Talk:Benjamin Caldwell

Irish MP?

Despite the cite to the ODNB, I can't find supporting evidence that Caldwell sat as an Irish MP for either Knocktopher (Parliament of Ireland constituency) or Harristown (Parliament of Ireland constituency). He doesn't appear in those lists, or in this list, or MPs in Dublin which does list his relation, Andrew Caldwell. Benjamin's entry in the original edition of the DNB ([1]) makes no mention of a political career. His tenure of Knocktopher (1776-1783) would coincide with Andrew's however. Perhaps there has been some confusion? Benea (talk) 23:05, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

The current ODNB does indeed claim that he sat for those two constituencies, but it's far from unknown for it to contain errors. I can find no evidence of Caldwell sitting for any Irish parliamentary seat, and plenty of sources which name Andrew Caldwell as one of the two MPs for Knocktopher in the period mentioned. Warofdreams talk 11:34, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

All aspects of this biography outside Caldwell's naval career were based on the ODNB entry, so if the details are incorrect it is either sloppy sourcing by me (which has been known), or an error in the ODNB. If the former I apologise. If the latter by all means make the correction, but I suggest putting a footnote in the article discussing the discrepancy. Regards--94.175.13.222 (talk) 15:06, 17 February 2012 (UTC) [That was me, sorry]--Jackyd101 (talk) 20:56, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

Given the nature of the ODNB it is possible that the author of that (presumably updated, since it is not in the original) entry has access to more recent research that shows Caldwell was MP and the other sources are outdated or incomplete. Confusion with Andrew Caldwell may explain Knocktopher, but it doesn't explain Harristown, just to deepen the mystery. I'll be bold and remove the references to Benjamin as MP, but leave a footnote. Possibly later works may clear up whether this is an error on the part of the ODNB (I myself have also found several in my time) or gaps in other sources. Benea (talk) 15:27, 17 February 2012 (UTC)