Talk:May Robson

First Australian to be Oscar-nominated?

I strongly suspect this is the case but I don't want to simply assert it as a fact without confirmation. Does anybody know? JackofOz 00:06, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Infobox information

The following information was removed from the Infobox, because it is not standard or notable information that would be included there.

Here's the information that was removed:

Family Still Alive Today- Virginia Gore Vickters (Granddaughter of Mrs. Robson) Alexandra Gore Chipernoi / Wilkinson (Great Grandaughter of Mrs. Robson) Danielle Gore Wilkinson (Great Great Grandaughter of Mrs. Robson) Zackery John Wilkinson (Great Great Grandson)

These top family members are the most commonly talked about in Mrs. Robsons life, they are still alive today, and keep telling stories about Mrs. Robson. --CaroleHenson (talk) 04:43, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

Family

The following information was moved from the article to this space to 1) copy edit as needed for grammar, etc. and 2) to sort out what is notable information for the article. For a "Family" or "Personal life" section, it would be helpful to have information in the section relevant to her marriages and children - and possibly information about notable family members, such as her great-granddaughter Alexander Chipernoi, especially if there is a related article.

Mrs. Robson had not so many family members, but still had many friends and family that she loved and trusted with most of her life... Virginia Gore Vickters- Who was Mrs. Robson's granddaughter, and who had known Mrs. Robson the most, out of all the other family members. Alexandra Gore Chipernoi- It the daughter of Mrs. Virginia Gore Vickters, and became successful at many things. For an example... For most of her life she had a singing career that she chose out of many other talents, some of her songs are "Just Like The Moon" (which was one of her most popular) "Bangin on My Heart" etc. She was also a model for many companies and became even more successful then she was with her singing career. She modeled for Vogue Magazine, Elle, and a couple others. But these wonderful talents soon died down once she had children. (Danielle Gore Wilkinson & Zackery John Wilkinson) Danielle Gore Wilkinson- Miss Danielle Gore Wilkinson is the granddaughter of Mrs. Virginia Gore Vickers, and the daughter of Mr. Alvin Guy Wilkinson & Mrs. Alexandra Gore Chipernoi. Miss Danielle Wilkinson is still alive today, and is soon to be starting in a modeling agency following the footsteps of her family members. Zackery John Wilkinson- Mr. Zackery John Wilkinson is a sibling to Miss Danielle Gore Wilkinson, a son to Mr. Alvin Guy Wilkinson & Mrs. Alexandra Gore Chipernoi, a grandson to Mrs. Virginia Chipernoi, and a nephew to Miss Sarah Gore. Sarah Gore- Miss Sarah Gore is a sister to Mrs. Alexandra Wilkinson, an aunt to Miss Danielle Wilkinson & Zackery John Wilkinson, and a daughter to Mrs. Virginia Gore Vickters.

Related By Marriage- 1) Mr. Alvin Guy Wilkinson 2) Mr. Laurence Chipernoi

For more information, see Wikipedia:Wikipedia is an encyclopedia.--CaroleHenson (talk) 04:51, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

Cause of death

Don't know why cancer is listed as cause of death.

• This profile of May Robson cites "natural causes"]

*Her IMDb profile indicates "neuritis"

So I rv cancer as cause of death until a reliable source can confirm it. Quis separabit? 21:43, 24 September 2013 (UTC)

I added a reliable source + the cause of death of cancer. IMDb profiles are not WP:Reliable sources and the other sources does not appear to be a reliable source. If you find a reliable source with a different opinion the solution is not to "cherry pick" which one you like best, but to add a note with the conflicting information and reliable sources. For instance, it could say X sources says she died of _____ and Y source says she died of ____. This could be done within the death section - or via a note.--CaroleHenson (talk) 11:08, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Quis separabit? After reading several dozen obiituaries, I think I've got a good summary about the cause of death for Robson, which is slightly unclear - but there was not one case in the dozens of obituaries that I could find that she died as the direct result of neuritis. (The disparate accounts may have been because people were reluctant to use the C-word decades ago. Also, there's the issue of comorbidity - and I don't think it's unusual for neuropathy to occur in some cancer patients.)

...Anyway, sorry for the long comment. As I've been counseled along the way by senior WP folks, when there's a set of disparate facts, recount the facts and let the readers decide. Do you mind looking at the note in May Robson#Notes and see if you think this handles it? Then, if it looks good, I'm going to update the IMDb profile.--CaroleHenson (talk) 21:14, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

I agree IMDb is not considered a reliable source regarding actors' biographies/biodata; I apologize for including it.

