Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/John Baker (Baker Brook)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete‎__EXPECTED_UNCONNECTED_PAGE__. One of the few cases where editors have persuasively argued that the current article is non-compliant with policy to the degree that it should be deleted with no prejudice against future recreation with sources. Vanamonde93 (talk) 11:26, 29 December 2023 (UTC)

John Baker (Baker Brook)

 * – ( View AfD View log | edits since nomination)

entirely unsourced article about a person. fails general notability guideline. quick preliminary search finds nothing. ltb d l (talk) 08:11, 15 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Businesspeople and Canada. ltb d l (talk) 08:11, 15 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: History, Maine,  and Massachusetts.  WC  Quidditch   ☎   ✎  08:32, 15 December 2023 (UTC)


 * Comment: I found this source that confirms that Baker Brook was named after Baker. However, there's so little information that it should just be merged into the history section of the Baker Brook article. I also found this website, which has a whole lot more information. That is just some random website - it does, however, cite two news articles. I don't have time to search for those, and since they are from 200 years ago, we'd have to dig through archives of old Canadian news articles to find them, and then determine how much information they have. Generally, however, I tend towards a merge with the history section of the Baker Brook article, as Baker really only seems to be notable as the guy after whom the place was named. Cortador (talk) 09:17, 15 December 2023 (UTC)


 * KEEP John Baker was not simply a person who gave a name to Baker Brook. He was a driving force in an independence effort for the putative Republic of Madawaska. He was a perennial thorn in the side of the British authorities in New Brunswick, leading several altercations against them, helping to instigate the Aroostook War. Accused of crimes against King George IV, Baker caused several international incidents between the U.S. and Great Britain. It is partially because of his provocations that the 1842 Webster–Ashburton Treaty was enacted, which settled the northeastern U.S. boundary between Britain (Canada) and the U.S., which had been in dispute since 1783. In fact, one of the articles of that international treaty applied only to John Baker and his neighbor. The state of Maine later constructed a "Memorial commemorating the Patriotism of John Baker". See also, , and and its 132 footnotes, including:
 * "Two thorough treatments of John Baker are important for understanding the man and his role in Maine's history between 1820 and 1842. The first is an article by Roger Paradis, 'John Baker and the Republic of Madawaska: An Episode in the Northeast Boundary Controversy,' The Dalhousie Review 52 (Spring 1972): 78-95. The article deals with Baker's actions during those difficult years. Paradis is a skilled story teller, and Baker's story is gripping reading. Moreover, he stays close to his sources, which range from original documents like the Maine Resolves to an article in the short-lived newspaper, Journal de Madawaska (1902-1906). If readers want only one article to read about Baker, this is the one. The second thorough treatment is a book by Geraldine Tidd Scott, Ties of Common Blood: A History of Maine's Northeast Boundary Dispute with Great Britain, 1783-1842 (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1992). Her focus is on the story of the border controversy, but she does not shy away from describing in detail John Baker's role as it comes up. Her treatment of Baker is neutral and solidly anchored to original documents. Readers wanting to read a recently done history of the Northeast border conflict will find no better than Tidd Scott's book. A briefer treatment of John Baker actions described in this article is available in 'John Baker's Rebellion and the Subsequent Deadlock,' Chapter VII of Charlotte Lenentine Melvin, Madawaska: a Chapter in Maine-New Brunswick Relations (Madawaska, ME: Saint John Valley Publ. Co., 1975). Originally a thesis done at the University of Rochester, NY, in 1956, it has been republished by the Madawaska Historical Society. Her work focuses on Baker's impact on the relationship between Maine and New Brunswick and between the US and Great Britain."

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeff in CA (talk • contribs) 05:39, 17 December 2023 (UTC) Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Liz Read! Talk! 07:54, 22 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete per WP:TNT, without prejudice against recreation if somebody can write and source a new article properly. This is completely unreferenced, and has deep problems in its writing tone as I don't think I've ever seen this many "dubious" tags in one article at one time — and no matter how notable a person may have been in theory, we simply can't keep an article that's written and sourced this badly in fact. This calls for the blow it up and start over plan. Bearcat (talk) 04:03, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 *  Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.


 * Delete without prejudice to recreation as a proper article per Bearcat. One would expect this sort of article to be a magnet for Revolutionary War cruft, and so it proves. AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 15:26, 27 December 2023 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.