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Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Socrates Nelson/archive1

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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 promoted by Gog the Mild via FACBot (talk) 28 December 2021 [1].

Socrates Nelson edit

Nominator(s): TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 19:54, 11 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The year is 1848. The California Gold Rush is on, and America expands westward. In its northwestern-most territory lies the fledgling logging village of Stillwater, Wisconsin Territory. Situated near the St. Croix, pioneer lumbermen send white pine from this wilderness down the river. Little did these pioneers know that this small town would become the epicenter of the creation of a new territory, known as "Minnesota" for the region's longest river. An ad hoc convention is formed in Stillwater to petition Congress for territorial independence, and among these men is Socrates Nelson.

Born in 1811 in Massachusetts, Nelson moved westward at the young age of 25 to prospect and sell furs. As an early settler of Stillwater, he became a general store owner, a log boom and lumber mill operator, a real estate speculator, and an incorporator of numerous businesses. He quickly became involved in local politics and, in 1848, co-authored a successful petition to Congress to make Minnesota its own territory. He soon also became a founding member of the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Democratic Party, and the Minnesota lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as a member of the University of Minnesota's first Board of Regents. In 1859, he became a one-term state senator, and in 1864, he voted for George B. McClellan as a delegate in the 1864 Democratic National Convention. In 1867, during his twilight months, he all but donated a block of land for what is now Minnesota's oldest standing courthouse – not out of generosity, but to spur development near (and, by proxy, sales of) lots he owned. Nelson died of tuberculosis in 1867 with an estate of over $100,000, and his death resulted in the closure of most of the city's businesses in observation.

I found this article through the 'Random article' function last December. It had thankfully been created by RFD, and I decided to expand it a bit; eventually, it became a passion project that got way out of hand. Sorry for the middle-school-tier book report; I just wanted a hook to grab your attention.

PS: I've spoken to the executive director of the Washington County Historical Society, and he has doubts to say the least that a picture of this subject exists. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 19:54, 11 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Image review — Pass edit

Pass. Nikkimaria (talk) 18:17, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Suggest adding alt text
  • What sort of alt text? If I feel the captions are descriptive enough, should I add something like "See caption for more information"?
  • Alt texts are designed for people who can't see the image, whether because of a visual impairment or because their device doesn't load images. Telling the former group to "see" the caption would not be helpful; if you feel the caption adequately conveys the contents of the image, "refer to caption" may be appropriate. See WP:ALT. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:20, 12 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'd meant "see" as in the encyclopedic sense, but I agree that "refer" works better for sensitivity toward its target audience.
  • @Nikkimaria: I added alt text to all of the images used in the article. Please let me know if you think it's too detailed, not detailed enough, etc. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 04:26, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Probably on the too-detailed side, but not going to fuss over it. Nikkimaria (talk) 18:17, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Don't use fixed px size
  • Done.
  • File:Stillwater,_Minnesota_-_15645910519.jpg: what's the copyright status of the plaque? Ditto File:Washington_County_Courthouse-Historic_Marker.jpg. Nikkimaria (talk) 03:01, 12 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Those are for the photos. I'm asking about the plaques themselves. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:20, 12 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Nikkimaria: The plaque was erected August 26, 1948 by the Stillwater Territorial Centennial Committee, so the copyright of the plaque itself is technically unknown. The MTCC seemed to be working under the Minnesota State Bar Association. The marker was erected by the Minnesota Historical Society, and the MNHS took the picture and licensed it under CC-BY-SA 2.0. So literally no issues with the second one (the same people who erected it and would own the copyright uploaded a picture of it to Flickr under CC-BY-SA 2.0), and the first one seems to be at least fair use insofar as it's a) just large enough to be able to make out the text written thereupon and b) not replaceable by some other work. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 19:21, 12 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Any way of determining status? If no, what would be the rationale for including as fair use? Nikkimaria (talk) 02:55, 13 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • I suppose we could email the Minnesota Bar Association and ask them if they have any copyright on it; if not, then nobody should own the copyright, and the work would have lapsed into the public domain. If not, fair use rationale is as follows: image is small enough that much lower resolution would probably detract from readers' abilities to read parts of the text on the plaque (namely the bottom); image of the plaque commemorating the Stillwater convention is the only one of its kind; the use of this media contributes substantially to the article, as Socrates Nelson was at the center of the Stillwater convention – most importantly, he co-authored the petition to Congress. I've been in touch with Brent Peterson of the Washington County Historical Society and may be able to ask him if he thinks the plaque is copyrighted in any way. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 04:16, 13 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Typically in the US state works - as opposed to works by the federal government - are not in the public domain by default. I'm aware that there are some exceptions - does one apply here? Nikkimaria (talk) 15:57, 16 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • In all seriousness, though, I can't find any statute saying that public works are copyrighted beyond the fact that statutes are copyrighted. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 17:32, 16 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Unfortunately not ;-). My reading of this page is that the Minnesota government asserts copyright over its eligible works. However, this particular work may be PD due to its age - do you happen to know if there was a copyright notice associated with the plaque? Nikkimaria (talk) 20:22, 16 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Nikkimaria: I agree with your interpretation. A requester can do whatever they want with it for personal use, but redistribution isn't allowed should the Minnesota government assert copyright. The MTCC erected the plaque on the centennial date of the Stillwater convention: August 26, 1948. So it's not old enough to be inherently in the public domain, but at the same time, I can find no copyright associated with the plaque. Also, since I just realized that I said "Stillwater Territorial Centennial Committee" before, I believe they were under the MTCC. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 00:57, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Ayy. So would you say that all of the media check out copyright-wise? Like I said, I've found no notice whatsoever of copyright on the works of the Stillwater Territorial Centennial Committee, let alone this specific work. If so, I can add alt text and then move on to finish addressing Wehwalt's comments. If you'd like to read through as well and add feedback about the prose, I'd say it's worth it if you enjoy super obscure US history. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 04:17, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Since there is no visible copyright notice, you should use {{PD-US-no notice}}. I've taken the liberty of adding it.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:57, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Spot-checks — Pass edit

