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Former good articleBurr Caswell was one of the History good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.
Did You Know Article milestones
DateProcessResult
October 31, 2015Articles for deletionKept
March 29, 2021Good article nomineeListed
February 25, 2023Good article reassessmentDelisted
Did You Know A fact from this article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "Did you know?" column on August 4, 2008.
The text of the entry was: Did you know ... that Burr Caswell built his farmhouse in 1849 out of old driftwood and it is now a museum centerpiece?
Current status: Delisted good article

Another source

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There was a series of articles in the Ludington Daily News. The week following this article: Cabot, James (September 7, 1996). "Burr Caswell–first permanent settler". Ludington Daily News. p. 4 there was a scheduled article on Caswell's service as a lighthouse keeper. I have been unable to find this on line, but I know its there. 7&6=thirteen (☎) 12:51, 24 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

 Fixed
For what it is worth, I think it is a great little article. If they had complied with WP:Before this hassle could have all been avoided. If this article is deletable as not notable, then 80% of the encyclopedia would have to go, too.7&6=thirteen (☎) 19:24, 24 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Historians

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The two main historians used for reference sources in this article are James L. Cabot and David K. Petersen. They both have been columnists for the Ludington Daily News writing history articles. They both are history authors writing books on Michigan history, especially on Mason County. They both have used the same primary sources to obtain the information on Burr Caswell. I have verified at the Ludington Public Library that the historians information matches up with the primary sources. The Caswell biography information from these historians matches precisely that of many other secondary sources as well (see article references).

Example newspaper clippings on Caswell by James L. Cabot -

Both these historians use the Ludington Public Library extensively. The History Room at the library contains extensive research material they have produced.

This is a list of material in the Ludington Public Library that I used to verify that the information these historians used for the Burr Caswell information is correct.

Ludington Library history room shelf of history material mostly of Mason County
  • 1882 Mason County History
  • 1882 Mason Manistee Oceana History
  • 1890 Mason Manistee Pictorial
  • 1932 Historic No ta pe ka gon by Russell Anderson
  • 1957 Sand Sawdust and Sawlogs by Frances Caswell Hanna
  • 1980 Historical Society History Book
  • 1987 Pictorial History publications by Mason County Historical Society
  • 2011 Lincoln Village by James F Fay
  • Lath Lumber & Shingles by Luuman Goodenough
  • Mason Memories series (quarterly periodical) by the Mason County Historical Society
  • First Land owners of Mason County, Michigan: internal boundary changes and township development by Ethyl Williams
New book arrival to Ludington Public Library - "Mason County 1850 - 1950" by historian author David K Petersen
Petersen 10_30_2015 book signing of "Mason County 1850-1950"
File:New local book.jpg
"Mason County 1850-1950" is the new local book from Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series

Below are other related articles -

"David K Petersen" and "James L. Cabot" found in Google books -

"Spirit of the Lakes"
"Ludington Car Ferries"
"Ludington: 1830-1930"
"Mason County 1850 - 1950"
"Justus S. Stearns: Michigan Pine King and Kentucky Coal Baron, 1845-1933"

The historians contact information -

Dave Petersen can be reached through his home page email address
James L. Cabot can be reached through the Ludington Mural Society

Dave Petersen attributes historical research to the Mason County Historical Society and Oceana County Historical & Genealogical Society and White Pine Village (an outdoor historical museum in Mason County), in addition to the Ludington Public Library and Mason County District Library system.

Since I live in Ludington, Michigan, (Mason County) I have read many of these newspaper columns they have written on Mason County history. For years I have used their history books for reference sources for several Wikipedia articles I have created,

all of which became Did You Know articles.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 10:39, 31 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I have put the two articles back as external links. In my opinion they are reliable sources. We just went through this on the ill-advised and ill-fated attempt to delete this article. I incorporate by reference my earlier comments there, as though set forth in full. Apparently User: Clarityfiend wants to resurrect the WP:Dead horse, having ridden it into the ground once. By putting them in as external links, rather than reverting and putting them back as sources, I am not conceding to the bogus claim that they are unreliable. Rather, I think that the bar on External links is lower still, and this is being done in the spirit of cooperative editing and building consensus. It is an Offer of compromise, not an admission. See WP:BRD. 7&6=thirteen (☎) 11:15, 31 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

GOCE copyedit request

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Hey, Doug Coldwell, a few questions:

  • [...] being the first white man to occupy any part of Mason County, Michigan, arriving in 1845. Is the year necessary? Sounds like a good detail, but not necessarily for the lede. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:37, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
exclamation mark  Restructured: I've taken the liberty of substantially editing the lede by consolidating all the things he's done first in the county into one paragraph. I notice he is constantly referred to as "the first white man". Reading further down, I assume it's because Aboriginals were already living on the land before him, but I am curious about the first white man to take a farm from the American government in the wilds of Mason County; link removed. The first thing, which is tangentially related to the question I have, is what does "tak[ing] a farm" mean? The actual question I was going to ask is: was he the first man ever to do so, or was there someone before him that had done this, only that they weren't white? With the way it's written I'm more inclined to believe the latter. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 22:06, 19 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Tenryuu: Excellent job on your Copyedit 2.1 and reworking the lede. I'm trying to improve that further again, so have removed all references in the lede as I understand they are not needed (or wanted) there. I'm picking up those references in the body of the article and making sure they all get covered one way or another. Yes - there was the Indians before him that had done farming on the land. Caswell was just the first white man to do farming in the area.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 13:32, 20 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
 Done. I've gone and made a few tweaks to the lede so that the things he did can be described as "pioneering". —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 22:06, 19 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Caswell's activities were pioneering. I assume this is meant adjectivally, as in "involving accomplishments or activities that have

not been done before, or developing or using new methods or techniques"? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:37, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

