Talk:Elisha Dyer III

Numbering the Dyers

(copied here from Elisha Dyer talk) As of today, the Elisha Dyer articles have them misnumbered. This article should be on "Elisha Dyer II" (notice his father is also Elisha Dyer). See "The Leaders of Rhode Island's Golden Age", Patrich Conley, 2019, p. 90 for an example of Governor Dyer referred to as "Elisha Dyer II" and his son (also a governor) as "Elisha Dyer III". See also "Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island", 1908, p. 2, where he is called "Elisha Dyer (2)". See also the Brown University catalog for 1879, where his son is referred to as "Elisha Dyer III".

At the very least, the Dyer articles should be moved to names that are not numbered, because the present article names are confusing, and the Dyers don't seem to have been usually referred to as "II" or "III" or "IV" in their time. Brianyoumans (talk) 20:10, 9 April 2020 (UTC)

Actually, I seem to have partially confused myself. The reference above to the Brown catalog is in fact to Elisha Dyer III, grandson of this Elisha Dyer. So, some evidence that in his lifetime he was known as Elisha Dyer III. However, by the time of the 1908 book linked above, genealogists were already numbering the Dyers starting with the governor's father, so that Elisha Dyer III was Elisha Dyer (4), and by the time of 2019 work his father was being called Elisha Dyer III. So, it's confusing. But I stick by my recommendation - the Dyers should not be referred to by number, since various sources number them differently.Brianyoumans (talk) 20:23, 9 April 2020 (UTC)