User talk:Billmckern

Timothy Davis
Thanks for the help with Timothy Davis. I have conflicting sources saying where he's from, one saying Utica, NY and another for Newark, NY. I'm pretty sure what's happening there is that he was born in New Jersey, but moved to Utica later, but I can't completely corroborate it because it's between censuses. My reason for the thought is that a pretty well known architect named Alexander Jackson Davis, at least according to some genealogy sites, who has a similar migratory pattern and is his cousin through his father (Sylvanus-->Cornelius-->Alexander), only he opted to stay in New York while Timothy took off to Kentucky/Missouri for some reason.

I'm currently closing on a house his son lived in when he established the Pickwick Mill and have been trying to find out more about buildings he and his family built to see if there are similarities in layout and style that might give some insight into what renovations have happened over time and what is original. Hence why I'm drilling pretty hard on a couple of unincorporated communities and relatively obscure people.

Thank you from Dalone55
As you might have guessed, I'm a bit new at this. Thank you for editing the photo of Ann Eliza Brainerd Smith. I'm working at connecting another photo, this of her husband the Governor. You may have to rescue me there also. I thought it more important to get the photo attached than not. Dalone55 (talk) 16:42, 9 November 2017 (UTC)


 * No trouble -- If you want, you can click the edit tab on other pages and see what the formats look like. I added several photos to the Lesley J. McNair page, so that might be a good one to start with.  That's how I learned.  Let me know if I can do anything else to help.
 * Billmckern (talk) 17:31, 9 November 2017 (UTC)

DYK for Jedediah Hyde Baxter
Alex ShihTalk 12:47, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

DYK for Herbert Thomas Johnson
Nyttend (talk) 16:02, 6 January 2014 (UTC)

Edward H. Ripley
Would it be all right with you if I nominated your article of Edward H. Ripley at Did you know? — Maile (talk) 01:21, 11 February 2014 (UTC)


 * By all means, feel free.
 * Billmckern (talk) 01:22, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

Request for comment
There is a discussion at Talk:List of United States congressional districts related to style of new district-level maps for the post-2013 United States congressional districts. Your input would be appreciated. Thank you. --7partparadigm talk 02:24, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

DYK for Edward H. Ripley
The DYK project (nominate) 16:02, 13 February 2014 (UTC)


 * Wow. Did you check the Page view stats for this being on today's front page?  Impressive. — Maile  (talk) 01:22, 14 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Those stats are impressive. I noticed that several people jumped in and made edits to the Edward H. Ripley page, too -- some of which were quickly reversed.
 * Billmckern (talk) 01:27, 14 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Yeah, alien abductions and other fun stuff. They really ought to protect these articles while they're on the main page. — Maile  (talk) 01:33, 14 February 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

 * Connormah (talk) -- Thanks very much. I keep meaning to go back and add details about Gray's family, but I haven't gotten to that yet.  I'll try to follow up soon.
 * Billmckern (talk) 17:00, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

Orville E. Babcock
Hello Billmckern. I thought you might be interested in editing President Ulysses S. Grant's personal secretary, staff officer, and war time comrade Orville E. Babcock. He was from Vermont. I have been editing on his biography, mainly focusing on the Whiskey Ring. He is mentioned by biographers of Grant. This makes editing on his Wikipedia biography article difficult for myself, because I am relying on several different authors, McFeely, Smith, Brands, and White. If you have time or interest in Babcock, your suggestions or editing on the article would be highly appreciated by me. Thanks. Cmguy777 (talk) 18:00, 8 February 2017 (UTC)


 * -- I'll try to work on this when I can.
 * Billmckern (talk) 16:17, 12 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks Billmckern. Sounds great ! Cmguy777 (talk) 21:01, 12 February 2017 (UTC)

Robert Williams disambiguation
Are you sure that Robert Williams (North Carolina politician) and Robert Williams (Mississippi politician) are two different people? I strongly doubt that the birth and death dates used in the NC article are legitimate. This, this, and this, among a plethora of sources, certainly lead one to believe that they are one and the same. If you have reliable sources that indicate that they are different people, I will refrain from merging the articles. Star Garnet (talk) 05:04, 12 February 2017 (UTC)


 * -- I'm not positive that they're two different people. I had found a source which made this claim, and I tried to verify it, but I've never been able to.  Given the number of other sources which indicate that Robert Williams of North Carolina and Mississippi was the same person, I'd say that's probably the accurate version.  I don't see any issue with merging the articles.
 * I'll try again to find the original reference and see if i can verify it. If it turns out to be true, I can always create an article for the other individual of the same name.
 * Billmckern (talk) 16:16, 12 February 2017 (UTC)

Invitation.
Hello Billmckern, I’m sending this invitation to you, as to a contributor to the article Lifesaving Medal, who probably will have interest to have a look at the newly created Bravery Barnstar on the page Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Wikipedia Awards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Wikipedia_Awards

As this Project currently regarded as semi-active, and not visited by many Wikipedians, then I, as participant of this Project, decided to send the invitations to right people, whose works on Wikipedia have been related to this topic. The Editor Dennis Pietras offered the idea to create the Bravery Barnstar, and I tried my best in regards of design of this, as I think, much needed Barnstar; thus if you will appreciate both, the idea and the design, please let other Editors know about that by writing words of support. All the best. Chris Oxford.Chris Oxford (talk) 22:17, 15 February 2017 (UTC) @Billmckern, Thank you very much for your reply and for the appreciation of design. Thing is, that a complete description of the meaning of the Star and to whom it should be awarded and for what, is in the open discussion in the end of the same page. The place, where you left your message was more for the discussion of the design between the author of idea - Editor Dennis Pietras and Editors, who offered him different version of designs, as I did. Then Editor Dennis Pietras decided to choose the version of the Bravery Barnstar, which I offered.

