Wikipedia:Peer review/Samuel May Williams/archive1

Samuel May Williams

I've listed this article for peer review as I believe it meets the FA-criteria. I have never nominated an article for FAC, so I am starting with the peer review process as suggested in the FAC instructions.

The principal source is Henson (1976) and is available online with a registration at archive.org. Thanks, Oldsanfelipe2 (talk) 22:58, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

Comments by Kaiser matias

To disclose I did do the GA review for the article, but will go through it again.

• "...clerking and later adding the title of secretary to the ayuntamiento." I think it may be worth including a parenthetical note about what an ayuntamiento is here.

• "In 1834, Williams quit as secretary for the Austin Colony to work as a merchant, then formalized the partnership of McKinney and Williams." Two things: should it not be "secretary of the Austin Colony"; and this is the first mention of McKinney so it is kind of confusing who he is and what his relevance is. I do see that a Thomas F. McKinney is linked later on; if that is the same person I'd make it clearer here, something like: "formalized a partnership with Thomas F. McKinney."

• Link Monclova, Henry Howell Williams, and Panic of 1857.

• If you use the abbreviation for Commercial & Agricultural Bank, make sure to note it in parenthesis after it's initial use (so "The Commercial & Agricultural Bank (C & A Bank) was the only institution...").

• "C & A Bank remained solvent even in the face of the Panic of 1857, but anti-banking politics was on the rise. At this time, many of his friends and allies distanced themselves from the bank and encouraged Williams to give up the project. Williams died on September 13, 1858." I'd clean this up a bit: "C&A Bank remained solvent during the Panic of 1857, but anti-banking politics were on the rise. Many of Williams' friends and allies distanced themselves from the bank and encourage him to give up the project, and he died in 1858."

• "The more immediate Williams family was one of sailors and merchants." I'd reword: "Williams' immediate family was comprised of sailors and merchants."

• "After some schooling in his native city, he apprenticed to his uncle Nathaniel." I don't think you need to note "uncle" Nathaniel here, as it was noted in the previous sentence. I would leave the second use though, just because of the younger brother of the same name.

• "While two historians..." and "another historian"; do you have their names? I feel it would be more authoritative to use them, if possible.

• "where Jean Lafitte had been a resident" I'd add a small qualifier about who Jean Lafitte was; if I understand he was a pirate, so simply "where pirate Jean Lafitte had been a resident"; just so it gives context why we care he stayed at the same place.

• "Williams first appeared in Texas, at Galveston Island, no later than 1821, where he sold tobacco to the Karankawa people." This could probably be worded clearer: "Williams is confirmed to be in Texas no later than 1821, when he sold tobacco to the Karankawa people on Galveston Island."

• "His permanent residency began after May 1822..." This may be a feature of being Canadian and working in immigration, but "permanent residency" to me is a legal term. I'm not sure if such a concept existed in 1820s Texas, but I feel it can be said better and simply: "He moved to Texas after May 1822..."

• I would suggest making a new paragraph at the "At this time Texas was a part of Mexico."

• "...word traveled to the capital city..." This refers to Mexico City, yes? It is a little unclear so I would clarify.

• "By late 1823, the younger Austin had returned to Texas..." Seeing how the "older" Austin had been dead for two years by this point, I don't think a qualifier like that is needed.

• "There is no direct evidence that Williams and Austin had known each other prior to these meetings in 1823, but for a time both men had lived and worked in the same area of New Orleans." This seems backwards: "For a time both Williams and Austin had lived and worked in the same area of New Orleans, but there is no evidence that they had known each other prior to their meeting in 1823."

• "When all documents were written by hand..." Make clearer: "In an era when all documents were written by hand..."

• "In 1835, Williams was a member of the Coahuila and Texas Legislature..." Was he elected? If so I'd use that verb rather than "was".

I'll go over the rest in short order. Kaiser matias (talk) 20:36, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Sorry for the delay in getting back here, was travelling and then unavailable. But see the comments below:

• "Williams was selling bank stock in New York when he read about a possible war in Texas..." Did he return to New York in the 1830s? From the sound of it he was in Texas still.

• "These loans to the Texas cause had been leveraged by letters of credit from Henry Howell Williams." Henry Howell is Samuel's brother, yes? If so I'd try and merge this statement with the one previously where Samuel used his brother's credit to get a ship. The two things are distinct, but it would flow better if they were closer together. Either way you should note the relation of Henry Howell to Samuel, if one exists, as it's not clear.

• "Twenty-fourth street." First, is the street itself spelled out like this? And I believe "street" should be capitalized as well.

• "Williams ran for US Congress twice." This, and everything after it, seems tacked on to the paragraph, and could really stand as its own paragraph. I'd then move the sentences about the sugar plantation up two paragraphs (so it would follow: "Though Cary's family was not emancipated, he purchased his family members, and in this way, he reunited his own family.")

• The "Death" section is kind of bare, and the single-sentence paragraphs are not a good look. I'm not sure if there's anything more to add there, but if it can be expanded or cleaned up somewhat it would really help. Perhaps include a note about Williams' legacy there?

That is about it from me. I did take a more thorough look this time than I did during the GA, but if you do bring it to FAC, I would be happy to support. Kaiser matias (talk) 17:22, 31 January 2020 (UTC)

Kaiser matias, Thanks for the thorough review. Most of these are easy fixes. The last item will require some thought and re-reading a few of the sources. Strangely, Williams does not have much of a legacy in Texas. Other than the cenotaph at the cemetery in Galveston, I have no knowledge of any other acknowledgement by the state for his service. Ditto for Thomas F. McKinney. The Henson biography ends very abruptly, though she does talk about his funeral and how he was honored by two different orders of Freemasons. Gary Cartwight even notes that the "BOIs"—Galvestonians who are born on the island—resent Williams and this has been an attitude of long-standing. In general, the old Texas history buffs mostly shared this opinion, which is why I had this subject mostly to myself. Best, Oldsanfelipe2 (talk) 18:43, 2 February 2020 (UTC)