Yorkshire Chess History

 

Contents:

Daniel Foster Byass

Home

Narrative

Organisations

Events

Games

People

Graves

Buildings

Competitions

Trophies

Made in Yorkshire

Miscellaneous

 

Sheffield Sub-Site

 

Born:

1848/49, Huggate

Baptised:

 

Died:

18/04/1931, Scarborough

Buried:

 

 

Identity of the Chess-Player

 

The “D. Byass” of Scarborough who played in the 1925 Scarborough Whit Congress was clearly either Daniel Foster Byass or his son Daniel Byass.  In 1925 their ages would have been about 76 and 47 respectively.  In the absence of an “F”, one might think the son was the chess-player, yet we find that Daniel Byass is missing from the English 1911 census, and a Daniel Byass matching his description pops up in the Canadian censuses as having emigrated from England to Canada in 1904.  It turns out that the father, Daniel Foster Byass tended to ignore his middle name.  The family firm of corn merchants was known as “Daniel Byass & Sons”, with Daniel Foster Byass being the eponymous patriarch.  Probate records refer to him as “Byass Daniel Foster otherwise Daniel”.  Thus, it seems that the chess-player was an aging Daniel Foster Byass keeping up his habit of suppressing his middle name.

 

Non-Chess Life

 

Daniel Foster Byass was born into farming community, in 1848/49, at Huggate, 10 miles west of Great Driffield.

 

In 1877 Daniel married Elizabeth Timperon Megginson (born 1852, Towthorpe), at Malton.  The couple had the following seven children:

 

Daniel Byass

born 08/04/1878, Driffield

John Byass

born 1879/80, Driffield

Olive Timperon Byass

born 1881, Driffield

Alick Byass

born 1885, Scarborough

Kathleen Byass

born 1887, Scarborough

Nora Byass

born 1889, Scarborough

Mary Byass

born 1892, Scarborough

 

The dates and places of birth of the children show that Daniel and Elizabeth set up home in Driffield around 1877, then moved to Scarborough in 1883, give or take a year or two.

 

The 1881 census found parents Daniel and Elizabeth, Daniel’s mother Jane Byass (born 1808/09, Huggate), the first two children, Daniel and John, and two servants living on Beverley Road, Great Driffield.  Daniel Foster Byass was a corn merchant.

 

The 1891 census found parents Daniel and Elizabeth, the first six children and two servants living at Westborough Lodge, Beulah Terrace, Scarborough.  Daniel Foster Byass was still a corn merchant.  All the children were students.

 

Olive Timperon Byass died in 1897, at Scarborough, age 16.

 

The 1901 census found parents Daniel and Elizabeth, children Daniel, John and Mary, and two servants, living at Westow Hall, Westow, a hamlet 5 miles SW of Malton.  Daniel Foster Byass was still a corn merchant, with Daniel junior and John working in the family corn merchanting business.  Alick also entered the family business.  This business appears to have been split between locations like Scarborough, Malton and Driffield, which explains why our man moved about between such locations.  The family returned to Scarborough within ten years.

 

In 1904 it seems Daniel Byass junior emigrated to Canada.  The 1911 Canadian census, which gave his date of birth, listed him as contractor living unmarried in Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan.  The 1916 census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta found him, still unmarried, aged 38, still on Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, now described as a well driller.

 

The 1911 census found the Byass parental home now at The Limes, Scarborough.  The household consisted of parents Daniel and Elizabeth; children John, Alick, Kathleen, Nora and Mary; and two servants.  The census confirmed there had been seven children of whom one had died.

 

Daniel Foster Byass become a captain commanding the A Company, Old Malton Gate, of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Alexandra Princess of Wales’s Own (Yorkshire Regiment).

 

In 1917, Alick Byass was awarded the Military Cross.

 

John Byass died in 1921, in Scarborough aged 41.

 

Kelly’s N&E Riding directory of 1929 listed Daniel Byass at 5 Westwood, Scarborough, and listed Daniel Byass & Sons, Corn & Flour Merchants, at 5 Westwood, Scarborough, at Riverhead, Great Driffield, and at Railway Street, Malton.  The Misses C. & R. Byass who were listed at 8 Grosvenor Road, Scarborough, were presumably relatives.

 

By 1931 Daniel Foster Byass had taken up residence at 8 Cromwell Road, Scarborough.

 

Death

 

Daniel Foster Byass died on 18/04/1931, at the Stamford Nursing Home, Westwood, Scarborough.

 

1933 Kelly’s N&E Riding Directory for 1933 listed the family business now simply as Byass Ltd., Corn Merchants, at 48 Westborough, Scarborough, and at Prudential Buildings, 4 St Thomas’s Street, Scarborough.  Of the Byass sons, only Alick remained in the family business.

 

Wife Elizabeth Timperon Byass died in 1935.

 

Chess

 

“D. Byass” finished 2nd-3rd= in Section B of the Minor Tournament of the 1925 Scarborough Whit Congress, but lost the play-off for second place, so failing to reach the play-off for final places in the Minor.

 

 

Created

23/03/2015

Copyright © 2015 Stephen John Mann

Census information is copyright of The National Archive, see UK Census Information

Last Updated

23/03/2015