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The Marriage Register Entry for William Shakespeare & Elizabeth Elkerton
The IGI records two children of this marriage:
12 April 1805, Whitfield, Jemima, d. of William Shakespeare & Sarah
13 Feb 1813, Whitfield, Harriot, d. of William Shakespeare & Sarah
William and Sarah had at least ten, and more likely eleven children - the parish register records a baptism of a son William to William and 'Elizabeth' Shakespeare in 1796. No age is given, but if this is William and Elizabeth's son then his baptism would have taken place five years after his mothers death. It is more likely that this is a clerical error (if you will pardon the pun) - perhaps the vicar was writing from memory, or a simple 'slip of the pen' resulted in him substituting Elizabeth for Sarah.
A slightly earlier marriage on the IGI, 11 Apr 1748, Badby, Sarah Shakespeare & William Garret, may or may not be related to William. Other marriages at Badby are discussed elsewhere. Two other, much earlier marriages, are obviously 'strays' and have no connection:
30 Oct 1598. Kings Cliffe, Tomasin Shakespeare & Philip Androe
18 Oct 1629, Everdon, Ann Shakespeare & John Hall
24 Dec 1807, Whitfield, Ann Shakespeare & James Allen (daughter of William Shakespeare and Elizabeth Elkerton)
31 Jan 1837, Helmdon, Harriet Shakespeare & William Painter - this is possibly the Harriot whose baptism is detailed above
The Marriage Register Entry for James Allen & Ann Shakespeare
Other marriages on the IGI are as follows:
28 Aug 1824, Preston Capes, Eleanor Shakespeare & John Bodily (Eleanor was born 1801 in Whitfield, daughter of William Shakespeare and Sarah Hunt)
1 June 1826, Daventry, Hannah Shakespeare & Edward Wells
The 1881 Census gives further clues:
Dwelling: 20 Broughton Ter Census Place: Neithrop, Oxford, England Source: FHL Film 1341368 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 1530 Folio 5 Page 4 Marr Age Sex Birthplace John MORGAN M 32 M Easton, Somerset, England Rel: Head Occ: Milk Seller Margaret MORGAN M 40 F Plumton, Northampton, England Rel: Wife Jenney E. MORGAN 6 F Banbury, Oxford, England Rel: Daur Occ: Scholar Mary E. MORGAN 3 F Banbury, Oxford, England Rel: Daur Occ: Scholar Edmund SHAKESPEARE W 72 M Whitfield, Northampton, England Rel: Father In Law Occ: Groom (N D) |
This Edmund, born 1808 in Whitfield, is yet another of William's children, and left descendants - according to the IGI:
From the IGI:
bapt 23 Feb 1840, Plumpton, Margaret, dau of Edmund Shakespear & Anna
married 15 Oct 1836, Banbury, Oxford, Edmund Shakespeare & Hannah Dury
Other children of Edmund & Anna:
Anna bapt 4 Oct 1837, Plumpton, Northamptonshire
Ellen bapt 14 May 1843, Plumpton, Northamptonshire
Harriet bapt 19 July 1846, Banbury, Oxford
The only other entry on the 1881 census with a Northamptonshire connection is another Edmund (son of John Yates Shakespeare), born around 1831:
Dwelling: Main Street Census Place: Broadway, Worcester, England Source: FHL Film 1341701 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 2927 Folio 7 Page 5 Marr Age Sex Birthplace Edmund SHAKESPEARE M 50 M Northampton, Northampton, England Rel: Head Occ: Shoemaker Ellen SHAKESPEARE M 39 F Broadway, Worcester, England Rel: Wife Occ: Shoemaker Wife Ellen M. SHAKESPEARE 10 F Broadway, Worcester, England Rel: Daughter Occ: Scholar Annie E. SHAKESPEARE 9 F Broadway, Worcester, England Rel: Daughter Occ: Scholar Mary J. SHAKESPEARE 7 F Broadway, Worcester, England Rel: Daughter Occ: Scholar Edmund SHAKESPEARE 5 M Fairford, Gloucester, England Rel: Son Occ: Scholar Catherine F. SHAKESPEARE 2 F Redditch, Worcester, England Rel: Daughter |
Additionally, two further Shakespeares, Joseph (born 1801) and Susannah (born 1803) are both revealed by the 1851 Census to have been born in Whitfield, but by then living in Tingewick, in Buckinghamshire, and are children of William and Sarah.
The extent of the current knowledge of this family is as below:
Clues to Williams origins come from the fact that a John Shakespeare, aged - was buried in Whitfield 17th January 1794, aged 78 years - meaning a birth date of around 1716. Williams burial, 29th April 1841, gives his age as 75 years - meaning a birth date of around 1766. However, the vital clue is the name of one of the witnesses at William's marriage to Elizabeth Elkerton, namely Richard Hornby. This led to the discovery of the following marriage:
7 Nov 1777, Cropredy, Oxon., Richard Hornsby, Psh of Great Bourton, and Mary Shakespeare, Psh of Little Bourton, by banns. Witn: Francis Maycock, William Reynolds.
There are no Hornbys in the Whitfield Parish Registers at this time. A search of the Cropredy Parish Registers - Little and Great Bourton did not have their own church at this time, hence they had to go to Cropredy - reveals no children of this marriage either. What it does reveal is a number of Shakespeares, including the first child of William Shakespeare and Elizabeth Elkerton - thus the connection is made. William's baptism is also there, as is that of his father, John in 1723. There is a discrepancy in John's burial entry at Whitfield, where the age given would make him about 8 years older. All of the other facts fit, so it would seem the burial entry is in error - after all, John was no longer alive to contest this!
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