Canada 1847 Niagara letter - a little detective work
Apr 5, 2022 2:52:49 GMT
iswscwebmaster, Beryllium Guy, and 8 more like this
Post by jamesw on Apr 5, 2022 2:52:49 GMT
I haven't posted any postal history for a while, mainly because I haven't purchased any for a while. But I picked this folded letter up yesterday and have found it fascinating. If y'all don't mind I'd like to share my little journey with you ...so far.
I began posting this on a thread of Niagara Postal History I started a few years ago as its contents belonged there. That thread is dedicated to postal history from the Niagara region, an area in southern Ontario, between Lakes Ontario and Erie with the Niagara River on the east side. It's an area full of fruit growers, wine makers ... and history. I was born'd and raised in the area, so it's history of is interest to me. My family were United Empire Loyalists and settled there in the 1790s. Just a little background.
This folded letter I find quite interesting and have already started some research on the writer and recipient. I'm what's called a 'Social Postal Historian' in that I like to research the people who touched these pieces of paper all those years ago.
This letter was sent from Whitby, on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, to the town of Niagara (originally called Newark by Gov. John Graves Simcoe in the 1780s, now called Niagara-on-the-Lake) at the mouth of the Niagara River, in the south. It's postmarked in red on the front at Whitby UC on June 19, and also has a red PAID handstamp and script 7 in the upper right. There's a very faint black Toronto transit cancel and a red Niagara receiver cancel, dated June 21, on the back.
The paper is very thin, like tissue and delicate, so I've scanned the entire thing and put it into a sleeve to protect it.
The recipient is Mrs. John C. Ball in Niagara. She's in someplace called Plumb Valley, which I've never heard of, but am looking into it. I believe her name to be Margaret and her husband was John Clement Ball. They had three daughters, one of whom sent this from Springfield Cottage in Whitby.
The Balls were a prominent UEL family in Niagara - and there were a lot of them! I have letters to two others. And the trick here was that there were MANY John's. But with his middle initial, C, and looking at baptismal lists from St. Marks and St. Andrews Churches in Niagara (Ontario Historical Society) I found some possibilities. I then googled the names found there, and it led me to the genealogy site Geni. Though I can't decipher the signature on the letter, the writer (a daughter, as she writes 'My Dear Mother') mentions several times the name Isabella, the middle name of one of the three daughters ... according to ONE site.
And here's the problem. Much of this historical info on different sites will vary, so that's where the detective work comes in. Both websites agree on the names of two of the daughters, Amelia and Mary, as well as mom and dad. But the third daughter is different on the two sites. On the Geni site the third daughter is Margaret Maria. On the baptismal site the third daughter is Catharine Isabella. See where I'm going with this?
The information on the baptismal site was written verbatim from church records dating back to 1792 (the three girls were baptized together in 1830) whereas the genealogy site was put together by some lady in Alberta, possibly a distant relation, with no reference what so ever. So it may not be so reliable. The veracity of the Ontario Historical Society site with church records, and the repetition of the name Isabella, leads me to believe that I'm on the right track. But I will probably continue to search for a third site for confirmation.
That's where I am now with this. Not bad for one day. That sort of strong information doesn't always come so quickly.
I'm going to try to transcribe the letter. It contains a number of other names and information which may help with further research.
I know this post is long, but if this is of interest to everyone, let me know, and I can keep you up to date. I can also post images of the letter if you like.
Thanks for your patience. Happy stampin'!
I began posting this on a thread of Niagara Postal History I started a few years ago as its contents belonged there. That thread is dedicated to postal history from the Niagara region, an area in southern Ontario, between Lakes Ontario and Erie with the Niagara River on the east side. It's an area full of fruit growers, wine makers ... and history. I was born'd and raised in the area, so it's history of is interest to me. My family were United Empire Loyalists and settled there in the 1790s. Just a little background.
This folded letter I find quite interesting and have already started some research on the writer and recipient. I'm what's called a 'Social Postal Historian' in that I like to research the people who touched these pieces of paper all those years ago.
This letter was sent from Whitby, on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, to the town of Niagara (originally called Newark by Gov. John Graves Simcoe in the 1780s, now called Niagara-on-the-Lake) at the mouth of the Niagara River, in the south. It's postmarked in red on the front at Whitby UC on June 19, and also has a red PAID handstamp and script 7 in the upper right. There's a very faint black Toronto transit cancel and a red Niagara receiver cancel, dated June 21, on the back.
The paper is very thin, like tissue and delicate, so I've scanned the entire thing and put it into a sleeve to protect it.
The recipient is Mrs. John C. Ball in Niagara. She's in someplace called Plumb Valley, which I've never heard of, but am looking into it. I believe her name to be Margaret and her husband was John Clement Ball. They had three daughters, one of whom sent this from Springfield Cottage in Whitby.
The Balls were a prominent UEL family in Niagara - and there were a lot of them! I have letters to two others. And the trick here was that there were MANY John's. But with his middle initial, C, and looking at baptismal lists from St. Marks and St. Andrews Churches in Niagara (Ontario Historical Society) I found some possibilities. I then googled the names found there, and it led me to the genealogy site Geni. Though I can't decipher the signature on the letter, the writer (a daughter, as she writes 'My Dear Mother') mentions several times the name Isabella, the middle name of one of the three daughters ... according to ONE site.
And here's the problem. Much of this historical info on different sites will vary, so that's where the detective work comes in. Both websites agree on the names of two of the daughters, Amelia and Mary, as well as mom and dad. But the third daughter is different on the two sites. On the Geni site the third daughter is Margaret Maria. On the baptismal site the third daughter is Catharine Isabella. See where I'm going with this?
The information on the baptismal site was written verbatim from church records dating back to 1792 (the three girls were baptized together in 1830) whereas the genealogy site was put together by some lady in Alberta, possibly a distant relation, with no reference what so ever. So it may not be so reliable. The veracity of the Ontario Historical Society site with church records, and the repetition of the name Isabella, leads me to believe that I'm on the right track. But I will probably continue to search for a third site for confirmation.
That's where I am now with this. Not bad for one day. That sort of strong information doesn't always come so quickly.
I'm going to try to transcribe the letter. It contains a number of other names and information which may help with further research.
I know this post is long, but if this is of interest to everyone, let me know, and I can keep you up to date. I can also post images of the letter if you like.
Thanks for your patience. Happy stampin'!
