Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Viola Pettus

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's
talk page or in a deletion review
). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete‎. The source analysis by TimothyBlue is persuasive and has remained unrebutted. Sandstein 15:24, 5 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Viola Pettus

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Article has three sources for notability: a deadlink to a local newspaper allegedly saying she ran a schoolhouse and two articles referencing a minor character inspired by her in a relatively obscure play by Richard Montoya. Running a one-room school was not unusual and neither was working as a nurse during the Spanish Flu epidemic (even if there were a reliable source for that claim).

Google searches for Pettus turn up an image of her gravesite on facebook, a local blog post from 2007, more references to the Montoya play and some census records. Pettus's sole even arguably noteworthy attribute appears to have been a minor appearance in the Montoya play. Jbt89 (talk) 05:15, 12 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Women, Health and fitness, History, and Texas. Jbt89 (talk) 05:15, 12 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Keep Google Books search brings up a few references and this person appears to be notable. I'll make changes to the article after work tomorrow. Dr vulpes (Talk) 07:46, 12 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Took a look and found two (other than cemetery stuff): "REAL NURSING: Every Second Counts!!

" which makes essentially the same unsourced assertions as the article does, and "Revealed The Kingdom of Locs Nazirite Vow Continues, Volume 2" which copied the passage from the nursing book verbatim and generally seems like it was generated by a web scraper.

Personally I'd be a lot more comfortable accepting that she's even locally famous other than in connection with the Montoya play if there was a book or newspaper article stating that from before this article and the play were written in 2010, but I'm curious to see what you find. So far the argument for her notability all seems to boil down to that play IMO, which isn't good enough for a standalone article. Jbt89 (talk) 22:42, 13 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Keep per Dr Vulpes. Expand and improve; do not delete. Bookworm857158367 (talk) 14:38, 16 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Relisting comment: More specific discussion regarding sourcing would be helpful in establishing a consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, — Red-tailed hawk _(nest) 17:15, 19 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict)*Comment - The only addition I was able to find through Google Books was a Lulu.com publishing, which means self published, and it's recent enough it may have copied Wikipedia. Searching newspapers.com I found a short paragraph in the Los Angeles Times from August 16, 2010 and the Hartford Courant from September 9, 2012, but both of these are in context of the Montoya play. There well may be better but more obscure sources, but I'd recommend a re-list so experts might possibly find them, rather than a keep close at this point. 78.26 _{(spin me / revolutions)} 17:18, 19 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Owen× ☎ 16:01, 27 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Delete: Fails GNG and NBIO. Sources in article and BEFORE found nothing with WP:SIGCOV from WP:IS WP:RS addressing the subject directly and indepth.

Source eval:

Comments	Source
404	1. Glover, Mark (2008). "African-American school in Alpine seeks historic recognition". The Big Bend Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
Census	2. ^ US Census (1910) Census Place: Justice Precinct 3, Brewster, Texas; Roll T624_1533; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 6; Image: 608.
Census	3. ^ US Census (1920) Census Place: Justice Precinct 3, Brewster, Texas; Roll T625_1781; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 14; Image: 1071.
One sentence "In “American Night” Kimberly Scott plays an almost forgotten historical figure, an African-American woman from West Texas named Viola Pettus, who during the 1918 flu epidemic nursed the children of whites, blacks and Mexicans.", fails SIGCOV	4. ^ Taylor, Kate (2010-08-10). "American History, With Shakespeare as Inspiration". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
404	5. ^ Montoya, Richard; Culture Clash (2010). "American Night: The Ballad of Juan José". OSF 75th Season. Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
One sentence "Not much has been written about Viola Pettus, but playwright Richard Montoya is as insistent on including her in the annals of American history as she was insistent on treating the sick of all ages and colors.", fails SIGCOV	6. ^ Morris, Steven Leigh (2012-03-15). "American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose, From Richard Montoya and Culture Clash". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-06-23.

Keep votes provided no sources or guidelines to eval. // Timothy :: talk 06:40, 4 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.