Version reviewed — this

  • Ref#2 — link — 5 instances
    1. Infobox children: "Emma A. Nelson" — OK
    2. "On September 22, 1848, Nelson and Betsey had two children – twins Emma A. and Ella Nelson – but Ella later died in infancy on October 23, 1849." — OK for first part. Rest is sourced to other references.
    3. "Months after the Panic began that August, Levi Churchill died in St. Louis on December 24, ceding his estate to Elizabeth" — OK
    4. "Demoralized by deflated land prices, Slaughter and Hancock forfeited their claim to the lots." — OK
    5. "Owing to development sparked by the courthouse, the lots began selling for sometimes upward of $1000 apiece" — Which part of the source cites this?
  • @Kavyansh.Singh: "Father Michael Murphy paid the astronomical sum of $4,000 for three of the best lots in the city".
  • Ref#4 — link — 1 instance
    1. "Infobox children: Hettie Carson (adopted)" — OK
  • Ref#5 — link — 6 instances
    1. "Infobox education: Deerfield Academy" — OK
    2. "Nelson lived in nearby Greenfield and attended Deerfield Academy, taking a partial course before returning to his hometown to become a merchant." — OK
    3. "There, he met his future business partner Levi Churchill and his wife Elizabeth Marion Churchill (née Proctor)." — The source supports that Nelson met Churchill, but does not state that Nelson also met Elizabeth.
Bah. I hate it when I miss nagging little technicalities like this; fixed. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 19:32, 12 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, it was me being too nit-picky, but thanks for fixing it. – Kavyansh.Singh (talk) 05:02, 13 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
    1. "That same fall, Nelson took a steamboat farther north to the recently settled town of Stillwater and opened its first general store, known as Nelson's Warehouse," — OK
    2. "Note c: located near the St. Croix by the intersection of modern-day Nelson Street and South Main Street." — OK
    3. "With the Churchills remaining temporarily behind in St. Louis, the two parties would exchange goods through the Mississippi River – Nelson's furs for Churchill's merchandise." — OK
  • Ref#8 — link — 1 instance
    1. "to Socrates Nelson and Dorothy Boyden," — OK
  • Ref#15 — link — "Note a: but US census data from 1850 records her given name as 'Betsey D.'" — OK (for 'Betsey D')
  • Ref#23 — link — 1 instance
    1. "and another calls both Nelson's and Walter R. Vail's the first" — OK
  • Ref#33 — link — 1 instance
    1. "Nelson entered the lumber business in earnest on February 7, 1851, as one of the incorporators of the St. Croix Boom Company organized by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature." — OK for some part, rest supported by other sources.
  • Ref#46 — link — 1 instance
    1. "and the Minnesota Western Railroad Company" — OK
  • Ref#47 — link — 1 instance
    1. "In 1854, a stock company consisting of Nelson and others published Stillwater's first newspaper, the St. Croix Union – a Democratic-leaning, weekly periodical which was printed until 1857." — OK
  • Ref#54 — link — 1 instance
    1. "In April 1867, hoping to spur development and drive demand for nearby lots they owned," — Perhaps, OK.
  • Ref#63 — link — 1 instance
    1. "That fall, Nelson was appointed master in chancery for the county by Territorial Governor Henry Dodge." — OK
  • Ref#79 — link — 1 instance
    1. "As part of the committee on railroads, Nelson co-authored a report with Lucius K. Stannard on February 4, 1860, recommending the expungement of Article IX Section 10 of the Minnesota Constitution – known as the Loan Amendment – which was introduced in 1858 to expedite the development of railway infrastructure and authorized a total of up to $5 million (equivalent to $144,000,000 in 2020) in loans for railroad companies." — Perhaps, OK. But please break the sentence. Its a long one!
  • Yeah, looking at it here, it's a complete mouthful; I'll break it up into two or three sentences. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 19:32, 12 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Ref#88 — link — 1 instance
    1. "Reiner won the election held on November 6, 1860, defeating Nelson as part of a string of legislative gains for Minnesota's Republican Party." — OK
  • Ref#97 — link — 1 instance
    1. "having been ill for several months and bedridden for several weeks." — OK
  • Ref#100 — link — 2 instances
    1. "Four years later, Emma married attorney Fayette Marsh, a former engineer and chronic alcoholic who had studied law and moved to Stillwater to co-found a firm." — OK
    2. "before Emma died on November 23, 1880, at age 32 of what was described by her obituary as "a short but painful illness"." — OK for death date. The quote is from another source.

I review this article for GA, and also during the peer review. The spot-checks look very good. Clarification in needed on just few points. – Kavyansh.Singh (talk) 10:21, 12 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for fixing up everything. Pass for spot-checks. – Kavyansh.Singh (talk) 05:02, 13 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the spot check! Your peer review helped me find some inaccuracies as well, so I think thanks to you, this article is now 100% factually supported by RSes. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 23:20, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by Wehwalt edit

