It is a sad fact that there are no direct living descendants of the great bard, William Shakespeare. The direct line ended with his grandchildren, but of course there is always the possibility that anyone with the surname SHAKESPEARE (with or without the first or last ‘E’) could have links higher up the tree. Unfortunately, while there are some possible trees that have been researched going back to the 13th century, there is no definitive Shakespeare genealogy before Will’s grandfather, so proving a connection with 100% conviction would be probably impossible.
However, there are other names on the Shakespeare family tree, the descendants of whom could still exist today. While some of these would have to be linked higher up the tree (therefore not having a blood link to Shakespeare), these families would still be of great interest as many of them have been well documented.
(By the way, if you’d like to learn how to trace your ancestors, have a look at my Step-by-step beginner’s course at Udemy here).
The most likely surname to have blood ties with William Shakespeare is the name HART. William’s sister Joan (and the only sibling to outlive him) married a William HART, and two of their sons survived into adulthood, one of them, William becoming an actor like his uncle, and the other, Thomas, married and had three children whose descendants live today. William never married, but is believed to have had an illegitimate son, Charles, a Restoration actor, who may also have living descendants.
Shakespeare’s other siblings either died in childhood, or never had any children.
Shakespeare’s mother, Mary ARDEN, came from an aristocratic, land-owning family who could trace their roots back to England before the Conquest, but it would be difficult to take any ARDEN name back to Mary’s immediate family as all of her siblings were sisters. Five of them married (two of them twice), and the names they married into were ETKYNS, SCARLET, STRINGER, HEWINS, LAMBERT, CORNWELL and WEBBE. I know that the LAMBERTs and WEBBEs had at least one child – but whether or not any of these lines have descendants living today I do not know.
As for tracing any families that may be connected to Shakespeare through marriage (but not through blood), the following information may be of interest:
Not much is known about the family of Shakespeare’s wife, Ann HATHAWAY, other than that her father, Richard, was a yeoman farmer. We know that the name still exists today (at least in one famous actress), but whether this line can be traced back to the Hathaways of Warwickshire is uncertain without there being much information about this family.
William’s first daughter Susanna married Dr. John HALL, a respected physician, in 1607 and their only daughter Elizabeth married Thomas NASH, and when he died she married John BERNARD and living in Abington Hall in Northamptonshire. Elizabeth did not have any children, and so the direct line ends here, but the NASH and BERNARD families were wealthy and well known families with good documentation, so finding connections with these families further up the line could be possible. I do not know whether Dr. John HALL’s ancestry is known, but he is mentioned in some academic medical texts where there may be more details about his family.
Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, died at the age of 11 in a small outbreak of bubonic plague.
Shakespeare’s third child, Judith, married Thomas QUINEY, a local winemerchant who was the son of a good friend of Shakespeare’s. Thomas had ten siblings, some of whom married and had children, so it is possible that there are living descendants who could potentially trace their line back to this family (in fact, one of my clients has an ancestor named QUINEY, and it would be very exciting to take this line back further).
Thomas and Judith had three children, the first of whom, named Shakespeare after his famous grandfather, died at the age of six months. The other two died at the ages of 19 and 21 without marrying or having any issue.
The surname SHAKESPEARE still exists, although it is fairly rare. In fact, I actually knew a Mr. Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon back in the 1970s! He was the owner of Ferry House and let out rooms to RSC actors, including my father, mother and me, and where I spent a very pleasant summer at the age of 13. He was very old even then, and died soon afterwards I believe, but we often wondered whether he had any family links to the great man himself.
As I have said, Shakespeare genealogy links are tenuous and difficult to prove, but if any of the above names are in your ancestry and come from Warwickshire, it could be worth trying to find out whether you have either a blood or marriage link to our greatest playwright. I would be delighted to help too – even though I would be green with envy!
Recommended Books:
Shakespeare’s Country Familes by John Taplin
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Wordsworth Special Editions)
Just found out that William is my 11 x Great Uncle on my fathers side.
John hewins and Agnes Arden are my 10th great grand
Parents. This would make Shakespeare my cousin right?
Would he be 1st cousin to me by marriage? Found out
On ancestry.com. I’m in the USA
Can you email me the answer…
Hi Lena
Yes, if Agnes is one of Mary Arden’s sisters, then Shakespeare would be your first cousin, several times removed (a ‘removal’ for each generation!).
Nice!
Ros
What’s your opinion on the possibility of illegitimate children from William? I’m not sure how much I believe, but my 11th great grandfather is William Davenant, making my 12th great grandparents John Davenant and Jane Shepherd. When researching I wondered if their close relationship to William and the fact they named their son William, who then became his godson. From what I could find, John and Jane’s children didn’t live very long and they didn’t survive until they had more after William Shakespeare stayed at their tavern. Could just be a coincidence but it’s a funny thought that if it was true, he definitely has many living direct descendants including myself, 4 siblings, 11 grandchildren and then the rest from my uncle too.
