William Shakespeare
...eases and the such, same went to the Shakespeare family. Three or possibly more were taken down by the Black Plague. Anyhow, John and Mary experienced their first joys of being parents in 1558 with the birth of their first child, Joan, in September. She was baptized on the 15, around the end of Bloody Mary’s reign, but only lived a short while, having contracted the deadly Black Plague. She died two months later and became one of two of Williams unknown sisters (Michael J. Cummings, Amanda, Mabillard). A second girl was born three years later in 1562. She was named Margaret and was baptized on December 2. Once more though the Shakespeare’s lives were shattered when Margaret died only one year later. It’s not known what it was that killed young Margaret but it is most likely due to the Black Death which claimed her elder sister. Margaret was yet another unknown sister to William (Amanda, Mabillard). The third born child of Mary and John was William himself. He was believed to have been born on Sunday, April 23, 1564, although it could have easily have been earlier. He was baptized a Roman Catholic like his previous sisters were and it took place on Wednesday, April 26, in the Stratford Parish church. William’s parents were most likely in mortal fear for him, having lost their first two children but to their relief William survived and grew well into his adulthood. I’ll write about William a bit later for now I’ll move on to the rest of his siblings (Michael J. Cummings, Amanda, Mabillard). Two years after William, Gilbert, the fourth child, arrived in 1566. He was born in October and baptized on the 13. Gilbert contracted the Plague but managed to escape the fate of his elder sisters and survive. He likely attended school with William but were later taken out when their father ran into his financial problems. Despite this Gilbert eventually struck out on his own as a haberdasher, and followed William to London where he prospered selling men’s clothing, hats, shirts, and gloves. He returned and visited Stratford frequently to visit his family and friends. Gilbert died a bachelor in 1612 at age forty-five, and was buried on February third of that year (Amanda, Mabillard). Yet another girl was born to John and Mary in 1569, three years after Gilbert. She was named after her sister Joan who had died some years earlier. Luckily she did not die as her sisters before her had done, she did quite the opposite and became the longest living member of her family, dying at the age of 77. She grew up close to her family and met and married a hatter named William Hart. Together they had four children together, two of which died. The two surviving kids were William and Michael. I’m not sure whatever happened to Michael because I could find no information on him but his brother William followed in his uncle’s footsteps and became an actor. Though he did not marry it is speculated that he fathered an illegitimate child, Charles Hart. William died in 1639. Joan’s husband died on April 1616 which was only a week before the death of her brother William. Despite that harsh blow Joan lived on three more decades before she died in 1646 (Alchin, L.K. , Amanda, Mabillard). The next child in the family was Anne. She was born September 28, 1571. During this time things were a bit shaky in the Shakespeare household and by 1578 it got worse. The boys were removed from school in order to help with finances since John was behind on taxes, then came yet another blow. Anne died in 1579 at the age of eight. This coupled with their financial problems and the memory of past loses proved a terrible time for Mary and John. But despite their mounting financial problems they still provided Anne with a expensive funeral (Alchin, L.K., Amanda ,Mabillard). After Anne came Richard Shakespeare, the seventh child, born in 1574 and baptized on March 11. Most likely Richard was named after his paternal grandfather who had died in 1561. By the time Richard was 4 the family fortunes were declining and since his elder brothers were removed from school it is doubtful that he received much education if any. Very little is known about Richard except that he never married. It is probable that he stayed in Stratford working in the family business and caring for the family. The only other thing known about Richard is that he was buried on February 4, 1613-a year and day after the death of his brother Gilbert (Alchin, L.K., Amanda , Mabillard). The final child bore to the Shakespeare’s was Edmund in 1580, both being in their forty’s. The family fortune was still in decline so Edmund most likely did not receive much of an education, but being youngest he was probably spoilt as most are. Edmund was eager to follow his eldest brother into the acting profession and very likely idolized William and the stories he told of the London theatre’s. The family regained prosperity by 1596 but Mary and John were getting up on in their years and Edmund must have craved to go to London with William for the excitement instead of the confines of Stratford. When old enough, Edmund followed William to London to embark on a career as a ’player’. He appeared in many of his brother’s plays but never really became a great actor and as many of his sibling before him, died an early death in 1607 at the age of 27. The cause is not sure but it is speculated that it was the Black Death once more there was a terrible outbreak of it in London in 1608. The funeral for Edmund was quite expensive-most likely paid for by William, seeing as how he was the only one who could afford it at the time-and magnificent and quite a sight with tolling bells ringing loud enough to be heard across the Thames. Edmund was laid to rest in St. Saviour’s church in Southwark, on December 31, 1607, it was held in the morning so fellow actors could attend, though it is unknown if any family attended (Alchin, L.K., Amanda ,Mabillard). Now that I have William’s immediate family out of the way I shall move right on to William himself. As I mentioned before, William is the third born child, but due to the loss of his elder sisters he is considered the eldest of the children. William was born in April of 1564 though the exact date of his birth is not known. Traditionally it is accepted that he was born on the 23 since he was baptized on the 26, and families typically had their children baptized on the nearest