Notables March 2023 [closed]

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.)

Notables should fulfill the criteria to have at  least one Wikipedia page in any language to qualify as a Notable. But an entry in the country's NATIONAL Who's Who or a NATIONAL Biography is also acceptable as well. 

The Notables team will decide if a Living Notable's Profile can be made Public or not. Usually that means the Notable has at least 3  Wikipedia Pages in other languages. The page or pages must also include the name of at least one close or nuclear family member (Specifically parents, siblings, spouse or child). if the page should also happen to list grandparents, aunts/uncles and cousins in the "other relatives" list, those would also be helpful. 

February Deaths

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2023#February

Answer 1

Hi Robynne, 

I have created a profile for living actor Ray Meagher OAM [[Meagher-825]] of 'Home & Away' Australian television show. He has a Wikipedia page also. I am proposing this profile to be public if it is deemed to be so by Notables Project. This profile was created to fit into the Maher One Name Study Space page which I am manager of.

Thank you

Comments

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

The wikipedia page is available 10 languages!!

Unfortunately and sadly there is NO mention of at least one other family member on the wikipedia page - no parents listed. One spouse listed but no maiden name.  Which means I'm not sure that his profile can be opened.

Unless anyone can find any relatives for him, his profile may have to remain unlisted until his death.

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It might be quite difficult to get info for his parents.  According to "New Idea" magazine (in a discussion about the "This is Your Life" program honouring Ray) he was an orphan and raised by someone named "Pat" : 

Also on hand to celebrate the TV titan will be Kate Ritchie and Chris Hemsworth, as well as Ray’s surrogate mother Pat, who helped raise him after he was orphaned.

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The same with regards his wife, Gilly.  She is notoriously media-averse and prefers to stay out of the limelight at home, as a homemaker.

Answer 2

Here are our February statistics. Keep in mind that the WikiTree Plus statistics do exclude the unlisted Notables, however, we're also using the total in category to help balance that number. Note that I'm trying to work on opening as many unlisted Notables as we can, and at least making sure Notables is on the Trusted List (if not as co-manager) of all the profiles in the Notables unlisted bucket. If you do create one, please try to remember to add Notables, so that there's some visibility into them. (Thank you).

Quick statistics for the end of February:

- Total Notables (from Category): 58,440 (57,616 in January)

- Total Notables (from WikiTree+ with template or sticker): 57,869 (previous months: 57,005, 55,764, 55,560, 54,672)

- Search of NOTABLES/UNCONNECTED:  18,045 (31% of total) (previous months: 17,796, 17,367, 17,143, 16,839)

- Search of NOTABLES/ISLIVING: 4,654 (8% of total) (previous months: 4,585, 4,477, 4,455, 4,414)

- Search of NOTABLES/OPEN: 52,794 (91% of total) (previous months: 52,002, 50,863, 50,137, 49,396)

- Search of NOTABLES/OPEN/UNCONNECTED: 15,608 (27% of total) (Previous months: 15,381, 15,021, 14,796, 14,512)

If anyone needs help locating these profiles for connecting someone who is Open privacy, I can come up with dozens very quickly.

If there are other statistics that would seem useful, please let me know and I can add them to the capture list.

Comments

Is there anything I need to do when I've filled out the family of a notable? Last month, I connected the daughter and birth family of Abby (Kelley) Foster but I think she was considered connected because her husband was connected to his relatives.

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Nothing that's a requirement, but as mentioned below, it's great if you can link the names you put into their profile as much as is reasonably possible within the privacy allowed. We try not to mention living non-Notables in the profile, or link to their profiles, as it's in that grey area where the privacy of those not in the spotlight should be respected. But if their spouse or even children are also Notables, then they tend to be fair game where it comes to discussing them "in brief" in the profile of the Notable when you are adding to their biography. From a connection standpoint, they'll just start showing up in the statistics automatically, so no categories to update or boxes to check there.

Answer 3

One of my first sub-projects I started was the effort to connect Academy Award winners. Over time, the page has grown to encompass Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Honorary Awards. Of course, other recipients are just as valid, too, but I suspect we'd need a separate page to cover those who received the award for other categories.

Regardless, there are still a few of these who have been very difficult to connect. I'll put some of them out here to see if anyone has an interest in expanding their family tree, updating their biographies, and in general giving their profiles a little love in the month of March. Who knows? Maybe we'll find a connection for one or two? I can always hope...

