Anita Mae Draper
  • Home
  • Books
    • Secret Admirer
    • American Heiress Brides
    • Austen in Austin
    • Here We Come A-Wassailing
    • Riding on a Christmas Wish
  • Blogs
    • Writing/Author Blog
    • Author Memories
    • Inkwell Inspirations
    • Heroes, Heroines, & History
    • Draper's Acres
    • Photo Blog
  • Research
    • The Oregon Trail Ruts
  • Fun
    • Text-Free Photos
    • Recipe Blog
    • Jigsaw Puzzles >
      • Christmas
      • Fauna
      • Flora
      • Travel Destinations
    • Free Reads >
      • The Shepherd
    • Poetry >
      • You Were By My Side
  • About Me
    • Long Bio
    • Media Kit
  • Contact

Sep 1912: Letter from George Draper

5/25/2014

 
Picture
The Adams, SK house that Noah Draper built for Ethel Nelson in 1911 prior to their 1912 marriage. Photos courtesy of the Norma Draper Family Photograph Collection.
Picture
The Draper's house at Adam's, SK after enclosing the veranda in screens. Noah and Ethel's album says the front windows were blown out in the 1912 Regina cyclone.
In this week's letter, Noah's cousin George Draper comments that Noah probably witnessed the Storm from his place at Adams, SK.  Although Ethel didn't mention it in her post card in last week's post about the June 1912: Regina's F4 Cyclone, they may have spotted something because the distance along the track from the C.N.R. station in Regina to the siding in Adams is an official distance of 13 miles (20 km).


Author of Letter:  George Draper
Dated:  Sept 15th, 1912
Addressed to: Mr Noah Draper, Grand Coulee
Mailed  from:  Keswick (North Gwillimbury Twp, York County, Ontario)
Relationship: Paternal 1st cousin of Noah Draper
Profession:  Farmer
Writing  instrument: Blue-Black ink 
Written on: Textured ivory-colored notepaper 5" x 8", 2 pages written on the front only.


People/places mentioned in this letter:

- *Noah Draper, age 23 (Newlywed, moved west in 1905)
- *Ethel Nelson, age 21 (Newlywed, moved west Feb 1912 upon her marriage)
- *Stewart Draper - George's brother near Indian Head, SK
- *Joe Perrault - married to Noah's sister, *Eva Amelia, and
living near Grand Coulee
- *Will Rigler - married to Noah's sister, *Ethel Maud and living near Grand Coulee
- Aunty - Noah's mom, *Sarah Sophia Deverell Draper
- *Edith & *Frank - George's sister, Edith who married Frank *Kavanagh


Places/things mentioned in this letter or in the Genealogy Notes:
- the storm - the 1912 Regina F4 cyclone I blogged about last week
- a man engaged - the hired man



Cliches/Phrases
- cuz - George signs the letter "your Cuz, Geo Draper"


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



Picture
Keswick  Sept 15th 1912

Mr. Noah Draper
                        Grand Coulee
Dear Noah.
                     Pretty near time I answered
your Card July 12th. was glad to
hear from you  My was'nt that
Cyclone desperate  Suppose you could
see the Storm from your place.  It
would certainly look fierce  Stewart said
He went & saw the ruins and is
going to send me some pictures of it
I got a letter from him on the 9th Sept
has all his wheat cut & oats
without Frost or Hail  pretty Lucky  I hope
you escaped the same  was your
crops pretty Good this year. It dont
seem long ago. since Iwas up 
there with you. driveing around
through the wheat.  How is Aunty

Picture
2
I hope She is well.  is She liveing
with you or Ethel Rigler
we are not through Harvest yet Barley
to Draw yet & some Peas to cut. & Draw
Pretty slow In Ont, Eh. But In order to have
a crack shot He has to come from
North Gwillimbury and show Noah how to
tumble the Ducks.  no doubt you have 
said to your self many times | if I
could only shoot like | George Draper |
I would give a good deal | But you
may learn after a long time.  of
course I showed you quite a Bit.
I am going up at the Head of the Baye
Tomorrow to shoot a few Doz Ducks
Come along Noah and I will give you
another Lesson  It is raining to
Beat the Devil to Day we have had a
Desperate lot of Rain this Summer.
Come East this Winter and we will do
nothing but Fish I have a Man Engaged
for the Winter & I am going to Fish
everyDay  Come along  I know Ethel
would like to come Home  guess Edith
& Frank are comeing for the Winter
write me Noah soon  With kind Regards
   to all In your Home   your Cuz GeoDraper


Genealogy Notes

George Milburn Draper has been mentioned several times in Noah & Ethel's 1911 Courtship letters - most recently Feb 1912: Letter from Noah's Cousin, Edith Draper. 

