Category: School

1912: Letter Fm Hester Soules Prosser

5/11/2014

1912 RPPC Ethel Draper with horses, Adams, SK. Photo by Noah Draper from Noah & Ethel's 1912-1924 Photo Album. Courtesy of the Norma Draper Family Photograph Collection

Ethel is now in Adams, Saskatchewan and enjoying her life as a newlywed. How do I know? Because this week's post contains a letter from Hester Prosser - close neighbor and friend of Ethel back in Belhaven - and Hester mentions what Ethel wrote her.

In the above RPPC, it looks like the object on the near right is the CNR track laying machine from last week's post.

Author of Letter: Hester Prosser (nee Soules, wife of Walker Prosser)
Dated: Mar 21st, 1912
Addressed to: My Dear Friend Ethel
Mailed from: Belhaven (Ontario)
Relationship: Close friend and neighbor
Profession: Farmer's wife
Writing instrument: Black ink
Written on: Linen-like cream-colored folded notepaper. Hester hasn't numbered the pages but if she had they would read 1, 2, 3, 4 in booklet form

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Noah Draper, age 23 (Newlywed, moved west in 1905)
- *Ethel Nelson, age 21 (Newlywed, moved west Feb 1912)
- *Christie - Ethel's 11 yr old sister
- *Sadie/Sadye - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Ethel & *Will Rigler - Noah's sister and her husband, living near Noah & Ethel

- **Mr. Brooks & Martha - we find them in Regina later on
- Annie *King & Mr. King - neighbor
- Mr S. *Winch - Stephen Winch? - neighbor
- Lulu ?
- Mr Dave *Sprague's - neighbor
- Mary *Sheppard, John *Sheppard - neighbor
- *Breuls boys, Whetford & Mr. Breuls - neighbors
- Herbert *Winch, Erwin *Winch, Adele *Winch - neighbors
- **Prof. Dales & Lowell - ministers (mystery solved)
- Mr. Frank *Morton's - neighbor
- Blanche B ?
- Alma & Johnnie - probably elementary school-aged children
- Alice - Hester Soules & Walker Prosser's only daughter, Alice Alma (1896-1901) died at 6 yrs old from diphtheria
- Isaac Prosser (1846-1912) died 24 hrs after apoplexy attack (stroke)

Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
- *Toronto
- Owen Sound - 170 km/106 ml fm Keswick on the southern shore of Georgian Bay
- Paisley - 55 km/34ml south of Owen Sound
- The West - Canadian prairie provinces of Man, Sask and Alberta
- Newmarket Era - local newspaper
- the car - the streetcar

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing. If you don't see a label, use the search box at the top of page.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Belhaven Mar 21st 1912

My Dear Friend Ethel
Your very welcome
letter was duly received and read
with a great deal of interest. Am
so glad to hear you like your
new house, and that the climate
agrees with you. so far, I presume
it is pretty well settled, Where you
are. So nice to be near Ethel Rigler.
I would like that part of it myself.
She was my neighbor here for a short time
and I was sorry indeed to lose her. I
liked both her and Will, give them
my kindest regards. When you see
them next. Mr Brooks called in
for a while yesterday. Martha is at
home this week, but expects to start
for the West next week. She and a

sister-in-law, their husbands went
a couple of weeks ago. I think you are
wise to subscribe for the Newmarket Era
am sure it would be an interesting
letter to me, if I were to move away
there is so much home news in it.
Say, Ethel. We had the worst storm
last Friday that I ever witnessed, all
day long, and half the night. the roads
were in a terrible state, and the scholars
from High School, will not be apt to
forget it very soon, they had such
an experience getting home. & some did
not reach home. Annie King stayed at
Mr. S. Winch's all night, and Lulu stayed
at Mr Dave Sprague's. Mr King started
to go for Annie, but only got as far
as your place, the road was full.
We heard the sleigh pass here about

nine o'clock, with Mary Sheppard and
the Breuls boys. Whetford & Mr Breuls
had went after them, each put in a horse
the car was late getting in, and then the
horses tired out, or got discouraged, several
times, the men had to go ahead, and
tramp roads. Herbert Winch & his family
(they had been to the city.)
were all in the sleigh, and Erwin Winch
so it was heavily loaded, twelve altogether,
but Saturday morning the road breaking
commenced. Our Choir was invited to
Mr John Sheppard's that night, and
bad as the roads were, there was eleven
young people there for practise. We
had a very pleasant evening. Lowell
preached on Sunday, his last two
sermons have been the best he has
ever preached, he is a fine boy
just what he seems to be. We are
expecting Prof. Dales for the next two

Sundays. the Choir spent a pleasant
evening at Your Father's two weeks ago
(We are invited to Mr. Frank Morton's this week.)
and I got Sadie to come home with us
we spent the next day together, it was
a busy one too. We went to Isaac Prossers
funeral in the morning. S.S. in the afternoon
and Belhaven service in the evening.
hope to have her again if she will
come. Adele came home with us last Sunday
from S.S. She & her Father have gone away
to spend a couple of weeks, they started out
Monday. will visit in Toronto, Owen Sound, &
Paisley, his two brothers live in the two
places & his sister in Toronto. Adele deserving
the trip. She is a good worker. Christie sang
(she did fine)
a pretty solo in S.S. last Sunday. Blanche B.
is to sing one next Sunday. Alma & Johnnie
sang one two weeks ago. I love the pieces from
the little ones, it reminds me so much of Alice
Glad to hear you are attending Presbyterian Church.
How much we miss you here, but our loss is Noah's
gain. God bless you both in your far away home.
Your Sincere friend,
H. Prosser
Write again

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note 1 - Mr Brooks and Martha

At the bottom of page 1, Hester mentions Mr. Brooks and his daughter Martha:

Mr Brooks called in for a while yesterday. Martha is at
home this week, but expects to start for the West next week. She and a sister-in-law, their husbands went
a couple of weeks ago.

And here's what the local newspaper had to say about the wedding:

The Newmarket Era. March 8, 1912 - Page: 2

The Newmarket Era. March 8, 1912 - Page: 6

Genealogy Note 2 - The Great Storm

Hester relates about kids unable to get from school due to the snowstorm that descended upon them that March. Here's what the newspaper said about it:

The Newmarket Era. March 22, 1912 - Page: 7

The Newmarket Era. March 22, 1912 - Page: 1

The Newmarket Era. March 22, 1912 - Page: 6

Genealogy Notes 3 - Prof. Dales & Lowell

Prof Dales has been mentioned as a minister several times over the course of the 1911 Courtship letters, and the closest I've came to his identity was that he came from the Toronto area.

And now in this week's letter, Hester Prosser mentions:

Lowell preached on Sunday, his last two sermons have been the best he has ever preached, he is a fine boy just what he seems to be. We are
expecting Prof. Dales for the next two Sundays.

From Hester's words, I wondered if Lowell might be a son of Prof Dales and following in the old man's footsteps. A quick search on Ancestry.ca for Lowell Dales brought up this 1911 census listing:

In 1911 Professor John Nelson Dales, and his family, including 20 yr old Lowell, were living in Drayton, Ontario. A few columns to the right on this census shows Prof Dales as a minister and Lowell as a student. Although we don't know what or where Lowell was studying, I'm presuming it was theology like his dad.

Stay tuned for next week when we find out about the 1912 Regina cyclone which Ethel mentions on the back of the RPPC shown at the top of this post.

1911 Courtship: Oct 22 Dear Noah

1/18/2014

1897 S. S. Belhaven #4, Belhaven, Ontario, Canada. Clipping from Ethel Nelson Draper's Treasure Box. Newspaper source unknown.

I'm showing the 1897 photo of the Belhaven school because the student photo that was included with it is part of this post's Genealogy Notes below. Unfortunately, I don't have a source for this newspaper clipping and accompanying text, but it seems to have been published in 1965 - probably the Newmarket Era or Sutton Review. I'd appreciate any info on this old Belhaven School.