 Done. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]


  • As a young man Caswell learned cabinet trade skills and practiced this business for several years in Glens Falls. This can be simplified. What's the trade specifically called? Is it just carpentry? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:37, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]


  • Caswell and his family afterwards made several changes in the next few years like many of the early settlers. What's the intent behind the sentence? Why is it important to note that they even went to Mississippi? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:37, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
 Done. Tweaked it a little. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • His family lived in dense wilderness and rugged terrain. I'm thinking of merging this sentence with the one after it, but the easiest way to do so would be to get rid of either "dense wilderness" or "rugged terrain", as one lives "in dense wilderness" or "on rugged terrain". I prefer keeping "dense wilderness"; how about you? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:37, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • It is the first frame structure in Mason County which still stands at White Pine Village very near its original location as the Mason County Historical Society's outdoor museum's centerpiece. Did it get relocated at some point? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:37, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • The village which sprang up around the Caswells was then called Pere Marquette, in honor of the missionary who died in the area in 1675. Wasn't the area already called the Pere Marquette Township when the Caswells arrived? —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:37, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
 Done. Reworded and I think the math is simple enough for any reader, but feel free to bring back the year of death if it seems more important for the GA nominator. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Aside from the second floor, Caswell's home was used as the site of the first Pere Marquette Township meeting by an act of the Michigan legislature [...] Slightly edited. Can you explain the relevance of "by an act of the Michigan legislature" in this sentence? I don't understand why this detail is needed. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:37, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
checkmark Done by requester. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:16, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Looking forward to your answers. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:37, 18 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

  •  Working I'm beginning to address the issues you brought up. I'm happy to see when you copy edit one of my requests as you do such a thorough job. These issues may take me a few days, but be assured I am working on them to make the improvements you have suggested. Your ideas also inspire me to make additional improvements as I see them now. You will see I will be addressing some each day in between my other projects (GANs).--Doug Coldwell (talk)
@Doug Coldwell: I appreciate the kind words. I'll keep an eye on this article from time to time and update the status of things as time goes by. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 22:06, 19 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Cheers! See you around. —Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 11:53, 23 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Tenryuu: I have addressed the issues you brought up and tried to do what you recommended. When you have time, can you look it over. After that then I plan on GAN. Thanks again for all your great help. --Doug Coldwell (talk) 19:14, 24 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
    • @Doug Coldwell: Addressed all of the issues I had before. Made a few tweaks that should hopefully be up to shape for GAN.

GA Review

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GA toolbox
Reviewing
This review is transcluded from Talk:Burr Caswell/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: The Rambling Man (talk · contribs) 14:17, 24 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

  • The first two sentences seem to say the same thing.


  • "Caswell was born in..." this para is clunky, four or five very short paras, suggest a bit of a merge to improve the flow.


  • "a couple of years" not particularly encyclopedic tone.


  • "some 30 miles" convert.


  • "year's worth of provisions for their journey to Michigan" for us non-US readers, is there some way of expressing how long this journey was?


  • Link schooner.


  • "they got to" ->"they arrived at the"


  • "built a small ... It was built" repetitive.


  • "very near its" -> "very close to its"


  • "Mason County officially became a county" link "county" and what was it before it became an "official" county?!


  • link for shingles?


  • "which sprang up" tone.


  • "a shingle mill in Ludington" link shingle mill first time.


  • "from January 9, 1874 to" comma after 1874.


  • "large hotel, The family returned" full stop, not comma.


  • "where Caswell ten years" died?


  • "... Ludington beside his first wife" this para has no references.


  • Mary Caswell image is too small.


  • "Edgar achieved fame as a prominent" -> "Edgar became a prominent"


  • "temporary jail.[24][16][23] The" ref order.


  • "Registered State Historic Site" no link?


  • Maybe too many images of the house, the first and third include the same bookcase for example.


  • Consistent ISBN formats.

That's all I have, so it's on hold. The Rambling Man (Stay alert! Control the virus! Save lives!!!!) 07:43, 29 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Copyright contributor investigation and Good article reassessment

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This article is part of Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations/20210315 and the Good article (GA) drive to reassess and potentially delist over 200 GAs that might contain copyright and other problems. An AN discussion closed with consensus to delist this group of articles en masse, unless a reviewer opens an independent review and can vouch for/verify content of all sources. Please review Wikipedia:Good article reassessment/February 2023 for further information about the GA status of this article, the timeline and process for delisting, and suggestions for improvements. Questions or comments can be made at the project talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 09:36, 9 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Circular

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The first versions of this article were based entirely on family accounts and non-reliable sources; the information from those versions was apparently later published in news accounts, which were then used to cite the text which had already been added here from non-RS; that is, circular. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 01:59, 11 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The (2008) version of the article was entirely based on family accounts, genealogy sites, and non-reliable sources.
Citations were later retrofitted-- not always verifying the text. This problem was appropriately noted as such at AFD in 2015, but by then, the family-published accounts had spread via Wikipedia to Ludington news sources, and the result was keep at the AFD. There is circular sourcing throughout this topic because Wikipedia published family accounts, which were likely picked up later by news sources. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 02:21, 11 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]
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This article has been revised as part of a large-scale clean-up project of multiple article copyright infringement. (See the investigation subpage) Earlier text must not be restored, unless it can be verified to be free of infringement. For legal reasons, Wikipedia cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material; such additions must be deleted. Contributors may use sources as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 01:59, 11 April 2023 (UTC) SandyGeorgia (Talk) 01:59, 11 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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