English Chess Forum

I would like to make contact with Steve Mann but cannot locate details. Even the wonderful Yorkshire Chess History web site is silent.

Can you help?

I'm researching Samuel Standidge Boden and have hit an immediate problem.

The birth record is


which shows a birth month of May whilst April is the standard month provided by secondary sources.

There would appear to be zero evidence for April as the birth month from primary sources but the standard secondary sources (including Gaige) and the encyclopaedias all agree on April.

I'd be curious to know what BCM says in its 1882 obituary (assuming there is one).

John Upham wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:30 am

I'd be curious to know what BCM says in its 1882 obituary (assuming there is one).

Just checked the 1882 obituary, which is available online. It does indeed give 4 April, which must be the source of the error.

While parish registers are not always reliable sources in themselves, the baptismal entry given by John is signed by Samuel's father James Boden, a Congregational Minister, so it's likely to be correct.

In the days before primary sources were readily available online, Gaige and other researchers used the BCM as their authority: hence the incorrect Frederick Dewhurst Yates instead of the correct Fred Dewhirst Yates, to quote another example.

John, in your post you didn't name the source of your baptism entry, which I take to be the register of the nonconformist chapel meeting at Chapel Gate, East Retford, Notts.. The source is a primary one and looks impeccable. I wouldn't worry about the secondary sources which you mentioned. (Incidentally, P.W. Sergeant, in A century of British chess), thought Boden was born at Hull, whereas your baptism shows that he was, in fact, born at West Retford.)

John Upham wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:30 am

I would like to make contact with Steve Mann but cannot locate details. Even the wonderful Yorkshire Chess History web site is silent.

There is an email address for Steve Mann quoted here.

Richard is right in saying that the 1882 BCM is available online...

http://www.chessarch.com/library/library.shtml

... but you first need to use a VPN before clicking on the relevant link as access is limited to the USA.

John Saunders wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:31 pm

Richard is right in saying that the 1882 BCM is available online...

http://www.chessarch.com/library/library.shtml

... but you first need to use a VPN before clicking on the relevant link as access is limited to the USA.

I downloaded a free extract from https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/books ... 2_10861695.

I then (re-)discovered https://archive.org/stream/britishchess ... 5/mode/2up.

Hi John,
I have sent you a private message with Steve's email address.