On Sep 23rd, 1908 George, 28 yrs old, bachelor farmer, married Eliza Alberta Hamilton, 23 yrs old, Spinster, daughter of David Hamilton & Priscilla Stevenson. George and Eliza both reside in North Gwillimbury, and both attend the Christian church. 

The 1911 census finds George and Eliza living on the Draper Homestead near Keswick in the house where he'd been born, where his father Stephen Draper had been born, and where his grandfather Joel Draper Jr had worked the crown-deeded virgin uncleared land when York County was first being settled. 

(Joel Draper Sr is my husband Nelson Clement Draper's 3rd great grandfather born 1789 in Boston, Mass)

Picture
1911 Canada census showing George and Eliza living on the Draper homestead along with his parents, Stephen Draper and Martha Barnhart, and his unmarried sister, Edith.
I'm not sure where George's oldest brother, Charles J, is in 1911, but he'll eventually take over the family farm while the rest of the siblings headed west, returning to Ontario to spend the winters with family and friends. 

In this letter, George mentions driving through the wheat fields with Noah and although he doesn't give a date, we can surmise he's talking about the trip he took west during the summer of 1911, partly because of this clipping:

Picture
The Newmarket Era. August 18, 1911 - pg. 6
George also mentions the 1912 Regina cyclone in his letter, and how he's waiting for pictures from his brother Stewart, who's renting a farm at Indian Head, east of Regina. I don't have Stewart's photos, but if you haven't looked yet, check out last week's post for images of the ruins.

1913 finds George heading west on a business trip. Perhaps the trip was to buy land?
Picture
The Newmarket Era. October 3, 1913 - pg. 6
I only make that assumption because a mere 4 months later, George and Eliza are preparing to move to Wolfe, Saskatchewan.

Picture
The Newmarket Era. February 13, 1914
By the time the special 1916 Western Canada census rolled around, George's sister, Almeda and her husband, James Edward Baker  and their 2 children, Milburn and Ruby, had joined George and Eliza on their quarter section of land at Wolfe, RM of Reford, Saskatchewan.

It isn't until 1919 where we find the first mention of a child born to George and Eliza and that's thanks again to the newspaper back in York County:

Picture
The Newmarket Era. December 12, 1919 - pg. 2
George and Eliza named their son, Ernest David and there is no record of any siblings for him. I spent hours searching for Ernest.  Thanks to the Sask Genealogical Society, I found obits for an Ernest and Lillian Draper who retired from farming in the same area and moved to North Battleford. Every matched ... until I realized it couldn't be George's son because this Ernest was born in the late 1800's in Wisconsin and not 1919 in Saskatchewan. What a letdown.

George, Eliza, and Ernest show up on the 1921 Canada census and I have newspapaper clippings of them for a few years after that, but then they fall off the radar. A very brief - too brief and sketchy - description is given in the Landis Record history Book, where it shows them renting the land and moving back to Ontario until 1950, and then spending the summers at Wolfe, and the winters in York County. 

There's hope though because I still have Noah's WW1 letters to post and although we know where George and Eliza are during the war, I still have several years of Ethel's diaries from the 1940-50's left to go as well as a batch of letters which I glanced at but not made notes for. Hopefully somewhere in there is a clue to their whereabouts. 

