983.html

In this week's letter, Noah writes that he's now living in a grannary, (or grainery) next to the tent on his land. A grainery is a small building, traditionally wooden, but more recently metal, which is used for storing grain. In the above postcard, the grainery is the small building in the centre of the image, on this side of the fence. The smaller building beside the grainery could very well be an outhouse or an equipment building of some sort. The above image is a typical layout for a Saskatchewan farm and the house could even be an Eaton's kit house as shown in 1911 Courthship May 21 Dear Noah.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: June 12th, 1911
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, My Dear Ethel (21 yrs old)
Mailed from: Grand Coulee (Saskatchewan)
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, Black ink, but looks blue-grey in places
Writing Paper: Thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6.5 inches. Paper is folded in half, written on front and back like a book, but inside, paper is turned sideways and written across short length.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:
- Fred's - Noah's sister, *Louie, is married to Fred Coventry, and they live nearby
- Mother - *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yrs old sister- *Veda - 16 yr old daughter of Noah's sister, Eva Amelia and Joe Perrault
- *Fanny - niece of Joe Perrault, husband of Noah's sister, Eva Amelia
- your Aunt's - Ethel's Aunt *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's mom, Ida Amelia Glover
- Dora *Mahoney - a neighbor and school friend of Sadie's

- "get a man" - a *hired man to work on the farm
- Bell Plain - a town (Belle Plain) to the west who play baseball with Grand Coulee

- a rod** = approx 165 feet

* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right column for more on posts on the above people.

**More info under Genealogical Notes

Grand Coulee, June. 12./11

Miss. E. Nelson,
Belhaven Ont;-
My Dear Ethel;-
Received your letter Saturaday
Morning and was glad to hear
you were well as this leaves me
at present.
Am going into Regina today
to order the lumber. also a circus
in town but dont know as I will
go. As I want to get a man and
get back home to work.
Well Pense did not get down
to play ball last Wed. on
account of the rain but will
be down this Wed. We were
up to Bell Plain on Sat.
and beat them 10 to 7. not
Bad for the coulee.

Say I guess Dora would be mad all
right when the teachers told her
she could not pass her exams. I'll bet
she told the teachers a few things.
No I dont think mother will go down
in the winter for it is not near as nice
as it would be in the summer time
for her as she does not like the cold.
Say I hope you can go up for a few
weeks to your Aunt's it would do you
a lot of good I am shure.
Guess I will not get down to the
raising but I would like to I guess
I would be a dandy at it as I have
only been at two that I helped
at.
Oh. say Ethel! Veda seems to know
me better than you do but still I guess
I would not have to die an old bachelor
if I had tried very hard. HaHa.
She sure is a great kid I showed
her that part of the letter and she said
it was Fanny sent it. Fanny asked her
what but she wouldnt tell so Fanny
said some more of your lies eh.
I was down to Fred's last night
after church for a couple of settings
of eggs. sothegirls went along and I
laughed untill I thot. I would
hurt my self. Veda kept bothering
Fanny untill she got about half mad.
so she said if we would stop the

horse she would get out & walk
back home. so of course we
stopped & she got out and started
back she went about 10 rod & we
sat in the buggy laughing at
her and she turned around & run
back. Oh gee but it was funny.
Am living in a grannary beside
the tent and having a bigtime.
batching mother will be coming
down this week I guess. so it will
soon be over for this time.
Well I guess this is all for this
time only be a good little girl
untill I get down & after that
I will make you. Ha Ha.
Well good bye untill next time
I am yours as B. 4. N. C. Draper.
xxxxxxxxx and a thousand
and one more.

Genealogy Notes

Note #1: A Rod

In this week's letter, Noah writes, "...she went about 10 rod & we sat in the buggy laughing at her..."

Do you know what a rod is? In its simplest term, a rod = 16.5 ft, so if Fanny walked 10 rods ahead, she was about 165 feet away. I tried writing a good explanation, but after struggling, I decided to give you the wikipedia version:

The rod is a unit of length equal to 5½ yards or 16½ feet. Under an agreement in 1959 between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, the yard (known as the "international yard" in the United States) was legally defined to be exactly 0.9144 metres. Prior to that date, the legal definition of the yard when expressed in terms of metric units varied slightly from country to country.

In surveying, fields were measured in acres, which were one chain (four rods) by one furlong (in the United Kingdom, ten chains). Bars of metal one rod long were used as standards of length when surveying land. The rod was still in use as a common unit of measurement in the mid-19th century, when Henry David Thoreau used it frequently when describing distances in his work Walden.

Note #2 - An update on Melvina Cole

In the Genealogy Notes of 1911 Courtship letter of May 7, Ethel mentions that her cousin, Melvina Cole, will have a June 1911 Wedding. Although Ethel doesn't mention it further in her June letters, I found the following snippet in this week's 1911 Newmarket Era: