Lightning Bolt captured at Draper's Acres, Montmartre, Saskatchewan, Canada, August 2010 by Anita Mae Draper
Although this photo was taken 99 yrs after Ethel writes about it in her letter, electrical storms still have a whop of power behind them. In this week's genealogy notes, I'm posting some of the newspaper articles that talk about that week of June 1911 because what Ethel didn't know is that a tornado whipped through the area to the north and west of her... within an hour's drive by today's standards.
Author of Letter: Ethel Isabell Nelson, age 21 (born 31 May 1890)
Dated: June, 1911 (from the content, I've deduced it was written on June 15th)
Addressed to: Mr. N. C. Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask. (To my Dear Noah)
Mailed from: Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Light bluey/gray, slightly thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6 inches, folded in half. The paper is folded in half with the first page on the front and last on the back, but inside, she's turned the paper and written across the short width and turned both pages into one long page. Hence this letter has only 3 pages.
People/places mentioned in this letter:
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- our man - *hired man
- *Sheppard's - neighbors
- *Crowder's - neighbors
- Morell's - neighbors
- John Warner
- Dora *Mahoney - Ethel's neighbor and school friend
- Hattie and Stella - more school friends
Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below
Dated: June, 1911 (from the content, I've deduced it was written on June 15th)
Addressed to: Mr. N. C. Draper, Grand Coulee, Sask. (To my Dear Noah)
Mailed from: Belhaven, Ont.
Relationship: Courting
Profession: Farmer's Daughter
Writing instrument: Fine point pen, blue ink
Written on: Light bluey/gray, slightly thick, textured, linen-like paper, 9 inches x 6 inches, folded in half. The paper is folded in half with the first page on the front and last on the back, but inside, she's turned the paper and written across the short width and turned both pages into one long page. Hence this letter has only 3 pages.
People/places mentioned in this letter:
- *Sadie Nelson - Ethel's 16 yr old sister
- Pa - *James Henry Nelson
- our man - *hired man
- *Sheppard's - neighbors
- *Crowder's - neighbors
- Morell's - neighbors
- John Warner
- Dora *Mahoney - Ethel's neighbor and school friend
- Hattie and Stella - more school friends
Legend:
* Look under the Categories/Labels in the right side column for more posts on this
person/place/thing.
** see Genealogy Notes below
| Belhaven June, 11 Mr N.C. Draper. Grand Coulee, Sask. To my Dear Noah,- Rec'd your letter last night. Sadie and I were up to the office, and had to run nearly all the way home, to get out off the rain, Pa and our man were up to Keswick. They saw 4 fires coming home. Say do you have such thunder storms up there They seam to do so much |
| 2. damage. The thunder last night was just a continuous roar. The masons have been here working all last week. We are having a bee to-morrow getting the timber home. It was shipped to Keswick. You ask if we thot the barns were set on fire. We heard Morells said they thot Sheppards set them on fire. Of course it looked rather suspicious because we decided that we wouldn't sell to them. And the day of Morell's fire, Shepard & Morelle had a lawsuit and sheppard had to pay Morell $600.00. But we never have had any idea how ours was started. I started this letter this forenoon so here I am again to finish up. We were up to S. School and since we came home there has been a very heavy wind & thunder storm we couldn't see over half way to Crowders. It blowed one of apple trees all the way across the field, blowed the fence nearly quite a bit all down. The big tree between our place and the corner is partly down. Our harvest tree was blowed down too. |
| 3. Edna Crowder & Sadie are going to sing at Belhaven to-night. Pa is just going to hire men to work at the barn, and John Warrner is going to oversee. Say! will you have to board the men. I guess some body will have some work. We cooked for 16 nearly all last week. Well they tell me now it was an elm that blew across the field. It is just lovely out now. every thing seems so fresh. Saw Dora & Hattie to-day. Stella has been up this last week. left her old hubby by to keep batch. Hope you were successful in your base ball game. I guess I must ring off for this time. Just wait until I see you. and I guess I'll have enough to say. "eh" Love from your Sweetheart xxxxxxxxxx |
Genealogy Notes
The weather in Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States was horrid in 1911. Perhaps not the worst on record, but bad enough to have everyone talking about it... including an Aussie newspaper I've posted below. It seemed every time I turned a page in the June 16th edition The Newmarket Era reports of the tornado, electrical storms, damage and destruction were waiting. I've transcribed some of the more illegible ones.
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 - Page: 6
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 - Page: 6 (Under Belhaven)
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. Australia) Monday 12 June 1911 Page 7
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 - Page: 5
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 - Page: 7
| BELHAVEN. Mr. James Nelson has started at his wall and intends framing as soon as possible. The thunder-storm and the wind on Sunday night did a great deal of damage. The lightning struck Mr. Ezra King's barn, tearing off a few boards. The wind took some of Mr. John Brook's hen house coop off and broke the telephone wires. ... The Bethel people had a bee on Wednesday and fixed up the church. Since the storm, they need another. 
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 Pg 3
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 Pg 6
Great Electric Storm, About ten o'clock last Saturday morning thick clouds stretched across the heavens like a pall and the dark- ness of night settled down upon us, followed by a thunderstorm and a downpour of rain. Again on Satur- day night lightning was almost contin- uous and the most spectacular for many a day. Vivid forks descended, followed by crashing peals of thun- der and accompanied by more heavy rains. Farmers in Whitechurch tells us that they could see four fires burning at once and information since received, continues the report, Fred Ham- shaw's barn in Pickering Township, was burned to the ground, with prac- tically all the contents; Mr. Wagg, near Stouffville, lost his barn and other outbuildings; another barn was destroyed in Vaughan Township and one in King Tp. Jas. Stewart, a Scarboro farmer, had a mare and colt struck and instantly killed. During another storm on Sunday afternoon Wellington Curtis of Ket- tleby had a similar experience, los- ing a mare and colt, and another farmer in the same neighborhood had a cow killed by lightning. But the storm Sunday afternoon appears to have been more severe at Roache's Point and Orchard Beach. Capt. El- din says the storm on Lake Simcoe was the worst he ever knew. Five large boats were blown down on Dr. Westley's lot at the Point, nearly half of the pine trees in Mr. Edgar's grove were levelled, part of a veran- dah was torn off a cottage at the Point, about a hundred trees were blown down in the old Dodge deer park as well as a long stretch of the Idzh? cedar fence; a windmill was down and a barn nearby and a number of good trees were blown across the road way along the Orchard Beach shore. Mr. Porter's boat was at anchor in the bay and had some of the rigging torn off. Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Wat- kin was out in the storm and had an exciting experience, as well as Mr. G. A. Bills?, who went to the rescue. 
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 - Page: 6
Rev. Hugh Ross and Ross Milne es- caped serious injury Sunday by the falling of a wind mill at Richard Young's, caused by the wind storm. 
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 Pg 1
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 Pg 6
The Newmarket Era. June 16, 1911 - Page: 8
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