As there does not appear to be a consensus that Robson died of cancer, I suggest simply leaving the general "Disease related deaths" category until we have a reasonable degree of confidence. Quis separabit? 22:05, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Quis separabit? This isn't likely to be a case where there is going to be consensus if it's not been documented yet. It's not our job to come to opinions or choose what we think is the most likely cause - that treads on WP:Original research territory, doesn't it?

"It's not our job to come to opinions or choose what we think is the most likely cause " -- I agree, hence my opinion that while including the disparate possible causes of death cited in different, reasonably reliable sources (not IMDb), we shouldn't add any cancer-related categories since we don't know if she died of cancer or was ever even diagnosed with the disease. Quis separabit? 22:31, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

I'm confused. Why not follow: "when there's a set of disparate facts, recount the facts and let the readers decide?" See WP:Synthesis--CaroleHenson (talk) 22:25, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Quis separabit? I made an edit that includes the "various reasons" type remark in the body of the death section and have a note to the two other comments. Does that work?--CaroleHenson (talk) 22:54, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Sure, fine, Carole. Yours, Quis separabit? 23:01, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Quis separabit? Cool! Something happened that revert the fixes for citation placement, additions, copyediting, clarifications, etc... so I've reverted to an earlier version and I'll try and sort out the date fixes which are usually much easier / more mindless.--CaroleHenson (talk) 23:12, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Comments regarding death of children

Regarding the death of two of her three children, I've moved the following comment here:

(*this sounds dubious or erroneous since one of Robson's daughters/or daughter-in-law appears in a silent film with her with a grandchild)

For future reference, comments like this shouldn't be typed into the article. The perfect place to address issues is here, on the talk page. There is a Template:Dubious that can be added to the article with details regarding the question placed within the template. That way the "Dubious" message will appear in the article, and readers can look in edit mode to get the details regarding the dispute, as another option.

I will look into it - double-checking the cited sources, silent movie info, etc. and respond here.--CaroleHenson (talk) 10:17, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Update, I found two other references for the two children's death, a 1900 census record that only identifies Edward Gore as a child living with them (although presumably a child could have been born to Gore / Robson and married by then) - and sources that say that Robson's only living / surviving child was Edward.

I am not finding any reliable records that show that she has three children when she married Augustus Brown

Do you have information about (presumably) daughter-in-law who starred with her in a silent movie (i.e., her name - presumably with the Gore surname, the movie).

Thanks!--CaroleHenson (talk) 18:04, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

I could not find the name of a daughter/daughter-in-law in the list of silent films Robson starred in. I wondered if you might have thought that she had a daughter with Brown, and that's who starred in the film, but I'm not finding any evidence of that in biographies or census data.

For searches on Robson and daughter, all that I'm getting are description of movies where "daughter" refers to a character in the film.

Based on this, it seems this is a closed issue. Right?--CaroleHenson (talk) 18:28, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Ah, found How Molly Made Good - the wikipedia article had an unsourced claim that she appeared in the film "with one of her daughters" but I'm unable to find a reliable source for that information (blog type page / answers site, for instance wouldn't comply and seem to be the same wording as the unsourced bit in the article) and there is no cast list that includes a woman with one of the family surnames (Robson, Gore, Brown). Plus, I've read more than 25 obituaries so far and not one mentions a daughter, just Edward's wife (daughter-in-law)--CaroleHenson (talk) 20:00, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Timing conflict

By the time she began her acting career in 1883, two of Robson's three children had died by 1892.

This does not compute. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 12:55, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

@JackofOz: Thanks, I was very tired when I started this last night! It has been corrected.--CaroleHenson (talk) 16:03, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Australia

@Zarcadia: I see that Australia was removed without a clarification. Biographies and public records state that she was from Australia or Australia (England), meaning a colony of England.

If Australia is not right, what is the proper name to use?--CaroleHenson (talk) 16:48, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

See also Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Proper names for your point about what it was named at the time -- and the use of "what is now..."--CaroleHenson (talk) 16:55, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

I've thought about this and use/non-use of the country name is likely a non-issue. There many articles about the U.S. that don't include the U.S. in a place name.--CaroleHenson (talk) 21:20, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Hi CaroleHenson. As I stated in my edit summary Australia did not exist in 1858 (it was created as a sovereign state in 1901), so to include in the infobox is inappropriate. Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Proper names does support this, in particular An article about Junipero Serra should say he lived in Alta Mexico not the U.S. state of California because the latter entity did not exist at the time of Junipero Serra; so we should use the name for that particular point in time. Thanks. Zarcadia (talk) 21:40, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Yep, I agree on that point. I was trying to get to "what is the proper name to use?" - but as I noted at 21:20, upon reflection it's really a non-issue.--CaroleHenson (talk) 21:53, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Specialized in comedy

@Koplimek:

I reverted the addition of "she specialized in comedy" in the intro because the intro is a summary of the information in the article and it's new information without a citation. The article does say that she was a comedienne, but do you have a source that says "she specialized in comedy"?

