I'm a great admirer of Staunton but I wouldn't put him over Lasker and Botvinnik.

Staunton vs Horwitz, 1851

8 Stephen (born 1841) died in 1843>>

Howard Staunton (kibitz #463)

Been doing a little digging of my own to try and shed light on what Staunton's domestic arrangements may have been after his marriage to Frances in February 1849. That it took place in Brighton and none of her six surviving children or other family were apparently in attendance suggests the possibility that their union may not have been universally popular. How Staunton who - as far as is known - lived alone and had no family, suddenly took to life in the family home in Sydney Place, one can only imagine.

William Edward - c.20 (age in Feb 1849). Married in Dec 1849

Francis - c.18 Married in September 1850

Frances Ada - c.16 Married in November 1853

Harriet - c.15

Mary - c.12 Married in Jan 1854

Sophia - c.11 Married Feb 1859

So it's possible that at the start of his marriage, all six children still lived at home. Within 18 months, the two eldest boys were married and presumably independent. Were they in a rush to get away?

The 1851 census took place on Sunday, March 30th and recorded the household as Staunton and Frances, Frances Ada (the daughter), Louisa (the wife's half-sister), as well as two female servants. What does this mean? Where were the three youngest girls? Away at boarding school or living with other family members? Or - given that a census was only a snapshot taken on a particular day - simply away from the house that day?

Mary Magdalene was actually 13 in February 1849 (she was baptised in February 1836), so she would've been 18 (or practically so) when she married in January 1854. Her husband was <Fleming Hillas> (1833-1881). What's interesting is that the Hillas family home around this time was 12 Sydney Place, whilst the Nethersoles (I hesitate to call them the Stauntons) lived at no.8. It's a strong indicator that Mary regularly lived at the family home.

<Harriet - c.15>

It can be hard to see the wood for the trees. Yes, it seems likely that Harriet died young. She's not in the family home in Essex St. for the 1841 census, for instance.

Must say that this geneaology research can become very involving and addictive. My Staunton tree already totals 62 people, and there's probably another 20 to go. No sign yet of Kunta Kinte.

I presume you mean <Killoran>?

As in <Gerald Killoran>, mentioned four times in a single Chess History html page:

https://www.chesshistory.com/winter...

Looks like neither Killoran nor Winter have reservations about providing scans of (presumably) PD material. Just thought I'd mention that little tidbit.

I presume you mean <Killoran>>

My eyesight is getting bad, yours must be worse.

<Looks like neither Killoran nor Winter have reservations about providing scans of (presumably) PD material.>

SYRIANS and the CHESS COWARD Staunton

Foooook off

<Raymond Keene presents...

An Evening with Howard Staunton

* Was Staunton really the son of the Earl of Carlisle?

* What did he think of Morphy?

* How does he rate Short and Kasparov?

Find out on Tuesday April 1 when Simpsons in the Strand will be hosting a special Victorian banquet in honour of the only English World Chess Champion.

Exhumed especially for the occasion, Howard Staunton will be discussing his life and games.*

If you would like to attend this extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime event, please send a cheque for 75 guineas to the Staunton Resurrection Society, c/o Simpsons, Strand, London. Donations gleefully received.

Period black tie and beard compulsory.

Mr Staunton is available for simuls/lectures/tuition at very favourable rates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sap...

The young couple's first daughter, Eliza, was born in Melbourne, Australia, in July 1855, so emigration was probably on their agenda right from the beginning. Was Staunton so difficult to be around?>

Howard Staunton

Someone posted on Ancestry, the Australian death certificate of Mary (who, to remind everyone, was Staunton's step-daughter by way of his marriage to Frances in 1849). She died in South Yarra (a suburb of Melbourne) on March 9th 1863, aged only 27. The name is given as <Mary Madeline Hillas> but there's no doubt it's her.

Cause of death is given as <Disease of Heart and Lungs 8 Years Exhaustion>. It's noted that she'd been in the colony for 9 years, and she left behind Fleming and three children (two others deceased).

But what caught my eye is the identity of the parents. The father, as expected, is<William Dickenson Nethersole>, the mother is not Frances, but <(Unknown) Fladgate>. The handwriting isn't the easiest to read, though I'm confident that's what it says.

Who then is Fladgate?

Frances family name was Cates - she had two sisters, Emma and Helen, who married two brothers, Francis and William Fladgate. So by the 1830s, the Cates, the Nethersole and the Fladgate families were all somewhat intertwined. Various Fladgates and Nethersoles had lived/worked in Essex St. (off the Strand) as solicitors for many years.

But who could be Mary Magdalene's mother, if not Frances? Francis and William Fladgate had three sisters, Maria, Ann and Elizabeth. Maria, the oldest, married in 1823 and already had five children by 1830. This proves she was highly fertile, but it seems unlikely she would have gotten mixed up with William Dickenson Nethersole (who'd been married to Frances since 1825). But the two sisters, Ann and Elizabeth never married. At the time of Mary's birth in 1836, Ann was 31, and Elizabeth, 28.

Of course, there may have been other branches of the Fladgate family beyond the scope of my knowledge, but these two ladies are my prime suspects.

Does the choice of the name, Mary Magdalene, with its connotation of a repentant prostitute, have any significance?