Talk:Humphrey Cobb

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Hi, can you tell me your source for Cobb's birth date? The one I used came from his draft card. And thanks for finding his date of death. | Klaw ¡digame! 22:44, 14 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Klaw. From the New York Times obituary of April 26, 1944[1]: Headline reads in part: Joined Canadians at 17. (I didn't pony up the $3.95 for the entire article.) He signed his draft card September 30, 1916, reportedly at the age of 17, which would put his birth at 1899. I am only speculating here, but if there is a minimum military service age of 18 (I couldn't not confirm this) then perhaps he deliberately put 1898 in order to make himself appear 18 even if he was only 17. That theory would explain the discrepancy. From a discussion group: "Ships passenger lists indicate that Humphrey was born in Siena, Italy Sept 5, 1899."[2] Several other web sites list his year of birth as 1899, among these sites: "Humphrey COBB {US} (M: 1899 - 1944 Apr 25)"[3] and "Humphrey Cobb (1899-1944)"[4], but they do not cite sources. FamilySearch lists his date and place of birth as 05 SEP 1899, Firenze, Italy[5]; note Siena is located near Firenze (Florence).Fragnal 16:06, 15 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Your explanation of the draft card discrepancy does make sense. It's not a huge deal, but I think we may get some questions if anyone else sees the draft card. And yes, Siena's just a short way from Firenze, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the result of an ignorant immigration agent who'd never heard of Siena and put the nearest major city instead. Thanks for the response! | Klaw ¡digame! 19:40, 15 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Claiming the last edit

The tie to Gray. I wasn't logged in. Hcobb (talk) 06:37, 9 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]