Emil Jannings - First man to win the Best Actor category. Still unconnected. He was German and had some associations with the Nazi's, so his records could be a bit of a challenge unless you're well versed in German records research.

Mack Sennett - The King of Comedy. CONNECTED

Rey Scott - Famous cameraman and documentary maker in World War II. CONNECTED

John N.A. Hawkins - One of two men who developed stereo recording on movies. CONNECTED

Paul Lukas - Austrio-Hungarian by birth, he was a well-known actor and won several awards for his role on Watch on the Rhine in 1943. Could be a challenge due to the Austrio-Hungarian records and plus he was adopted at birth.

Katina Paxinou - Famous actress - Greek origins - may be a challenge to find Greek records to research her family.

George Pal - Famous animator - Austrio-Hungarian by birth - like Paul Lukas, may be challenging due to the need for records from the Austrio-Hungarian area.

Barry Fitzgerald - Irish origins - never married - need someone with good Ireland records experience to tackle him.

James Baskett - First black man to win an Academy Award. I think several have tried to connect him, but so far we've drawn a blank. Any help would be appreciated.

So there's our Academy Unconnected for March. Let's see if we can at least manage to get one on the tree. And if you don't like these, try any unconnected Notable and work to get it connected. All connections help grow our tree. Thanks!

Comments

I believe Mack Sennett will be connected tonight when the links update.

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I've found some additional information on John Hawkins, but nothing leading to a connection. A second wife. Parents, but it's going to take more research to find anything concrete.

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John N.A. Hawkins should show up as connected with tonight's update.

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Cameraman Rey Scott will be connected once the links update tonight.

Answer 4

Can we please lift the privacy levels for the following individuals:

Kathryn Beaumont, actress (19 languages)

Casey DeSantis, First Lady of Florida (7 languages)

Donnie Dunagan, child actor (8 languages)

Margaret Kerry, actress (8 languages)

William Ruto, president of Kenya (40 languages)

Comments

Got all of them except Margaret. I'm on the TL but not as PM, so if you fix that later, I'll update her. Or I'll tweak it from home when I get there. No worries. Thanks!

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Fixed it.

Answer 5

Can we please lift the privacy level for these five U.S. Governors:

Doug Burgum, Colorado (21 languages)

Felix Camacho, Guam (13 languages)

Lou Leon Guerrero, Guam (11 languages)

Brad Little, Idaho (16 languages)

Jared Polis, Colorado (24 languages)

Comments

Got them all - thanks!

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Thanks Scott. Here's another five current governors for you:

Laura Kelly, Kansas (20 languages)

Janet Mills, Maine (16 languages)

Maura Healey, Massachusetts (14 languages)

Tim Walz, Minnesota (18 languages)

Tate Reeves, Mississippi (15 languages)

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OK - these are done also. Thanks!

Answer 6

Jack Kerouac's buddy Lucien Carr is now connected. He and I are 8C3R, descended from Mayflower Passenger John Howland.

Carr came from a well-connected family; his aunt was married to a Rockefeller.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Carr-17819

Answer 7

American actor Tom Sizemore has passed away on 3 March 2023 of a brain aneurysm at 61. I don't think he has a wikitree profile yet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Sizemore    in 36 languages

Comments

Looking up his parents names, I now wonder if his profile may be ...

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sizemore-2788

I have sent an inquiry to the PM.

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Yes this profile is for him and it is viewable now, but not editable. I am waiting for replies for profiles of his private parents, but I should be able to get him connected because he is a descendant of George All Sizemore, who is well known by that family's researchers.

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This profile has been connected.

Answer 8

Well, If I remember correctly, I tried to join, but don't remeber getting a response. or if I got a response.  Doesn't matter!

I use Hollywood Graveyard's maps of 18 cemeteries.  I search famous grave by grave, tediously seeing if they have been profiled or not.  If they have been profiled, I check to see of the spouse, parents and children are included, so their family tree fills in a little more.

www.hollywoodgraveyard.com/maps  )copy and paste URL if it doesn't open)

I have been tapofile-ing in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery this week:

Looking at my recent edits:

Winifred Hannah (wife of animator John Fredric Hannah)

Nicolette Larson 1952-1997, singer actress)

Wallace Edgar Brown 1904-1961 Wally Brown Comedic actor

Marjorie Main  this was a tough one because her real name is Mary Tomlinson, married to Stanley Krebs, but she didn't so much like him, and didn't use that Krebs name, but then she is buried next to him.  Stanley was a notable also but not an actor.

