Talk:Robert Petway

Lifespan
A possibility from SSDI:
 * BOB PETWAY 07 Oct 1898	Jul 1966 8930 (Greenwood, Leflore, MS) (none specified) 426-16-1977	Mississippi

Gene Nygaard 03:42, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as stub, and the rating on other projects was brought up to Stub class. BetacommandBot 07:40, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

Jason Retwald's work
I've added a reference to the suggestion made by Jason Rewald that Petway was born in Gee's Bend, Alabama on October 18, 1907, and died in Chicago on May 30, 1978 - here. How much credence do other serious blues scholars give to this research? I think it should be mentioned in the article text (as I have done), but am unsure as to whether to give it credibility in the lead or infobox. What do others think? Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:22, 28 November 2011 (UTC)
 * No response, so I've tentatively added the details to the infobox. Ghmyrtle (talk) 11:28, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

I am sorry to muck up the water, but a simple search of the records at familysearch.org reveals other possibilities. There was a Robert Pettway (note different spelling) who was born in January 1908 in Alabama Social Security Number: 424-01-9622 and died in May 1962. This might explain how he wasn't noticed during the folk blues revival. ...There was a Robert Christoper Pettway who was born Sept 1, 1900 in Warren County, MS (his selective service record is saved for WW1)This puts him close to Yazoo City, which was favored by Honeyboy Edwards. ...There was a Robert Petway (same spelling) who was born abt. 1908, who lived in Chicago, but was born in TN (I have a hunch that this is the same guy that Jason Retwald referenced, though Jason has a different birthplace. Birthplaces during census taking was (and is) kind of sloppy. The social security record on FamilySearch does NOT give the birthplace, so Jason may have found the birthplace from a different record, or by piecing together records) I kind of like this one, because there are detail upon which further research could be made. His wife was Donnie Mae Sewell Petway. During the 1940 census, he lived in Chicago's third ward and at that time had two children: James Petway and Elmiria Petway. ...Interestingly at findagrave.com someone (appearantly a fan) entered: for Robert Petway, Born: Oct. 16, 1907 in Boykin (Wilcox County)Alabama, USA/ Death: May 30, 1978 Chicago - Burial unknown. — Preceding unsigned comment added by MagicKirk (talk • contribs) 22:07, 29 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Confirming that information... According to Eagle and LeBlanc, Blues: A Regional Experience, in a footnote on p.447... :   "The 'Robert E. Petway' who died on May 30, 1978, Chicago, age 59, was born in Tennessee and married in Chicago in 1935, and was not in Mississippi in about 1940."  If this is accepted, and BARE is usually (but not always) an accurate and reliable source in my experience, the text of the article needs to be tweaked and corrected - or, at least, the uncertainty more fully explained.  The main text of BARE (p.188) says... "(apparently [born] Itta Bena, Leflore County, about 1902 – unknown location, after 1942)."Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:02, 13 October 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on Robert Petway. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20050905152000/http://www.thedevilsmusic.net:80/lyrics/robert_petway.html to http://www.thedevilsmusic.net/lyrics/robert_petway.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20050905132551/http://www.thedevilsmusic.net:80/lyrics/muddy_waters.html to http://www.thedevilsmusic.net/lyrics/muddy_waters.html#Rollin_Stone

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 22:13, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

Recent edits
Text below copied from User talk:Ghmyrtle:

Hello Ghmyrtle,

I'm not too good at working the fine points of Wikipedia as a contributor, and I'm stealing time at my desk at work, so I'll be brief. On the basis of the Census/Draft registration documentation I posted, the Gee's Bend thesis of the the birth of Robert Petway seems so speculative as to be highly unlikely. The Census entries state Ann/Annie Petaway/Pettyway and Robert's birthplaces as Mississippi, as does Robert's draft registration (but in Sunflower, not Itta Bena). The fact that Robert "Pitway" and "Tom McClinnan" registered for the draft the same day; they both lived in Benton, MS and worked for the same employer (Williams and Applewhite-- farm owners?) makes it pretty likely these are our guys. We shouldn't be surprised that as of February 1942 they weren't full-time residents of Chicago, I don't think, but McClennan was in Chicago four days four days after registering for the draft, to record for Bluebird.

I also think Robert Petway's presumed birthdate should be changed to ca. 1903 and his death date stated as "unknown." The Social Security Robert Petway seems unlikely to be the same guy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Benhamino (talk • contribs) 18:01, 27 December 2019 (UTC)


 * I think that what you suggest is plausible, and I note that Eagle and LeBlanc in BARE suggest Itta Bena - in Leflore County - as his birthplace, circa 1902. Bob Eagle has commented on 's page here that he thinks the person that Jason Rewald identified (with the 1907-1978 dates) is a different person.  I'm minded to change the article to reflect the BARE dates, while referring to Rewald's alternative position.  Your hypothesis on "Pitway" and "McClinnan" is, as I say, plausible - but unless it's been published in a reliable source it shouldn't really be set out in the Wikipedia article.  Or, at the very least, it should bear a heavy caveat.  Have you discussed it anywhere - for example in this group - of which Bob Eagle is a member, among other scholars?  Ghmyrtle (talk) 19:03, 27 December 2019 (UTC)  PS: This discussion should really take place on the article talk page rather than here.  I'll copy it over there.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 19:03, 27 December 2019 (UTC)
 * On the basis of the above information, I've re-edited the text. Further comments and thoughts are welcome. Ghmyrtle (talk) 20:02, 27 December 2019 (UTC)