Notables Sept 2018

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 just want to tell us whom you have successfully connected up.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Notables

Above is the Notables Project page where you can find unconnected Notables who have profiles and who need to be connected to the tree.

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 noone 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. And they should be DEAD!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2018

Above is a list of those who have passed already this year.

Comments

I recently adopted a neglected profile for Kennesaw Mountain Landis, the first baseball commissioner (at the time of the so-called Black Sox scandal) and, with some help, have connected him and filled out his family info. He was an interesting guy outside of his baseball commissioner's role, and family members were also minor notables - state legislators, war heroes, etc. He was a judge, and, unfortunately, delayed with his authority, the integration of Major League Baseball...but certainly notable. Now if I could just get Shoeless Joe Jackson into the Baseball Hall of Fame... :)

---

Hi!

I'd like to join the Notable project so that I can contribute to several profiles that are ancestors of mine.  These include William Maclay and Samuel Maclay.

I'm not clear whether it's appropriate to apply for membership in this thread, or in the March-2018 thread, so I'll do both.  Hope that doesn't cause confusion.

Thank you!

David Potter

Answer 1

Working on a couple right now:

Neil Simon (playwright) recently passed away - I'm trying to connect him to the global tree. Making sloow progress. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Simon-3582

Started a profile for Gerry Anderson (UFO, Space 1999, Thunderbirds) but haven't made much progress yet. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Abrahams-574

And doing some work on Academy Award winning movie exec Fred Metzler, but also not making much headway. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Metzler-535

Bogged down lately, so just trying to make a little progress and not push it too much. Too many things going on lately.

Comments

I believe I've managed to get most of the Simon side for Neil Simon filled out - now I'm going to have to branch out into marriages and start the hunt for the connection. Lots of new names to check, so it could be a long hunt.

---

OK - Simon side filled out. Levy side mostly filled out. Will have to branch out to spouses and other families now. Looks like this one could be a long hunt.

Answer 2

I am concentrating on a few profiles of famous Japanese people right now, particularly politicians and businessmen.  Also, I am expanding more on each of the family lineages of famous Japanese people.

Right now, my interests are focused on creating several Japanese profiles and translating their names into Japanese while using common romanization methods.

I am also trying to connect various Japanese profile I create to the main tree.

Comments

Nicolas,

Do you read and write Japanese as well as Chinese?

I have seen several profiles created by you that are written in Chinese...

What other languages do you know?

I'm rather curious.

Answer 3

Notables in the News

• Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
  • Huggler, Justin, "Private letters belonging to Kaiser Wilhelm II's wife, last empress of Germany, found hidden in Prussian palace." National Post, August 9, 2018.
• V.S. Naipaul
  • "Nobel-winning author V.S. Naipaul dies at 85." CBC News, August 11, 2018.
  • "Obituary: VS Naipul." BBC News, 12 August 2018.
• Harith al-Sudani
  • Coker, Margaret, "The Iraqi spy who infiltrated the highest ranks of ISIL saved scores of lives, but paid with his own." National Post, August 12, 2018.
• Mary Pratt
  • Gushue, John, "Mary Pratt helped transform art in Canada, curator says." CBC News, August 16, 2018.
• Atal Vajpayee
  • "Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India's PM for over 6 years, dead at 93." CBC News, August 16, 2018.
• Kofi Annan
  • "Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan dies at age 80." CBC News, August 18, 2018.
• Bùi Tín
  • "Obituary: Bui Tin, the Vietnamese reporter scrubbed from the history books." BBC News, 19 August 2018.
• Neil Simon
  • "Prolific playwright Neil Simon dead at 91." CBC News, August 26, 2018.
• Ken Sturdy
  • "WWII veteran, Dunkirk survivor Ken Sturdy dies at 98." CBC News, August 27, 2018.
• Alex Storm
  • "Alex Storm, the Canadian treasure hunter who discovered two 18th century shipwrecks, dies at 80." National Post, September 5, 2018.
• Lise Payette
  • Stevenson, Verity, "Lise Payette, Quebec journalist and politician, dead at 87." CBC News, September 6, 2018.
• Burt Reynolds
  • "Obituary: Burt Reynolds." BBC News, 6 September 2018.
  • Hyatt, Kyle, "Burt Reynolds, film icon and world's greatest Pontiac Trans-Am driver, is dead at 82." C|Net Road Show, September 6, 2018. 
• Deer, Jessica, "Meet the amateur historian who created one of the largest databases of indigenous soldiers." CBC News, August 26, 2018.
• Luck, Shaina, "How a tiny French town is commemorating Canadian black battalion soldiers." CBC News, August 27, 2018.
• Evans, Alice, "Princess Alice Disaster: The Thames' 650 forgotten dead." BBC News, 3 September 2018.

Comments

I created profiles for Mary Pratt (West-14855) and her parents.

Answer 4

Having noticed the slowly increasing numbers of profiles with Data doctor suggestion codes 568 and 569 (Wikidata, unconnected branches and orphans), I thought I'd work on a few of these for the English county of Sussex. I guess we would call these more 'minor' notables, but they include authors, artists, musicians etc., which deserve our attention as well as the actors and more famous personalities. So far this month I've managed to connect:

Joyce Lankaster Brisley (author)

Thomas Hughes (author and lawyer)

J Horace Round (historian)

Joseph Farjeon (author and playwright) plus two members of his immediate family who were also notable

Noel Streatfeild (author)

Eric Coates (composer)

I thought by posting this, I could inspire other connectors to tackle some lesser known notables from the ever increasing unconnected lists.

