Notables October 2020

Question

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

If you are interested in people who are famous, notable, noted, significant, important, historic, heroic, or otherwise fascinating, then the Notables Project might be for you! 

The idea behind this post is for anyone who needs help with connecting Notables to the tree to post to this thread and ask for help, or if you want to tell us whom you have successfully connected up, or if you want to join the Notables Project and get a badge.

Besides checking out the Notables Project page, don't forget to take a look at the Notables List page, where you can find lists of Notables who have profiles which aren't yet connected to the main tree. (For ideas on way to connect unconnected people and branches, see the Hints and Tips on the Connectors Chat page.)

Please remember to concentrate on those Notables who have already passed (died), so that we can see their profiles. If you create a profile for a living Notable, that profile WILL GO UNLISTED and no one can see it except for the PM and anyone on the trusted list!

And remember - Notables should have a Wikipedia page at the very least to qualify. But an entry in the country's NATIONAL Whose Who or a NATIONAL Biography  is acceptable as well. And they should be DEAD!

Comments

Not a recent October Notable (33 years deceased), but I only added him yesterday.  Am posting here, on the recommendation of Greg Slade, in the hope that someone can help fill out his family, and - hopefully -  get him Connected some day.

Eugene Ricardo "Gene" Rodgers Jr - an absolutely extraordinary Jazz pianist.  (I was blown away.)

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It is on my list to add his father (a Sr.) when time allows.

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Parents are added.  Not having had much luck with Blanche (mother) prior to her marrying Eugene senior, I am working on siblings.

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I just added a new notable and thought I should add to this thread even though it is from the 1800's, so that someone is aware and can assist with the profile.

Evans-33475 - Dr. Thomas Wiltberger Evans was a notable dentist from Pennsylvannia who had many accomplisments including who treating Napoleon III.

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here is address ...

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1131084/notables-november-2020

Answer 1

Sorry this is late. I can't believe that I forgot!!

Answer 2

This is a shocker!!

Eddie Van Halen died today!!

He had throat cancer. He was just 65 years old!!

My condolences go out to his ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli and their son Wolfgang!!

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Van_Halen-3

Comments

Yes, I seen that and it brought a tear.... he was one of the greats of guitar.

Answer 3

Singer Johnny Nash died yesterday @80. He was best known for his 1972 hit "I Can See Clearly Now".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Nash

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Nash-8754

Answer 4

Baseball great Whitey Ford passed away on 8 October at the age of 91. He was a well-known player for the New York Yankees, won a number of awards, and was known by the nickname "The Chairman of the Board" for his calm demeanor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitey_Ford

As far as I can tell, he does not have a current WikiTree profile.

Comments

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ford-15805

I started a profile for Whitey Ford ... however help is appreciated. I have outlined his Irish heritage given on EthniCelebs ... but I don't have access to Irish sources to fill out his ancestors.

Also there is another angle to work on ... verifying his LAST NAME AT BIRTH. There are a few ancestry.com trees that give his orgiinal surname as Paulke. I still have to check the sources provided thoroughly, but perhaps his mother remarried.

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I have confirmed that the wrong parents for Whitey Ford have been cited on EthniCelebs and maybe other places.

Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford was born on 21 Oct 1928.

But Edward Ford and Carrie (Ormsby) Ford were the parents of Edward George Ford, born 06 Mar 1927

I am working on correcting the related profiles.

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Good work on him - funny how an urban legend like "believed" parents like that just go on and on until someone does the research. Glad you're on the case!

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I see Geni has him as the son of Edwin Charles Paulke and Edith Christina Josefina Johnson. Not sure where their source is, but it's worth investigating further.

https://www.geni.com/people/Edward-Ford/6000000155337249823

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Well, the father I noted was her ex-husband. Whitey's father was James Joseph Ford. According to them... the source appears to be an excerpt from a biography.