  • A one-paragraph lede seems rather short. Can it be expanded at all?
  • Possibly, but I'd have to really brainstorm for that. The intro was originally created by RFD, drastically expanded by Howcheng in light of new information I'd gathered, and then expanded by me after more new information became available. It may require a complete rewrite to expand it to more than one paragraph, and I do really like how concisely it conveys the gist of the article right now. I could try drafting a rewrite and see if you think it's any better.
  • @Wehwalt: Sorry for taking so long on this. I've expanded the lead out somewhat, but I did want to give you an example of an FA with a lead approximately the size of this one. The lead section for Socrates Nelson was 135 words long, while James A. Doonan – an article of approximately the same length – has 148. The lead for Socrates Nelson is now 201 words (I didn't mean to push it just over 200; that was a coincidence). Beyond this, I think I'm pushing it as far as lead length goes. Kavyansh.Singh and Nikkimaria, your thoughts as well? TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 20:52, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • "as one of the incorporators of the St. Croix Boom Company organized by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature." I suspect the term is "chartered", not "organized".
  • Easton (1909) describes it as "organized", so that's what I went with.
  • " He would use it scarcely over the next ten years," Perhaps, "He would rarely operate it during the next ten years"
  • I prefer "scarcely" simply because I think it conveys "very rarely" or "basically not at all". The text states he "operated [it] but a portion of one or two seasons for the next ten years". In essence, I think "scarcely" in its connotation more strongly conveys how rare something is compared to just "rarely". I did, however, change "use" to "operate", since that's more descriptive. However, this is another instance of my "would [do thing]" addiction (see farther down), so please tell me if you think that needs fixed.
  • The 1857 real estate activity sounds like they were trying to create a townsite. If this is true, can it be more clearly stated?
  • I couldn't find anything about them creating a townsite. Zion's Hill, where the lots were, borders entirely on Stillwater (if you look at the sketch used as media, you can see the hill), so I think they were just trying to expand Stillwater. It's just that nobody wanted to build on lots up there because the trek to the top of the hill was way out of the way. Nelson donated land for the courthouse to spur development of infrastructure that would make getting up there easier.
  • "On January 27, 1867, during his twilight months," Twilight sounds a little too poetic. Is the fact that Nelson died soon after really relevant to this?
  • "twilight years" is a common turn of phrase for somebody's final years alive; I don't think it meets the standard for MOS:EUPHEMISM or MOS:CLICHE. As far as relevance, I just like to occasionally keep readers grounded as to where they are in the person's life (like, for instance, the near-tautology "in 1839 on a prospecting tour at age 25"). I feel like doing this sparsely, while very slightly extraneous, helps keep readers better grounded than just "in 18xx this, then in 18xy that".
  • While it's conventional to use "would" to indicate passage of time in the past, it isn't always necessary, as, for example, the account of the trustees under Nelson's will. I would change that to past tense.
  • Done. I think I need some sort of rehab clinic for using "would [do thing]" in the past tense.
  • "$1000" should be "$1,000", plus any others that may be similar.
  • MOS:DIGITS states: "Numbers with exactly four digits left of the decimal point may optionally be grouped [...] with consistency within any given article." It's just a personal preference thing.
  • You should make it clearer if the area around Stillwater was at one time part of the Wisconsin Territory, that it became part of the Minnesota Territory.