Answer 5

I am working on William Boeing Jr. who is the only profile showing up on my suggestion list with a 568 code, unconnected. The profile is Open so if anyone wants to jump in go right ahead, his profile is Boeing-8 and I am afraid that my time is limited right now but what I do know is on his profile.

Comments

I just checked William and his family on Find a Grave. His mother Marie is shown as having remarried to Frederick Owsley, and Frederick's father John Ebsworth Owsley is already connected. Will need a bit more sourcing than FAG (obviously), but the 1900 census of Albermarle, Virginia shows Frederick and Marie with her two young Boeing children. Probably proof enough.

---

Thanks to Carol the Boeing's should be connected by tomorrow after the update. I added the needed people to make the connection.

---

All of the profiles need more and better sources but at least they exist and have some sources.

---

That's another one connected! Have added a few more census sources and the links to FAG but couldn't find any marriage dates.

Answer 6

Bill Bixby, the Incredible Hulk TV actor, is now connected to the Tree. His genealogy still needs a lot of filling out, and he's got ancestry from all over -- one great-grandmother appears to have been Canadian, another was from Iowa, and a gg-grandmother was from New Hampshire, so he must have relatives all over.

Bixby-414

Comments

It's wonderful that you got him connected. That's always the hardest part for me.

Answer 7

Am continuing to improve bios and create profiles for those Australian Army Generals who were notable. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Australian_Army_Generals 

Have just completed building a profile on John Flynn, founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.  Can't believe he wasn't already up there.  Am having difficulty though in connecting him to the big tree. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Flynn-3315 

Great fun.

Comments

Kenneth,

John's wife's parents seem to be John M Baird and Catherine R Blanch, married Ulmarra district in 1890. I think Catherine's grandfather was possibly George Blanch  who is connected. He died in Ulmarra district in 1893.

Answer 8

Terry Kath, guitarist for the band Chicago, is now connected to the global tree.  I haven't otherwise had much time to work on notables this month.  I'll probably be more active working on notables next month.

Answer 9

If you're planning to take part in the Source-a-Thon this month, but want to put a Notable spin on it, here's one way: head to the Notables List page, and look in the Notable Profiles in need of Improvement (Silver) section. Any profile with "No" in the "Sources?" column should be a candidate for inclusion in the Source-A-Thon, if you can find at least one source. All of the profiles in the gold section should already be sourced. The profiles in the bronze section may or may not be sourced yet: they have other issues, and I don't check for sources until they get to the silver level.

Answer 10

Since archives are essential to genealogy, archivists are kind of our heroes,  so I've started putting up profiles for the former Dominion Archivists/National Archivists of Canada.

Answer 11

James Shelley and Mabel Winifred Booth

Mabel was a teacher and is apparently a niece to the William Booth (Founder of the Salvation Army, whom I connected a about a year or two ago)(Can't find the connection, though, maybe someone can spot it?)

James, to quote wikipedia; was notable New Zealand university professor, educationalist, lecturer, critic and director of broadcasting. I am not trying to find out whether James is of the family.

Answer 12

Here is one profile that truly needs a "Notables" category                  Catherine Wilson (Malcolm) Lovell-Smith (1847 - 1934) https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Malcolm-690

Kate Sheppard led the Womens' Suffrage movement in New Zealand and New Zealand women were the first in the world to be enfranchised; 125 years ago on the 19th September 1893.

Comments

Hi Valerie

That has been taken care of, the New Zealand Suffragettes category is now a part of the New Zealand Notables categorization

---

That's not before time ! NZ missed a chance not to promote that beautiful profile yesterday.

Answer 13

Recently got a few notables I need help connecting to the tree or just building out in general:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kilroy-121 James Kilroy, purportedly the one who made “Kilroy was here” a thing, needs connecting to the global tree. Been trying to build him out with a friend but all we’re getting is Ireland....

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gibbs-5217 George Fort Gibbs, connected to the tree through his wife’s family, but I would love to see him have a tree of his own and be connected of his own accord.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Swift-2962 George Bell Swift, Mayor of Chicago, needs tree and being connected. I started a profile but got busy and never went back, but he deserves better. 

Comments

Loved the Kilroy thing! I still draw it on the white boards at work from time to time, and everyone gives me a blank stare. I find it hilarious that no one seems to remember it.

Answer 14

I have changed direction and now have been going thru my watchlist to find those Notables who do not have either the project box or the sticker and adding the appropriate one to the profile.

Answer 15

I was looking for a notable to work on at ...
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Notables

and so many of them were not open for editing. I don't know if it is too much work, but it would be helpful if the open profiles could be identified. Anyway I finally found Donald O'Connor open and have added some bio and will be adding some relatives, hoping to make a connection to the global tree :)

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/O%27Connor-3539

Comments

Well Donald O'Connor's line goes back to the UK and I don't have access to those records. I thought I would be able to connect him up because he has a few notables in his American family tree ...

- sister-in-law who published the "Hollywood Reporter"

- her husband Billy Wilkerson who founded that newspaper

- his father who was a famed gambler.

Billy was married 6 times and I thought for sure I would find a connection there, but no luck. Anyone else want to try and pick it up to make a connection ?