Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Elliott Fitch Shepard/archive1
- The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.
The article was archived by Ian Rose via FACBot (talk) 13:38, 21 January 2015 (UTC) [1].[reply]
Contents
Elliott Fitch Shepard edit
I wrote this article merely to fill a gap in Wikipedia's biography collection. For someone who I couldn't find a photograph of or very many sources about at first, I was surprised that as I researched, I found that Elliott Fitch Shepard was very well documented. I found numerous photographs and accounts, and this article should now be one of the most useful and comprehensive accounts of his life. After reaching Good Article status, I feel that it's comprehensive and ready for Featured Article status. This is my third FA nomination, the first two were for the October 19 TFA Briarcliff Manor, New York. ɱ (talk · vbm) 19:31, 27 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Driveby comments by Curly Turkey edit
- You've got nearly a dozen cases of "$<dollar value> today"—that "today" will date quickly (even 2014 is nearly kaput), so you'll want at least an "as of". You may want to take a look at {{inflation}}. Curly Turkey ¡gobble! 01:58, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- I'm confused; I looked at every usage of "$<dollar value> today", and I've been using {{inflation}} in every one since the beginning. Am I missing something?--ɱ (talk · vbm) 04:34, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- Oh, you're right. I guess it doesn't inspire confidence that it actually is up to date when I see "today". The documentation for the template has an example using {{currentyear}}—I think it would be a good idea to use it. Curly Turkey ¡gobble! 05:50, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- I think that the currentyear template wouldn't be much better, especially (as you pointed out) because 2014 is almost over. Neither way appears very capable of inspiring confidence.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 15:12, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- Sorry, I meant inspiring confidence that "today" means "today", and not the "today" of however many years ago that it was added. Curly Turkey ¡gobble! 23:23, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- Oh, wait, I see what you mean—the two templates may get out of sync. It's too bad the inflation template doesn't output its own "as of" date. Curly Turkey ¡gobble! 23:26, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- Sorry, I meant inspiring confidence that "today" means "today", and not the "today" of however many years ago that it was added. Curly Turkey ¡gobble! 23:23, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- I think that the currentyear template wouldn't be much better, especially (as you pointed out) because 2014 is almost over. Neither way appears very capable of inspiring confidence.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 15:12, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- Oh, you're right. I guess it doesn't inspire confidence that it actually is up to date when I see "today". The documentation for the template has an example using {{currentyear}}—I think it would be a good idea to use it. Curly Turkey ¡gobble! 05:50, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- I'm confused; I looked at every usage of "$<dollar value> today", and I've been using {{inflation}} in every one since the beginning. Am I missing something?--ɱ (talk · vbm) 04:34, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Image review
- Painting titles are generally italicized, not put in quotation marks
- File:ElliottFitchShepard.PNG is a bit confusing - the description suggests it was created c. 1875, but then the source indicates 1890 original. Can you clarify the timeline? Also, the creator may be unknown, but there is one - "N/A" is not appropriate for that parameter. Finally, should use creation or publication date rather than date of upload for the "date" parameter
- picturehistory.com said c. 1875 and thus I added that. I later found the original photo on the MCNY site, which states 1890. I'm removing the 1890 bit, and I'll add the Unknown template, not sure why I wrote N/A. All done now.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 00:28, 29 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- This one is better, but there's another image with date confusion: File:640_%26_642_5th_Avenue_and_2_West_52nd_Street,_New_York,_NY.jpg. The Flickr page given has "Photograph date: ca. 1883-ca. 1895 . Building Date: 1881-1883". Neither number is consistent with what is given on the image description page. Nikkimaria (talk) 22:23, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
- @Nikkimaria: Good catch, fixed.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 23:55, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
- This one is better, but there's another image with date confusion: File:640_%26_642_5th_Avenue_and_2_West_52nd_Street,_New_York,_NY.jpg. The Flickr page given has "Photograph date: ca. 1883-ca. 1895 . Building Date: 1881-1883". Neither number is consistent with what is given on the image description page. Nikkimaria (talk) 22:23, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
- picturehistory.com said c. 1875 and thus I added that. I later found the original photo on the MCNY site, which states 1890. I'm removing the 1890 bit, and I'll add the Unknown template, not sure why I wrote N/A. All done now.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 00:28, 29 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- File:FitchShepard.png: how do we know that the book author and the image creator are one and the same?
- File:ElliottFitchShepardSignature.svg: page? Original date?
