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Ferdinando Shakespeare
of Dudley
There were three Ferdinando Shakespeares - all of them born in Dudley. The first of these was born in 1761, the son of William Shakespeare and Mary Purkins - this Mary's sister, Margaret, married Nehemiah Shakespeare, a close cousin of Ferdinando. The grandson of the first Ferdinando, born in 1814, the son of Edward Shakespeare and Mary Boxley, is the convict sentenced to transportation to Australia in 1838. This Ferdinando appears to have died in 1889 in Heathcote, Victoria (a town north of Melbourne) and was buried there 23 March 1889, aged 88. There is a noticeable age discrepancy here (13 years) but apparently this was not unusual for convicts, who would have wished to hide their background, and in all likelihood had no immediate relatives to confirm or dispute this after their death.
Confirmation of his correct age is as follows:
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Worcester Court Assizes - Berrows Worcester Journal, 15th March 1838 Ferdinado (sic) Shakespeare, aged 23, and Joseph Bloomer, aged 22, both nailors; indicted for breaking into the shop of William Cox, at Cradley, in the Parish of Halesowen and stealing an amount of bacon, cheese and other articles. Sentenced to 10 years transportation each.
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Source: |
BLACK COUNTRY CRIMINAL ANCESTORS 1787 - 1868 Researched and Written by DON COCHRANE Published by M. J. Cochrane 2003 ISBN 0 9541753 1X |
The last Ferdinando was born in 1845, and was the son of Edward, younger brother of the convict, and his wife Caroline Henley. This, the last and youngest of the Ferdinandos is the ancestor of the sites author, via his son James.
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The Origins of the name Ferdinando?
The name is thought to derive (ie copied from) from the family of the Earls of Dudley, one of whom married a member of the Stanley family (Earls of Derby), who used the name Ferdinando - the name Ferdinando occurs several times in later generations of the family of the Earls of Dudley.
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