Thomas Shakespeare

born 1798, Ludlow, Shropshire

A telephone conversation with Carl Shakespeare, a descendant of this family, in early 2003, revealed that his source for the origin of the line came from his great uncle who lived into his 90's. This came from information written down by the family after their migration to the USA, which included details of William, born 1828 in Dudley, and seemingly that his father was born in Ludlow. Carl gives John Shakespeare (born 1759, Preston Baggot) and Hannah Page as Thomas's parents.

Thomas appears in the 1851 Dudley Census:

William, who by this time had married Sarah Marsh, also appears in the 1851 Dudley Census:

However, there is another possibility: all Shakespeares up until this point in time (and much later) in the Dudley area were members of the same family, sharing common descent, with the possible exception of Thomas and his descendants. There are records of a contemporary John and Hannah Shakespeare with a number of children baptised in Dudley. Among these children there is a gap around the time of Thomas's birth (between 1796 and 1802). These children were:

• John, b 1780

• Maria, b 1782

• Ann, b 1784

• Joseph, b 1796

• Elizabeth, b 1802

• James, b 1804

The above children were baptised variously at Dudley, Brierley Hill and Kingswinford.

It will be noted that there is also a gap between 1784 and 1796, so it is highly likely that the family were moving around, probably for work reasons, and that there may be other children, not yet found, recorded elsewhere. Apart from the baptism of Thomas in 1798 in Ludlow these are the only recorded children with parents John & Hannah to appear on the IGI.

Here are the difficulties summarised:

• If the Thomas born in Ludlow is the son of John Shakespeare & Hannah Page then the family descends from Humphrey Shakespeare of Feckenham/ Ipsley/ Preston Baggot - there are no other recorded children of this couple. If he is the son of John Shakespeare & Hannah Aldridge (the couple with children baptised in Dudley/ Brierley Hill - see above) then the descent is from another problematical line, that of Josiah Shakespeare.

• Carl Shakespeare has not, sadly, provided further details of the almost contemporary written information in his possession, which could confirm or deny the above theories.

Looking at the summarised details then it seems that the two families listed above in the 1851 census (Thomas and his son William) do indeed descend from John & Hannah, as the census confirms that Thomas was born 1798 in Ludlow. There is, of course, the remaining doubt over which John & Hannah were Thomas's parents.

Information on descendants of William Shakespeare and Sarah Marsh supplied by their great grandson, Carl Shakespeare.