- File:ElliottFitchShepardCivilWar.tif: original date? Creator? Source gives suggestions for both
- File:Vanderbilt_Mausoleum.jpg: where are you getting that date from? The original source doesn't include any date indication as far as I can see. Nikkimaria (talk) 19:45, 28 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- I never looked into this because the photo existed on Commons well before I started the article. Apparently the unedited Commons photo (File:Vanderbilt Mausoleum.jpg) reveals its publication by W.J. Grimshaw, who I found lived from 1854 to 1931. So I suppose the image and its edited copy should be deleted for being eight years shy, no?--ɱ (talk · vbm) 00:50, 29 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
- Digging around, I found this image must be PD, published in 1885. Will upload.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 00:59, 29 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Comments by Coemgenus edit
- Is the American Bank Note Company the descendant of those bank note companies mentioned before it? It's not clear from the prose.
- "...admitted to the bar in the city of Brooklyn in 1858." It sounds from the way this is written that he was admitted to the Brooklyn Bar, which doesn't exist, rather than being admitted to the New York bar while he was living in Brooklyn. You ought to make that more clear. You should also link bar.
- He wasn't living in Brooklyn, he was admitted there; I don't really know how better/more clearly I can word this without it sounding awkward.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 21:10, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
- I'm not sure what you mean. Did Brooklyn have a separate bar from the rest of the state? Typically, lawyers are admitted to the bar in a state as a whole. Was it different then? I didn't think so, but I'm not an expert.
- He wasn't living in Brooklyn, he was admitted there; I don't really know how better/more clearly I can word this without it sounding awkward.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 21:10, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
"At the advent of the American Civil War..." is a little flowery. Maybe "When the American Civil War began..."?
- "Shepard informed George of his promotion, and may have influenced his subsequent promotion to the rank of major in 1865." I think you mean George's promotion here, but it's not clear.
- "due to his awareness of officers who had seen field service." Not sure what you're trying to say here. Do you mean he declined the promotion because he felt it was undeserved, since he had never been in combat?
- The paragraph beginning "After his marriage, Shepard..." feels jumbled. There's not really a theme here, just a bunch of things he did. Maybe his church work should be separated from his legal and business career?
- "continued in law practices" should probably be "continued to practice law"
- "he later served as a founder of the New York State Bar Association" It might be better to say "he was among the founders of the New York State Bar Association".
comments from karanacs edit
Fitch Shephard was also descended from the Dennis family? So he and his wife were distant cousins?
The second paragraph in Civil War service bothers me. The first sentence repeats the structure of the last sentence of the paragraph before. The second sentence didn't make sense for me - what does "due to his awareness of officers who had seen field service" mean?
- were there other obstacles to his marriage beyond his father in law's disapproval? Why did he disapprove?
- "today" needs to be changed to a year value (for example, $315 million in 2014 dollars)
- I don't see how "in {{currentyear}}" is much better than "today"; in fact I prefer "today" because the inflation template is manually updated and may not be technically accurate to whatever the current year is, although it would be accurate enough to "today". It's been brought up before by other editors, most recently around the end of 2014, where "{{currentyear}}" would say 2015 but the inflation template would be accurate to 2014 figures.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 21:30, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
- Edit: Actually, see #Driveby comments by Curly Turkey, where he had the same issue and then considered it okay.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 21:34, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
- There's a chronology issue with the Career section. It talks about events in 1868, then moves to the homes they lived in circa 1880s, then goes back to his career of the 1860s - 1880s. Perhaps move the paragraph about the Triple Palace down to the second-to-last or last paragraph of this section? Or would it make more sense when added in with the Briarcliff Manor section and the nws that she was selling property?
- The chronology is somewhat skewed; I found it more important to detail the houses in that single paragraph, rather than throwing that information all around the article. They're just minor details, and if they're glossed over, the chronology is perfect otherwise.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 21:30, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Were his law degrees honorary? Make that more explicit
Karanacs (talk) 16:35, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
- @Karanacs: @Coemgenus: replied to all.--ɱ (talk · vbm) 21:21, 18 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Closing comment -- I realise Coemgenus and Karen may still have comments to come but even then I'd expect to see at least another pair of eyes on the article, and with no support for promotion after being open close to a month I don't think we can expect consensus to promote any time soon. I hope some further work can be done away from the pressure of FAC, followed by a re-nomination after the usual two-week break. Tks/cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 13:37, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
- Closing note: This candidate has been archived, but there may be a delay in bot processing of the close. Please see WP:FAC/ar, and leave the {{featured article candidates}} template in place on the talk page until the bot goes through. Ian Rose (talk) 13:38, 21 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
- The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.