  • I actually just realized that the only indication I gave was "St. Croix County, Wisconsin Territory"; I'll figure out a way to fit this in, since it's crucial context for unfamiliar readers.
  • @Wehwalt: I tried with this one. The best I could come up with was: "On November 26, 1849, Nelson was elected to serve as treasurer for the newly formed Washington County, Minnesota Territory, into which Stillwater would later be incorporated [as the county seat]." (Bolded indicates new text; brackets indicate extraneous text that could still be added in.) I have a source for the new text, but it just feels long-winded to me. Your thoughts?
  • I see his nomination for state senator. Can anything at all be said about the election?
  • I don't recall seeing anything about this election specifically. There may be raw numbers I can find (and I think there are), but certainly nothing about debates or campaigning or anything. I'll be able to find these more easily in a couple days when I can get to my desktop and access the MNHS' newspaper collection.
@Wehwalt: Update: those numbers were for local elections, not the state senate. The numbers for the local elections are pretty much extraneous (we're talking a few dozen votes), and I can't seem to find anything for the 1858 election. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 20:40, 14 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • There should be some mention of Minnesota statehood in the political narrative.
  • As it turns out, our featured article on the History of Minnesota doesn't have a single mention of the Stillwater convention; I'll have to change that! As far as this article goes, I can say something like how he was elected in 1859, "three years after Minnesota was admitted as a state to the Union, but I'm really not sure how to fit it in super organically. Maybe "In 1858, two years after Minnesota was admitted to the Union, Nelson organized Baytown Township..."? The problem is that Nelson had literally nothing to do with statehood. If he'd served in the first state legislature instead of the second, it'd probably fit in more organically.
  • Minnesota, I assume, at some point here went from two representatives per district to one. Can some brief mention of that be included between Nelson's two legislative elections?
  • I actually have literally no idea why Minnesota went from 37 senators to 21. I can research this and get back to you.
  • Several times, Nelson's estate is alluded to, and mentioned as continuing into the 20th century. Why?
  • I could just address it up until November 1880. I just thought it was a noteworthy way to end 'Business ventures' — namely that Nelson's son-in-law basically squandered everything he'd built up through said ventures. I don't personally see it as distracting from or is extraneous to the overall article. As far as the 'Later life and death' mention, Nelson's estate is mentioned because of very severe disagreements between Nelson's wife and his son-in-law that are prominently discussed in Empson (2002).
That's all on first reading.--Wehwalt (talk) 17:35, 12 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@Wehwalt: I'll address these as best I can over the next couple days and see what you think. I know you said you didn't have much time for new commitments, so I appreciate you taking time to perform this analysis. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 20:41, 12 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I'll just cut to the chase and Support.--Wehwalt (talk) 12:42, 20 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Hey, Wehwalt. I appreciate the support, but I did want to let you know that I researched the part about the Minnesota Senate shrinking. I couldn't find anything, unfortunately, so if that changes your answer, then so be it. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 19:59, 20 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Coordinator note edit

