Talk:Jamestown, Elkhart County, Indiana

Davis/Davies

I think we have to rely on the university-press-published book for now regarding the fellow's name; the "Davies" form depends, as far as I can see, on a single amateur historian. The only thing at the Find a Grave page (and see WP:FINDAGRAVE-EL) that suggests that their "James Davies", with a grave in Oregon, is the same as the founder of the Indiana town is the photo, which was added by the author of the book that uses the photo on the cover and which is the purported source (with only a page advertising it for a reference) of the spelling Davies. It all depends on the reliability of the self-published book by Carl Bradley (Brad) Wright, which has yet to be demonstrated. Deor (talk) 18:10, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

@Deor: Well, we can look at the surrounding context, such as the actual date of death on the gravestone, and cross-reference it with records from ancestry.com (yes, I am aware of WP:ANCESTRY but see WP:PRIMARY) and other sources - though this idea seems to be bordering on WP:SYNTH so I'll avoid it if possible. I would also like to note I am in contact, as a VRT agent, with someone with relevant primary sources. I have a source (scan) but I'm just waiting back to hear about the relevant metadata (i.e. author, date) information about these sources. In this scenario, I would actually state that primary sources would be better and preferential, as secondary sources are more likely to have been fudged up with time. From what I can tell from one of the sources, there were both the surnames "Davies" and "Davis" in use in the family which may have confused some secondary source' writers. I'll let you know how progress goes with the ticket. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - _uselesscontributions} 19:59, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

OK, Matrix. What bothers me is that an IP, whom I presume to be Carl Bradley Wright himself, has been changing the spelling of the name and attempting to link to the advertisement of his book for more than three years. This could just be a person unfamiliar with WP rules and guidelines—including the one against altering sourced information without providing a better source—but it has certainly made me suspicious. As far as I know, I'm unable to see the VRT ticket for myself, so I'll depend on you to evaluate the possible sources. (I still, however, think that actually citing the "relevant primary sources" would be preferable to using a link to Find a Grave and one to the advertisement for Wright's self-published book, as you did in your efn.) Deor (talk) 20:44, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

Just noting that the IP's most recent attempt to change the name (after this discussion began) once again falsified the quotation from the Baker source. Deor (talk) 15:30, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

About your last sentence, absolutely - I would not have left it in that condition. I did so under the assumption these primary sources would be sent in a bit, but I am yet awaiting response. Also check your email. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - _uselesscontributions} 17:20, 10 June 2024 (UTC)

Unfortunately, something amiss with my computer is preventing me from recieving e-mails at the moment. If you have have anything to say that can't be said on-WP, it will have to wait, I guess. Deor (talk) 17:30, 10 June 2024 (UTC)