Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

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John Upham
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Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by John Upham » Mon Sep 14, 2026 11:30 am

Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)




https://britishchessnews.com/2020/09/14 ... 5-ix-1835/
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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by John Upham » Mon Sep 14, 2026 11:42 am

Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835) by Edward Winter

Can anyone else corroborate the image below?


cn7318_chess.jpg
Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835) by Edward Winter
cn7318_chess.jpg (39.78 KiB) Viewed 294 times
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John Townsend
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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by John Townsend » Mon Sep 14, 2026 12:40 pm

John, your text contains this:

"However, following painstaking research of primary sources by James O’Fee and Tim Harding it has been demonstrated that the father of AM was not Dr. Alexander McDonnell but, in fact, Thomas McDonnell, a merchant."

In reality, proof (utilising "Alumni Dublinenses") that the father was Thomas M(a)cDonnell, a merchant, first appeared in Edward Winter's C.N. 10662 (December 2017) in an article submitted by me.

This fact was acknowledged by Tim Harding on this forum on 15 September 2020, although he also said he had thought of a different proof earlier, but it was not published.

I don't see why Edward Winter's name has been associated with the absurdities in the first part of John Upham's article, including the (laughable) portrait, since Winter has clearly had nothing to do with them.

Jon D'Souza-Eva
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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by Jon D'Souza-Eva » Mon Sep 14, 2026 3:51 pm

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John Townsend
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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by John Townsend » Mon Sep 14, 2026 4:37 pm

Note the images which Edward Winter gives in https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/ext ... ntity.html

It is an article about mistaken identity. The image which John Upham included is, of course, George Alcock MacDonnell.

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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by John Townsend » Mon Sep 14, 2026 5:18 pm

Jon, I don't readily recall referring to Eliza McDonnell in my research. Did I say she was a sibling of the chessplayer? Could you not cite the C.N. item number you are referring to?

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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by Jon D'Souza-Eva » Mon Sep 14, 2026 6:16 pm

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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by Jon D'Souza-Eva » Mon Sep 14, 2026 6:20 pm

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Jon D'Souza-Eva
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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by Jon D'Souza-Eva » Mon Sep 14, 2026 6:34 pm

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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by John Townsend » Mon Sep 14, 2026 6:53 pm

Jon D'Souza-Eva wrote:

"I did not cite the Chess Notes item number because this was not from a Chess Notes item."

Ah, but you said (above) that you had used my "evidence". That must have been in Chess Notes.

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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by Jon D'Souza-Eva » Mon Sep 14, 2026 7:54 pm

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John Townsend
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Re: Remembering Alexander McDonnell (22-iv-1798 14-ix-1835)

Post by John Townsend » Mon Sep 14, 2026 10:01 pm

Your family tree does not appear to acknowledge its use of data discovered by other researchers, and so bypasses the normal and traditional obligation to give credit to those researchers. For example, that the father of the chessplayer was Thomas, a merchant, and not Alexander, a physician, was only established after numerous decades during which it was thought that the reverse was the case. You present it as if it were your own discovery (if I have understood correctly).

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