• “Whitey Ford” by C. Paul Rogers III. “Edward Charles “Whitey” Ford was born in New York City on October 21, 1928. He was the only child of Jim and Edna Ford, who lived on 66th Street in Manhattan. When Whitey was 5, the family moved to 34th Avenue in Astoria, Queens, an Irish, Polish, and Italian neighborhood. His father worked for Consolidated Edison and his mother as a bookkeeper for a local A&P grocery store. Later, after Whitey was pitching professionally, his father and a friend purchased and ran the Ivy Room, a bar in Astoria.4 ... Ford’s father played semipro baseball for the Con Ed team, but there were athletic genes from his mother’s side as well as two of her brothers played semipro baseball in Astoria.

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I am a bit concerned that they note his father's birth year as 1917, which would have meant he was 10-11 years old when they conceived Whitey... not completely impossible, but VERY unlikely. It still seems that something is a bit off.

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Edith "Edna"'s parents appear to be from Sweden. She had a couple of brothers. I suppose if we can't find much on the father, we can at least explore the brothers.

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I'm starting to wonder... Edith/Edna was married to Erwin Paulke from at least 20 June 1928 through the 1930 Census. They had a son, Erwin Paulke, Jr who was born 1928/1929 New York. His name is shown as Edward Paulke on the 1940 Census. Add to this that Edith/Edna is listed as Married on the 1940 Census, only has one son listed (Edward, age 11), and is living with a lodger (James Ford) who is listed Single...

I'm really really thinking that Erwin/Edwin Paulke is Whitey Ford. I'm not sure if there's any other logical conclusion.

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I'm thinking Edith/Edna married James Ford after the 1940 Census, and they adopted Whitey, which changed his name at that point. It would mean the biography is off as well. I'm not entirely sure how we would prove it 100%, but it does fit nicely.

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I'm thinking Geni came to the same conclusion as well. Looks like they're now listing Paulke as biological, and Ford as adoptive father.

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Looking into this a touch further, I'll venture a few more guesses.

Erwin/Edwin/Edward Paulke Sr. married Edith "Edna" Johnson on 20 June 1928. She was obviously already pregnant with Whitey.

Whitey "Paulke" is born as Erwin/Edwin/Edward Paulke, Jr. on 21 October 1928, almost exactly 4 months after they were married. It does not appear that they had any further children.

From the biography above "when Whitey was 5, they moved" - I'd presume that Edna and her husband separated about this time, and she moved back in with her parents, along with Whitey - so this would have been around 1933-ish. For all I know, she began seeing Joe around this time, although there is no evidence to prove why she and Erwin/Edwin/Edward split up, or when she began to see Joe Ford.

Seeing the 1940 Census, it is interesting to note that Edna still has the last name of Paulke, is still noted as "married" and her son Erwin/Edwin/Edward is still carrying the last name of Paulke. Also, Joseph "Joe" Ford is in the home listed as a Boarder, but is noted as "single". Based on this, I don't think she had divorced her first husband by this time, but was separated 7 years or so by then, and probably seeing or treating Joe as her boyfriend/future husband.

The first date in Whitey's bio on Wikipedia is his signing with the Yankees in 1947. He would have been 19 years old. He would have also likely gone to one of their minor league farm teams (1947 - Butler (Pennsylvania) Yankees, 1948 - Norfolk (Virginia) Tars, 1949 - Binghamton (NY) Triplets ). But by 1950, he was playing for the New York Yankees in the Major Leagues, as well as the Kansas City Blues in the Minor Leagues.

So when we finally get to the 1950 Census, I wonder if he'll show up in New York or possibly Kansas City.

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One more item of note - it appears Erwin Charles Paulke Sr. seems to be listed as "divorced" on the 1940 Census and he's back home living with his mother and stepfather.

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQTV-J46

Not sure who has something listed incorrectly. Either he is divorced and his ex-wife Edna has her listing as married incorrectly.

Or he is still married and is listed incorrectly

Or Edna is divorced and remarried and Joe is listed incorrectly as single.

Or some other combination that fits, but someone is listed incorrectly.

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Thanks for all your input, Scott. I am working on the data doctor challenge right now, but will get back to the Chairman and Joltin Joe soon.

Answer 5

James Bond girl, actress from the movie Goldfinger,  Margaret Nolan has died. She was 78 years old.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/margaret-nolan-hard-days-night-carry-on-goldfinger-dies-at-76-075244152.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Nolan

Comments

Saw this - she wasn't one of the primary Bond girls (she died in the beginning of the movie), but because she was bikini clad and covered in gold paint, it certainly sensationalized the whole part she played.