So in the end of the same page you will see the discussion open for voters. All the best.Chris Oxford (talk) 22:19, 16 February 2017 (UTC)


 * On it. Made my comment.  Thanks,
 * Billmckern (talk) 00:37, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

Primaries
Although in many many many cases, a primary election is tantamount to full election, these election charts only depict the candidates in the general election. HOWEVER, it would be good to start a new section after the summary which depicts all details of the elections, such as primary contests, etc. —GoldRingChip 18:28, 17 February 2017 (UTC)


 * -- But what if there was no general election? I leave it to you to figure out to format and present it...
 * Billmckern (talk) 18:49, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Are you sure there was no general election?—GoldRingChip 22:24, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Found it. Although the contested primary was in September 1911, the uncontested general was in January 1912.  I've moved that reference to United States Senate special election in Virginia, 1912. Thanks for keeping up with this; it's great to have someone else who's as passionate about these details! —GoldRingChip 22:38, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
 * - That's good work. I was checking Newspapers.com and Newspaperarchive.com, and I found reference to the September 1911 primary, and to a November 1911 statewide election, but the November stories contained nothing about the Senate race.  It didn't occur to me that there would have been a general election on a different date.
 * Billmckern (talk) 00:05, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Funny you should say that, for some earlier articles, I relied almost 100% on newspapers (esp. NYT), and they were growing less and less reliable. Then I found the Tribune Almanac and the World Almanac, which made it much better.  Once I get to the elections after the 17th amendment, newspapers will be more reliable I suspect, because all the elections will be published at once in November and I won't have to fish for them one-by-one.  Please feel free to use as many resources as possible, however.  Keep up the good work!—GoldRingChip 01:22, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
 * (kibitzing) As the 17th Amendment did not go into force until 1913, wouldn't this election have been by the Virginia General Assembly? Since the GA convenes in January and likely did then too, they would have started to try to elect a senator the week after they convened, in joint convention. I'd see if you could find the journal of the House of Delegates or Virginia Senate for 1912.--Wehwalt (talk) 19:25, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
 * This seems to be it.--Wehwalt (talk) 19:34, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Fillmore
Thanks for your edits. What would be quite useful, if you are minded to dig for it, is a little info on Fillmore's ancestry as in where they came from in Europe. I'm traveling at present and most of my sources are not. All the best,--Wehwalt (talk) 19:23, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for William G. Price Jr.
I was actually amazed to see this since Will Price, a Quaker architect, lived in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania a couple of miles from Chester. The 2 William Price's must have known each other since Will designed the Chester Armory. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 21:18, 28 February 2017 (UTC)

Merger discussion for USS Princeton disaster of 1844
An article that you have been involved in editing&mdash;USS Princeton disaster of 1844&mdash;has been proposed for merging with another article. If you are interested, please participate in the merger discussion. Thank you. RM2KX (talk) 19:52, 1 March 2017 (UTC)

Democrat Party
Greetings. Thank you for your attention to the article Democrat Party (epithet). Please have a look at Talk:Democrat Party (epithet). —Sangdeboeuf (talk) 14:58, 2 March 2017 (UTC)

On article talk pages, please focus on article content, not contributors. I am happy to discuss specific changes to the article, but these kinds of personal insults are blatantly uncivil. See also WP:TALK. —Sangdeboeuf (talk) 21:22, 21 April 2017 (UTC)


 * , -- Sangdeboeuf, YOU'RE the one who has the problem.  You're NOT "willing to discuss specific changes".  What you do is lay down conditions and make stuff up, and then change the conditions once the original ones have been met.  You're being disrespectful of the work of others and insisting that only you are right, and that you get to have everything your own way.
 * That's a problem for others, so you should stop.
 * Billmckern (talk) 21:32, 21 April 2017 (UTC)

"Deciding vote for Jefferson?"...
You posted about Lyon's "Deciding vote for Jefferson?" and the post was placed on the GA Review page - Talk:Matthew Lyon/GA1. Wanted you to know that I moved the post/thread to the main talkpage Talk:Matthew Lyon as that seems to be a better/more appropriate location for the post. Shearonink (talk) 03:33, 7 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Thanks for moving my commentary -- I thought I placed it on the talk page. I guess I should have paid closer attention.
 * Billmckern (talk) 12:09, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant
Hello Billmckern. I was wondering if you could look at the Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant article. It's rather large. I have made some progress on the lede section. Do you have any suggestions on how to make the article better ? You are welcome to make any edits if you have time. Thanks. Cmguy777 (talk) 01:26, 17 March 2017 (UTC)

Vermont?
Hey Bill! I just read that you are based in Vermont: whereabouts? I move to Brattleboro a year and a half ago, and haven't met any Wikimedians up here. Sadads (talk) 13:46, 7 May 2017 (UTC)


