THE CHILDREN OF WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE & ANNE HATHAWAY
Just six months
after their marriage Anne and William became the parents of
their first daughter - Susanna Shakespeare
The baptism of
Susanna Shakespeare was conducted on May 26, in Stratford
Parish Church
Anne and
William's twins, Hamnet and Judith, were born two years
after Susanna
Hamnet and
Judith Shakespeare were baptised on February 2nd 1585
Anne was 28
years old and William 21 years old
William
Shakespeare moved to London and left Anne and the children
living with the Shakespeare family in Henley Street,
Stratford-upon-Avon
SUSANNA SHAKESPEARE
Susanna was
raised in Stratford-upon-Avon
She was
illiterate so she would not have attended school or received
an education which customary for most girls in the
Elizabethan era
The first we
hear of Susanna is on May 5th 1606 when Susanna was named as
a recusant for not attending an Easter Day Church service
Susanna
Shakespeare was 24 years old when she announced her
betrothal to Dr. John Hall who also lived in
Stratford-upon-Avon
Susanna and John
Hall were married on June 5th 1607
It was a good
marriage - William shared some business ventures with Dr.
Hall
Susanna gave
birth to a baby girl eight months after her wedding to Dr.
John Hall
Shakespeare's
granddaughter, Elizabeth, was baptized on February 21st 1608
at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare
appointed John and Susanna executors of his will
Dr. Hall and
Susanna inherited and moved into New Place after
Shakespeare's death
HAMNET
SHAKESPEARE
Hamnet
Shakespeare, twin to Judith, was raised in in his
grandfather's house in Stratford-upon-Avon
Little is known
about the life of Hamnet
There are no
records that show that Hamnet Shakespeare attended a school
but it would have been customary for a boy of Hamnet's
background to have received an education
Hamnet sadly
died at the age of just 11 years old. There were constant
outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague, during Elizabethan times
and in 1596 Hamnet caught and died of the deadly disease
Hamnet
Shakespeare was buried in Stratford on August 11th 1596
JUDITH SHAKESPEARE
Like her sister,
Susanna, Judith was raised in Stratford-upon-Avon
Judith was also
illiterate
The first we
hear of Judith is when she is betrothed to Thomas Quiney, a
vintner and tavern owner from Stratford-upon-Avon
William would
have initially approved of the betrothal as Quiney came from
a good family
Judith married
Thomas Quiney on February 10th 1616. Judith was 31 years old
and Thomas Quiney was 27 years of age
William
Shakespeare's initial approval of the marriage would have
quickly changed when he discovered the scandalous news
that Thomas Quiney had made another girl pregnant,
nether-the-less the marriage went ahead
But there were
more problems! A special licence necessary for all weddings
during Lent - Quiney did not get one!
The situation
was so serious that on March 12th Judith and Thomas were
excommunicated!
On March 26th
Thomas Quiney was prosecuted for 'carnal copulation' with a
woman called Margaret Wheeler. ( She had died in childbirth
along with her baby by Quiney)
Thomas Quiney
admitted his guilt and was sentenced to perform public
penance. This penalty was , however, lessened to a small
fine of five shillings and private penance
William modified
his Will on March 25th 1616 to ensure that Judith would
inherit a sum of money (£300) in her own name. Quiney was
left out of the Will and Shakespeare left the bulk of his
fortune to Susanna!
THE GRANDCHILDREN OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Susanna Shakespeare and John
Hall had just one daughter, Elizabeth
Elizabeth was baptized on
February 21st 1608
Elizabeth married Thomas
Nashe in 1629 but he died just six years after the marriage
Elizabeth was married
again to Sir John Bernard (1604 - 1674) thus receiving the title Lady
Elizabeth Bernard
Elizabeth had no children
Judith Shakespeare and
Thomas Quiney had three children:
Shakespeare Quiney was
born in November 1616. Shakespeare Quiney died in infancy, aged 6
months old, in May 1617
Richard Quiney was born in
October 1617. He died in January 1639 aged 21 years old (possibly of
the plague)
Thomas Quiney was born in
January 1619. He also died in Jan 1639, the same month as his brother,
he was just 19 years of age