Answer 6

Say it ain't so...

Well, it's not Joltin' Joe... but Joe Morgan of the 1970's Cincinnati Reds Big Red Machine has passed away. He has no profile and was born 1943, so records might be a little challenging, but if we can find parents, then we might be in good shape to dig much deeper.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Morgan

Comments

His parents were Ollie and Leonard Morgan.

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I do remember them calling him "Little Joe" Morgan when he came up to the plate, and that flappy arm thing he did when he was at bat. When the Big Red Machine was the hot team in town and being a Cincinnati Reds fan, we'd all imitate the players, including Joe's arm flap and Pete Rose's short squat he'd do at the plate to decrease his strike zone. Good times...

Answer 7

Hi! I've been adding to the Notables category as I find famous-ish people in my tree, so I should probably join this project!

Also - I haven't added Stephen Chalmers as notable yet as I wasn't sure if he met the criteria.  Wrote quite a few pulp novels, but no awards or anything as far as I know.  What say you?

Comments

He won a prize for an essay on RLS titled "The Penny Piper of Saranac".

I can fix up an image for his profile, from one published in the New York Times.

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While he does not have a wikipedia page, he does seem to have an entry in a Dictionary of Biography. I think he qualifies.

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Works for me. :)

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Thanks all, I've added the notables category for him and linked to and from the wikidata.

Melanie, I'd love the photo of him - I took a look at the NYT obit for him, but there's no photo.  A few sites have photos of him, but without attribution and I'm not sure of the copyright status.

Answer 8

Hi, I've recently found I am related to quite a few notables! Id love to join the project to learn more and add profiles to the project and help in any way I can.

Comments

Welcome to the Notables Team!

Answer 9

I've added several profiles of friends of President Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln and their children.  

Julia Taft Bayne and  her brothers, Halsey Cook Taft and Horatio Nelson Taft Jr.

I also added the profile of their half-brother, Charles Sabin Taft, surgeon present at the assassination of President Lincoln.

Comments

Nice work! When I find time, I love to improve connections to existing profiles that are already connected, which hopefully brings them closer to myself and others on the tree. Wish I had more time on my hands, but so glad you've found the time to make these updates and add additional Notables.

Answer 10

My daughter Jessica Taylor ( Taylor-65634) is related to Mary Augusta Yohe (Madcap May) through her father Terry A. Taylor (Taylor-65741) and need to find connections. In the late 1800's and early 1900's she was a showgirl. Her claim to fame is she was in possession of the Hope Diamond for three years after marrying Lord Francis Hope.

Comments

But does Madcap Mary have a wikipedia page or an entry in a National Dictionary of Biography?

If not, then sorry but she is not a notable.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Yoh%C3%A9

I found what appears to be her Wikipedia entry, so if this is the right person, she's a Notable.

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What is the profile number for her HOPE husband ? She does not have any Taylor relatives mentioned on her wikpedia page.

Although you have given us the profile numbers for your husband and daughter, we cannot see those profiles because they are living people. Can you give us the profile of your husband's deceased ancestors on wikitree ?

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I found Mary's husband's father on WikiTree, but not her husband.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hope-2349

Answer 11

As has been noted the Actress Conchata Ferrell has died. She was 77 years old.

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1122149/conchata-ferrell-dies-two-and-a-half-men-star-was-77

Does she have a profile?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conchata_Ferrell

Another report.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/two-half-men-star-conchata-204121929.html

Comments

She does not have an existing profile.

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My wife reminded me that she also appeared on The Ranch with Aston Kutcher. She was a great comedian and had that wonderful dry delivery that let everyone know how stupid you were for asking her a dumb question.

Answer 12

Am working to connect [[https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fleay-69 David Fleay]] (1907-93), a naturalist and environmentalist of note. David was the first to breed a platypus in captivity and was a co-founder of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland.

Comments

Very nice profile, Kenneth! I had never heard of him, but obviously I've heard of a platypus! Great to find these hidden gems in the Notables and bring them to light.

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He is connected! Through an aunt's husband's family. Phew.

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Thanks, Scott.  Yes, I love finding those gems. Many more people are notables than are thought.

