Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/William Jackson (Boston loyalist)


 * 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 keep. (non-admin closure) GeoffreyT2000  ( talk,  contribs ) 00:19, 5 November 2016 (UTC)

William Jackson (Boston loyalist)

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I recommend a merge and redirect. (added this a day later). Man who owned a general store in the 1760's in Boston, whose sole mention in any source is on a handbill from the Sons of Liberty requesting that his store be boycotted because he was a British Loyalist. Recommend that the information listed here be included in a brief mention in the Sons of Liberty page and perhaps in the Loyalist (American Revolution) page. I can't find anything further that could be added to make this a real article. Rockypedia (talk) 16:42, 26 October 2016 (UTC)
 * I did find a couple of other mentions in books of Jackson, but those are also directly related to the Sons of Liberty supporting a boycott against his store/tavern. There's also a letter to John Adams from Isaac Smith Sr. in which Jackson is mentioned as being imprisoned for "misappropriation of patriot property." That's all I could find. Seems unlikely this article could ever be developed beyond a stub, but Jackson should be added to the pages I mentioned above. Rockypedia (talk) 18:38, 26 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Before you deleted the statement that you "can't find anything further" I was going to ask you if you had looked at the comments I made on the talk page when I declined the speedy deletion. For convenience, I repeat it here:
 * I'm seeing enough in references that this needs a discussion to bottom out whether notable or not. This book has a footnote with some useful biographical details. This book discusses his case in detail and indicates it was somewhat important in the unfolding events in Boston. Quite a few other books mention him and one book recommends using his case as an exercise for students in assessing primary sources. SpinningSpark 19:59, 26 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Keep. Even if this ends up merged to another article, the name crops up in so many books that it is a likely search target and should be retained as a redirect. If merged the information should be retained per WP:RETAIN and the page history should be kept per WP:MERGE and WP:Merge and delete. SpinningSpark 19:59, 26 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Really, there is no need for this AFD. Why is it here? A merge could have just been carried out per WP:BOLD if that is what is felt necessary. SpinningSpark 09:44, 27 October 2016 (UTC)
 * You're right, I should've just done a redirect. There's really not much info - date of birth, he's a Tory importer, imprisoned by the revolutionists and banished from Boston, died in England in 1810. That's really all there is. My bad; I don't submit very many articles for deletion, so I'm not as familiar with the alternatives as some. Rockypedia (talk) 12:46, 27 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Speedy Keep. The Mass. Historical Society page referenced in the article contains more than enough information to write an adequate article, and clearly indicates that useful sources exist. The Big Bad Wolfowitz (aka Hullaballoo). Treated like dirt by administrators since 2006.  (talk) 12:19, 27 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Besides his DOB, the handbill proclaiming a boycott, and the info that he was captured by a privateer, imprisoned "for a period", and returned to England where he died in 1810, what information is there? I just don't think that one sentence's worth of info makes a person notable. I still think a merge and redirect is more appropriate. Rockypedia (talk) 12:48, 27 October 2016 (UTC)
 * No, that's not all that could be said. For one thing, there is the Brazen Head, an historic tavern in an historic district of Boston, burned down in 1760.  There is the attack on it (and Jackson) during the Boston Massacre.  There is the failure of the crown to properly compensate him because he had previously made a profit in the Americas.  There is the motivation of Jackson and other merchants to resist the strong-arming of the nonimportation committee, more for commercial reasons than anything political, or at least standing for their freedom to trade rather than outright loyalty to the crown.  You can't merge all of that into the Sons of Liberty article without giving WP:UNDUE weight to it.  Or else you would have to discard some and ignore WP:RETAIN. SpinningSpark</b> 23:06, 27 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Keep or merge as suggested. He seems to have angered a lot of the colonists/Patriots. Bearian (talk) 21:53, 27 October 2016 (UTC)
 * <small class="delsort-notice">Note: This debate has been included in the list of Massachusetts-related deletion discussions. Coolabahapple (talk) 06:00, 30 October 2016 (UTC)
 * <small class="delsort-notice">Note: This debate has been included in the list of History-related deletion discussions. Coolabahapple (talk) 06:00, 30 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Keep unless someone can suggest a viable merge target. The Mass. Hist Soc article will be RS.  Peterkingiron (talk) 18:21, 30 October 2016 (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.