Maybe there are guide lines that WikiTree uses when a celebrity has two names, but I used her real birth name. Find A Grave and Wikipedia uses Marjorie Main.  So if some one is looking for her on WikiTree they are going to have to type in Mary Tomlinson, I guess?

Fred Stone and wife Aliene.  Silent film and early talkie films.  Played the in the Wizard of OZ plays well before the movie.

George Glenn Strange (Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstine) he played the monster, added family members

Marcel Maurice Lastfogel 1921-1988

A lot more.  I guess you can check my contributions from March and see.

Comments

I love the fact that you are profiling these lesser known notables. My grandparents are buried at one of those cemeteries on the list (Holly Cross). I know it's full of celebrities. If I ever run out of things to do, I may follow your lead.

As for naming practices, always use the name given at birth as the primary name. If they change their name (say John Wayne), place the new name in the "preferred first name" and "current last name" boxes. If they kept their name but used a stage name (say Pee Wee Herman) use the "nickname" box.

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Not sure how I missed you last month, but welcome to the Notables Project!

Answer 9

Gary Robert Rossington has died @71 (4 Dec 1951 - 5 Mar 2023)

He was the last founding member of American rock band "Lynyrd Skynyrd" and the guitarist on the opening rift of "Sweet Home Alabama".

He does not appear to have a wikitree profile.

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

Comments

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rossington-132

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I started to work on the connection this morning and received some feedback from a Rossington surname follower in England! That gave me some hope that the connection can be made. Who would have thought that a southern man would have roots in England?

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Connected as of 03/16. Thanks to N Gauthier for the collaboration! After all of the profiles we created, the connection was finally made through his sister's husband. But now we know he has English roots.

Answer 10

The 15 Nations Global Tour would like to request lifting the privacy block for the following Russian notables:

Nikita Mikhalkovl, film maker (60 languages)

Nadya Mikhalova, actress (13 languages)

Anna Mikhalova, actress (6 languages)

Andrei Konchalovsky, film maker (49 languages)

Egor Konchalovsky, film maker (7 languages)

Natalya Arinbasarova, actress (17 languages)

Julia Vysotskaya, actress (12 languages)

Anastasia Vertinskaya, actress (23 languages)

Mirianna Vertinskaya, actress (4 languages - not English, but Russian, Ukrainian, +2 others)

Comments

OK - these are all updated now. Thanks.

Answer 11

I have added profiles for two wrestlers that are father and son.  Axel Barthel (known as Axel Deiter) and son Marcel Barthel (known under several names but recently as Ludwig Kaiiser) and wrestling in the group Imperium with WWE.   Here is the profile ID Barthel-513 and link to profile page

https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Barthel-513&errcode=new_profile

Can you help me connect it to the tree and unblock Marcel’s profile.  

I end up researching a bit of Notables. I think I would like to be added. Thank you,

Bukki

Comments

we can't see that profile because it says he is living.

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Sorry I’ll link his father who has passed. 

Axel Barthel Barthel-512

Here is the link to his profile

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barthel-512 

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Welcome to the Notables Project, Nikki!

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If Marcel is a Notable and fits the criteria for opening privacy, we would need to start by making sure Notables has been added as co-manager of the profile. If you can look over the Project Page and use the instructions there to add Notables, I'll take a look and see if it can be opened up.

Answer 12

Hi Scott,

Can we please lift the privacy block for Kenyan environmentalist Wanjira Mathai?  She has Wikipedia entries in seven languages and has a parent listed by name in her Wikipedia profile. 

Comments

Sorry - I did this and didn't respond. It's done now.

Answer 13

I have a few people in my tree who are notables that I'd like to add the project box to.  Looking forward to collaborating!

-Scott

Comments

First, start with the "Notables Sticker" placed directly under the "Biography" divider.

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Welcome to the Notables Team, Scott!

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Thanks Scott, Scott!

Answer 14

Hi,

Recently, I have adopted a couple of orphaned profiles of Notable people. As I thought about it, I thought it could be a fun project to join as I have a number of ideas as well.

This sounds like a fun project.

Comments

Welcome to the Notables Team, Lawrence!

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Would love to hear your ideas Lawrence.