This nomination has now been open for a while, with little sign of a consensus to promote beginning to form. Unless it attracts further reviewer attention over the next three or four days I am afraid that it is liable to be archived. Gog the Mild (talk) 12:08, 30 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Understood, Gog the Mild. Wehwalt, your thoughts on the new lead? TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 05:37, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Gog the Mild, I know it's not your responsibility to save a stagnant FAC review, but I really would like the article to be the best that it can, so I was wondering if you had any comments or concerns about the article. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 05:39, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I am almost certainly not going to have time to do a proper review, but in passing:
  • Done, and in doing so fixed an issue brought up by Kavyansh.
  • The Bibliography and the Further reading should each be in alphabetical order of lead authors' surnames.
  • Is it alright to leave them in chronological order? I can change this really easily; I just think chronological order is more intuitive. Just making sure before I change them.
See WP:GENREF "are usually sorted by the last name of the author or the editor." Gog the Mild (talk) 16:52, 2 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Wasn't familiar with GENREF; I'll have that fixed shortly. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 22:38, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Done now. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 23:04, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • The main article opens as if it were a continuation of the lead. It should be a stand alone coverage of the topic of which the lead is an independent summary.
Gog the Mild (talk) 09:20, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • I've put this on the list for a full source review. (t · c) buidhe 01:51, 21 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comments Support by Kavyansh.Singh edit

Note that I had reviewed this article at GAN and also during the peer review. Will look once again to find anything else which needs to be fixed. – Kavyansh.Singh (talk) 12:13, 30 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

  • The length of the lead is just fine in my opinion but the lead should summarize the article. Currently, there is nothing from "Legacy" section. Just a line or so would suffice.
  • True. Added information about the plaque on the courthouse and the Nelson School as organically as I could. Hopefully it flows well.
  • "attended Deerfield Academy" → "attended the Deerfield Academy"?
  • Our article on Deerfield Academy refers to it without a 'the', thus I followed the same convention.
  • "(née Proctor)" → ({{nee|Proctor}})
  • Neato. Didn't realize that was a template. Fixed.
  • "In spring 1844," — MOS:SEASON discourages the use of seasons to refer to particular time of the year.
  • "Fixed" all instances of this, but I think it makes the article very marginally worse, since ironically it removes precision. Still, guidelines are guidelines.
  • "Nelson's estate was valued at over" — the word 'estate' has been used before unlinked.
  • Come to think of it, I feel that was a WP:OVERLINK to begin with. Fixed.
  • "He was on the University of Minnesota's first Board of Regents" — 'Board of Regents' linked in the lead, but not in the prose ...
  • Fixed. Also gave a more specific wikilink.
  • Hadn't seen this part of the MoS before. Fixed.
  • "Nelson died of tuberculosis in Stillwater, Minnesota," — can removed 'Minnesota', already mentioned before.
  • True enough. No idea why I felt the need to specify here. Fixed.