Sunday or hold day following their birth in the Elizabethan times. William could have been born as early as the 21so it will remain that Shakespeare’s true birthday shall remain a mystery, adding a bit of a highlight to him as the main that died the day he was born (Amanda ,Mabillard). William was lucky enough to survive to adulthood in the sixteenth-century England when it was very common for most or all the children of a family to die out, which had actually claimed a few of his family members. Despite the lack of records for William’s schooling it is likely that his father had him attend the nearby Stratford Grammar school when he was around 6 or 7. Due to John’s high position in the community at the time he was able to receive free education for his children which he must had done. Gilbert attended school with him ,no doubt, when he was old enough, but they were both pulled out of school when the family began to spiral down into debt, when William was only 13 and Gilbert was 11. William must have had a good grasp upon what he had learned, which is evident when examining his plays and sources. He would continue to build upon it even outside of school (Amanda ,Mabillard). After being removed from school there are few and fragmented and somewhat questionable details about William. Nobody knows for sure if they are true or not. While still in Stratford, supposedly, William worked for a butcher as well as helping run his father’s business to help out with expenses. It is fabled that William offended Sir Richard Lucy by Poaching a deer on his grounds at Charlecote and had to go before a jury over it, so instead of doing that he fled to England (Amanda, Mabillard). It is unsure of what the future poet’s activities were before becoming a professional actor in the later 1580’s for it is impossible to trace. It has been suggested that William may have worked as a lawyer, school master, and as a glover with both his father and brother Gilbert, all of which are very plausible. It is also argued that William studied to become a master at his literary skill at this time, and honed upon his acting skills, while traveling around and visiting playhouses outside of Stratford (Amanda, Mabillard). From this point on it is equally unknown what William did for it comes into the first point of his life known as the ‘Lost Years’. Very little is known about Shakespeare during these time periods, the times they are between are 1578-82 and 1585-92. The first covers the period between his removal from school and his marriage to Anne Hathaway. The first part of the lost years it is known that William married a woman named Anne Hathaway. It is speculated upon whether there were actually TWO Anne’s that William had become involved with, one out of love and the other out of lust. Anne Hathaway and Anne Whateley. More than likely a clerk wrote down Anne Hathaway’s name wrong due to the similarities between the names. In Shakespeare’s era it was not uncommon for something like this to happen. Another possibility is that Anne Whatelay was a real person for the name is a common name in the Midlands. It is supposed that Shakespeare was in love with her and planned to marry her but at that time he was involved with Ms. Hathaway, simply on carnal measures. After finding out that Ms. Hathaway was with child he felt an obligation to her and the child, not to mention the damage it would cause to the family name, so he married Anne Hathaway and never saw the other Anne again. Despite what one perceives as the truth, Shakespeare did indeed marry a Ms. Anne Hathaway, eldest daughter of seven children of Richard Hathaway, who was already some months pregnant with his child. At the time William was a minor at the age of 18 and Anne was 26 years old which just added on to the scandal of a younger man impregnating an older woman to whom he wasn’t married (Amanda, Mabillard). Williams first child, Susanna, was born six months after William and Anne’s wedding in May of 1583, and was baptized in the Stratford Baptist church on the 26th. Two years later in 1585 Anne and William’s twins, Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare, were born. Their baptism took place in Stratford Parish Church on February 2, 1585 (Amanda, Mabillard). Susanna, the first born, grew into adulthood and married a man, Dr. John Hall, whom William highly approved of, when she was 24. The marriage must have greatly pleased Anne and William, and Williams esteem for them is evident since he appointed both as executors of his will, as well as a large portion of his estate and fortune. Susanna became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, eight months after her wedding in 1608. Her daughter went on to marry two husbands but she did not produce any children out of either of the marriages and with her death ended the direct line of Shakespeare’s descendants. Susanna and John lived on for many years and both finally ended up dying in the same year of 1649, the dates unknown (Amanda, Mabillard). Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, was raised primarily by Anne as William was away in London most of the time doing his theatrical work. There are no records of Hamnet attending school but it is likely he received the education not bestowed upon his sisters as was done with William. Sadly Hamnet died in 1596 by yet another outbreak of the Bubonic Plague. So at the age of 11 the Plague claimed yet another Shakespeare, and surely not the last. Some people suspect that Hamnet’s death provided the impetus for Shakespeare’s The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark because of the similarities in the names as well as a exert from a play William had done (Alchin, L.K., Amanda, Mabillard). Although her brother died, Judith lived on and ended up marrying a man, Thomas Quiney, a vinter and tavern owner from Stratford, when she was 31 and he 27. Things were looking good for the two until the scandalous news that Thomas had made another girl pregnant was made known. As if that wasn’t enough Judith and Thomas were excommunicated when it was found out that Thomas had not acquired the special license necessary for a wedding during lent before the marriage. Mortified at the turn of events William changed his once optimistic views on Thomas and called his Lawyer and changed his will so that Thomas received nothing, and Judith receive a sum of money whilst t...