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I was thinking about all of the categories of Notable people. You could focus on Notables who have won Awards like Grammy’s, Oscar’s or Tony’s or even Nobel Prizes. It could be Hall of Fame inductees across various sports. Maybe important musicians: classical, jazz, rock, rap etc. Authors by type: novelists, poets, screenwriters. There are historical figures: scientists, military leaders, politicians. Inventors, Business tycoons, Explorers, Scammers/Fraudsters, Traitors, Religious leaders…it just goes on and on.

Anyhow, for me, I was thinking it could be fun to think of a personal category of interest and making an effort to work on profiles that combine my interest in that area and genealogy. Like maybe Hall of Fame Baseball Players. Then start with my favorite team and work out. With that kind of focus, there is probably a natural way to make the profiles somewhat consistent stylistically. Plus, the research sources would be similar.

For some in my family tree, I found the importance of the Thirty Year War, which is not something I know anything about. Now, if I want to read and learn about it, there is a way to help the Notables project by working on profiles of Notables of that event.

I also love the idea of writing profiles for people that have more color to their lives instead of just vitals.

Tons of enthusiasm right now!

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That's outstanding, and is very similar to how I got started, A couple of years ago, purely out of curiosity, I decided to research the voice cast of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I created a Free Space page and posted it on G2G. It was such a hit that I began adding move Disney films and renamed it the Classic Disney Project. Today the site has been accessed more that 5,000 times. 

I love your idea of focusing on a sports theme. And I think starting small with a single team is smart. You can then grow it from there. I also recommend creating "skeletal" profiles for each of the players first, then going back and working on connecting and bio-building. Finally, don't hesitate to reach out to other groups like the U.S. Black Heritage or the various geograohical projects for help with your foreign born Notables, They have some amazing researchers.  

I'm really excited to see what you come up with.

Answer 15

Hi, I didnt see a question to answer but I'd love to join the Notables Project. It seems I have sooo many Mayflower ancestors as well as Anne Bolyen being my 14th great-cousin & Mary Bolyen my 14th great grandmother. I would love to help out. And also get a badge

Thanks ! GeorgeAnne Cossey

Comments

Welcome to the Notables Team, GeorgeAnne!

Answer 16

Eclectic musician Beck (Hansen) is now connected through a line of Churchills. He also descends from Mayflower passenger Edward Doty.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Campbell-57795

His father was named Campbell but he took his mother's name which was Hansen. Her father Al Hansen was born a Duckworth but adopted his stepfather's name Hansen.

Beck Duckworth would have sounded kinda cool.

Al Hansen's most famous performance art piece was the Yoko Ono Piano Drop.

Comments

Nice work, Mark!

Answer 17

I just saw Robert Blake of Baretta fame passed away. I think he has a profile already and I'm working to get it opened up.

Comments

Many people don't realize that Blake originally performed as a child actor in the Little Rascals/Our Gang comedies and later in the Red Rider film franchise of the 1940s. Tragically, guilty or not, the murder of his wife completely overshadowed what was otherwise a very long and distinguished acting career.

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I couldn't tell if he was listed under Blake but this is his father's profile ...

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gubitosi-5

I can't see a private son for him, but maybe you can Scott.

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Oh, I see a private son under his mother's profile ...

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cafone-1

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Yes - and unfortunately, I now see duplicates. Fortunately not ones created just recently, but in 2020. So we'll need to address that too. Looks like Gubitosi-2 and Gubitosi-5 are likely to be the same, and there might be a duplicate of Cafone-1 and Cafone-2.

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How sad.  I've recently been watching some of those old Red Ryder movies.
When it's sorted out which is Bobby's profile, I'd like to link to it from Wild Bill Elliott's profile (and back to Elliott's from Bobby's).

That's Bobby Blake on the right --

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His role in Baretta is what sparked my love of TV detective shows.

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I read Ngaio Marsh and Agatha Christie long before I ever watched any detective stories on television - but they sure primed me well! 
I'm also a sucker for the days when we kids would go to the local cinema and watch Hopalong Cassidy and the like, hence my recent binge watching of old Hoppy movies, Roy Rogers shows, Allan Rocky Lane, and Red Ryder (wherein both Wild Bill Elliott and Rocky Lane played the main role).
Well, they are a change from archaeology (Time Team), what some call "experimental" archaeology but would more properly be experiential (Farm Series), anything history (anything with Neil Oliver!), and the Beefeaters in the Tower of London.

