File talk:Rufus W. Peckham cph.3b30513.jpg

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This photo page needs a name change from Rufus Wheeler Peckham (his father) to Rufus William Peckham (assuming that the dates are correct and this is indeed Junior).[1] Sunny Clark (talk) 04:18, 28 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Sunny Clark: No, I think that source is incorrect about his middle name. Apparently both father and son were named Rufus Wheeler Peckham, according to...
  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
  2. Biographical Directory of the State of New York, 1900
  3. Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary
  4. Supreme Court A to Z
  5. Biographical Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court
  6. List of works relating to the Supreme court of the United States (published by the Library of Congress)

In fact, I could not find another source that gave his middle name as "William". —howcheng {chat} 04:26, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, Howcheng, for your notes. How odd that you could find no other source for William, as I had no problem:

[2][3][4][5] I'll add to his TALK page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sunny Clark (talk • contribs) 04:39, 29 November 2018 (UTC) Sunny Clark (talk) 04:45, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

  1. ↑ National Cyclopaedia The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 11; James. T. White and Company; New York, NY, USA; 1909, p. 410.
  2. ↑ (1901) Proceedings, Washington State Bar Association 13th Annual Convention, Washington State Bar Association, p. 100 Retrieved on 29 November 2018. "Hon Rufus William Peckham of New York born in 1838 commissioned by President Cleveland."
  3. ↑ (24 March 1908). "MINNESOTA LAWS REGULATING RATES DECLARED INVALID". The Sacremento Union (Volume 115, Number 28). The Sacramento Union. Retrieved on 29 November 2018. "Rufus William Peckham of the U.S. Supreme Court [contemporary photo caption]."
  4. ↑ (1922) Political and Governmental History of the State of New York (Vol. 3 ed.), The Syracuse Press Inc., p. 75 Retrieved on 29 November 2018. "Rufus William Peckham jurist born at Albany NY November 8 1838."
  5. ↑ The New International Encyclopædia (Vol. 18 ed.), p. 242 Retrieved on 29 November 2018. "PECKHAM RUFUS WILLIAM 1838 1909 An American jurist brother of Wheeler Hazard Peckham He was born in Albany NY and was educated at the Albany Academy and in Philadelphia Admitted to the bar in 1859 a year later he succeeded his father as law partner of Lyman Tremain. On Tremain's death in 1878 the firm became Peckham and Rosendale. For three years Peckham served as district attorney of Albany County He was counsel to the Albany."
More "William" references:
  1. https://archive.org/details/listofmembersjan00soci/page/10
  2. https://archive.org/details/brewstergenealog_22jone/page/n217
  3. https://archive.org/details/NewYorkStateMenBiographicStudiesAn/page/n15
  4. https://books.google.com/books?id=v_27AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA118
  5. https://books.google.com/books?id=sDUtAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA430
  6. https://books.google.com/books?id=hlCb3BCZqvkC&pg=PA328 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sunny Clark (talk • contribs) 05:19, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Howcheng's sources are more authoritative by far. See also discussion at w:Talk:Rufus Wheeler Peckham#Wrong name. Postdlf (talk) 05:33, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Contemporary sources should outweigh modern ones. My impression is that it is quite possible that mistakes were made, then copied and adopted over time... very common to genealogy. Many provided sources are authoritative, and the issue needs further research, not quick dismissalSunny Clark (talk) 18:31, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Sunny Clark: My method was to Google for "Justice Rufus Peckham" to see what came up. Most results only included his initial, and the ones that included a middle name were all "Wheeler". I went through several pages of results for web and books. I don't think anyone is just dismissing this. Nobody here has a dog in this fight and I'm fairly sure the goal of everyone here is to get the facts correct, so the question is which sources do we believe? I am of the opinion that modern academic sources are more reliable, as they will reflect more recent research that may not have been easily available to earlier writers. —howcheng {chat} 18:57, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Additionally, I'm fairly certain this is a picture of the younger Peckham. File:Rufus Wheeler Peckham (1809 - 1873).jpg is a painting of the father and does not look like the person in this photo. Furthermore, if you look at portrait photographs of men in the 1870s, the style of photography is visually different. —howcheng {chat} 19:22, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Howcheng: You have not been dismissive... I was quite impressed by your research provisions, in fact. I was referring to the dismissive comment which mine had followed (as well as those on his WP Talk page). Nonetheless, contemporary sources should outweigh modern ones. My impression is that it is quite possible that mistakes were made, then copied and adopted over time, which is very common to genealogy. "Wheeler", being his father's middle name, is more likely to have been assumed than "William" (as was suggested elsewhere). Many provided sources are authoritative, and the issue needs further research. More contemporary sources:
  1. https://archive.org/details/annualcommenceme01colu/page/n225 → Q: What are the chances of his Fellows at Columbia University getting it wrong when conferring his Honorary J.D. in 1901? A: Much lower than the chances of his name being morphed into his father's name, over time.
  2. https://books.google.com/books?id=vz8jAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA326&lpg=PA326 → Would Columbia get it wrong again, in print?
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=T7smAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA764 → I seriously doubt that Columbia University got it wrong a third time, in 1912.
  4. https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-times-jun-13-1901-p-5/ → The contemporary press reported him as either "Rufus W." or "Rufus William", the latter as seen in the third column under "The Honorary Degrees".
  5. https://archive.org/details/ancestorsdescend00gard/page/33 → "William", according to a cousin (as with previous sources listed above).Sunny Clark (talk) 20:24, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Howcheng: I do think you are right on the photo... I think I got confused when tired because of the name on it and him looking so much like his father.Sunny Clark (talk) 20:27, 29 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Retrieved from "https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File_talk:Rufus_W._Peckham_cph.3b30513.jpg&oldid=330578274"