Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2012 June 27

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June 27

Ehler, Iowa

There are several buildings on our farm from an old railroad town that was located roughly halfway between Ryan and Coggon, Iowa called Ehler. However, I'm having trouble finding anything out about its history - when it started - how big the site was - when, and why it disbanded, etc? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.18.141.34 (talk) 15:28, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

You might have luck talking to someone in the county's records department. The reference desk at your local library might also be more helpful than this one because it is a pretty specific and local question. 209.131.76.183 (talk) 16:06, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

Here's a bit from History of Delaware County, Iowa, and Its People (1914), p. 294:

The Village of Ehler was laid out on the southwest part of section 26 [of Adams Township], and is a small station on the Illinois Central Railroad. General stores are supported by a good trade from the rich country surrounding it. The place was named in honor of Henry Ehlers, who located near by in the spring of 1855. A postoffice was established August 9, 1888, and F. P. Ryan commissioned postmaster on the same date. His successors were: James Henderson, March 20, 1891; Alexander McDonald. May 21, 1902; William H. Ehlers, September 7, 1906; N. F. Patton, October 4, 1907.

—Deor (talk) 18:45, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

And that the railroad station is marked on this 1954 map of land ownership (zoom in on the lower right area) suggests that it still existed at that time. It doesn't look as though there was much of a setllement, if any at all, associated with the station then, though. Deor (talk) 20:29, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

Bengali hindu surnames based on varna

In Bengali culture, I learned that Bannerjee, Chatterjee, and Mukherjee are brahmins. so, which surnames are kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.29.33.82 (talk) 15:59, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia doesn't seem to have categorized Bengali names or communities that way, but while waiting for a better answer you can explore the category Bengali-language surnames. 174.88.8.197 (talk) 21:14, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia will never have such articles, due to the inflammatory nature of caste and social group, due to the poor reliable reporting of caste and social group, and due to the massive BLP problems involved in subsuming people's caste under their surname. Wikipedia may eventually have a limited pool of surnames of India, which use scholarly reliable sources to link surnames to caste or group tendency, but this is unlikely to happen quickly given the fact that many editors use caste or group to disrupt the encyclopaedic project and to attempt to heap abuse on others. This is a warning to users of the reference desk that this topic is covered under general discretionary sanctions made by the community covering all discussion of caste and group broadly construed in relation to India and related societies. Fifelfoo (talk) 01:46, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

And who are you? Our Big Brother? --Eingangskontrolle (talk) 18:40, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

We have things like Template:Gotras of Jats... -- AnonMoos (talk) 12:43, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

Chattra Union in Bangladesh

Hi,

I can find almost no information on the Chattra Union; is it the student wing of a major political party, or a distinct political party?

Thanks. Apokrif (talk) 17:32, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

Is it the same as the Revolutionary Students Unity of Bangladesh? Google directs me to the spelling Chhatra, so you might try searching for that. Rojomoke (talk) 21:59, 27 June 2012 (UTC)