It would be nice to work that info into the article a bit more fully - and then it could be added to the intro without a citation.--CaroleHenson (talk) 14:06, 2 October 2014 (UTC)

I may be able to find something in writing. I might have to resort to an older offline source or publication that might not be carried by for instance GoogleBooks. Perusing her stage roles at IBDb makes it obvious . Thanks. Koplimek (talk) 01:38, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

Yep, I know what you mean - some times its tricky to sort out common sense conclusions vs. original research. I think the tricky part is saying she "specialized in comedy" as if it was a strategic decision. That's where I think we need a source.

I think the article would actually shine more to be able to hit on this. I'll check around, too.--CaroleHenson (talk) 01:57, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

Performance artist?

Was Robson a performance artist? This is only mentioned in the lead, which describes her as the "first performance artist to receive an Academy Award nomination". What is meant by this statement? WikkanWitch (talk) 12:02, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

Personal Life

As well as being largely unsourced, this account of her family is far too much information and Robson's story gets lost in the minutiae of her family. I think it needs a major edit down.Nickm57 (talk) 02:29, 17 January 2016 (UTC)

Uncited content

I am returning the cited content to the article... and placing uncited content here. Perhaps someone has information about where this came from:

• Her youngest son died on 26 April 1882 and her daughter died shortly after on 1 May 1882.
• but by 1880 Julia is recorded as living in California with James. Julia is also recorded in California from 1912 to her death in 1914.
• During these difficult times no mention is made of any family support for Mary. She had grandparents who were living in New York in 1850, and she may have had uncles, aunts and cousins still there in the early 1880s. She may also have had her brother James nearby.
• James Leman Robison was naturalized in Newark, New Jersey, on 11 April 1877 and lived in San Francisco from about 1880 to his death in 1920. In 1880 he was listed as a teacher, as a journalist in 1886 and as an attorney in 1896. His mother, Julia, and step-father, Walter Miller, were defendants in a court case in England in 1875 and 1878.<ref>National Archives, England, J 55/20/102</ref> This citation is incomplete and its notability is in question
• Walter Miller (1830-) was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England and admitted as a Solicitor there in 1854; declared insolvent in 1855; moved to Victoria, Australia and was admitted as a Solicitor in 1857 practicing in Belvoir (Wodonga).
  • Walter Miller was a partner with De Courcy Ireland in the firm of "Miller and Ireland" at 100 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne in November 1867. The partnership was dissolved by mutual consent on 20 January 1870 with James L. Robison acting as witness to the legal notice.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5811121 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |issue=7,377 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=31 January 1870 |accessdate=28 October 2016 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}} </ref> edited and moved to the article.--CaroleHenson (talk) 08:14, 12 November 2016 (UTC)
• The family were living in Albury when administration of the will of Henry Robison was granted on 2 September 1865 in England.
• In the 1907 article Mary Robison remembers fishing from the St Kilda Pier in Melbourne. She would have been there in the period about 1866 to 1870 when she was between 8 and 12 years old.
  • I believe this came from the Theatre magazine article. I'm not sure, though, what the point is and how notable it is.--CaroleHenson (talk) 15:07, 12 November 2016 (UTC)
• Later in the article Mary describes the family’s next move from Melbourne to England across the Pacific –"We sailed in a vessel modeled after my grandmother's rocking chair in movement. She was so unsteady that she was known as ‘The Rolling Moses’". The Rolling Moses was the nickname for the 1,000-ton SS Moses Taylor, which in the period 1871 to 1873 was used by William H. Webb's San Francisco-Honolulu-Australia Line on the Honolulu to San Francisco section. No relevant passenger list has been located but it is likely that the family, including Mary who was 13 years old, traveled from Melbourne to London, via San Francisco, Panama Canal (opened in 1869), and New York arriving in England after the 1871 census conducted on 3 April 1871.
• In London Mary Robison attended La Sainte Union Catholic School on Highgate Road. "From the Sacred Heart Convent, Highgate, I was sent to school at Brussels, and there I studied the languages. I went to Paris for my examinations in French and returned to my home for a vacation. I ran away from home to marry a boy of eighteen, and this English Romeo and Juliet, aged eighteen and sixteen, went to Fort Worth, Tex[as]., and tried to live up to their dignified name as inscribed on their new cards, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Charles Livingston Gore’".
  • I have not been able to find anything that ties Sacred Heart Convent school to La Sainte Union Catholic School on Highgate Road, including the La Sainte Union Catholic School's history page. It very well might be, but we need a source to make the connection and I haven't found one.--CaroleHenson (talk) 15:04, 12 November 2016 (UTC)
  • There is a Sacred Heart Primary School on Mary Street in Highgate. See map - Struck out. This was Australia, not England.--CaroleHenson (talk) 22:42, 12 November 2016 (UTC)
• In the marriage allegation signed by Charles Leveson Gore (1856 – c. 1881) on 28 October 1875, Mary gave her residence as her married sister Adelaide’s address at Medbourne, Leicestershire, claiming that she was 20 years old (she was 17 and he was 19). They were married on 1 November 1875 at Camden Town, London. His full name was Charles Edward Frederick Collier Leveson Gore. Their first son, Edward Hyde Leveson Gore, was born in Leicestershire on 2 December 1876.
  • Added marriage date and place to the article.--CaroleHenson (talk) 02:56, 13 November 2016 (UTC)
• Henry Robison was a merchant navy seaman with the East India Company and received his Master’s Certificate of Service on 21 February 1853. However, on his children's baptismal records: in 1848 (after his marriage) he was listed as a watch and clock maker living at Church Street, Liverpool; a jeweller in 1850; and a silversmith in 1852. At the census of 1851 Henry, a jeweller, was visiting his brother, James Robison, wine merchant of Newton, Penrith.
  • I was provided the source information for the service info and added it to the article.--CaroleHenson (talk) 03:35, 13 November 2016 (UTC)
• Julia was the eldest daughter of Casper Wolfe Schlesinger (born c. 1801) and Adelaide Leman (born c. 1804). Casper was listed as a watch and clock maker at Pleasant Street, Liverpool in 1834; a land and house agent at Anne Street, 1848; and by 1850 he and his family were resident at Brooklyn City, New York, USA. In 1848 Adelaide and Julia were listed as artists at Anne Street, Liverpool. At the 1851 census Julia (Bobson) was a silversmith living at Church Street with their two sons.
• Her parents were Henry Robison (1810-1860) from Penrith, Cumberland, England and Julia Schlesinger (1824-1914) from Liverpool, Lancashire, England who were married in Liverpool on 21 October 1847.
  • I was provided the source information for the service info, which included his year and place of birth, and added it to the article.--CaroleHenson (talk) 03:35, 13 November 2016 (UTC)
• They took with them their three young children: William Henry Robison (born 1848), James Leman Robison (1850–1920); and Adelaide Fanny Julia Robison (1852–1930).
• A second son, James Beryl Gore, was born about May 1879.
• Sending Mary and the children ahead to New York, Charles Gore accepted an offer to trade the land and house for seven hundred horses. But most of the herd died on the way to market and the remainder were sold at a loss.
• Charles joined Mary in New York, where a daughter, Nellie Candler Gore, was born on 28 April 1880.