That is all from me. I think this was my sixth or seventh time reading the article. – Kavyansh.Singh (talk) 06:23, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Should all be fixed now. Strangely, this review also helped me find a typo I made in the alt text, since it was right next to the word "spring". I really appreciate having another pair of eyes on the article, and I think you've easily done the most work in that regard. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 22:57, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@TheTechnician27 – Thanks for your work on this article, and for resolving these comments. I support this article for promotion as a featured article. Any comments for Draft Eisenhower movement at its peer review page would be appreciated. Thanks! – Kavyansh.Singh (talk) 15:13, 2 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
I'll have a look and probably do some minor copy-editing. I'll let you know if there are any moderate-sized issues to address. It may take a few days to get around to a full, proper review after a first reading, since I'm a bit busy this week. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 21:32, 2 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Ping edit

Putting this here instead of their talk page so there's complete transparency. Kingsif, a GA reviewer, looked at this a while back and so is somewhat familiar with the article's subject. I was hoping that, should they have some spare time, they could look at the article and leave criticisms that could be resolved. I am not attempting to WP:CANVASS in any way with this; I want to a) keep the discussion alive and more importantly b) get the article to the best quality it can be within the span of the FAC review – while there are still eyes on the article. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 05:47, 1 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comments and support from Gerda edit

Thank you for the invitation on my talk a while ago. I'll comment as I read, leaving the lead for last.

General

  • I have a problem with women being called just by first name, - please try to avoid it. Sometimes it's necessary to distinguish, but there many ways to avoid constructions such as "Nelson and Betsey" which just read unfair (to me).
    • I would refer to them as "Socrates and Betsey", but convention has it that I can't use first names for the subject of the article. I can't exactly refer to Betsey Nelson by "Nelson", and calling her "Betsey Nelson" every time feels just a bit too verbose. I could refer to her as "Nelson's wife, Betsey" or "his wife Betsey" on occasions when they're in the same sentence together, but that frankly feels demeaning compared to just using a first name. As examples of this, the article Abraham Lincoln refers to Mary Todd as "Mary", John Adams refers to Abigail Smith as "Abigail", Grover Cleveland refers to Frances Folsom both as "Frances" and as "Frances Folsom" basically interchangeably, Calvin Coolidge refers to Grace Goodhue predominantly as "Grace", Rutherford B. Hayes refers to Lucy Ware Webb as "Lucy", Benjamin Harrison refers to Caroline Scott predominantly as "Caroline", etc. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton frequently refers to Bill Clinton as "Bill Clinton", and C.D. Howe refers to Alice Worcester predominantly by her married name. I think the former has less to do with any sort of double standard and more with the fact that Bill is a former POTUS, but it still reads to me as overly verbose. In effect, the only ways I see to avoid "Nelson and Betsey" are "Nelson and Betsey Nelson" (weird) and "Nelson and his wife, Betsey", which is needlessly giving the reader information they already know. As there's already plenty of FA precedent for referring to a subject's spouse by their first name, I really don't see it as unfair so much as a drawback of the fact that we're not allowed to call our subject by their first name to disambiguate between their spouses. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 22:25, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
      First: indenting. Please, when replying to an asterisk, repeat that asterisk. (There's an essay on top of User talk:Drmies). Secondly: thank you for going into much detail. You are probably a man ;) - There was a discussion on Talk:Josephine Butler, and following the reasoning, I worked hard on Clara Schumann to avoid calling her just Clara, - double hard because biographies do it. Please consider to use "the couple" sometimes, or find other ways. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:42, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'd prefer fewer commas, fewer brackets, and fewer clauses within hyphens. Due to American date format, sometimes there's a a comma after every word, which I find hard to read. No reason not to support in the end, just what I notice.
    • Since this is MDY, I can't really sacrifice those commas without losing precision. Regarding brackets (I assume you're refering to parens), outside of two exceptions, they're really only used for unit conversions and inflation. Regarding en-dashes, I tend to think they cut down on verbosity (while being distinct from commas), but I can take a look and see what can be rearranged to still flow naturally.