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (b 1890)
Dated:  Oct . 22nd. Oct 1911
Addressed to: Mr. N.C.Draper, My Dear Noah
Mailed from: Belhaven. P.O.
Relationship:  Courting
Profession:  Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, black ink - Once again, the ink still smudges upon touch as if it still hasn't dried. Since writing last week's post with the Genealogy Note about ink and pens, I'm wondering if Ethel is using a low-quality ink instead of a high quality one like the Stephens brand I mentioned.
Written on: Off-white, textured, plain, linen-like paper, 9.5 inches x 6.5 inches, folded in half in booklet form and written as 1, 2, 3 with page 2 being turned and written across the short side and down the length.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Mary Smith - friend, neighbor, relative - 1911 Courtship: Oct 8 Dear Noah
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- *Christie Nelson - Ethel's 10 yr old sister
- Jennie Draper - Noah's sister - school photo under Genealogy Note #2

- **Walter *Yorke and Squire Yorke - Genealogy Note #1
- **Walker Morton's **Genealogy Note #2
-*Mahoney girls - friends and neighbors
- **Wm Arnold - Genealogy Note #3
- Herb *Winches - neighbor and friends
- Steve Leopard (*Lepard) - many Lepards in Draper family tree
- *Manford Terry - Noah's cousin - 1911 Courtship: Sep 10 Dear Noah

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Ravenshoe - 7 km/4 ml south of Belhaven
- Aurora - 35 km/22 mls SSW of Belhaven (south of Newmarket)
- *Newmarket *Fair

- **chattel mortgage
- upset - buggy or sleigh accident (now called rollover)

Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing. If you don't see a label, use the search box at the top of page.
** see Genealogy Notes below

Belhaven. P. O.
Oct 22nd. 1911

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

My Dear Noah, -
Rec'd your letter on
Saturday morning and the same
as usual was very glad indeed
to get it.
Well to-day is not as
fine a day as last Sunday was
it is windy & cooler to-day. but
not raining yet. Mary Smith & Sadie
& myself are going down to Ravenshoe
Church this afternoon. Mary says she
will be our young man to-day. So
you you may depend we are
going to have a fine driver. "ha ha"
She can't take his place. "eh".

Say, you know about what Mr Walter Yorke
is? Some man in Aurora is selling him out
to-morrow. Every thing is to be sold. even to the
place. Mr Yorke has nearly all his stock under a
chatill mortgage. Squire Yorke is hired here for a
year. he started last Monday. we like him allright
So far. but don't know how long it will last.
Mr Yorke is talking of going West in the Spring.
Do you ever see any more of Walker Morton's? We
heard that her Uncle had left. her four thousand
Dollars. if he has it certainly will help them out
Some. Christie is hear giving me a good, solid
lecture. now I think you will know how to
sympathise with me. "ha ha"
Remember the last time you were to New market
Fair. Say if we certainly was'nt a happy three.
Little I thot thought it would be one of my last
Such days with Jennie. And little I thot. "eh"
that I'd break those few words I said I'd never
do. time tells & is so un certain. This week is
the New market Fair again. I may go down
on Thrusday if nothing happens. Sadie will be
their to go with me. Mahoney girls & going also.
As to the time you had planed on staying down this
winter I guess perhaps you will know best just how
long you can. So I will try & do as you think best
for us both. You certainly ought to be the one to
know & say what you think about it. for you are
coming from your own home. and you know just how you

left things. Mr Wm Arnold was buried
on Friday. Herb Winches baby was playing
out in the back yard. & went
into a bed of ashes where Herb had a
bonfire a couple of days before. & her clothing
caught fire. & she was burned badly. but
they think she will get better. and on
Friday also Steve Leopard was working
at some bridge with Manford Terry
and a heavy timber fell on him. We
heard he could'nt get better. but we hav'nt
heard of his death yet. Friday seems to be
an very unlucky day. Say I heard yesterday
you had an upset one day last winter.
Oh, I hear lots of news now a day.
It don't bother me much though it
passes the time as you say. and
anything to do that. It must be
nearly noon now and we want to have
an early dinner for you know our young
man for to-day wont want to wait long
"ha-ha" So must say good bye for this time
write often to you old Sweetheart at Belhaven.
xxxxx
xxxxxx
xxxx
x

Genealogy Notes

Genealogy Note #1 - Walter York and Squire York

Ethel writes... Some man in Aurora is selling him out tomorrow. Everything is to be sold. even to the place. Mr Yorke has nearly all his stock under a chatill mortgage.

I've checked different sites for the best definition of a chattel mortgage, and wikipedia has the easiest to understand:
Under a typical chattel mortgage, the purchaser borrows funds for the purchase of movable personal property (the chattel) from the lender. The lender then secures the loan with a mortgage over the chattel. Legal ownership of the chattel is transferred to the purchaser at the time of purchase, and the mortgage is removed once the loan has been repaid.

The Newmarket Era. Oct 20, 1911

That meant Walter York was in debt up to his eyeballs, so to speak.

Here's the sale listing that shows Walter York's sale on Monday, Oct 23rd. Walter lived on Conc 5, Lot 11, North Gwillimbury, just a few farms south of Ethel's family, and close to where Noah's family lived before they sold out and moved west.

Walter York has been the topic of our Genealogy Notes before when Ethel reported the death of Mrs. Walter York back in her Dear Noah letter of June 25th.

At 14 yrs of age, Squire York, born 1897, is the new hired man of Ethel's family farm. He's also the son of Walter York and Wife #1 Minnie (Mary) Pollock. But as Ethel says, if Walter decides to move West, Squire may choose to accompany his widowed and destitute father.

Genealogy Note #2 - Walker Morton's

Walker Morton and his wife Tillie (Matilda) Doane, are shown living in North Gwillimbury in 1901, then in Regina (close to Noah) in 1911, then in Hamiliton in 1921.

I suspect that their daughter, Emma Fern Morton, is the same Fern Morton who went to school with Ethel and Noah because of this photo and caption which I found in Ethel's Treasure Box. Although it came with Noah and Ethel marked, the accompanying newspaper article doesn't give a newspaper name or date other than that it's dated 1965.

1897 Belhaven School Students, Belhaven, Ontario, Canada. From Ethel Nelson Draper's personal collection. Source unknown.

As you can see above, Ethel is sitting next to Fern Morton. Also in the photo is Noah in the back right corner, and Noah's sister, Jennie, checkmarked in the row in front of Noah. (Several other names may ring a bell if you've been following these courtship letters.)

Anyway, it's Fern's mother, Tillie, who was left $4000 by her uncle - a lot of money back then when prices looked like this:
- a 3 lb tin of beans = 25 cents
- 20 lbs dark brown sugar = $ 1.00
- a roll of wallpaper =8 cents
- in 1919, a Ford Runabout cost $660.00 and a Touring car cost $690.00

But who was this mysterious uncle? I couldn't find anything relevant in the Newmarket Era, and I didn't have the Walker Morton's in our family tree. Although I had found them in the 1911 census, Tillie had too many uncles in her family to figure out which one had money, and I didn't have time for the hours of research it would take to figure out.

So I took the next step of checking out who else had the Walker Morton's in their family tree. I happened on a private Glover Family tree on the Ancestry site which was exciting because we have Glover's in our tree. I sent off a quick email to the Glover Family Tree owner explaining why I wanted to see their tree and within a day, I had received a nice email from a man named Grant who said: Matilda "Tillie" Doane had an uncle Charles Doan, who never married, and who died on September 11,1911 in East Gwillimbury, York North, Ontario, Canada.

Grant also sent an invitation to look at his tree although he confided that his Glover branch originated from the Channel Islands and settled in Welland, Ontario. I accepted his invitation and checked it over, but nothing connected them to us except for the common name. Sending out a big thank you to Grant for the privilege of allowing me to see your tree.

Genealogy Note #3 - Wm Arnold

Ethel wrote... Mr. Wm Arnold was buried on Friday. William Arnold had been sick for a long time. The Newmarket Era reported the following:

June 30, 1911 - On account of continued ill health, Wm Arnold has deemed it advisable to sell his farm and be rid of so much care. His son-in-law, Mr. Fred Thompson, is the purchaser. It is one of the most productive and valuable agricultural properties in North Gwillimbury and is in perfect condition and modern and commodious buildings. There were many desirous of securing such a paradise.
Oct 13, 1911 - Sorry to report Wm Arnold is not improving very fast.
Oct 27, 1911 - We regret to state that Mr. Wm Arnold passed away last week.