 * Barre City. I don't spend much time there at present, as much as I'd like to, because I'm employed in Virginia.  I go home every so often to see family and friends, pick up mail, etc.
 * Billmckern (talk) 14:57, 7 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Awesome! But bummer: D.C. area suck you in end, end of career with the Guard/Military? My dad had a similar military career ending down there. If there is a window of time that you plan to be up here for a while: I want to get the Vermont Historical Society to run an editathon at some point, and they have a really good library in Barre. I have the contact for the state librarian, but have been super busy over the last few months: so haven't reached out yet, Sadads (talk) 15:01, 7 May 2017 (UTC)
 * I've been in the National Guard for almost 35 years. I was a full timer for 17, and then went to work as a contract employee last year.  Remains to be seen how much longer I'll stay in uniform as a part timer.
 * I've been to the VHS library in Barre -- it's at the old middle school on Washington Street, which was the high school before that. I've been a NHS member for several years.  Let me know if you follow up on the editathon.  There are some Vermont-specific articles that could definitely use some work.
 * Billmckern (talk) 15:15, 7 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Sounds a lot like my dad's career :) Would be awesome to have more Wikimedians up here in the Vermont area, but I know what the D.C. area offers.
 * As for topics, definitely: sounds like a plan! Are you going to try to come to Wikimania? It sounds like they are doing a WikiConference North America PreConference before Wikimania proper, since its in Montreal. Sadads (talk) 16:47, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

For you
-- Gwillhickers (talk) 21:39, 26 June 2017 (UTC)

A goat for you!
Thanks for your work on Seneca Haselton!

Owlsmcgee (talk) 17:30, 24 November 2017 (UTC) 

John Parsons Cook
Hello,

I've seen your contributions to Iowa's 2nd congressional district (thanks!) and I was wondering if you had an image available of John Parsons Cook to complete the list. Also, an image of Benjamin T. Frederick would complete the 5th district's list. Thanks again.

WhatsUpWorld (talk) 00:27, 15 December 2017 (UTC)


 * I usually run through all the names for one Congressional district to find and add as many illustrations as I can. If I haven't added anything for Cook and Frederick, it probably means I searched but didn't find anything.  I'll look some more and see if I can turn up something.
 * Billmckern (talk) 01:04, 15 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks! WhatsUpWorld (talk) 01:06, 15 December 2017 (UTC)

Richard M. Blatchford (born 1798)
Would you mind if I move this page to Richard Milford Blatchford? The page move is currently blocked by a redirect, but it will be an uncontroversial technical move, unless you object. Lwarrenwiki (talk) 15:35, 31 January 2018 (UTC)

That's fine. Thanks for doing it. I used "Richard M. Blatchford (born 1798)" because there was an existing red link for it. Most of the wiki links I've added in the few minutes since creating the article were for Richard Milford Blatchford.

Billmckern (talk) 15:39, 31 January 2018 (UTC)


 * , Thanks for your help with Richard M. Blatchford (attorney) and the rest of the Blatchford family.  I found most of the content for the article pretty quickly, and created the content in one sitting.  I appreciate the assistance with upgrading, cleanup and "prettifying" -- including coming to consensus on details like what the article should be named, and then making the necessary edits and re-edits.
 * Thanks again.
 * Billmckern (talk) 19:29, 31 January 2018 (UTC)
 * Hah, I should be thanking you for creating a (very nice) article. :) Galobtter (pingó mió) 04:34, 1 February 2018 (UTC)

John I. Slingerland
Thank you for your significant contribution to the John I. Slingerland page.

I'm changing his son's name back to Harmon once again. Harmon is my great-great grandfather, I have his personal records including his death certificate, I lived in his house & I visit his grave. I definitely know his name which is wrong in Burhans Genealogy on both pages referenced. It is correct in the death index. Please leave it as Harmon.

Thanks, Slvirgilio (talk) 02:19, 25 February 2018 (UTC)

Erastus W. Jewett
I hope to get this article to B-class at some point soon. Over the weekend I'm goikg to check for more sources and go through the books to ensure the information is accurate and that nothing was left out.  Vermont &#124; reply here  17:56, 5 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Also, I'll add another rank insignia in his infobox for his position in the Vermont Militia.  Vermont &#124; reply here  17:59, 5 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Sounds good. Jewett's article popped up in my watch list the other day and I had some idle time on my hands, so I figured I'd try to make some improvements to the article. Fortunately there were a few pretty comprehensive sources available that were easy to find.
 * Billmckern (talk) 18:42, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

Daniel Wozniak
I edited, however, I'm new and probably did it wrong. So figured I'd let you know since you're great at this. Nauertzy (talk) 05:57, 10 April 2018 (UTC)

Cane fighting
Thanks for the help with John Randolph of Roanoke. Brooks v. Sumner is famous enough, and unique in that nobody ever talks about other cane fights between congressmen, that I couldn't trust any assertion of another such fight without sources like you provided. Nyttend (talk) 00:01, 11 September 2018 (UTC)

