Talk:Valentine Blacker

Inconsistencies
Various sources give a range of vital statistics and names for Colonel Blacker, Lt.-Col. Blacker, William Blacker, and Valentine Blacker. The poem widely attributed, "Oliver's Advice," is also known as "Cromwell's Advice."

The best discussion of the inconsistencies is here. Jokestress (talk) 23:00, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Discussion moved from WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles/1919 Bartlett's Quotations

 * 1) Colonel Blacker (1777-1855), aka William Blacker and Valentine Blacker, author of "Oliver's Advice"
 * 2) * I believe this is Valentine Blacker (at least, that's the spelling in the 1919 Bartlett's). bd2412  T 22:29, 30 November 2008 (UTC)
 * 3) * Valentine may be a separate person to whom the poem was misattributed. Those birth/death dates above are given in several sources. Jokestress (talk) 22:33, 30 November 2008 (UTC) It appears you are correct, and I have it misspelled above.
 * 4) *We aren't the first to puzzle over this inconsistency. Maybe two people, but likely not. Jokestress (talk) 22:51, 30 November 2008 (UTC)
 * 5) ** I'm thinking it may actually be two different people, perhaps relatives. I have found some evidence suggested a Valentine Blacker as ancestor of a later William Blacker. bd2412  T 23:50, 30 November 2008 (UTC)
 * 6) ** And they're listed separately here - brothers? Cousins? One went to India, one stayed home? bd2412  T 23:54, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

William Blacker
As is often the case with pseudonymous authors, there may have been some misattribution. Burke gives St. John Blacker as father of five sons (and four daughters, though I'll just list sons): Full entry (public domain): William, of Armagh, b. 1776; M.R.I.A.; d.s.p. 20 October 1850." MRIA is Member of the Royal Irish Academy. d.s.p. is decessit sine prole (died without children). Source: John Burke, Bernard Burke, Peter Townend, ed. (1875). Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry. H. Colburn (p. 103). On this evidence I will set up a separate article for William and then sort out who wrote what. Jokestress (talk) 21:58, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Samuel (born 1771)
 * Maxwell (born 1773)
 * William (born 1776)
 * Valentine (born 1778, died 1823)
 * St. John (1786)
 * Good work! I'll see what I can find as well. bd2412  T 22:34, 1 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Just occurred to me, close-knit brothers might share a pseudonym. We may never know! bd2412  T 22:36, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

William Blacker, brother vs. distant relative
This "Colonel Blacker" attribution is a complicated and confusing mystery that has bothered me for years. Based on further research, it appears that while Valentine Blacker had a brother named William Blacker, the William Blacker who published some popular writings was in fact his distant relative - their grandfathers were half-brothers. This is laid out in Burke's Peerage, pages 103 and 104. For our purposes, the key info is:
 * Valentine Blacker (born 1597) had two sons:
 * GEORGE Blacker
 * Robert Blacker
 * WILLIAM Blacker = Elizabeth (1st wife) - not the author - see below
 * Stewart Blacker (born 1671) = Elizabeth
 * William (born 1709) - not the author - see below
 * Stewart (born 1740)
 * William Blacker (1777 - 1855) this is the author
 * George
 * Stewart
 * James-Stewart
 * Letitia
 * Sophia
 * Eliza
 * Louisa
 * Caroline
 * William - not the author - see above
 * Henry
 * George
 * Eliza
 * Barbara
 * Martha
 * Alicia
 * Jane
 * Letitia
 * Lucinda
 * Latham
 * Henry
 * George
 * Barbara
 * WILLIAM Blacker = Theodosia (2nd wife) - not the author - see below
 * Samuel Blacker
 * St. John Blacker (born 1743) = Grace (1st wife)
 * Samuel Blacker (born 1771)
 * Maxwell Blacker (born 1773)
 * William Blacker (born 1773) - not the author - see below
 * Valentine Blacker (born 1778) our author and namesake of the founder of their ancestral home
 * St. John Blacker (born 1786)
 * Mary
 * Catherine
 * Grace
 * Charlotte

I have updated both articles accordingly. I encourage others to check my work. Jokestress (talk) 10:12, 10 October 2012 (UTC)