John Shakespeare (abt. 1555 - abt. 1624)

Born about 1555 in Warwick, Warwickshire, England [uncertain]

Husband of Unknown (Unknown) Shakespeare — married 1588 in Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, England

Descendants

Died about 7 Feb 1624 at about age 69 in Warwick, Warwickshire, England [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Chase Ashley [send private message]

Biography

John Shakespeare was born in Warwickshire, England.

This is the profile for John Shakespeare, the shoemaker, who appeared in Stratford-upon-Avon records in 1584-1595 and had children named Ursula, Humphrey and Phillip baptized there.

Different Person to John Shakespeare, the Bard's Father

Some early Shakespeare researchers appear to have thought that John Shakespeare, the shoemaker, was the same person as John Shakespeare, the Bard's father. For example, the Bard's pedigree offered by a Mr. R.B. Wheler, which was published in a September 1916 issue of The Gentleman's Magazine, among other egregious errors, showed the Bard's father as having had 3 wives, including Margery Roberts, and 11 children, including Ursula, Humphrey and Phillip.^[1]

Respected Shakespeare scholars are in agreement, however, that John the shoemaker and John the Bard's father were clearly separate people, with John the shoemaker being about 20 years younger, having probably only come to Stratford about 1580, having married a Margery Roberts in 1584, holding lesser municipal offices than John the Bard's father, having a different occupation, and being described in Stratford records as "corviser" or "shoemaker" while John the Bard's father was generally referred to as "Mr." ^[2][3][4][5]

Parentage

John the shoemaker's parentage is uncertain. Since the mid-1800s, the theory adopted by reputable Shakespeare scholars who have considered the issue (e.g. Hunter in his 1845 New Illustrations of the Life, Studies, and Writings of Shakespeare,^[6] Chambers in his 1930 William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems^[4] and Eccles in his 1961 Shakespeare in Warwickshire^[7]) has been that John the shoemaker was probably the son of a Thomas Shaxper of Warwick, who was also a shoemaker and left a will naming sons William, Thomas and John. No reputable Shakespeare scholar seems to have discussed the possibility that John the shoemaker was a son John the Bard's father.

Arguments for the theory that he was a son of John the Bard's father

In recent years, however, some amateur Shakespeare genealogists have proposed a theory that John the shoemaker was an as-yet-unrecognized son of John the Bard's father, born about 1556. As discussed on the pages "Analysis of the Records Relating to John Shakespeare, 'Shoemaker', of Stratford" and "Shakespeare's Hidden Family?" on The Shakespeare Family History Site on rootsweb.com, the theory is based on the following evidence/arguments:

1. Although there are baptismal records in the Stratford-upon-Avon parish register for all of John the Bard's father's known children, the lack of a baptismal record in the parish register for a son John born in 1556 does not mean that John the Bard's father did not have a son named John, since no Stratford-upon-Avon baptismal records exist prior to 1558.^[8]
2. John the Bard's father was living as an adult in Stratford-upon-Avon by 1552,^[9] which leaves a large gap before the first recorded baptism of one of his children in the Stratford-upon-Avon parish registers (Joan in 1558), during which John could easily have had additional children.
3. It was customary for first-born sons to be named after their father, but there is no evidence of any other John Shakespeare who could have been a son of John the Bard's father.
4. John the Bard's father, who was a glover, and John the shoemaker both had occupations that involved working with leather.
5. Both John the Bard's father^[9] and John the shoemaker^[10] held the offices of aletaster and constable in Stratford-upon-Avon.
6. In 1709 Nicholas Rowe, one of the poet’s earliest biographer’s, stated that John the Bard's father, had 10 children.^[11] Since the Stratford-upon-Avon parish registers only record the baptism of 8, that could mean that John had 2 more children before the baptismal records start in the register in 1558.
7. Several members of the Ensor family claimed, in the late 1700s, that their grandmother "was a Shakespeare, descended from a brother of every body's Shakespeare."^[12][13] Since the Bard's recognized brothers are not known to have had any surviving children, the Ensors would have to have been descended from an as-yet-unrecognized brother.
8. A monument erected in Fillongley, Warwickshire by Thomas Shakespeare, who died in 1763,^[14] and a monument erected in Little Packington, Warwickshire by George Shakespeare, who died in 1725,^[15] both show an impaled coat of arms with what appears to be the coat of arms awarded to John the Bard's father on the dexter side. Only a male lineal descendant of John the Bard's family would be entitled to use his coat of arms and, after the Bard's death in 1616, there were no recognized male lineal descendants of John the Bard's father.
9. The inventory of Henry Field's estate refers to John the Bard's father as "John Shaksper senior",^[16][17] which implies that there was a John Shakespeare Junior.

Arguments against the theory that he was the son of John the Bard's father

The evidence in favor of the theory that John the shoemaker was the son of John the Bard's father, however, appears to be all quite weak, and there is fairly strong evidence against the theory.