Winner (Better Call Saul)
For the plot of "Winner", you described the lab as being of Gale's design. But I thought Gale said something like, "We need ventilation, but I could make it work for a rudimentary cook." I got the impression Gus was bringing in Gale after the lab was designed. It's not a big deal, but I'm wondering if I missed something? Hoof Hearted (talk) 12:47, 9 October 2018 (UTC)


 * According to this review. "The most stunning new information imparted was that Lavandería Brillante’s transformation into an criminal-architectural marvel was, schematically, Gale’s design..."
 * This one reads "Gale Boetticher (David Costabile), who meticulously designed the lab per his specifications as lead cook, claims that he can work in the premises anyway, but Gus, ever the perfectionist, counters, "Not until it’s ready.""
 * I'll check the episode out in detail later today to make sure these reviews are accurate.
 * Billmckern (talk) 13:05, 9 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Those are good sources, but I suspect they're jumping the gun a little bit. Not trying to put too fine a point on it, but perhaps this episode revealed that the lab will become Gale's design.  I think the sources you give could be interpretted that way too.  It really seemed like that was the first time Gale was even aware of the "superlab".  I'd be interested in your take on it after your review.  Hoof Hearted (talk) 13:38, 9 October 2018 (UTC)
 * I don't see how the reviewers would be jumping the gun, since they're talking about the events in the present tense. "Is revealed", not "will be revealed", for example.
 * I'm sold on the idea of the lab being built according to Gale's plan as reasonable description. At the start of the scene, Gale tells Gus "I feel like we've been talking about this forever and now... here it is."  Then he says "I mean, it's not exactly what we talked about, but it has possibilities, even unfinished."  He adds "Ventilation at this point is the main hurdle", meaning he knows what the lab should have in terms of equipment and sees that it doesn't yet have everything.
 * To me all of that makes clear that Gus and Gale planned the lab's construction before Gus hired Werner, and since Gale is the expert, he would have provided detailed information about what would be required for a lab like that to be operated successfully. Gale's not coming in to the project at the tail end of the construction, he's clearly been there from the beginning.  Sure, Gale doesn't explicitly say "You have constructed this lab according to my specifications", but in context, I think it's obvious that's what happened.
 * Billmckern (talk) 15:33, 9 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Excellent work. I had forgotten about Gale's initial comments, and have come to agree with your analysis. It was probably the first time Gale was seeing it with his own eyes, which I mistook for discovery.  Hoof Hearted (talk) 15:46, 9 October 2018 (UTC)

Best wishes for a happy 2019
BoringHistoryGuy (talk) 00:30, 3 January 2019 (UTC)

Question
Hi! Thanks for the amazing work you've done on Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr.. I noticed you added "url-access=subscription" to a number of references, which seems like useful information. I haven't seen this before, does it make the page act differently? Thanks! Jacona (talk) 10:51, 14 May 2019 (UTC)


 * "url-access=subscription" is a new parameter and replaced "subscription=yes". Now instead of seeing the text that a subscription is required, readers see the icon of a locked padlock.  it's supposed to let the reader know that a subscription is required in order to view the actual content of the citation.
 * The old "subscription=yes" parameter was deprecated about two weeks ago. The new "url-access=subscription" parameter replaced it in articles automatically over the last several days thanks to the work of a bot.  For articles that already had "subscription=yes" removed manually, or didn't have it included initially, editors will have to enter the new parameter manually.  That's what I did with the Lowry article.
 * Billmckern (talk) 11:57, 14 May 2019 (UTC)

給您的星章！

 * Likewise. I'll probably do a bio article of Porter in the near future.  I'm also trying to find a decent illustration of him.  Everything I've seen so far is too low quality for Wikimedia Commons.
 * Billmckern (talk) 05:38, 21 August 2019 (UTC)

A Place on Wikipedia
We are here only for a brief time. Thought you might appreciate the award on your user page. Btw, thank you for your service to our nation. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 04:58, 23 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the kind words.
 * Billmckern (talk) 05:52, 23 October 2019 (UTC)

Thank You
I can't thank you enough for all of the help you have given me with the recent articles I have made on former Burlington mayors. I would give you a barnstar, but it seems that you have already been recognized enough. :) Jon698 Jon698 21:33, 30 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Thanks. My particular interests are US military and political history, especially Vermont and New York. I've done bios for Vermont's adjutants general, statewide officeholders, and Supreme Court justices. I'm currently working on and off on bios for Vermont's US Attorneys. After that, maybe Vermont's US marshals.
 * Billmckern (talk) 08:22, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

Discretionary sanctions notice for post-1932 American politics and living or recently deceased people
Doug Weller talk 10:51, 18 December 2019 (UTC)

DYK for Theodora Agnes Peck
Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:01, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

ITN recognition for Amo Houghton

 * Stephen got here before I did, but good job with updating this article Billmckern. - Indefensible (talk) 00:06, 9 March 2020 (UTC)