Of course, if you have any information about this family - pictures would be lovely - please help us fill in the blanks:
  • George Milburn Draper
  • Eliza (Elizabeth) Alberta Hamilton
  • Ernest David Draper

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Recent Posts

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Genealogy Posts Index

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    February 2019
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    November 2015
    April 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    19th Century
    19th Century
    20th Century
    20th Century
    21st Century
    Abingdon Press
    Adams
    Africa
    Africans
    Agriculture
    Alberta
    Albert Rogers
    Alcohol
    Alice
    Ancestry.ca/com
    Ancestry.ca/com
    Anniversary
    Antique
    Antique Photograph
    Antique Photographs
    Arnold
    Auction Sale
    Aunt
    Aurora
    Australia
    Banff
    Barbour Books
    Barker
    Barn
    Barnhart
    Baseball
    Beechnuts
    Belhaven
    Belhaven School
    Belle Plaine
    Bellhaven Choir
    Bennett
    Bertha Hamilton
    Bethany House
    Bible
    Birkenhead
    Birthday
    Birth Records
    Blessing
    Blizzard
    Book
    Books
    Box Social
    Brandon
    Brighton Beach
    Brooch
    Brooks
    Brother
    Bruels/breuls
    Buggy
    Burks Falls
    Canada
    Canadian War Museum
    Car/streetcar
    C Deverell
    Cecil Prosser
    Censored
    Census Records
    Census Records
    Certificate
    Chapman
    Charisma House
    Charivari
    Chatham
    Childhood
    Children
    Christie Nelson
    Christmas
    Church
    Circus
    Civil War
    Cliche Or Phrase
    CNR
    Cole
    Connecticut
    Consumption
    Coronation
    Courtship
    Cousin
    Coventry
    Cowieson
    Cozy Mystery
    CPR
    Crafts
    Croquet
    Crossway Books
    Croutch/Crouch
    Crowder
    Cyclone/tornado
    Dafoe
    Daily Routine
    Dales
    David Draper
    Davidson
    Davidsons3828f1982c
    Depression
    Destruction
    Deverell
    Deverell In Toronto
    Diphtheria
    Discala
    Disease
    Ditty Box
    Document
    Dora
    Draper
    Dry Dock
    Easter
    Eatonaposs30973d10cc
    Eatonscf75de7cf3
    Edith Draper
    Edithedyth Draper7f425b64a8
    Education
    Ella
    Elva & Wm Mitchell
    Emanuel Nelson
    Emmanuel Nelson
    England
    Entrance Exam
    Ernie Glover
    Ernie Winter
    Ethel Marie
    Ethel Maud
    Ethel Nelson
    Europe
    Eva Amelia Perrault
    Even Before Publishing
    Excursion
    Exhibition
    Fabric
    Fair
    Fanny Joes Niece
    Farm
    Farm Equipment
    Farm Equipment
    Fashion
    Father
    Fauna
    Fern
    Ferry
    Finland
    Fire
    Fire Insurance
    Flag
    Flewell
    Florida
    Food
    Foresters
    Fort Battleford
    Fountain Pen
    Fox Island
    France
    Fred Coventry
    Fred Coventry
    Fruit Cake
    Fundraiser
    Genealogy
    Generations
    Geoff Bowerman
    George Caleb Nelson
    George Metcalf
    George Milburn Draper
    Geraldton
    Ghosts
    Glover
    Google Earth
    Grainery
    Grand Coulee
    Grand Coulee
    Grandparents
    Graveyard
    Great Grandparents
    Great Great Grandparents
    Great Lakes
    Great Lakes Romances
    Great Parents
    Greenwood
    Guns
    Hail Insurance
    Halifax
    Hamilton
    Harlequin
    Harvest
    Hearst
    Henry Nelson
    Herbert
    Hired Girl
    Hired Man
    Historical
    Historicals
    History
    HMCS Niobe
    HMS Achilles
    HMS Bacchante
    HMS Pembroke
    Holiday
    Holland Landing
    Hollywood
    Holt
    Homestead
    Horses
    Hot Springs
    House
    Housework
    Hunting
    Huntley
    Huntsville
    Hustle
    Hymn
    Ice Harvest
    Ida Amelia Glover
    India
    Indian Head
    Industry
    Ink & Inkwell
    Insurance
    Iowa Relatives
    Ireland
    Irwin Or Erwin Perrault