With regards to the evidence for the theory that John the shoemaker was the son of John the Bard's father:

1. The absence of baptismal records before 1558 just means that lack of a baptismal record is not evidence against John the shoemaker being the son of John the Bard's father not evidence that he was.
2. A 6-year gap between John the Bard's father's presence in Stratford as an adult and the first baptismal record for his children (1558) just means that he was at least 27 he got married, which is not particularly old, particularly if he was a glover's apprentice during much of that time.
3. While it was fairly common for first-born sons to be named after their father, it is an overstatement to say it was customary, at least in the Stratford area at the time. As examples, John the shoemaker did not name any of his sons John, and William Shakespeare did not name his son William.
4. Being a glover and being a shoemaker were entirely separate trades, so the fact that both John the Bard's father and John the shoemaker both worked with leather is very weak support for a family relationship.
5. Aletaster and constable appear to have been junior offices that were held at one point or another by many townsmen of Stratford, so the fact that both John the Bard's father and John the shoemaker both held those positions 20 years apart is very weak support of a family connection.

In addition, there are fairly strong evidence against the theory that John the shoemaker was the son of John the Bard's father:

• John the shoemaker paid £3 in 1586 in order to be admitted to the Stratford Company of Shoemakers and Sadlers. Halliwell-Phillipps noted that this payment was at the same time when John the glover was virtually insolvent, but also, more significantly, that "the large amount of this entrance-fee is a decisive proof that the new freeman was not a native of Stratford."^[18] If John the shoemaker was not a native of Stratford, then he was not a son of John the Bard's father, since John the Bard's father was a resident of Stratford at the time of John the shoemaker's birth.
• In 1588, John the Bard's father brought a lawsuit Shackespere v Lambert in the Court of Chancery to recover possession of land in Wilmcote. The bill of complaint names the plaintiffs in Latin as "Johannes Shackespere et Maria uxor eius, simulcum Willielmo Shackespere filio suo" which translates to: John Shackespere and Mary his wife, together with his son William Shackespere, This suggests the Bard was the eldest surviving son and heir of John Shakespeare, and that John the shoemaker was not his older brother.^[19]
• When John the Bard's father died in 1601, his houses in Henley Street, Stratford, passed to the Bard. This is consistent with him being his eldest surviving son and heir. Similarly, when the Bard died in 1616, his will makes no mention of the family of John the shoemaker.^[20][21]

Evidence that he was the son of Thomas Shaxper of Warwick

Evidence supporting the theory that John the shoemaker was the son of Thomas Shaxper of Warwick includes:

• The fact that Thomas Shaxper's will establishes that he had a son named John.^[4][7]
• The fact that both Thomas Shaxper and John, the shoemaker in Stratford, were both shoemakers.^[4][7]
• The fact that in 1596 John Shackspere, shoemaker of Stratford, sold a copyhold of a house in Oldiche and of Dopkins Orchard and other lands in Balsall, most of which, according to Eccles, had been held by a Thomas Shakspere in 1538.^[7]
  • When he died in 1577, Thomas Shaxper of Warwick left his copyhold land in Balsall to his wife Agnes.^[22]
  • The court roll of the manor of Balsall records that John the shoemaker sold copyhold land at Oldich in the manor of Ballsall in 1596, The entry describes him as: "John Shackspere de Stratford supra Avon in Com. Warr. corviser."^[22]
  • The land sold by John the shoemaker appears to correspond with part of the land held by a Thomas Shakespeare in the reign of Henry VIII (about 1540), However, it is not clear whether this is the same person as Thomas Shaxper or perhaps his father.^[22]

Date and Place of Birth

Based on the date of John's probably first marriage (1579), John was probably born sometime in 1550-1558, with about 1555 being a reasonable round-number mid-range estimate. Since it is perhaps most probable the John was the son of Thomas Shaxper of Warwick, John the shoemaker was most probably born there.

First Marriage?

If, as is likely, John the shoemaker was the son of Thomas Shaxper, shoemaker of Warwick, he probably married, first, Joan Webbe on July 17, 1579 at St. Nicholas Warwick (as John Saxper alias Demayles).^[4] Joan presumably died sometime before November 1584, when John was again married. No evidence has been found that John and Joan had children together.

Residency at Stratford

John came to Stratford by September 1578, when he witnessed a bond to the lease by Thomas Robert of a tenement on Bridge Street.^[22] John probably served as a apprentice or journeyman of Thomas Roberts, who was the shoemaker.^[2][3] John was elected ale-taster for the town in 1585,^[3][2] and became constable in 1586.^[3][2] In 1586, he took out his freedom as a foreigner to Stratford.^[4][18]

Second(?) Marriage

John the shoemaker married (second?) Margery Roberts on November 25, 1584.^[2][3][22] French and Stopes had assumed that Margery was the daughter of Thomas Roberts with whom John had probably apprenticed and in whose former house he later lived.^[2][3] However, the later Chambers, Taylor and Eccles state that she was Thomas Robert's widow.^[4][22][5] Assuming the Margery was Thomas Robert's widow, her maiden name has not been determined.

Margery was buried in Stratford on October 29, 1587.^[2][3][4]

No evidence has been found that John and Margery had children together.