The lawyer's 26 year old son told us how the scam would be done in 1946 and got a Master's degree for it!
Hey man- thanks for your great work on the 1948 United States Senate election in Texas page. The lawyer's son told us how the scam would be done in 1946 and got a Master's degree for it! Is there anything outside of Caro that tells us more about this thesis paper? There are some details in the paragraph on Wikipedia that are not found on page 321 in Caro's book. Geographyinitiative (talk) 04:11, 20 April 2020 (UTC)
 * The thesis is called "Political conditions among Texas Mexicans along the Rio Grande". He did a republishing in 1974. I haven't found an online copy yet. I'm in Taiwan and the Amazon seller doesn't send stuff here, but if I could I would send you the money to buy this (like 6 dollars) and read it for us! Geographyinitiative (talk) 04:41, 20 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I found it on Ebay. The list of excluded countries for shipping does not include Taiwan. Does that help?
 * Billmckern (talk) 10:05, 20 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I just tried to buy it, but ebay said, "This item does not ship to Taiwan. Here is what you can do: Change address Pick a different item that ships to you". Thanks for the advice ebay! Anyway, I will get it when I get stateside unless you get it first. Geographyinitiative (talk) 10:12, 20 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I pulled up the quote in the Google Books version and found the page number. I added the details to the reference.
 * Billmckern (talk) 10:17, 20 April 2020 (UTC)

Mayors of Burlington
Hello, thank you for all of the hard work you put in helping getting all of the mayors of Burlington covered. When I started less than 5 had articles and now only six lack articles. In the next few days I will start working on those six. Thank you for all of your help. - Jon698 talk 00:21 13 May 2020

First Republican Convention?
With my recent edit, I was mostly motivated by the disconnect between the History of the Republican Party (United States) article, which says, "The Republican Party launched its first national convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1856." and the 1856 convention article, which claimed the same for the Philadelphia convention. Also, the convention article doesn't say that it was the first nominating convention, it says it was the first "national convention". I guess this is one of those calls where we need to see what the secondary sources have to say, and even then it's a judgement call. Brianyoumans (talk) 22:35, 6 July 2020 (UTC)


 * The source cited in the article on the history of the Republican Party is a Pittsburgh newspaper from February 1856. I think sources from after early 1856 would indicate that the first national convention was the nominating convention in June. When sources talk about a party's convention, as far as I can tell they always mean the convention that nominates candidates for president and vice president. If you're going to look into this further, please let me know what you think.
 * Regards,
 * Billmckern (talk) 22:41, 6 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Well, it does seem to be a popular claim in Pittsburgh - see here]. Also see this. We could simply change the word "national" to "nominating" in the 1856 convention article lead, and that would be completely accurate. Brianyoumans (talk) 23:46, 6 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Incidently, I got here from writing an article on Edward D. Gazzam, who was at the 1856 convention in Philadelphia. I'm not sure whether he was at the Pittsburgh meeting, although he was from Pittsburgh. Brianyoumans (talk) 23:49, 6 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Maybe call one the first organizing convention and the other the first nominating convention? those would seem to be two accurate statements that we could easily provide references for.
 * Billmckern (talk) 00:23, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

I'm totally ok with that. Brianyoumans (talk) 03:39, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

Help
Hello! :) I translated an article from the Russian Wikipedia. Please, if it does not bother you, check it and remove the machine translation if there is one. Article: Fyodor Samokhin Respectfully, Урыл (talk) 11:15, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

Robert Byrd
So are you saying the content was redundant? :) S0091 (talk) 21:09, 23 August 2020 (UTC)


 * Yes. the passage about the election for local leader was included in consecutive paragraphs. I deleted it from the first and left it in the second.
 * Billmckern (talk) 21:15, 23 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Oh sorry. I really meant this as a lighthearted comment because of your edit summary, rather than an actual concern.  I do appreciate the reply. :) S0091 (talk) 21:23, 23 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your reply. Yeah, I got it. I could have called it the Department of Redundancy Department.
 * I just get annoyed at editors who seem to know that Robert Byrd was in the KKK for a few years in the 1940s - and nothing else about him.
 * And of course, those same editors will never be found discussing the racism of the subjects in the articles about Thurmond, Helms, etc. Kind of an obvious double standard.
 * Billmckern (talk) 21:32, 23 August 2020 (UTC)
 * That is interesting. I have not thought about Jesse Helms in years and too young at the time to understand politics (not that I have a great understanding now). Well now you have piqued my curiosity. Thanks! S0091 (talk) 21:52, 23 August 2020 (UTC)

Recent edits at Nantucket
Hi Billmckern, unfortunately I don't have time tomorrow to review whether these recent edits at Nantucket about the municipality and county being a consolidated entity are true and properly sourced. Perhaps you could look into it. I suggested that the editor use the talk page. My continued reversion might start an edit war. Cheers, HopsonRoad (talk) 02:03, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

Bruce Margruder
You don't have any problem with my GA nomination of Bruce Magruder do you? Would you rather I left it to you since you are the creator and sole editor of the page? REDMAN 2019 ( talk ) 13:14, 30 October 2020 (UTC)


 * Feel free. I have no issues it it. Thanks for letting me know.
 * Billmckern (talk) 15:38, 30 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks! REDMAN 2019  ( talk ) 17:00, 31 October 2020 (UTC)

William Morgan
Just wanted to say that—lucky for you—I was (ironically) glad to see that you had reverted my edit, as, in the meantime I had a chance to read Morgan's "exposé" (note the quotations), and realized that—bereft of any actual scandalous secret-revealing concerning the nefarious nature of your cult—the entire plot was a ruse by your "society" to create the Anti-Masonic Party as controlled opposition. Anyway, have a nice day! WikiEditorial101 (talk) 02:17, 15 January 2021 (UTC)


