Nellie Agar 1896- 1968

1896, Nellie Frances Agar was born to parents Robert Francis Agar & Mary Ellen Ellerby on 19/6/1896 in Con 10, Lot 10, Vaughan, York County - Ancestry. In Nashville Ontario - Murray . Nashville ~ 8 k W of Vaughan. Vaughan ~ 30 k N of centre of Toronto

1901CC . Robert Agar 39, b.4/7/1861, farmer, methodist, Mary 41, b. 13/9/1859, Edwin 15, Maria 13, Frank 12, Norman 10, Ethel 8, Nellie 5, b. 19/6/1895, Elmer 2 are living in Vaughan, York West, Ontario. Likely a mistake on her year of birth

nellie-agar

Robert Agar, his wife Mary Ellen and 8 children in 1907.

From left, back row: AnnieAlmina, Charles Franklin, John Edgar, Norman Lester : front row Robert, Mary Ethel, Nellie Frances, Mary Ellen: Robert Elmer

1901-1911. Likely ~1909 the family move from Ontario to Alberta . Apparently Nellie didnot like the move and resolved to one day return to Ontario

1911CC. Nellie Frances Agar, 14, is living Red Deer, Alberta with her parents Robert, 49, farmer, Mary Ellen 50, Annie Alewine 23, Charles Franklin 22, Norman Leska 20, Mary Ethel 18, & Robert Elma 13.

1914. Nellie Frances Agar marries E Forest Hesp on 23/6/1914 Where? - presumably in Red Deer, Alberta

1921C. . Forrest Hesp, 28, farmer, methodist, is living in Bow River, Alberta with his wife Nellie 25, and 4 children, Violet 5, Edith 4, Emily 3 & Hilda/Nelda? 1, all born Alberta Ancestry . The 1st 2 children were born Coronation, the next 2 Strathmore, both in Alberta

1922. David Forest Robert Hesp was born in Strathmore to Forest & Nellie- Nellie's father was a Robert and Forest's grandfather was a David

1923. The family moved to Throne

Forest & Nellie had 12 children in all . More photos there

They also had sons David 1922, John, Stanley, Kenneth, Harry ~1936 , and Wesley, & daughters Helen & Estelle - this gleaned from the following obituaries

More details of her life on her husband's page. Also more photos

1968. Nellie Hesp died 7/3/1968. - how do I know this- is it correct ??

The booklet   “Beginnings” was put together by Aunt Estelle 1917 and Aunt Violet 1915 from notes written by Grandma (Nellie Agar/Hesp). Carol/Laura has a copy of this and Barbara, daughter of Nelda Hesp 1920 has all the diaries of Nellie Agar/Hesp .  

Forest Hesp lived in the Strathmore area, Nellie lived in town where Emily, Nelda and David were born.  Forest dug irrigation ditches by hand, opening them up to let water in and closing them up to stop the water. He would live during the week with the farmer for whom he was working.  He worked for a farmer who did not pay him a cent for all his hard labour  as a farm hand for the year of 1921.  Nellie was pregnant with David, had 4 little girls, no money and needed a place to live.  She was charming, talkative and desperate.  She persuaded the hotel manager in the town of Strathmore to let the family live in a small “apartment” on the upper floor of the hotel for free over the winter.  David was born February 13, 1922.  That spring  (1922) Nellie with 4 little girls and a baby boy (all on her own) took the train back to Throne where Forest had a homestead and near where her parents, Mary Ellen and Robert Agar lived on a larger more prosperous farm.  While in Strathmore when Emily and Nelda were babies, Nellie started the first library in Strathmore.  She charged people so much to borrow a book and then used that money to buy books and set up her living room to hold all the books.  She always had an angle of how to make some money in order to accomplish her purpose.  There were always lots and lots of books in whatever little place they lived.  I have a picture of the house where Nelda was born January 28, 1920 (it was on main street).

Forest and Nellie moved back to Ontario because Nellie decided- back in 1909 when she was 13- that one day she would move back to Ontario.  She did not want to move to Alberta with her parents.  She had a choice she could live with her Aunt Annie and her husband who was a Methodist minister or go to Alberta with Mary Ellen and Robert Agar.  Her parents were strict but her Aunt and her husband would probably have been stricter.  Forest would probably have stayed in Alberta.  He returned to Alberta after Nellie died March 8, 1968.  Nellie and Forest moved back to Ontario in 1954 from Edmonton, Alberta.  Forest was a horse buyer for Red Top foods (pet food) when Nellie and Forest lived in Edmonton.  They moved to Edmonton in about 1945 or 1946 (Aunt Beverly would know the year).  When they left Throne times were very hard.  They had no money.  They had a farm auction of their equipment, animals, etc.  and some person with the municipality took all the money they made from their sale for back taxes for the homestead land.  It was after the time of the “dirty thirties”  drought, crop failures, no money.  People could not pay their taxes.  Food from Ontario was sent west to feed people.  

Mary Ellen Agar died in 1942 and Robert Agar sometime after that (I would have to pull out my Agar family tree)-1953. They  had money.  Mary Ellen had her own bank account, her own homestead 1/4 of land over 100 years ago.  They believed in equality for women.  When they died they left money to their 6 children and with that inheritance Nellie was able to buy a house in Edmonton.  She then rented out every square inch of extra space to boarders, renters whatever to make money and Forest went to work at a salaried job.  She bought more houses, painted them, fixed them up and flipped them.  She made the money in the family.  She had made enough money by 1954 to buy a brand new car, holiday trailer and off they moved to Ontario.  They lived at 37 Thorndale Ave., St. Catharines, Ontario.  I have a letter Nellie wrote describing that house.

Unfortunately, Barbara and her relations around Calgary in the summer of 2015, decided that I was a 'crook'and wanted nothing to do with this project: so O will never know what else the diaries contain- lastima!. Emily's two remaing siblings, lokewise, shared the same opinion

 

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