Talk:Eva Coo

'a young, attractive employee'?

Is that in the source? I don't claim to be much of a connoisseur of female beauty, but I nevertheless feel reasonably confident in saying that this description doesn't match the photo. 62.73.72.101 (talk) 09:25, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Yes. It is. In multiple sources. Beauty standards change over time and are also obviously subjective. voorts (talk/contributions) 12:15, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Bolding text

@Voorts: The MOS section you link to says "Terms which redirect to an article or section are commonly bolded when they appear in the first couple of paragraphs of the lead section, or at the beginning of another section" (emphasis mine), and none of the bolded terms in sections are at the beginning of their sections (two are halfway through the only paragraph of their section, while another isn't even in the first paragraph of its section). I don't think it's correct to have these names be bolded, but I'd like to get your opinion before changing it again. Suntooooth, it/he (talk | contribs) 16:09, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Fair enough. I think at the very least Clift and Wright should remain bolded since they don't have independent bios. I'm indifferent to removing the bolding of the restaurant names. voorts (talk/contributions) 16:16, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Unless Clift and Wright get individual descriptions at the beginning of their own sections (I've seen this in other articles about murders, like Moors murders), I don't think having their names in bold helps anything, and it would go against the MOS guideline. Suntooooth, it/he (talk | contribs) 16:21, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

I am planning on expanding the article. I got a copy of Eva Coo: Murderess which is listed in the sources but not cited yet. I'm guessing there will be more info at that point about each of those people. voorts (talk/contributions) 16:36, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

Date of birth

Her 1891 Canada census record lists her as age 2 and her date of birth is listed as 17 June 1889 in the 1901 Canada census . Should we change the information about her date of birth? Katzrockso (talk) 16:43, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

She is age 12 at this point in time and typically census records are answered by the one respondent (i.e. a parent). Death Row Women states Eva Currie-Coo was born in Ontario, Canada, sometime in 1888. She once told reporters that her birthday was June 17 but Eva often lied about her background. Rather than lying about this, it seems she was truthful about her date of birth. Katzrockso (talk) 20:19, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

Yes but other sources have her age at death listed differently. We generally go by what RSes say, not primary source documents, and when those sources conflict, we note that. voorts (talk/contributions) 20:29, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

I haven't checked the other book, but I would suggest we can narrow the range specifically to exclude anything past 1891. The book Death Row Women, as I noted above, gives the year 1888 and cites the birth date 17 June.

We are more than able to use editorial judgement in our selection of secondary sources. For instance, few would argue that we rely on sources on Soviet Union history that predate the opening of the archives.

But I'm not sure that We generally go by what RSes say, not primary source documents is an accurate summary here. You have introduced a false contrast between "primary sources" and "reliable sources".

In addition, it is generally understood in academic genealogical work that the reliability of an attestation of age decreases in temporal distance from the event, for numerous reasons. Given that most of these social histories are not primarily concerned with specific ages or early life (indeed they probably did not have access to this documentation), it is highly likely they simply based some estimates on later life attestations. I don't think uncritically repeating attested ages means these sources are highly reliable for Eva Coo's particular age.

I'm not saying we state in wikivoice, "she was born 17 June 188?" or anything, but we should prefer the c. 1888 date and mention this specific birthday (a NYTimes article also reports her birthday in 1935 ). Katzrockso (talk) 00:34, 7 January 2026 (UTC)

Crimes of the Centuries edited by Steven Chermak and Frankie Bailey states Eva Curry was born January 17, 1889, in Halliburton, Ontario, to father Albert Paterson Curry and Margaret McDonald Watt. She was married to a railroad worker, William Coo, but separated from him when she moved to New York in 1921.

Artist Robert Priseman, in his project Outlaws also conducted research into the biographies of executed women, and wrote biographies alongside the portraits he drew . For Eva Coo, he wrote Eva Curry was born on the 17th June 1889 in Haliburton, Canada. She moved to New York State in 1921 after marrying her husband William Coo.

Contemporary sources also give varying ages (e.g. this report says she was 47 , while the New York Times above reports her at age 43 in 1935)

I would suggest the lead read "c. 1888/1889" and in the first sentence of Eva Coo#Early life and career read something like "Eva Currie was born around 1888 or 1889 in Haliburton, Ontario, Canada. She reported her own birthday as June 17th." Katzrockso (talk) 00:59, 7 January 2026 (UTC)