William's death was not unexpected then, but who was he? I was surprised to discover that he was part of our family tree. Using Noah as the home person in the tree, Ancestry has figured out this progression:

William Arnold (1860 - ) husband of wife of 2nd cousin:
Nellie Ellen Young (1853 - ) wife of William Arnold
*James Edward Wardell (1871 - 1852) husband of Nellie Ellen Young
Thomas Wardell (1829 - 1908) father of James Edward Wardell
Susan Draper (1808 - ) mother of Thomas Wardell
Joel Draper Sr Rev (1789 - 1856) father of Susan Draper
Joel Draper (1815 - 1897) son of Joel Draper Sr Rev
David Draper (1842 - 1909) son of Joel Draper
*Noah Clement Draper You are the son of David Draper

What it means is that James Wardell and Noah are 2nd cousins as they are both great-grandsons of Joel Draper Sr...and that William is a relative by marriage because James Wardell married Nellie who was William's widow.

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: July 23 Dear Noah

7/16/2013

Ethel is still in Huntsville, and Uncle John is working up in North Bay.

1910 On the Mountain looking across Huntsville to Lake Vernon by Nerlich & Co., Toronto. Courtesy of The Baldwin Room at www.torontopubliclibrary.ca

In this week's letter, Ethel mentions watching the steamboats (see Genealogy Notes for pics), as well as going up "up on the Mountain". The postcard above shows what Ethel would have seen when she looked westward. On the postcard below Ethel would have stood above the steep rocky wall to see the view in the above image because that's where the 'Huntsville Lookout' is located, up on the hill they called 'the Mountain'.

1910 Huntsville from the Public School looking east toward the Mountain with Fairy Lake in the distance by H. Booth, Huntsville. Courtesy of The Baldwin Room at www.torontopubliclibrary.ca

Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated:  July 23rd, 1911
Addressed to: My Dearest Noah (Noah Clement Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask.)
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 however, she's written the inside straight across the widest part so there are only 3 unnumbered pages.

People/places mentioned in this letter:

- Aunt Sarah - *Sarah Elizabeth Glover, sister of Ethel's ma
- Uncle John - *John Winter, husband of Aunt Sarah
- **Mrs. Rigler - Genealogy Note #2
- *Elva Mitchell
- Mrs. Winter - a relative of Uncle John ?
- Miss Gall
- May/Mae Anderson & Stanley *Mahoney
- *Lennox

Places/things mentioned in this letter:
- *Huntsville
- *North Bay - north of Huntsville
- **Steamboats: S.S. Ramona and S.S. Wa Wa

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 23, 11.

My Dearest Noah, -
Well I missed your
letter this week. but thot perhaps you
sent it to Belhaven. there will be an
anxious girl until she gets one, I
havent got a letter from home either
since I came up here. Aunt Sarah is
writing to Uncle John he is away up to
North Bay working in a mill. I hope you never have to go away off from home to
work. for I can imagine just how it would
be, I think I ought to know a little, "eh"

when my best friend living is miles and miles away. But for the
meeting some day. Well Thrusday was Lennoxs picnic. and I see
by the paper that they had a big time. They presented Lennox with
a life size oil painting of himself. Be an awful thing for him to look
at, "eh", Are you Conservative or Reformer? I am for the right party.
The fire Tournament is to be here in huntsville on Aug 3rd.
I guess we will be to that all right. I was telling uncle Johns
that Mrs Rigler was married, and they wanted me to ask you
her name and address. So that they can write to her &
congratulate her. We are expecting company sometime this afternoon
a Mrs Winter & a Miss Gall is coming in,
Suppose you will be having a great old time when the Worlds
Fair starts at Regina. I guess the fair would be all the people could
talk about now? "eh" The day of our raising some girls were at me,
wanting to know when I was to be married. I told them in Sept (ha) May
Anderson was one of the girls so I ask her the same old question and
she said in August. Stanley & May are to be married in the spring (haha)

Well it is just 1 week yesterday since I
came up here. and I got a return ticket
so I guess I will stay until that runs out.
Oh, Noah you want to write often.
I guess you think I am a impatient
kid, it is rather lonesome sometimes.
Was down town last night, & think I will
go to-morrow night also. Will go untill
I get some mail. What has become
of Elva I wrote to her some time ago &
she has never answered. 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, - will send you a picture
postcard of them soemday. Will close
With all love from Your Friend & Lonesome
& Loving Sweetheart. Write, - x x x x x x x x x x

Genealogy Notes

Two Genealogy Notes this week:
#1 - Muskoka Steamers Ramona & Wa Wa
#2 - Finding Mrs. Rigler

Genealogy Note 1: Muskoka Steamers Ramona & Wa Wa

In this week's letter, Ethel mentions the big boats - the steamers Ramona and Wa Wa. It took some doing, but I finally found an image of the SS Ramona of Huntsville...and yes, although it's not as big as Ethel made it sound, it is bigger than an Uncle John's rowboat...

