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Yorkshire Chess History |
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Dr. Edmund Welch |
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Non-Chess Life
The parents of Edmund Welch were George William Welch (born c. 1840, Barton-on-Humber, Lincs.) and Elizabeth Welch (born 1841/42, Beverley). If father George’s ages in the 1871 and 1881 censuses were accurate (not to be assumed) then they would imply he was born on 03/04/1840. George and Elizabeth had at least the following two children:
Entry 92 in the baptism register of the Wesleyan Chapel, “Morley and Elsewhere”, records the baptism (presumably at the Morley chapel) on 07/02/1869, of Edmund Welch, son of George William Welch and Elizabeth Welch of Morley, by John Hornby. The child’s date of birth is there recorded as 03/10/1869.
White’s Directory of Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield &c, 1858, seems not to have listed any people of the name Welch, and so it seems father George William Welch arrived in Morley at some time from 1858 to 1866.
White’s Directory of Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield &c, 1866, and White's Directory of Leeds & the West Riding, 1870, both listed George William Welch as a schoolmaster at Morley’s Wesleyan School.
The 1871 census found George, Elizabeth and 2-year-old Edmund living in Morley. George was a certificated schoolmaster.
Kelly's Directory of West Riding of Yorkshire, 1881, listed George William Welch as a board schoolmaster living at 115 Hyde Park Road, Leeds, and working as the master at the Burley Road board school, which had 240 boys on the roll, and 281 girls; Burley Road had no infants’ section. George’s wife, Elizabeth, was mistress in charge of the infants at Burley Lawn board school.
The 1881 census found parents George and Elizabeth living with both children at 71 Hyde Park Road, Headingley, Leeds. At the time they were being visited by 69-year-old Lincolnshire-born retired maltster Edmund Welch and his 68-year-old Lincolnshire-born wife Georginia [sic] Welch, who were presumably George’s parents. George was a schoolmaster. Elizabeth was a schoolmistress. The children were both scholars.
Kelly's Directory of Leeds, 1888, listed George William Welch as a schoolmaster living at 115 Hyde Park Road, Leeds, and working as the master in overall charge of the boys at Burley Road board school, where there were now 400 boys on the roll, with an average attendance of 350. (The mistress in the charge of the girls, Miss Martha E. Thrippleton, had 388 girls on the roll, with an average attendance of 308.)
Edmund is elusive in the 1891 census, when he’d be 22 years old. He may have been away from home studying for his medical qualifications.
White's Directory of Leeds & the Clothing District, 1894, listed George William Welch as a board schoolmaster living at 115 Hyde Park Road, Leeds, and working as the master at the Burley Road board school at between 68 and 78 Burley Road, Leeds.
The marriage of Edmund Welch to Jane Alice Lax (born 1868/69, Leeds) was registered in the first quarter of 1896. The couple went on to have two children:
The 1901 census found Edmund, Jane and son George living with two servants at 12 & 14 [Slater’s Buildings,] Slater’s Yard, Stanningley. Edmund was a physician and surgeon working on his own account, at home.
The 1911 census found the Welch family of four living at Stanningley. Edmund didn’t give a fuller address on the census return. The household included an assistant in the medical practice, and tow domestic servants. 42-year-old Edmund described himself as a physician and surgeon. The relevsant census summary book gave the address as Slater’s Building’s, [Slater’s Yard,], in the borough ward of Stanningley, in the borough of Pudsey. Stanningley is at the northern edge of Pudsey.
Elder son Arthur became a company director, while younger son Arthur followed his son into medical practice.
In time Dr. Edmund Welch moved to Farsley, a short way to the north of Stanningley.
Death
Edmund Welch, of Southville, Sunfield, Farsley, died on 02/08/1937. Probate was granted to George Edmund Welch, company director, and Arthur Cedric Welch, medical practitioner. He left £9,266 14s 6d.
Chess
“Dr. Welch” of Farsley or Leeds featured commonly around the turn of the century. Usually, if not always, he was named without any forename or initial being given, relying on the “Dr.” epithet to identify him uniquely. The references to Farsley would have been to Farsley Chess Club, Farsley being slightly to the north of Stanningley. To the outsider, Pudsey, Stanningley and Farsley are virtually the same place. He will presumably have known Edwin Woodhouse as a fellow member of Farsley Chess Club. The references suggest he may have joined Leeds Chess Club.
He played for Yorkshire in the following county matches: 1899 Yorkshire v Lancashire, 1900 Lancashire v Yorkshire, 1899-00 Yorkshire v Kent (friendly, correspondence), 1901 Lancashire v Yorkshire, 1902 Yorkshire v Lancashire, and 1904 Yorkshire v Lancashire.
He played for Leeds in the 1903-04 Woodhouse Cup, but seemingly not in 1902-03 or 1904-05.
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Created 22/11/2013 |
Copyright © 2013 Stephen John Mann Census information is copyright of The National Archive, see UK Census Information |
Last Updated 22/11/2013 |