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I removed the statement "He jumped the falls one time privately, for practice, witnessed by his companion Joe Cochrane."

This statement was added on Nov 14, 2005 "major revision" along with the "Johnson, Paul. "Sam Patch, the Famous Jumper" ISBN 0809083884." in further reading.

However, this reference:

Rosenberg-Naparsteck, Ruth (Summer 1991). "The Real Simon Pure Sam Patch". Rochester History LII (3). Rochester Public Library. ISSN 0035-7413. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.

states that the first jump was well publicized and attended. It also states that the bear cub toss occured during the first jump and that at the second (last) jump the fate of the bear is unknown. The second jump includes the 25 foot platform extension, accounting for the "Higher Yet" in the ad.

It may be possible that there was another "practice jump" as previously mentioned, but I think that at least part of this is confused with the events of the actual first jump. The attendance at the two jumps seems confusing, so I left the numbers already listed as is. Dspark76 (talk) 21:49, 6 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The year of birth was changed from 1807 to 1800 based on Johnson, Paul. Sam Patch, the Famous Jumper (New York: Hill and Wang, 2003) ISBN 0-8090-8388-4.

The oldest reference I can find puts the date at "about 1807".

Wilson, James Grant (1888). "Patch, Samuel". Appletons' cyclopaedia of American biography. IV: 669. Retrieved 4 January 2012. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

The Rochester History (1991) reference also uses the 1807 date. However, it is uncited and possibly also derives from the cyclopaedia or similar source.

I was able to preview a bit of the Johnson reference on google books and he mentions that he has found records of Sam's birth and describes a family tree dating back several generations (although I couldn't see the listed references/notes). I'm willing to defer to the 1800 date, but it certainly would be nice to have either the original reference or a corroborating source added...

Dspark76 (talk) 07:03, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I Finally got a copy of the Johnson reference. Few details or references for Sam's birth date are provided. The first reference in the family time line to Sam's birth appears on page 16: "Late in 1799 Greenleaf and Abigail and their four children - including newborn Sam Patch - left North Reading and resettled in Danvers."

The other place that the sam's age is discussed is the first sentence of the opening paragraph on page 3: "Sam Patch first saw Pawtucket in 1807, when he was seven years old."

Based on this, I've adjusted the birth year from 1800 down to 1799.

Dspark76 (talk) 10:13, 13 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

One more in the Naparsteck vs Johnson reference discrepencies.

On page 9 of Naparsteck, it says

"He disappeared into the bubbling whirl of water and many people wondered alound if he had met the fate of an ealier ill-fated jumper named Morgan."

However, on page 101 of Johnson, it is speculated that the talk of Morgan was actually a reference to William_Morgan_(anti-Mason) and the speculation that he had been drowned in the Niagara River in 1826, starting the Anti Mason Movement.

Given the uncertainty, I removed the Morgan reference from the article. Dspark76 (talk) 01:04, 4 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]