--CaroleHenson (talk) 03:16, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

In general, what makes Robson noteworthy is her acting career. If any information should be expanded upon, it would seem that would be the area to work on.--CaroleHenson (talk) 08:29, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

Great work tidying this up Carole - well done. Nickm57 (talk) 21:19, 12 November 2016 (UTC) (Will you check the 1927 University of Edinburgh claim again? It seems to be incongruous)

Thanks, Nickm57, Although I have read that she was an exceptionally bright woman, I was unable to find any evidence that she attended college or university. So, I removed "Robson attended the University of Edinburgh" from the article. If someone does find a source, though, that would be helpful.--CaroleHenson (talk) 22:28, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

Early new york years

I don't understand this: At the 1880 census, Charles, ‘Poppy’ and three children were living at 36th Street.

• The records state that Charles' wife was named "Poppy" - is there any other source that says that May was nicknamed Poppy?
  • May is recorded as 'Poppy' on her Marriage Certificate and in the Marriage Notice in The Times.Colinrosewell (talk)

• Charles L Gore was said to be 35 and Poppy 20, but other accounts, including by Robson say that they were just a couple years apart in age.
• The record states that her parents were born in France, but they were from England.
• Her first two children were said to have been born in England, but that timing seems off - especially for the second child, as they arrived in New York in 1877.
• Edward, her surviving son, was born in 1876 - but he's not in this census.

References

Regarding this:

• Mary says "We came to New York, my husband, my three children and myself, and began life over again practically without a dollar. Shortly afterwards my husband died."

is there a source for the statement?--CaroleHenson (talk) 03:25, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

• • I found a source for Mary's statement and the info is in the article now.--CaroleHenson (talk) 08:16, 12 November 2016 (UTC)