Hi Tasha!
This is a very interesting comment – and you will be interested to know that the possibility of Shakespeare being William Davenant’s father has been a point of conversation among historians and biographers. This is partly due to the fact that William Davenant (who had some fame himself as a playwright and theatrical manager) is recorded as having boasted that Shakespeare was his father. Of course, that’s not proof that he was, and there is no strong evidence – but there are some circumstantial facts, including those you have mentioned above. If you read some good biographies of Shakespeare, you’ll probably find more information about this.
My own opinion about Shakespeare fathering illegitimate children, is that it is absolutely possible! He was away from his family in Stratford for many months – perhaps years – while he was working in London. Of course, there is no way that any illegitimacy can be proven, because most baptisms of such children do not give the father’s name, and we have no other records around births for these dates. There is also the possibility that he also had homosexual relationships.
I actually touch on both of these possibilities in my novel, Legacies (available at Amazon) – but I usually don’t mention it to people who haven’t read it, as this is a bit of a spoiler!
So, yes – I think it is very possible that there are living descendants of Shakespeare, perhaps including yourself – but unfortunately no-one will ever know for sure as it cannot be proven.
Thanks for bringing this matter up – as a lover of Shakespeare, and a genealogist, I find it fascinating!
Best wishes
Ros
My last name is Webb, I have traced our family tree and I am related on my fathers side to Abigail Webb G G G grandmother to WS. I am 1st cousin 13x removed. Any who…. its very intresting and thought I would share.
Hi Rebecca – that is very interesting. However, I’m not sure about the Webbs being ancestors (usually the Webb connection comes through one of Shakespeare’s aunts) – I’d be interested to know how you got to this information, as getting back that far is extremely difficult. Have you had this tree verified by a professional genealogist?
Cheers
Ros
Members of my family have been doing research into my family history.
I am now an EFL teacher in Brazil. I have mentioned to a couple of students that I have ‘Shakepear’ in my family tree. The do come from Warwickshire.
John Ward married Mary Shakespear, b.1698, on 20/4/1790.
Mary had a son, Thomas Shakspear.
There is a family tree. I have included in a lesson, stating that it is probably a distant relative at best. Makes for an interesting conversation.
Hi Mark – thanks for this. Nice to be able to show off to your students! Mary may well be descended from an ancestor of WS – but it may not be possible to ever prove that – but it’s certainly great to have this name in your tree!
Ros
William Shakespeare is my 2nd cousin 10 times removed thru the Webb line,my 12th great grand aunt was Abigail Webb.I have a complete geneology from John Alexander Webb jr to my grandmother Mary Ann Francis Webb,jA Webb jr was my 11th grandfather
William Shakespeare is my 2nd cousin thru the Webb line,John Alexander Webb is my 12th grandfather,my grandmother Mary Ann Francis Webb is in the line of Abigail Webb who was my 10 great grand aunt
Thanks Grady – that’s brilliant!
My family came from nearby Fenny Compton; my descendant being Thomas Griffin.Mr. Pym Yeateman a Barrister of law at Lincolns Inn,wrote in his book ”The Gentle Shakspere (his spelling) A Vindication– written in 1896; shows on page 267 my ancestor Thomas Griffin.( Book available on the internet) and his sister Alys ; who he said was William’s grandmother.I am aware that many experts on William’s ancestry rubbish this.So it’s a case of NOT who do you think you are , but WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?.
Thanks William.
I wonder what evidence Mr Yeateman was using for his statement. The problem is that it’s difficult to validate anything written in the 19th century as historical research has become much more reliant on solid evidence since then. So I am inclined to think that the more recent experts are probably right – but it would be interesting to know all the details.
Ros
I definitely think that Shakespeare’s bones should be disturbed in order to get a DNA sample. He is one of the most influential men on earth and left us so little knowledge. Surely a little more could not hurt?
Nice idea Philomena – but some people might be put off by the curse on his grave:
“Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.”
This might give pause even to the most cynical scientist!
Ros
I would love help with figuring out the genealogy I found. I am a descendant from the Lambert dit Champagne line. Through William’s Aunt Joan Arden who is my 12th ggrandmother.
Hi Julie. I can’t really comment on this without further information. I would be interested to know how these two lines are connected. How sure are you of your sources? Let me know if you’d like some professional help – email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Ros
I have Mary stringer 1526/1610 and Alice webb 1560/1586 in my family tree… is there a connection to Shakespeare ?
Hi – I have replied to the email you sent me!
Ros
Hi. My grandmother’s maiden name was Shakespeare and all her family as far back as I can ascertain were from the West Midlands. The farthest back I can trace a Shakespeare in my family tree with dna links is Thomas Shakespeare 1717-1793. I feel there must be some connection to William Shakespeare somewhere, but probably through a male cousin of his for the surname to have continued down to my grandmother who was born in 1899. Would love your opinion, many thanks.