 * I have no idea what you mean with this comment.
 * As I explained in the comment for the revert, I reversed the edit because the organization that said it had paid Morgan to leave wasn't saying that they had been accused of killing him and were denying it. They were denying only that Morgan was dead.
 * Billmckern (talk) 02:28, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

Got it. WikiEditorial101 (talk) 02:44, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

Thaddeus Fairbanks
I created this article on a descendant of Jonathan Fairbanks. I have nominated it for Good Article. Take a look. --Doug Coldwell (talk)

Marshall Timeline
Not sure what you are doing with your sfn additions on George C. Marshall. Is there a timeline somewhere? There is something missing there - or I am missing something. --John (User:Jwy/talk) 01:28, 7 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Never mind. I was missing something.  When I clicked on the footnote, my page barely moved so I didn't see the citation at the top.  Sorry to bother!  --John (User:Jwy/talk) 01:29, 7 April 2021 (UTC)
 * OK - as long as you're all set.
 * Billmckern (talk) 01:32, 7 April 2021 (UTC)
 * It'd be good if there was some way to combine footnotes 8 and 12, actually. That's what confused me.  I'll look into when I'm more awake.  --John (User:Jwy/talk) 02:31, 7 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Fixing up the Marshall article is something I've wanted to do for a while. I'll probably make it my next project - adding content, filling in bare references, adding references where they're needed, combining duplicates, etc.
 * Billmckern (talk) 10:10, 7 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Great! He's one of my favorites. --John (User:Jwy/talk) 04:05, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

Undo request
Please remove the "Subscription required" tags you added at

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sumter_de_Leon_Lowry_Jr.&diff=897007395&oldid=896406663

Subscription is not required for any newspapers.com url that contains the wird "clip". Thank you. deisenbe (talk) 11:35, 5 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the reminder. I forgot to do that after I changed the original references from the pages on Newspspers.com to the clips of the relevant articles.
 * Billmckern (talk) 13:01, 5 July 2021 (UTC)

July 2021
Hello, I'm TJRC. I noticed that you added or changed content in an article, List of University of Arizona people, but you didn't provide a reliable source. It's been removed and archived in the page history for now, but if you'd like to include a citation and re-add it, please do so. You can have a look at referencing for beginners. If you think I made a mistake, you can leave me a message on my talk page. Thank you. TJRC (talk) 04:22, 6 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Fixed.
 * Billmckern (talk) 10:16, 6 July 2021 (UTC)

Gen. Pershing
Re: Trump tweet. Please see: Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history. Thank you -  wolf  00:44, 29 August 2021 (UTC)

I guess we'll see if anyone cares to weigh in on this debate. Again.

Billmckern (talk) 00:53, 29 August 2021 (UTC)

Camp Funston
There is information here which might be of interest to you. Sincerely, BeenAroundAWhile (talk) 03:59, 30 September 2021 (UTC)

Ambrose Kingsland
Thank you for your re-edit of Ambrose Kingsland. The source, re that Kingsland "remained active in Whig politics", was an XLibris publication. When I first inserted that citation, I got a Wikipedia pop-up that XLibris was among publishers Wikipedia considered "unreliable". So I dropped it but omitted to delete the associated text. I then decided to delete that whole sentence, because the NYT article re the Constitutional Union Party merely listed Kingsland as an officer of the NY Cooper Union meeting in support of the Constitutional Party, which (on second thoughts) might be a leap to construe as being "active" in the Constitutional Union Party. Sorry my edit explanation was confusing - could have worded it better.Nkings12 (talk) 14:10, 24 October 2021 (UTC)

Omar Bradley
Since you did such a great job on Lesley J. McNair, I was wondering if you could be persuaded to rewrite Omar Bradley? Hawkeye7  (discuss)  23:00, 30 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Let me see what I can do. I'll try to get to it if I have time.
 * Billmckern (talk) 10:57, 4 November 2021 (UTC)


 * There's no hurry. The article has been this way for twenty years already. It has some interesting bits, but is largely unreferenced, and my experience with unreferenced sections of articles is that they usually have to be completely rewritten. Hawkeye7   (discuss)  18:08, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

Whiskey Ring
Hello. I am improving the Whiskey Ring article. I know you have edited the Orville Babcock article. If you want to or have time, any opinions or editing on the Whiskey Ring article would be helpful. Thanks. Cmguy777 (talk) 05:24, 4 November 2021 (UTC)


 * If I have any edit or improvements I'll make them when I have time or suggest them to you.


 * Billmckern (talk) 10:57, 4 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Sounds good. Thanks. Cmguy777 (talk) 22:04, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

George Anson Starkweather
Hello, I am new to this, so forgive me if this is not the right medium to communicate. But, I was looking at George Anson Starkweather (Michigan) is a nephew of George Anson Starkweather (New York). Is there a connection to George Anson Starkweather (Pennsylvania) that you are familiar with.

ty — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gtstommy (talk • contribs) 01:48, 18 November 2021 (UTC)


 * Take a look at the note near the bottom of the article on George Anson Starkweather (New York politician). "There were several George Anson Starkweathers, all related and living in the same time period, including Starkweather's son George Anson Starkweather, nephew George Anson Starkweather, of Plymouth, Michigan, and third cousin once removed George Anson Starkweather, a lawyer and merchant in Waymart, Pennsylvania.


