Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Timothy Lincoln Beckwith


 * 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.  Sandstein  10:49, 14 December 2018 (UTC)

Timothy Lincoln Beckwith

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This poor fellow got the Scarlet Letter of a Wikipedia BLP for being the illegitimate child of the wife of Abraham Lincoln's great-great grandson.

There are WP:RS, however, with two exceptions they simply mention this guy's existence in relation to the paternity lawsuit his mother launched when he was an infant. The two exceptions are articles which basically report on the subject politely saying "no comment" when being hounded by reporters for quotes followed by, what appears to be, simply a regurgitation of this very WP entry.

On the basis of both WP:BLP1E and WP:INHERITED I think we should dispense with this article. Chetsford (talk) 10:50, 22 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Virginia-related deletion discussions.  CAPTAIN RAJU (T) 11:56, 22 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Law-related deletion discussions.  CAPTAIN RAJU (T) 11:56, 22 November 2018 (UTC)


 * Keep – Beckwith does not appear to be poor, either financially (with a large settlement gained near adulthood) or because he has a WP article. There's no sourced mention of 'hounding', just that he doesn't grant interviews and said "let's let the past be the past." History is what happened; we may not like what happened, but that's not a justification for covering it up. Let it be. For the subject's supposed insignificance, the article has been receiving on average over 200 views per day. If deletion is decided, I suggest that content be merged with his mother's former husband's article. —ADavidB 14:34, 22 November 2018 (UTC)
 * "If deletion is decided, I suggest that content be merged" In principal I have no issue with this, however, all that content is currently in his mother's article. In fact, with the exception of the last two sentences - establishing that he's a lawyer and doesn't give interviews - this is basically a duplication of his mother's article. Chetsford (talk) 18:51, 22 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Where is his mother's article? —ADavidB 19:04, 22 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Sorry, typo, I meant his mother's former husband's article. Chetsford (talk) 19:17, 22 November 2018 (UTC)
 * I disagree that all the info is there. The article about his birth certificate father, Robert, also does not include: his birthplace, which court ordered the blood test, educa to tion information, how his mother came to meet Robert, any info about the financial settlement given, or any info on where he or his mother went. The sources for much of this include the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and USA Today. —ADavidB 01:54, 23 November 2018 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America1000 05:10, 29 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Keep Satisfies WP:GNG. The New Yorker article and the Palm Beach Post article represent signficant coverage about the subject in reliable sources. WP:BLP1E refers to events and is not relevant here, the subject is notable for one reason, not for one event. WP:INHERITED is also not releveant as it is about notability being inherited when the subject does not otherwise satisfy notability guidelines.--Pontificalibus  10:02, 29 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Without the claim that the subject is a descendant of Abraham Lincoln there would have been no Wikipedia article. The article rides on WP:INHERITED tails. -The Gnome (talk) 06:31, 14 December 2018 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Sam Sailor 13:38, 6 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Delete I can't see any real notability here. It's all about Abe. Perhaps a brief mention in the article on Abraham Lincoln on how his line has died out would be appropriate and this person could be mentioned as a claimant, but I don't see anything else worth saving here. --Randykitty (talk) 14:43, 13 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Abraham, of whom you write the article is 'all about', is only mentioned once. As noted above, the information is reliably sourced to prominent newspapers. —ADavidB 20:07, 13 December 2018 (UTC)
 * I'm not saying that th article is all about AL. But the only reason anybody is interested in this person at all is because of Abe. Whatever (if anything) there is to say about him can go into the article on Abraham Lincoln. --Randykitty (talk) 22:19, 13 December 2018 (UTC)


 * Delete. WP:INHERITED obviously applies here.  As far as I can tell, the subject has done nothing of note other than being the distant descendant of somebody famous.  -- RoySmith (talk) 02:37, 14 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Delete per nomination and our merciful disposition. The contested article is about a living person who once had a single claim to fame, on account of supposedly being related to someone historically famous. Then, even that claim collapsed. All that remains is a claim to Wikipedian space. -The Gnome (talk) 06:31, 14 December 2018 (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.