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?

<William Henry - born 29 Jun 1826; died 31 Aug 1826

William Edward - born 28 Mar 1828; died 30 Sep 1877

Francis - born 22 Apr 1830; died 29 Jan 1876

Frances - born 25 Jul 1832; died 30 Jul 1856

Harriett - born 5 Oct 1833; died 9 May 1834

Mary - born 18 Jan 1836; died 9 Mar 1863

Sophia - born 18 Sep 1837; died 27 Nov 1873

The 1851 census gave Staunton's age as 40; in 1861 as 51; in 1871 as 60.

The census in 1851, occurred on March 30; in 1861 on April 7; in 1871 on April 2.

Some bright spark - taking this information at face value (after all, what reason would Staunton have to lie?) - figured that his birthday must fall between April 3rd and April 7th.

<Louisa (the wife's half-sister)>

I wrote this per Townsend (see below), but now I'm doubtful. Her name is given as <Louisa Nethersole>, relationship to the head of the house (Staunton) is <Sister in Law>, unmarried, aged 48 and profession/occupation is <Annuitant> (the same as 'sister' Frances). By the by, Staunton's occupation is given as <Journalist & Annuitant>.

Problem is that I can't identify any such <Louisa>, whose birth date should be c.1802-03.

If she was directly a sister of Frances, her surname should be Cates, not Nethersole. Besides, Frances's known siblings are George (b.1799), Emma (b. 1806), Catherine (b.1808) and half-siblings, Adolphus (b.1809) and Helen Louisa, (b.1813).

William Dickenson Nethersole (Frances's first husband) had one known sister - Harriet Nethersole (1803-1844).

So what did Townsend say on the matter?

<There was also a 48-year-old woman, "Louisa Nethersole", described as Staunton's sister-in-law, Almost certainly, the Nethersole part of that is wrong and she was Louisa Luson Henry, a half-sister of Frances and a life-long friend who left her a bequest in her will when she died in 1881.>

Via Ancestry, I found an 1881 probate record which reads: <The Will of Louisa Luson Henry formerly of 33 but late of 31 Ledbury-road Bayswater in the County of Middlesex[.] Spinster who died 6 November 1881 at 31 Ledbury-road was proved at the Principal Registry by Frances Carpenter Staunton of 4 Westbury - terrace Westbourne Park in the said County [.] Widow one of the Executrixes.>

Ledbury Road, Westbury Terrace (it no longer exists), and the Stauntons last addresses, Landsdowne and Elgin Roads, were all in close proximity, so this Louisa was probably a regular visitor to the Staunton home in later years, but was it her in 1851?

Townsend seems quite definite on the half-sister relationship and as he alludes to the will itself, it's possible this document spells out the relationship, but I withhold judgement and remain sceptical.

A <BNA> search for <Luson Henry> turns up an 1825 list of deacon appointments of Cambridge University students including: <Henry Charles Luson Henry, B.A., Jesus College, Cambridge, by Let. Dim. from the Bishop of Sarum.>

Let. Dim.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimis...

<Henry Charles Luson Henry> in the <Alumni Cantabrigienses> is given as <Henry Charles <Leeson> Henry>: <Adm. pens. (age 26) at Jesus, Nov. 3, 1820. S. of John. B. London. School, Islington. Matric. Michs. 1820; B.A. 1825. Ord. deacon (Bristol) Apr. 3, 1825.>

Frances Carpenter Staunton and Louisa Luson Henry named each other in their wills and in both cases referred to the other as "my sister". Obviously, they weren't full sisters, since George Cates was father to only one of them. However, to interpret them as half-sisters makes very good sense, for the following reason. Louisa Luson was born on 10 September 1796 and baptized at St. George's Hanover Square on 20 December 1796, a daughter of John Luson and Louisa Luson. The theory is that her mother, Louisa, later became the mother (also known to have been a Louisa) of Staunton's wife, making them half-sisters. There is no proof of this as yet, and it remains to be explained how LLH acquired the name Henry (as did her brother, the clergyman). However, that they were half-sisters seems to me extremely likely.

Wait, what gives? It takes two minutes to register for free. Or is this meant to be a one off contribution? I will continue as if this were a conversation.

<Frances Carpenter Staunton and Louisa Luson Henry named each other in their wills and in both cases referred to the other as "my sister".>

What were the dates on these wills?

<Louisa Luson was born on 10 September 1796 and baptized at St. George's Hanover Square on 20 December 1796, a daughter of John Luson and Louisa Luson.>

I had only searched for <Louisa Luson Henry>. It didn't take long to find <Henry Charles Luson> in the St. George's baptism register: Born December 26 1794, baptised March 27 1795. Father is John Joshua, mother Louisa. I suppose it would be curious to have baptised him <Henry Henry>.

<The theory is that her mother, Louisa, later became the mother (also known to have been a Louisa) of Staunton's wife, making them half-sisters.>

My attention was more focused on the Nethersole side of the family, but, of course, this is compelling. As you're presumably aware, there's already uncertainty regarding the early years of the Cates children.

<Frances's known siblings are George (b.1799), Emma (b. 1806), Catherine (b.1808) and half-siblings, Adolphus (b.1809) and Helen Louisa, (b.1813).>

The mother of George, Frances (b.1805), Emma and Catherine is supposed to be Louisa, who I'd assumed was the first wife of George Cates, Snr., although no marriage record is known. The mother of Adolphus and Helen Louisa is thought to be Elizabeth Goodson (c.1781 - 1863). But she married George, Snr., on May 16 1804, i.e., before the births of Frances, Emma and Catherine.

< If "Louisa Nethersole" was not LLH, who was she? And where is LLH in the 1851 census, if not at 8 Sydney Place?>

That Louisa was present on such an auspicious occasion confirms the closeness of her relationship with Frances and suggests she was accepted within the Cates family circle (or by some members, at least) even though she was not the child of either George or Elizabeth. That said, what if George Cates was her actual father, meaning Louisa and Frances were full sisters.