Letter of Nelson A. and Jennie Jesmer’s life-by Jessie Johnson (his Daughter-in-law)
Letter of Nelson A. and Jennie Jesmer’s life-by Jessie Johnson (his Daughter-in-law)
by Jessie Jesmer (Johnson)
Return to Nelson A. Jesmer’s page
Nelson A. Jesmer, his wife Genevieve and three children, Ida, Carl and Harvey came to the Quill City area in the spring of 1904. They traveled by a yoke of oxen and wagon from Sheho, the end of the steel. There was no town or post office in the area. At that time it was unknown where the rail would be laid or when. The land here had just been opened for homesteading a year earlier, but already most of the homesteads were filed on. Mr. Child showed them a quarter that was available in what became Harrow area, but Nelson discovered that S.E. of 22-34-14 W2nd was open and filed on it. The nearest land office was Humboldt.
The family spent the summer in a tent and put up some hay. The wild hay was thick and so tall it brushed the bottom of the wagon box. In August it turned cold and there was a bad wind storm. The tent blew down and a great deal of snow fell. The family spent two days lying under the canvas of the fallen tent, under the snow. They ate raw oatmeal.
They returned to Sheho for the winter. The G. Clarksons and Aspenalls and their children wintered with them.
The spring was very early and dry. When the family returned, a fire had swept the area and burned the hay, but the hay-rack left behind the year before, was intact. Everywhere in the blackened ground, white buffalo bones were to be seen.
Nelson and his wife were both very well educated. Genevieve had been a nun. Nelson had been private-school educated and spoke seven languages. He wrote in English, French and German. His parents (Actually his uncle Nelson E. Jesmer- Kevin Jesmer) owned a chain of stores centered in Princeton. As the sons got through school they were sent out to take over stores in outlying areas. However, good Catholics did not marry nuns in those days and Nelson was disowned by the church and his own relatives.
Nelson was a friend of Wilfred Laurier and traveled with him to Humboldt campaigning. He translated either French or English into German for him.
Motherwell,Saskatchewan’s first Premier, was also a friend of the Jesmers and visited in their home. He liked Genevieve’s pancakes.
Nelson had a finger in every pie cooked in the area: school, municipal council, Provincial and Federal elections, hospital board, telephone, agricultural society; Nelson was in it and contributing generously. He organized and bought shares in the local creamery, he owned one of the first hotels in Wadena, the first picture show, the first garage. His gray Dort Car was one of the first in Wadena. He was a magistrate and often brought home boys who were in difficulty and kept them on the farm under his supervision. He formed a syndicate to buy a Belgian stallion and had it shipped over fromFrance. The animal died on the way. The share holders all backed out leaving Nelson to pick up the tab of over $5,000. Nelson was involved in an election campaign and when the candidate he was backing won, it was found the ballot boxes had been stuffed with illegal ballots. The elected member went off to jail and the Nelson again picked up the tab, in this case the would-be member forfeited election deposit.
He made money easily and rapidly and spent it just as fast. He built a very large home on the farm, with six large bedrooms with walk-in closets, huge rooms with twelve foot ceilings, back and front stairs, a big basement. However he did not get the furnace installed. A fortune teller had told Genevieve that she would burn to death in a big house by a large sheet of water. Several other things he told her came true so she flatly refused the furnace and never went to bed until every fire in the house had gone out.
As long as Nelson remained alive he declared he was seventy-eight years old. Everyone else in the family, wife and children grew older, but Nelson remained seventy eight. When he died his records proclaimed him to be ninety two. He must have served on the municipal council and school board when he was ninety. He died on New Year’s Day 1937. (actually 12/26/1937 – Kevin Jesmer) He was not always truthful. His sons Carl and Harvey continued to farm the area, Harvey in the Paswegin area and Carl in Quill City. Carl’s two son’s Howard and David still farm in Quill City. Ida married William Morton, an operator for the CNR.
Picture #1 N.A. Jesmer house built in Quill City
Picture #2 Jesmer’s spring roundup.
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