William Shakespeare and his wife had three children, all born in Stratford-upon-Avon and all within a few years of their marriage in 1583. No other offspring are known. No known portraits exist of any of Shakespeare’s family.
Susanna Shakespeare, born in 1583, appears to have lived and prospered in her hometown. At the age of 24, she married Dr. John Hall and later had one child, a daughter named Elizabeth in 1608. Hall, who was educated at Cambridge University, was 32 years old at the time of his marriage. He was a physician like this father, and thus entitled to call himself a gentleman, as the parish register denotes.
It is possible that Susanna may have had Catholic sympathies, because in 1606 she and 21 others in Stratford were charged with not taking Communion on Easter Sunday. Refusal to take Communion became an offense after the 1605 Gunpowder Plot by Catholic sympathizers attempted to blow up Parliament. The case against her was eventually dismissed.
In 1613, she and her husband moved into their newly built home, Hall’s Croft, less than ¼ mile from her father’s spacious home. John Hall appears to have practiced medicine in part of the home. His records do include some discussion of his wife’s ailments, including that she suffered from
Later in her life, Susanna Hall hosted Queen Henrietta Maria at her home in Stratford. In 1643, the Queen visited the town and borrowed a book from the Halls. The book, a tirade against Queen of France Catherine de Medici’s involvement in a Protestant massacre in France in 1572, was an odd choice by Catherine’s granddaughter, Henrietta.
Because she was his eldest child, Shakespeare left his large Stratford home, New Place, to Susanna in his will; the estate was entailed, meaning it must be left to lineal descendants. Since Susanna had no more children, it passed on to Shakespeare’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall.
Susanna Hall left no will when she died in 1649, although her sister Judith and her daughter were still living. She was buried in Holy Trinity Church. Her epitaph bears witness to her and her father’s reputation:
Not quite two years after the birth of Susanna, the Holy Trinity Church parish register records the christening of twin children on 2 February 1585, Hamnet and Judith, sonne and daughter to William Shakspeare
.
The boy’s unusual name (it was sometimes spelled Hamlet in this period) is significant. Naming traditions from the era indicate that a local burgess (a citizen and often a town official), Hamnet Sadler, and his wife Judith may have acted as the twins’ godparents at their baptism. Sadler’s very legible signature on later documents indicate he was formally educated, perhaps at King Edward VI’s school in the town. Sadler later witnessed William Shakespeare’s will, suggesting the two men had a long and close relationship.
On 11 August 1596, Hamnet died at the age of 11, likely of plague, and was buried in the Holy Trinity Churchyard.
Shakespeare is not known to have left behind any elegies or records of his fatherly feelings in response to Hamnet’s death. In contrast, when Shakespeare’s colleague Ben Jonson lost his own son in 1603, he published an emotional poem in the boy’s memory titled
Robert Berman concludes that it is possible but not likely that Shakespeare would have attended his son’s funeral, as the boy died in August’s warm weather. It was unusual to delay funerals beyond 2-3 days after death. It was a two day journey on horseback to and from London, where Shakespeare worked, although it’s possible the Lord Chamberlain’s Men were on tour in Kent during that time, making it even harder to send news to Shakespeare about his son’s death.
Hamnet’s twin sister Judith outlived her brother by many years. In 1616, at the rather late age of 31, she married the 26-year-old
Thomas Quiney’s family was prosperous, and they lived on the High Street, just a few minutes’ walk away from Judith’s home at New Place. Thomas could read and write in English, French, and Latin. Perhaps because of the scandal, Shakespeare seems to have doubted Thomas Quiney would prove a good husband. In Shakespeare’s will, Judith was given £150, £100 of which was to be paid within a year of his death; a further £150 was to be bequeathed to her if she had children. In that will, dated 25 March 1616, the phrase son-in-law
was crossed out and replaced by daughter Judith
, indicating that Shakespeare did not want the bequests to go to Thomas.
A scant nine months after the wedding, and a few months after her father’s death, Judith Quiney bore a son on November 23, 1616. He was named Shakespere Quiney, but sadly died the following spring. She bore two more sons, Richard (b. 1618) and Thomas (b. 1620). Both died within weeks of each other in 1639, perhaps due to an epidemic.
Judith may have experienced significant separation from her family, as her mother Anne’s epitaph notes only one daughter. Her husband Thomas also appears to have fallen on hard times, since his more prosperous brother Richard made provision in his will for money to fund Thomas’s burial. Thomas died in 1655, and Judith died in 1662 at the ripe age of 77.
Some people still claim descent from William Shakespeare, even though his direct line died out with the death of his granddaughter Elizabeth in 1670.
People today can be descended from Shakespeare’s sister, Joan. Prior to 1600, she married William Hart, with whom she had four children. Their son Thomas (1605–1670) went on to have two sons, so many descendants of Shakespeare’s nephew can be accurately located.