Third(?) Marriage and Children

Based on the baptismal records for his children, John the shoemaker married again sometime in late 1587 or early 1588. The identity of this wife is unknown.^[2][3][4]

John the shoemaker had the following children by this wife:

1. Ursula, bpt. March 11, 1588/9^{[23][2][3][4]}
2. Humphrey, bpt. May 24, 1590^{[24][2][3][4]}
3. Philip, bpt. September 21, 1591^{[25][2][3][4]}

Departure from Stratford

John the shoemaker is said to have left Stratford about 1595,^[2][3][4] as there are no records of him in Stratford after that date and his house was occupied by others.^[3] However, a 1596 entry in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Balsall, Warwickshire shows a sale of land there by "John Shackspere de Stratford supra Avon in Com. Warr. corviser,"^[22] which suggests that John may have still been "of Stratford" at the time.

Death

According to Chambers, John the shoemaker was probably the John Shakespeare who was buried at St. Mary's, Warwick on February 7, 1624.^[4]

^{[25] [24] [23] [15] [14] [12] [13] [11] [10] [9] [8] [6] [16] [3] [18] [2] [1] [4] [17] [5] [7]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Mr. R.B. Wheler's Extracts from Registers, and Pedigree of Shakespeare's Family". The Gentleman's Magazine. September 1816. p. 207. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12} French, George Russell. Shakspeareana Genealogica. McMillan and Co., 1869. pp. 363-366. Link to page at archive.org.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13} Stopes, Mrs. C.C. Shakespeare's Family, Being a Record of the Ancestors and Descendants of William Shakespeare with Some Account of the Ardens. James Pott & Company, 1901. pp. 118-119. Link to pages at archive.org.
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14} Chambers, E.K. William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems. Vol. II. 1930. p. 3. Link to page at archive.org.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Eccles, Mark. Shakespeare in Warwickshire. The University of Wisconsin Press, 1963. pp. 31-32.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Hunter, Joseph. New Illustrations of the Life, Studies, and Writings of Shakespeare. Supplementary to All the Editions. Volume the First. 1845. pp. 13-14. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} Eccles, Mark. Shakespeare in Warwickshire. The University of Wisconsin Press, 1963. p. 4.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Savage, Richard. The Registers of Stratford-on-Avon, in the County of Warwick. Baptisms, 1558-1652. 1897. Link to page at archive.org.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} See the profile for John Shakespeare, the Bard's father.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} See "Public Life" in this profile.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Rowe, Nicholas. Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare. Originally published in 1709. Reprinted in 1948 by The Augustan Reprint Society. p. ii. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} Nichols, John. The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, Volume IV, Part I. Second edition, 1810. p. 80. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Nichols, John. The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, Volume IV, Part II. 1811. p. 601 & p. 602 fn. 8. Link to pages at Hathitrust.org.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} "The Fillongley Shakespeares," The Shakespeare Family History Site, rootsweb.com
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} "The Shakespeares of Little Packington," The Shakespeare Family History Site, rootsweb.com
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} Stopes, Mrs. C.C. Shakespeare's Family, Being a Record of the Ancestors and Descendants of William Shakespeare with Some Account of the Ardens. James Pott & Company, 1901. p. 58. Link to pages at archive.org.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} Eccles, Mark. Shakespeare in Warwickshire. The University of Wisconsin Press, 1963. pp. 32-3.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2} Halliwell-Phillipps, J.O. Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare. Seventh Edition. Volume the Second. Longmans, Green and Co., 1887. pp. 137-138. Link to pages at hathitrust.org
19. ↑ S. Schoenbaum, William Shakespeare A Compact Documentary Life, Oxford University Press, 1977, pages 39-40 Internet Archive (accessed 1 May 2020)
20. ↑ The National Archives. Reference: PROB 1/4. Description: Will of William Shakespeare 25 March 1616. Proved 22 June 1616. Date: 22 June 1616. A transcript is here.
21. ↑ 'Shakespeare's last will and testament: made 25 March 1616, proved 22 June 1616.' Shakespeare Documented, Folger Shakespeare Library (accessed 8 Apr 2020)
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6} Rupert Taylor, 'John Shakespeare, Corviser, of Stratford-on-Avon and the Balsall Shakespeares', PMLA, volume 55, number 3 (Sep 1940), pages 721-726. JSTOR (accessed 13 May 2020)
23. ↑ ^{23.0 23.1} Savage, Richard. The registers of Stratford-on-Avon, in the County of Warwick, Baptisms, 1558-1652. 1897, page 46. Link to page at archive.org.
24. ↑ ^{24.0 24.1} Savage, Richard. The registers of Stratford-on-Avon, in the County of Warwick, Baptisms, 1558-1652. 1897, page 48. Link to page at archive.org.
25. ↑ ^{25.0 25.1} Savage, Richard. The registers of Stratford-on-Avon, in the County of Warwick, Baptisms, 1558-1652. 1897, page 48. Link to page at archive.org.

See also:

• The Shakespeare Family History Site, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~shakespeare/sitemap.htm, "An analysis of the argument for John the 'Shoemaker' being a brother of the Poet."