Infobox

  • Do we need relatives without articles? ... a cemetery without article?
    • Up to you. My philosophy on infoboxes is that, in a climate where most people stop at the first couple lines of a Wikipedia article viewed from a search engine, let alone reading the article, having a robust infobox with plenty of information is more useful than ever for a lot of readers. I acknowledge that precedent is against me on this, so what I could do is remove 'Parents' and condense children down into '2 biological, 1 adopted' to make it better conform with other featured politics and government bios. Basically, I don't think having it there is hurting anything, but I don't have really strong opinions on it either.
      • It doesn't hurt, but also doesn't focus. If this man was the son or brother of someone famous, a reader might recognize, or link and see. Names with no apparent significance don't enlighten, imho. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:53, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
        • Done.
  • can we have the Democratic party somewhere?
    • I'm a bit confused here. Nelson's affiliation with the Democratic Party is mentioned several times throughout the article.
  • please devote a sentence in prose to the adopted girl --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:50, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
    • I actually really wanted to, but the only thing I could find on Carson are that mention in Folsom (1888) and this irrelevant mention in The Stillwater Messenger. It's clearly worth it to me to mention that Nelson adopted a daughter, but I have no idea where to mention her outside the infobox, since I have no idea where she fits in chronologically. Do you think "The Nelsons would also adopt a daughter, Hettie Carson" after noting the birth of Emma and Ella? I'm somewhat afraid to put it there, since while it's not time-specific, it could imply that he adopted Carson around that time, something I have no way to confirm or deny. Also, this gave me an idea, so I went ahead and changed "Nelson and Betsey" to "the Nelsons". I would've used "the couple" like you suggested, but unfortunately, the last couple mentioned in the prose was Nelson and Levi Churchill. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 17:50, 10 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

TOC

  • Isn't death part of later life, without mentioning?
    • I renamed it from 'Later life' to 'Later life and death' as Kavyansh pointed it out as an idea in a peer review. On the one hand, it does make the header longer, but on the other, it does immediately stick out to a reader who just wants to find out how a subject died. So I could go either way on this.

Early life

  • This is much more substantial than the typical school and education, - perhaps a different header?
    • I could go for "Early life and Stillwater", or something to that effect. Frankly, I can't really think of another header besides that (which just reads weirdly) that isn't overly verbose.
  • "Levi Churchill – married to Elizabeth Marion Churchill (née Proctor)" - probably no need to repeat "Churchill" for her?
    • Went ahead and changed this.
  • "at a site – maintained for several years but since washed away – known as Nelson's Landing or Nelson's Point" - perhaps say known for first, then washed away?
    • Done. Let me know how you think it flows.
  • "two children – twins Emma A. and Ella Nelson" - I'd say "twin girls, Emma A. and Ella".
    • Always a fan of reducing verbosity while maintaining detail. Done. I'll get around to the rest of these; I just like doing them in parts. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 22:25, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Business ventures

  • "operated from 1853, the year which saw Nelson's departure from the mercantile business" - why let the year see? - Could be simply "... when Nelson departed from ..."
    • But how else am I going to to express my narrative flair? Nah, just kidding; done.
  • "Robert F. Slaughter, half of which he deeded in turn to Hilary B. Hancock" - I'm not sure who "he" is here.
    • Didn't think of that. Done.
  • "practical worthlessness" - what's that
    • Kavyansh asked as well, and I'm just going off what Donald Empson states in his report: "City lots became virtually worthless". Therefore, I don't have an exact figure; just that they were worth basically nothing. The Stillwater Democrat describes it as "land depreciated from fifty to seventy-five per cent", and Empson does remark that what was described here was "also true of Stillwater", so I could write "the value of the [...] land plummeted by 50 to 75%." However, the reason I don't have that included is because it feels too much like WP:SYNTH to me.
  • "and as of 2021, the building is the longest-standing courthouse in Minnesota" - do we need the 2021 clause? ... it will be true until it collapses, no?
    • It will be. I only put that there because of convention that we date all "current" statements, but I'll be keeping a close enough eye on this that it being outdated shouldn't be any real issue for more than maybe a couple weeks at most should something happen to the courthouse
  • I am not happy with what follows - tellings after his death - before he actually died.
    • Pretty much the only reason I do this is because it's relevant to his business affairs. However, I could move the post-mortem information back over to 'Later life and death'. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 22:52, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
      • (Having changed some more indents: may I ask once more to please reply to an asterisk by repeating that asterisk?) Yes, please consider moving what happened after his death to later, perhaps a new section - it's not really legacy, nor his life. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:57, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Legacy