Blake was one of the few who made the transition from child actor to adult actor, and was one who seemed to keep his fans along the way - and attract new ones.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Blake_(actor)

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Merges have been completed and his profile is at ...

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gubitosi-1

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Wonderful - thanks!

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I just added his wife so he will show connected with tomorrow morning's update.

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Thanks, N!
Links added to the profiles of Bill Elliott, and Rocky Lane, and added Gabby Hayes for good measure (and I think I remembered to change the Wikipedia link for Blake to the profile ID-# on them all).

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A bit of rotten luck, as it would be nostalgic to watch a few Baretta episodes in honor of his passing, but I had to go scrounge on YouTube to find copies of broadcasts there to even see a random epsode. Would have been nice if it was on Prime/Netflix/Hulu or another of the more common online sources. Oh well...

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JustWatch didn't even recognise the request.  Youtube has some episodes from seasons 2 and 3, but not enough consecutively to be enjoyable in watching.

I found it fascinating that her 10 marriages aren't a lot (for non-Mormons before the laws changed).  There was some guy mentioned who had a LOT more.

It is always sad when an icon from our earlier life dies.  It tends to bring forth all kinds of nostalgia, and all the bad things of their lives get thrust into the limelight.  I hope Bobby is remembered for more than the death of his wife.

Answer 18

Could we please have Melissa Gilbert's profile opened as a Living Notable.  Her adoptive father's bio links to her, and she has 32 language pages on Wikipedia, and at least three nuclear family members mentioned (with some detail).

Thanks.

Comments

Not a problem - privacy has been opened. Thanks!

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Thanks!  
I've been trying to link to "related persons" when working on profiles of other Notables, such as Wild Bill Elliott being a "related person" to Gabby Hayes, who is a "related person" to Roy Rogers — and so on. 
Mostly the "related persons" are fellow actors, but Melissa is linked in a work sense to Ted Voigtlander who was the cinematographer on several series, and at least one movie (The Miracle Worker with Patty Duke (who had played Helen Keller in an earlier movie of the same name) as Annie Sullivan), in which she starred. 

So, Ted is also a "related person" to Michael Landon, Patty Duke, Ross Martin, Robert Conrad, Vince Edwards, Sam Jaffe, Stella Stevens, Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and many, many more.
He (Voigtlander) did not have a profile, and his Wikipedia page is extremely sparse (one paragraph, mostly a list of shows/movies) for someone of his calibre/calber, so it's been difficult to expand that into a reasonable biography.  Astoundingly, this guy won four (4) Primetime Emmy Awards, and was nominated for a total of 15, 16 or 17 (counts vary).  He worked on more than 500 episodes of various television series.

I think the more we link these "related persons" together in biographies, the more some of our lesser-known celebs may get some views, even if they never make Profile of the Week.
(Plus, I read somewhere that we should do that — add WT links to "related persons", who are not relatives by blood.)

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Whenever I mention a notable in another notable's profile, I always try to link their profile in the biography. This could be a co-star, a romantic partner, a boss, a teacher, etc. Sometimes I have to create a new profile for the "related" notable and often I uncover some fascinating stories in the process.

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Exactly, Davis.  One rabbit hole down which I tend to dive is census relationships.  Person 1 was enumerated at a school, where the head was a notable person in his day.  So, I hunt down the maiden surname of his spouse, then go look for more details on him.  Or maybe it's the cleric who married a couple.  If any of those folk have profiles on WT, I will link to that profile.  

It can take some extra time finding those WT links to other folk, but I really think it's worth it in the end.  It shows that the person was not isolated.  They were part of a community beyond just their family.  

I think if we are writing up profiles for notable persons, we should try to do as much for them as we try to do for our direct blood relatives.  Plus, there's always the 5-star aspect of WT.  The more views a page has, the higher it rates.
Profiles featured in the connection finder with no, or next to no, biography do us no good at all.  Even if it's not the intended message, they say we didn't care enough to even write three paragraphs about their life.  (I know that's not the case, but that's the message as perceived by the reader.)

Answer 19

Please add yellow privacy and PPP on singer and songwriter, John Rowles.

Thanks.

Comments

PPP and yellow privacy updated. Thanks!

Answer 20

Hi y’all- I’d like to join the Notables Project. Thanks!

Comments

Welcome to the Notables Team, Elaine!