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Polesworth
The earliest record of a Shakespeare in Polesworth is Joseph Shakespeare who married Judith Smith 13 November 1774. Their descendants are dealt with seperately.
Bev Shakespeare, of New Zealand, has provided details from the Polesworth Parish Registers:
| Baptisms 1779 - 1837 |
| Marriages 1754 - 1837 |
| Burials 1770 - 1837 |
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Marriage 1774 13th Nov. Joseph Shackspeare Judey Smith otp
1779 26th Sept John s/o Joseph & Judith 1782 6th Jan Mary d/o Judith / Widow. Burial 1781 6th Sept Shackspear. Joseph. lab. Marriage 1793 9th Dec Edward Shakespeare Dorothy Holmes otp Children 1795 30th Sept Mary 1797 24th Dec Hannah 1800 17th Aug Ann 1802 15th Aug Dorothy 1805 24th Feb Edward Born 13th Feb. Marriage 1805 13th May John Shakespeare. otp Sarah Clayton Sibson
1807 27th Dec Sarah Born 14th Oct 1810 11th Jun William Born 21st May 1813 15th Aug John Clayton Born 24th July 1817 2nd Nov Joseph Born 5th Aug 1820 21st May Eli Born 23rd March 1823 11th Sept Enoch Born 5th April Marriage 1830 17th May James Mawby. Sheepy M Sarah Shakespeare Baptism 1793 30th May Hannah d/o Edward Shakespeare & Hannah Baptism 1814 6th Feb Henry s/o William Shakespeare & Elizabeth Born 25th Aug 1813 1815 13th Aug Thomas Born 5th Aug Died 2nd April 1816 1817 11th May John 1819 5th Dec Thomas Born 3rd Dec 1824 21st mar Sarah 1826 4th Sept William 1829 22nd mar Harriet Baptism 1805 20th Mar John s/o William Shakespeare Ann Burials 1793 24th May Hannah Shakespear 1796 21st Feb Ann Shakespear 1802 10th July Emma Shakespear 1804 29th July Dorothy Shakespear 1 Year 1805 27th Mar John Shakespear Infant 1814 28th July Juda Shakespear 72 years
1822 11th July Harriet Died 13th April 1823
1825 3rd Feb Eli 4 years 1837 14th Feb William 26 Years |
Sorting out the relationships of these Shakespeare families is proving problematical, which is surprising given the small size of the village!
An Edward Shakespeare is first recorded in 1793. At first glance it might appear that there were two different individuals of this name - one married to Hannah and one married to Dorothy - however inspection of the parish registers reveals a Hannah Shakespeare buried 24 May 1793, six days prior to the baptism of Hannah daughter of Edward and Hannah. The seems to be the mother, who quite likely died in childbirth. It seems that Edward remarried just over six months later to Dorothy Holmes. This is followed by baptisms of five of their children over the next twelve years.
Edwards age at death in 1843 (from his death certificate) would place his birth around 1759. This would make him of about the right age to be a son of the Joseph mentioned above, from a possible earlier marriage - assuming Joseph to be of the same age, or older than Judith Smith who he married in 1774. It is also just conceivable that Edward might be a much younger sibling. Either of these hypotheses would fit the appearance of these two individuals in the small village of Polesworth.
Edward Shakespeare seems to be the one who married Hannah Heeling in 1788 in Walton Upon Trent, Derbyshire, and the baptism of their son William is recorded there the following year. This is consistent with the age of William whose children (with his wife Sarah) were recorded as being baptised at Polesworth between 1814 and 1826.
However, there are three entries on
the IGI for children of an Edward and 'Hanner' Shakespeare at Kingsbury,
Warks:
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One anomaly with William is that the 1851 census gives his birthplace as Walsall (no County given). Is this the census enumerator recording what he thought he heard as Walsall (which is nearby in Staffordshire) and with which he was probably familiar, as opposed to Walton (in Derbyshire) which he may not have heard of?
Current research on Edward Shakespeare is as follows (assuming that William born 1789 is in fact the son of Edward Shakespeare and Hannah Heeling):
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A separate section details the Burials and Monumental Inscriptions at Polesworth.
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