Answer 13

So I saw the message about finding Nobel Prize winning scientists for the the weekly Connection Finder list, and I thought that was pretty cool. I've been a science geek since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, and I think it's a good idea to recognise achievements in science. And Nobel laureates are kind of the best of the best. Winning a Noble Prize is kind of like winning the blue ribbon at the county fair. (As long as the county is Earth. )

And then I promptly forgot about it, because I already have way too many irons in the fire. It's a worthy project, and everything, but I need to stop jumping in here, there and everywhere. Just because something is worth doing doesn't necessarily mean that I need to do it.

But then, in the wee hours of the morning, a question occurred to me: do we have a template or sticker for Nobel Laureates? I know that some people want stickers for everything, and others see them as just so much clutter. I'm in the middle, I guess. I really don't think every single profile on WikiTree needs like a dozen stickers on it (or even one), but the Nobel Prize is kind of a big deal. And I can also see how a template that says something like:

Ferdinand Grubstake was awarded the Nobel Prize in Tiddlywinks in 1832.

would add useful content to a profile. 

I went looking, but didn't find such a thing, but I'm not sure that the template/stickers lists in the help pages are actually complete.

Comments

Oh, right. If we don't go for a template or sticker, I wondered if we should have a separate "Notabels" project. 

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I took a hunt through this list:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Nobel_Laureates_of_the_20th_Century

And it doesn't appear that there is any sticker on the ones I checked that specifically mentions what they won the Nobel for. If someone wanted to propose a separate project, I don't see any reason why that couldn't be done. The category above contains 249 entries of Nobel winners from the 20th Century, and I'm sure there are many more that could be added.

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Sorry, Scott. I was only making a joke about a new project. Nobels + Notables = "Notabels" 

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No worries, Greg! I sort of saw that and was not sure if you were joking or being clever. It's an interesting idea, but as you mentioned, you're pretty busy these days and I'm a bit too tied up to take on another project. It would be nice (perhaps one day) if someone put together a Nobel Prize or even Pullitzer Prize Free Space page to start tracking these winners, but it's a bridge too far for me at the moment. I'd support someone if they wanted to get it started, or maybe I'll find the time one of these days soon and attempt it myself.

Answer 14

Actress Rhonda Fleming has died. She was 97 years old.

More details here

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1123993/axtress-rhonda-fleming-dies-at-age-97

Answer 15

James Redford has died. He was just 58 years old.

Son of Actor Robert Redford, James was a well known documentary filmaker

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/james-redford-documentary-filmmaker-son-021428258.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Redford_(filmmaker)

Comments

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Redford-934

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Thanks for the profile.

I love the line - He and his father (a famous actor)...  LOL

And of course you cannot link this profile to the famous actor since the famous actor is still living...

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Scott, Can you help me get him added to his living parents ? See note on his ancestor ...

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Young-42241

which explains about a mistaken Redford link that I want to make good on wikitree.

Answer 16

1980's singer Tony Lewis has died. He was 62.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/the-outfield-lead-singer-tony-lewis-dies-at-62-171410559.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Lewis_(musician)

Answer 17

I'd like to join the notables project! Thanks!

Comments

Scott will get back to you in the next day or so....

Thanks for joining us.

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Welcome to the Notables Team!

Answer 18

I would like to join the Notables project, I have created some profiles for a couple of Notables in my tree xxx

Comments

Scott will get back to you, in the next day or so...

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Thank you Robynne  xxx

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Welcome to the Notables Team!

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Thank you Scott  xxx

Answer 19

Actress and dancer, Marge Champion (born Marjorie Belcher) has died at 101 on Oct. 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marge_Champion

I'm pretty sure this is her profile: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Belcher-2875

Edit this is her mother: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rosenberg-803

And her final husband: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sagal-4

Comments

Profile has been opened. With thanks to the PM!

Answer 20

I have created a new profile for actor Stephen Boyd (Born William Millar) who died in 1977.

Unable to find any records of his parents or his siblings. He was the youngest of 9 children.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Millar-2592

If anyone can also fix the name so it says Stephen (preferred name) Boyd (Current last name) that would be good thanks.

Can anyone help please?