    Jacksons Point
    James A
    James H Nelson
    JD (James David)
    Jennie Draper
    Joe Perrault
    Kavanagh
    Kellington
    Kelowna
    Kentucky
    Keswick
    Kidnapping
    Kids
    King
    King George V
    Kings
    Kit
    Lake Superior
    Lanigan Dist Ha
    Laundry
    Lennox
    Lepard
    Leslie Nelson
    Leslie Thomson
    Letter
    Life Insurance
    Lighthouse
    Linstead
    Little Willie
    Liverpool
    Location
    London
    Longlac
    Louie
    Louie Sarah Louisa
    Louie Sarah Louisa39defa3554
    Louisiana
    Love Inspired
    Love Inspired Historical
    Love Inspired Suspense
    Lyceum
    Mabel-winter
    Mahoney
    Mail
    Maine
    Man
    Manfredmanford
    Manitoba
    Mann
    Map
    Margaret Glover
    Marguerite
    Markham
    Marriage Record
    Mary Smith
    Massachusetts
    Matt Or Matte
    Maud Bruels
    Medieval
    Memoirs
    Memorabilia
    Memorial
    Merlin/Murland
    Methodist
    Midge (Mildred)
    Military
    Ministry
    Miss Hunt
    Mitchell
    Money
    Montana
    Moody Publishers
    Moose Jaw
    Morrison
    Mortgage
    Morton
    Morton Park
    Mother
    Mothers Day
    Mount Albert
    Mr Brooks
    Mr Young
    Music
    Muskoka
    Navy
    Nelson
    New Daly House
    New England
    Newlywed
    Newmarket
    New Orleans
    Newspaper
    Niobe
    Noah
    Noah Draper
    Norma Draper
    Norman Draper
    Norman Yorke
    North Bay
    North Dakota
    North York
    Oak Tara Publishers
    Ohio
    Olympic
    Ontario
    Orillia
    Ourroots.ca
    Owen Sound
    Parthena Fisher
    Party
    Patty
    Pembroke
    Pense
    Percy
    Percy Draper
    Percy Draper
    Pets
    Phillips
    Photograph
    Photography
    Pie Social
    Playhouse
    Politics
    Pollack
    Pollock
    Portage Flyer
    Postcard
    Poster
    Post Office
    Poverty
    Prairies
    Prince Albert
    Prohibition
    Prosser
    Queen Mary
    Queensville
    Quincy/quinsy
    Railroad/railway
    Ravenshoe
    RCNVR
    Realms
    Recipes
    Reciprocity
    Regina
    Remembrance Day
    Reuben Perrault
    Rheumatism
    Rigler
    River Mersey
    River Thames
    RNCVR
    Rochester
    Rodeo
    Rose
    Royalty
    Roys
    RPPC
    Ryland
    Sadiesayde Nelson
    Sarah E Greenwood
    Sarah Elizabeth Glover
    Sarah Louisa Louie
    Sarah Louisa (Louie)
    Sarah Louisa (Louie)
    Sarah S Deverell
    Sarah Sophia Deverell
    Saskatchewan
    Scent
    School
    Scotland
    Sedore
    Seeding
    Seneca
    Sentry Duty
    Series
    Sharon
    Sheppard
    Ship
    Shivaree
    Singing
    Sintaluta
    Sister
    Sk
    Sleighs
    Slideshow
    Snow
    Soldier
    Song
    Soules
    Speech
    Sprague
    Stamp
    Stephen Draper
    Stewart Draper
    Stockings
    Stoker
    Store
    Summerside Press
    Suspense
    Sutton
    Sweet
    Taimi Discala
    Tarter
    Teacher
    Terry
    Texas
    Thames River
    The Waltons
    Thomas Nelson
    Thunder Bay
    Tobacco
    Togo
    Tomlinson
    Tornado
    Toronto
    Toys
    Train
    Transportation
    Travel
    Traviss
    Tubercolosis
    Tyndale
    Udora
    Uncle
    Uncle Emanuel
    Uncle Frank
    Uncle John
    Uniform
    Update
    USA
    Vaudeville
    Veda Perrault
    Victoria Maud
    Video
    Vintage
    Viola
    Violet
    Wages
    Wagon
    Wardell
    Washing Machine
    Wass
    Wawa
    Weapons
    Weather
    Wedding
    Well Water
    West
    Western
    Westgarth
    Whitaker House
    Whitefire Publishing
    White Rose Publishing
    Whooping Cough
    Willie Sedore
    Willoughby
    Will Rigler
    Winch
    Winnipeg
    Winter
    Women
    Woodblock Print
    Word
    Work Bee
    World War 1
    World War 2
    WW1
    YMCA/YWCA
    York County
    York/yorke
    York/yorke
    Zenuk


Created on Weebly  - Copyright Anita Mae Draper 2011-2022