S.S. Ramona, Courtesy of the Orillia Public Library

I also found two textual references to the Ramona, the first of which says, "...ships such as the flagship Algonquin (1906-1927) and the Ramona transported goods and people from Portage to Huntsville, and all points between." (Courtesy of www.muskokariverx.com)

And on Wikipedia I found a steamboat chart for the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Transportation Company (HLBTC) which has this notation:
S.S. Dortha, 1894, HLBTC, Lake of Bays, Renamed the Ramona in 1908

Unfortunately a search for an image of the SS Dortha didn't bring up any results.

That left the S.S. Wa Wa, as Ethel mentioned, although this steamer proved even harder to locate than the Ramona. One clue was a reference in passing that the Wa Wa berthed at the dock of the Wa Wa Hotel in Lake of Bays, not far from Huntsville. My research was hampered by the fact that the Wa Wa Hotel burned down in 1923, so what happened to the steamer?

And then I found this photo at the Virtual Museum of Canada.

1922 - Steamer Wa Wa at Royal Muskoka Wharf on Lake Rosseau, Ontario. Courtesy of the Virtual Museum of Canada: Up in Flames: The History of Fire in Muskoka Region

So although I can't find it written - yet - it appears that after the hotel burned down, the S.S. Wa Wa was bought by someone in Lake Rouseau and used to ferry passengers back and forth to the Royal Muskoka alone, or to other points on the lake as well.

There is a final note to this story... this research triggered a memory about a souvenir folder of postcards I found in Ethel's treasure box. The postcards are all together accordian-style and feature the Bigwin Inn which sprang up beside the Wa Wa Hotel in Lake of Bays. I won't display the postcards here because we don't have room to discuss the Bigwin Inn here, however, the souvenir folder is from Noah and Ethel's daughter, Midge, and was posted in 1944 when she went up to the District of Muskoka. And it's Midges's note that relates to this week's post...

Hello Everyone. -
We were over to Bigwin this
afternoon, so I got this folder to send to
you. - it certainly is a grand place, - the
Bigwin Dock is where the Wa Wa used to
be, - the Wa Wa burnt down abut 1919
or around there somewhere, - about 15 lost
their life, - Bigwin is on an island.
We went up to the tower today, - you
certainly get a grand view from up there, -
you can see miles.
So long. - love. Midge.

Genealogy Note #2 - Finding Mrs. Rigler

In this week's letter, Ethel asks Noah for the newly married Mrs. Rigler's name and address so that Uncle John can write and congratulate her.

It made sense that Noah would know because his sister, Ethel Maud married William Albert Rigler, and it's at their house where Noah stayed before the weather was warm enough for him to move down the road and camp on his own land - which he's doing now that his house is being built.

What didn't make sense, however, was that Uncle John would ask for Mrs. Rigler's new name and address because his own mother, Nancy Maria, was a Rigler before she married his father, Reuben Winter. However, if the marriage was recent and in the North Gwillimbury area, then perhaps the news hadn't reached Huntsville yet.

Although I could have peeked at the upcoming letters for Noah's answer, I decided to research on my own in case I discovered more history about John's family which is very sparse. Here's my research path:

I have 8 Mrs Rigler's posted on our family tree and there are probably more because we only list the branch relating to Ethel Maud Draper's marriage to William Albert Rigler on 25 Dec 1901. I started by bringing up the Rigler Family View on my laptop screen so that at a glance I could see who had died prior to 1911. Sadly, Uncle John's own mother died 3 yrs after his birth. Of the ones that were left, I looked at their profiles to see if anyone had married in 1911 - and drew a blank.