  • I'd distribute the three images over the article. Especially the courthouse pic would be good where that house is mentioned. The marker could just go to the courthouse article, as the print is too small to read the story.
    • So you're suggesting having the image of the courthouse under 'Business ventures' and the Nelson School under 'Legacy'? Unthinkable! (Actually, that's a really good idea. I'll change it, and you can let me know what you think.) TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 22:37, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

See also

  • I'd not need that at all. Better link to the 2 items in context.
    • Done. I just removed "Economy of Minnesota" altogether, since it's frankly really lacking in any information about the early pine industry that would be relevant to those reading about Nelson. I put 'Territorial era of Minnesota' as a 'See also' atop 'Political career'. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 22:34, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

That's it for now, - thank you for an unusual article! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:12, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

  • It really would be a weirdly obscure subject to have an FA about, wouldn't it? TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 22:37, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
    I love weirdly obscure subjects. I finished the formatting of replies, but otherwise am too tired now, - will hopefully get back to your replies and the lead after sleep, then my morning routine including a DYK article and a long watchlist (which I'll prune to 50.000 tomorrow, promised), then the article of the day (a recent death so can't wait), - patience please. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:54, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
    Back, Christine Haidegger on the Main page.

Lead

  • "He was involved in the community of early Stillwater, being a founding member of the first Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge in Minnesota as well one of the earliest members of the Minnesota Historical Society." - for me, it would be helpful to first read about his trade, business and politics, and then the fellows and society So Stillwater yes, perhaps "early community of Stillwater", perhaps with a start year, but the details much later?
    • I switched it to "early community", but I just feel like having the early community part flows better. I moved the 'early community' line below the 'As a businessman' one for a couple days, and every time I read it, it just felt very off. I feel like this order works best within the chronology of the overall article, even though some aspects of his business ventures are in 'Early life'. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 17:18, 14 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • "before being elected to the senate. As a senator"- I suggest to close the previous sentence with a full stop and begin "He was elected to the Senate ..." + year
    • The reason I don't include the year he was elected to the Senate there is that I already state a paragraph beforehand that he "served one term as a Minnesota state senator from 1859 to 1861", rendering that redundant.
  • "As a senator, he helped to repeal the Loan Amendment – intended to expedite the creation of railroad infrastructure – from the Minnesota Constitution." - how about first the link to the constitution, then the railroad purpose?
  • I don't see the slightest reason to combine the Democratic convention and the land donation in one sentence, - I'd perhaps even begin a new paragraph for the latter.
    • Done.
  • same - no connection - for his death and the plaque, better connect the plaque to the house. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:47, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
    • Also done.

The questions where I didn't reply again are solved, for me. Thanks for the changes! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:59, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for more action, I'm happy now and support. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:15, 20 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Source review edit

Assuming that spot-checks aren't needed. Sources are consistently formatted although I don't understand what the bolded numbers are supposed to mean. For historical laws such as #41, aren't there better online sources than Google Books? Are W.H.C. Folsom, Joseph A. A. Burnquist, Joseph R. Brown, Boyden, Wallace C.; Boyden, Merrill N.; Boyden, Amos J. and Lucius Frederick Hubbard reliable sources? Their credentials don't scream "reliable high-quality source" to me. Lots of local news sources, on whose reliability I cannot vouch. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk) 16:25, 22 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Bolded numbers are volumes. This is the automatic formatting when you place a number under the 'volume' parameter. Folsom was heavily involved in the early politics of Minnesota. Burnquist, having been governor etc. of Minnesota, is used to attest to positions such as Territorial Auditor and the UM board of directors and – given his offices – is quite qualified to do so. Joseph R. Brown was the territorial printer and was merely a publisher of the source on behalf of the territorial legislature and supreme court. The Boyden source documents Boyden genealogy, and I've seen no reason that the source shouldn't be trusted. Hubbard is one of four editors for the series 'Minnesota in Three Centuries'; Hubbard's writing contributions are limited to chapters covering the Civil War which do not pertain to Nelson. The local news sources are from Brent Peterson, the executive director of the Washington County Historical Society. He's exceptionally knowledgeable in the region's history. TheTechnician27 (Talk page) 03:37, 24 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
OK then, if no spot-check is needed. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk) 10:43, 24 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.
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