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shakespear, shakespeare, genealogy, family, history, family history
John Shakespeare, 1816 - 1885
Gamekeeper
| John Shakespeare was born in Himley,
Staffordshire, in 1816. His parents were James Shakespeare, also a
Gamekeeper, and Mary Ann Watson. James is also variously described in the
Himley
Parish Registers as both a Shepherd and a Labourer, living at Gospel
End. So it seems John followed his father's trade. John, and undoubtedly his father, were employed by the Earl of Dudley on his estate at Himley. We know this because among the archives of the Earl of Dudley is a letter from Benbow & Benbow, the Earl's solicitors, which reveals that John was sacked following allegations that he had poisoned a Mr Robinson's dog. However, the solicitors pointed out that Robinson had been caught stealing by John Shakespeare, and Robinson's claim of poisoning was evidently a grudge. The solicitor realised this and vouched for the gamekeeper's character in a lengthy letter to the Earl - as a result of this John was reinstated. At various times in his career John worked on a variety of Staffordshire estates, and was also employed by the royal family at Windsor, and at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight - where at least one of John's children may was born. One of his children, in advanced old age, and living in Stapenhill, recounted how, as a small child, Queen Victoria had touched her hair when she was at Osborne. John's Family John had a number of siblings. One of these was David, ancestor of the 'Utah Shakespeares'. John and his wife, Mary Ann, were the parents of at least four children. The eldest of these, James, presents a genealogical enigma: he married Jemima West at Old Swinford, Worcestershire, in 1864. One of the witnesses at this wedding was a William Gould. The puzzle is this.......he may also have married an Ann Gould (who was the same age as Jemima West, and, like her, born in Stourbridge) - he appears in successive census's, firstly with Jemima, then with Ann (see 1901 Census [alternative]), then with Jemima again! No plausible explanation has yet been found for this. John Thomas Shakespeare, son of James & Jemima, appears in the 1901 Census. John's Untimely End John met his death in tragic circumstances, being the victim of a shooting in a public house in Cannock, Staffordshire. Further details, and progressive accounts of the subsequent trial of those accused of murdering him, can be read as follows: |
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Notes
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John appears in the 1881 Census, along with his son Thomas, also a Gamekeeper |
July 2004
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