In another tab on my browser, I pulled up the index for the Ontario newspapers online website and searched for Rigler and then 1911. Lots of news, but no marriage.

I reread what Ethel had written and it dawned on me that if Mrs. Rigler married and had a new name, then Rigler hadn't been her maiden name, but that of her husband. Yes, it makes sense, but it really hadn't clicked before. Knowing that, I began to search the Family View for a Mrs. Rigler whose husband had died prior to 1911.

And there it was... As I just mentioned, Uncle John's mother was Nancy Maria Rigler and her brother was Albert William Rigler. If the name sounds familiar, it's because he was the father of Ethel Maud's husband, William Albert Rigler.

Albert Wm died in 1904 leaving his widow - 49 yr old Mary Elizabeth Breckon aka Mrs. Rigler, 15 yr old Joseph, and 8 yr old Ernest at home since the other children, including our Will, had left home already.

My search on Mary E. Breckon found another marriage record for her...
Bride: Mary Rigler of Newmarket, 63, widow, daughter of Joseph Breckon
Groom: Robert Sibley of Newmarket, 67, widower, son of John Sibley
Marriage: 22 May 1911 in St. Catharines, Lincoln County, Ontario

So, Ethel is asking Noah about Mrs. Rigler because Mary E Breckon is the mother-in-law of Noah's sister. I think part of that was also because the marriage occurred way down in Southern Ontario and The Newmarket Era didn't have any details, which is strange for a community newspaper.

I hope the above research encourages you to try your own paths of discovery.

1911 Courtship: Jul 9 Dear Ethel

6/3/2013

Hoodoos, Dinosaur Valley, Drumheller, Alberta, 1939, by Vogue Photography Studio. Courtesy of the Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta.

This week's letter is missing a huge chunk of writing, but there's enough there for me to see that Noah is comparing something to the Hoodoos. Hoodoos are weather-beaten land formations created by years of the wind carving into sandstone. Dinosaur Valley in Drumheller, Alberta is the closest batch of Hoodoos to Noah and are about a modern 5-6 hour drive west of Grand Coulee.

Author of Letter: Noah Clement Draper (24 yrs old)
Dated: July 9 (1911)
Addressed to: Miss E. Nelson, 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.

This week's letter is missing a huge chunk which I couldn't find anywhere in Ethel's treasure box.

People/Places mentioned in this letter:
- *Veda 16 yr old daughter of Joe Perrault & Noah's sister, Eva Amelia
- *Fanny - Joe's niece
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister

- Bell Plaine (Belle Plaine)
- Moos Jaw (Moose Jaw)

Phrase: You could have bought us for a song

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

Grand Coulee, July 9

Miss. E. Nelson,
Belhaven, Ont.
Dear Ethel; -
Received your letter Friday
and was glad to hear you were
well. Hope this finds you the
same. We are all O.K. and buisy
as setting hens. intend to
do the cement work this week
ing to put in the forms
w and then go into
Tuesday for half a
and make short
the carpenters will
I guess they
ed so much
et weather it
mmer I ever
ained every Sat.
onth.

Did not go up to Bell Plaine on the 1st on
account of rain but we went up the 4th and
got beat for the first time this summer
score was 12 to 3. say you could have bot.
us for a song. and we had about 30 or 40
people along to yell for us. Ha. Ha. I took
Ved Fanny along & after the game I told
were the Hoodoos. Ha Ha.
ine comes down here tomorrow
the last League game and
at we (will try) do to them
still after the game &
re on the envelope
nt beat us to bad.
we the letter open
de. Ha. Ha.
de is in Moos Jaw
ill not be able to get
ld sure like to go as

passing away and
s fine & I hope it keeps
. Eh. I tell you a fellow
more like working when he can
see a chance for returns & things look
promising now. Oh say I bot a cow
Tuesday gave $60. for her & I sure have all
the milk I can drink. Ha. Ha.
Well little girl I wish I were driving
up the fifth just now. oh say I guess
there would be no church to night for
us. eh. say. it seems queer to be writing
you all the time & not seeing you

but I guess that will not last
much longer. hope not anyway.
So Sadie is going to teach in
the West eh? Well I dont blame
her. just look at the difference in
the salary out here they get from
$6.60 to a thousand Dollars and
do not have near as big a school
to look after. fifteen to Twenty
Five is a good sized country
school of course they
in the towns, but I g
would be satisfied in
for a start.
Well Ethel I gues
to ring off and so
space for the big
night. it has started
So. good Bye for the
Your lonely. Lover.
PS Well we were beaten a

