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The Descendants of
John & Joanna Shakespeare
of Rowington
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This family was extensively analysed by Chambers in his
book, and although it is available in the section on that book, it is
useful to reproduce his 'family tree' here:
This reconstruction by Chambers was based upon a number of wills in combination with mainly manorial records which follow the transfer of land between the generations. On this basis it seems completely accurate, apart from one point about which Chambers himself expressed reservations: the placement of Richard, 'Bailiff of Wroxall.' Chambers placed him here on the basis that a Richard is mentioned in the will of John (ii) in 1546. However, evidence suggests that the Bailiff was the son of a different John Shakespeare - of Wroxall - as the Bailiff appears on a subsidy roll in 1525, suggesting his father was already dead and John of Wroxall did indeed die around this date. A better candidate for the Richard in the will seems to be Richard Shakespeare, Weaver, of Rowington: this hypothesis is also put forward by Fripp in 'Shakespeare's Haunts.' The section on Richard does list some similarities between the two Richard's (ie the 'Bailiff' and the 'Weaver') which are worthy of some consideration as these may not be two distinct individuals, but one and the same - the similarities are noteworthy. It is important to note that in the case of married to Joanna, and also that of Richard, Weaver of Rowington, that Fripp ('Shakespeare's Haunts', pages 68-69) makes an error in the identification of their father, stating him to have married twice - making his second wife Eleanor (later Cox) - and having a son, Anthony, by this second marriage: Chambers rightly points out that Joanna was still alive - and in fact outlived her husband - so he could not have been married to Eleanor, who was in fact the wife of a different John. Since Chambers' time a number of other records have become more readily available, including the IGI, which allows us to augment his work considerably as to further descendants of this line. The IGI also helps us to track down those marriages which took place outside the village, and to follow the migration of individuals beyond the immediate area of Rowington. Chambers' numbering system has been retained for ease of reference:
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