 * Billmckern (talk) 02:02, 18 November 2021 (UTC)

Robert Byrd
Hi there,
 * re: Robert Byrd
 * 19 May 2021‎ Billmckern‎ Undid revision 1024033099 by Lindenfall. "I don't believe the adjudication on this topic has been finalized yet."
 * What's the verdict, then?
 * Recruiting is well-evidenced in the KKK section, linked above, and is included on Ku Klux Klan members in United States politics.
 * Thanks, Lindenfall (talk) 21:36, 18 November 2021 (UTC)


 * This was sorted out a while ago. The second sentence of the second paragraph was the agreed upon addition.


 * Billmckern (talk) 23:49, 18 November 2021 (UTC)

Work on Roger Wheeler article
Thank you for your outstanding efforts improving the Roger Wheeler article. As a matter of 'personal policy', I will be aggressive employing the formal policies on unsourced information in an article, particularly when it has mouldered, challenged, for eons. Since I'm not a topic expert or even particularly invested, I'm not a good match for performing anything more than this most cursory action of removing the unsourced material. But, sometimes, it has the desired effect of drawing the attention of someone capable and willing to invest the effort, and in this instance, it yielded an embarrassment of riches. Thank you! cheers. Anastrophe (talk) 21:05, 13 December 2021 (UTC)

George C. Marshall maintenance tags
Hey there. I saw your comment on the George C. Marshall page questioning maintenance tags in the lede of the article. This was done after a failed try to upgrade the article to B-Class in WikiProject Military history. The reviewer did not approve the upgrade due to a lack of citations in the article, specifically in the first lede paragraphs. Hope this helps answer your question! General George Marshall (talk) 16:31, 11 January 2022 (UTC)


 * I've never understood references in the lede to be a requirement, given that the lede summarizes the article, and the references are included in the article's main body. But if the reviewer wants references in the lede, that's not an insurmountable problem.


 * Billmckern (talk) 18:41, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

Edward G. Janeway
Hi Bill- you ask in your edit summary/ reversion "Why say the same thing twice?"; the answer as far as I see it is "it's standard article format", but since it bothers you, I'm not interested in pushing it, just thought I'd clear up your apparent confusion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.109.197.34 (talk) 15:38, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

Isaac F. Redfield
Thanks for the improvements! I tidied up a few places, but you added a lot to it. Brianyoumans (talk) 20:35, 28 January 2022 (UTC)

Joab Hoisington

 * Thanks for work on Joab Hoisington who is my 5th great grandfather on mother's side, and a Rev War patriot. I went to Woodstock, VT, last year just to see it, because of him. Arfy4545 (talk) 22:31, 17 April 2022 (UTC)

Lucius Lamar Quote
Cheers for finding the reference for that quote. I was searching for like an hour and a half for it, and for some reason the only reference it appeared under was the Ken Burns doc. I now realize it was because I was searching for it with that specific punctuation -- and correcting for that, the Mayes source appears immediately (I also looked through his text, and I must've skimmed over it!). I did think the quote was probably real, but I wanted a more solid reference, which you nicely provided. Thanks again! PoliticsIsExciting (talk) 20:01, 21 May 2022 (UTC)

Brattan vs. Bratton
Hello,

Thanks for your edit here - I am curious how we know his name is spelled as "Brattan" vs. "Bratton" - the only source on Robert Franklin Brattan has his name spelled as "Bratton". Thanks, --Engineerchange (talk) 12:29, 10 August 2022 (UTC)


 * Sources I checked include:


 * https://books.google.com/books?id=v-ckAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA123


 * https://books.google.com/books?id=yRTxpknOiGUC&pg=PA51


 * https://books.google.com/books?id=_ZkFAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA409


 * https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7856004/robert-franklin-brattan (gravestone photo)


 * I also informed the office of the Historian of the US House. The staff there concurred with my assessment and updated his online official Congressional bio accordingly. Billmckern (talk) 19:42, 10 August 2022 (UTC)


 * This all looks good to me. I just made some edits to the page to reflect a number of details I got from those sources and others. Good find! --Engineerchange (talk) 23:31, 10 August 2022 (UTC)

Speedy deletion nomination of Category:Military people from Sacramento, California


A tag has been placed on Category:Military people from Sacramento, California indicating that it is currently empty, and is not a disambiguation category, a category redirect, a featured topics category, under discussion at Categories for discussion, or a project category that by its nature may become empty on occasion. If it remains empty for seven days or more, it may be deleted under section C1 of the criteria for speedy deletion.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself. Liz Read! Talk! 03:07, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!
Mycranthebigman of Alaska ^_^ 18:42, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

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Southern strategy
You brought up an important point about the conservatism of southern Democrats in the Southern strategy. I am actually about to add that into the section. I also plan on including the dramatic rise of Republican officials starting in the 60s and early 70s. Jon698 (talk) 17:03, 22 July 2023 (UTC)

Nomination of Lennie Briscoe for deletion
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Kurt Busch
Dude, I don't appreciate you removing what I added, and I am telling the truth Kurt Busch did indeed win a cup race after bypassing Xfinity, bypassing meaning skipping Xfinity all together, sure his Xfinity debut came in 2006 at Texas where he won which was the only time he had rookie stripes, but Kurt Busch is definitely 100% the first NASCAR driver to win a cup race after going from trucks to cup by skipping Xfinity, if you don't believe me do your research more, I'm going to give you until tomorrow 3:00 p.m., I hope you realize that I am right.