Genealogy Notes

In last week's letter of 1911 Courtship: July 9 Dear Noah Ethel mentioned the heat they were enduring especially since they had to do extra baking and cooking to feed all the men who came to help build the barn. The heat wave took its toll in Canada and the United States as can be seen in the following snippets. Location is Newmarket, Ontario unless otherwise stated.

The Newmarket Era. July 7, 1911, Pg 6

From Newmarket Era, but under:
TORONTO NEWS

The Newmarket Era. July 7th, 1911 - Page: 7

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 3

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 6

The Newmarket Era. July 14, 1911, Pg 6

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 6

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 5

The Newmarket Era. July 14, 1911 Pg 6

The Newmarket Era. July 14th, 1911 - Page: 1

And on the same page, this reality:

The Newmarket Era. July 14, 1911, Pg 1

The heat on Sunday was fierce--
100 in the shade is reported.

Sunday and Monday last were rec-
ord breakers for heat. Fancy the
thermometer bobbing around 103 deg.
Monday was Toronto's hottest day in
more than half a century. Three peo-
ple became victims of the heat. --
Nearly all Sunday night people were
lying about the lawns and door-steps.
During Saturday, Sunday and Monday
43 children died in the city. The
same days in Montreal there were
151 deaths among children.

New York, July 11. - Yesterday a
dozen victims were added to the toll
and scores of prostrations were re-ported. The death list at 11 o'clock
last night had 18 victims on it, the
count including the entire metropol-
itan district. Prostrations numbered
above 200.

Chicago, Ill., July 11. - Heat deaths
and prostrations continued yesterday,
although the maximum temperature
was only 89 degrees. Twelve deaths,
superintended by heat, and many
prostrations were reported.

...Two hundred people died from
sunstroke in New York last week.
...1200 horses died in five days of
New York's hot spell last week.

"Too Bloomin' Hot."

Three hundred immigrants arrived
from England Tuesday. WOne hun-
dred and seventy-five remained in
Toronto.
Several farmers who were on hand
looking for help, failed to induce any
of them to accept a position on the
farm-
"It is too blooming hot in this
country," was the answer one man
made.
The farmer was so disappointed
that he replied with some vigor.
"By gosh, it will be cold enough
for you in a little while."

The hot weather this week is liter-
ally cooking the raspberries which
promised a very large yield. The
gooseberry crop is also burnt so as
to be unsaleable. Young strawberry
beds are in a bad way for rain. Cur-
rants are not more than half a crop.
Plums are a complete failure, and ap-
ples are but a very small crop. Hay
was a short crop, and unless rain will
come soon barley will not be worth
cutting.

No service in the Presbyterian
Church Sunday evening on account
of the extreme heat.

Mrs. Jane Crew, who died in this
city last week was in her one hundred
and third year. Her death was caus-
ed by the intense heat wave. She has
been a widow for fifty-seven years,
never wore eyeglasses in her life, and
whenever feeling unwell, always took
pure cold water as a cureall. She
was the mother of eight children,
three of whom are still living. There
are Twenty-nine grandchildren, and
twenty-two great grandchildren.
It seems incredible that a city with
100,000 population, should use 60,000
gallons of water in one day, but the
official record indicates that Toron-
to's citizen took that amount from
the reservoir, on Tuesday of last
week.
Eighty-nine deaths were registered
during the first four days of July --
very many having succumbed from the
fearful heat which prevailed.

Heat prostration the past 2 weeks
beat all previous records in this city,
and the death toll among children
from heat has never been equalled.

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1912: Letter Fm Hester Soules Prosser

Genealogy Notes

1911 Courtship: Oct 22 Dear Noah

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1911 Courtship Special: Aug 8 Dear Ethel From Ma

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1911 Courtship: July 23 Dear Noah

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1911 Courtship: Jul 9 Dear Ethel

Genealogy Notes

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