Sincerely mad blade MadBlade 2 (talk) 01:57, 24 October 2023 (UTC)


 * CITE A SOURCE. You find a reference, you find a reference template, you use the template to add the reference. That's how this works. Billmckern (talk) 02:02, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
 * you sure?, I mean there might be one, but I do know Kurt is the first NASCAR driver to win a cup race after bypassing Xfinity. MadBlade 2 (talk) 13:40, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is concerned with reliable sources, not an individual's firsthand knowledge. If you can't cite a source, the item you want to include is probably not encyclopedic. Billmckern (talk) 13:55, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

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Thank you...
...for your substantial improvements to James Hartness! Cheers, HopsonRoad (talk) 15:22, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

Invitation to join New pages patrol
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Adding cites to John A. Buchanan
Hey, great addition of citations to John A. Buchanan. The last few edits that you've made have pushed citations that already cited the details to after the cited statement.

E.g., this edit makes it seem that "bio" and "scva" only cite that he lived on a farm, when the intention prior to your edit was that "bio" and "scva" cite when he was elected and when he retired as a judge, as well as when he lived on the farm. Your addition of in-line citations have impacted the integrity of the prior in-line citations.

Hope this makes sense. --Engineerchange (talk) 17:15, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

Keep an eye out for the finished product. I've done this a time or two, so I think I'm reasonably proficient. Billmckern (talk) 17:17, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

FAR for 1880 Republican National Convention
I have nominated 1880 Republican National Convention for a featured article review here. Please join the discussion on whether this article meets the featured article criteria. Articles are typically reviewed for two weeks. If substantial concerns are not addressed during the review period, the article will be moved to the Featured Article Removal Candidates list for a further period, where editors may declare "Keep" or "Delist" in regards to the article's featured status. The instructions for the review process are here. Hog Farm Talk 18:01, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Thomas of the 8th Vermont
Point taken on his prior experience with the militia. See my not on my revisinf inre Benedict. I think the fact that he served throughout despite his age was a testament for him.Boo Boo (talk) 18:40, 8 May 2024 (UTC)

Winfield Scott citation
Back in 2020, you added "Civil War - Pre-War Tactical Doctrine" to Winfield Scott. I've been working on cleaning up the Harvard cite errors & warnings at the article and the reference does not exist within the article. I attempted to find a publication with the title "Civil War - Pre-War Tactical Doctrine" (or something similar) and have been unsuccessful. If you could add the ref to the article or reply here with the work/book/publication & page if applicable that would be very helpful. Thanks & cheers - Shearonink (talk) 14:20, 15 July 2024 (UTC)


 * I don't understand what you're asking. The Scott article reads "In 1835, Scott wrote Infantry Tactics, Or, Rules for the Exercise and Maneuvre of the United States Infantry, a three-volume work that served as the standard drill manual for the United States Army until 1855." The sited source -- https://premium.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/civil_war-tactics.htm?ezoic_amp=1 -- reads "Official tactical doctrine prior to the beginning of the Civil War did not clearly recognize the potential of the new rifle-musket, Prior to 1855, the most influential tactical guide was General Winfield Scott's three-volume work, Infantry Tactics (1835), based on French tactical models of the Napoleonic Wars." The Scott article says he wrote a three volume work called Infantry Tactics in 1835, and it was the standard work until 1855. The cited source says the same thing. So I don't understand what the issue is.


 * If your concern is more sources or a better source, here are some: https://books.google.com/books?id=qyZepY13ypEC&pg=PA20, https://books.google.com/books?id=2kytKqzBfnQC&pg=PA22 , https://books.google.com/books?id=dYlvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 , https://www.historynet.com/the-education-of-winfield-scott/.


 * If these references aren't sufficient, or if I've misunderstood your concern, please let me know. Billmckern (talk) 22:27, 15 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Ref #78 states  "Civil War – Pre-War Tactical Doctrine" . That source, titled as such in the cited reference, does not presently exist within the article. I don't doubt that Scott's work was used as the standard manual until 1855, but the stated source does not exist with that title. The Global Security cite you mention does not presently exist within the article. - Shearonink (talk) 22:37, 15 July 2024 (UTC)


 * OH -- are you saying the source was removed from the article but the cite was left in? Well, than can't we just re-add the citation? Billmckern (talk) 22:49, 15 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I guess that's what happened? I've been going through and trying to fix all the Harvard error ref/cite issues... I don't have access to the source. Also, is there a page number? I'd prefer it if you would add it back in with any/all information, especially the page if it exists or a quote. Thanks, Shearonink (talk) 17:11, 16 July 2024 (UTC)

Re-added source, included quote as verification. There's no page number -- it's a web page. Billmckern (talk) 18:45, 16 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Oh gawd no page numbers drive me nuts, like on a web-article or in an e-book... Thanks for fixing that issue - Shearonink (talk) 19:37, 16 July 2024 (UTC)