Hi Sue
Yes, as Shakespeare had no surviving male descendants, anyone with the Shakespeare name cannot be a direct descendant, but could be descended from one of his own ancestors further up the line, making you very distant cousins. However, proving this connection is not easy, and may not be possible. We know very little about Shakespeare’s ancestors beyond his grandfather. It would be interesting to try and find your genealogical connection to Thomas Shakespeare through the written documentary evidence, and then try and trace him back as far as possible. As I say, it’s not an easy task, but it might be worth trying! Let me know if you would like any help with this. My email address is info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Best wishes
Ros
I found out that William Shakespeare is my 13th great-grandfather! On my direct line to!
Not possible, I’m afraid. Shakespeare had no direct descendants beyond grandchildren, so there is no-one today who could trace back a direct line to him. The only possible relationship would be via his sister (then he would be a great-uncle), or from a higher up ascendant – which would then make him a distant cousin. Of course, it’s always possible he had illegitimate children whose descendants are alive today – but there is no way of tracing them back to him.
I’d be interested to know how you have found that?
Ros
I recently found out I could be related to Joan Shakespeare. Surnames down the line go from Hart, to Heath, to Evans, to Daniels, making Joan my 11th great-grandmother. I’m not sure how trustworthy that information is, would like to get some input!
Thanks!
Hi Ainsley
Much depends on the kind of research that has been done. It is important that reliable primary sources have been used, and a proven line back from yourself to the Hart family. It might be necessary to use a professional researcher to check what has been done. Let me know if you need this kind of help.
Best wishes
Ros
Hi Ros,
Thanks for your info. I have done the Ancestry and Family Tree dna tests, the most detailed I could, and found Webb family members appearing in my common relatives. Using Ancestry I traced a direct line back and sure enough Lady Mary Agnes Webb (Grandmother of William Shakespeare) is my 13th Grandmother. I guess that makes Will my 1st cousin 13x removed. I know there are probably thousands of us but still fun to ponder! Cheers and hope you found this interesting!
Thanks Blaine – that’s great! I’d be interested to know how the research was done. Your tree may be useful to other people on this thread so thanks for posting.
Ros
My name is Paulette Linville, Joan Shakespeare (Sister of William Shakespeare) is my grandmother going back 14 generations. Joan Shakespeare married William Hart. Joan and William Have a son named Thomas, Thomas has a son named Thomas Hart Jr. Thomas Hart Junior has a daughter by the name of Mary Hart. Mary Hart is the great granddaughter of Joan Shakespeare/Hart. Mary Hart married Richard Linville who is my grandfather going back 9 generations. Mary Linville (Hart) and Richard Linville had children; I am a direct descendant of their son John. Mary, Richard, John and the other sibling/siblings boarded one of William Penns boats and sailed across the seas to Penn Colony. Once there the Linville’s, The Boones (Daniel and George) The Lincoln’s (Abraham Lincolns family) and the Bryan’s all settle together to live and marry within each other’s families. I do not think or see from research that the Linville’s married within the Lincoln family, although they all lived together in a very large living compound. The Linville’s carry the Shakespeare DNA and The Boone DNA and Viking DNA. It is written historically that the Linville’s are descended from Vikings, specifically Rollo the Duke of Normandy.
Thanks for posting this, Paulette. That’s great information. The Hart line is usually the only line where people can form a link with the Shakespeares. Your post may be useful for others, so thanks again.
Ros
Hi,
from my research, William Shakespeare is my first cousin 13 generations back.
I believe I have done the research carefully, I feel so honored to know he is a relative.
I have always enjoyed Shakespeare’s writings, starting back in high school, I read his works. Also I have always written poetry, so maybe there is something to our genes/DNA.
Please let me know your thoughts,
thanks, Jannelle
Lady Mary Agnes Arden (Webb) “Grandmother of William Shakespeare”
1512–1550
BIRTH 5 FEB 1512 • Wilmcote, Warwickshire, England
DEATH FEB 1550 • Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
( My 13th great-grandmother )
Margaret Arden Webb, “William Shakespeare’s Aunt”
1538–1608
BIRTH ABT. 1538 • Wilmcote, Aston Cantlowe, Warwickshire, England
DEATH 9 SEP 1608 • Wilmote, Aston Courthouse, Warwickshire, England
(My 12th great-grandmother)
Lady Mary Arden “Mother of William Shakespeare”1540–1608
BIRTH 6 JUN 1540 • Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire, England
DEATH 9 SEP 1608 • Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, , England
(My 12th great-grandaunt)
William Shakespeare 1564–1616
BIRTH 23 APRIL 1564 • Stratford, On, Avon, Warwickshire, England
DEATH 23 APRIL 1616 • Stratford, On, Avon, Warwickshire, England
( My 1st cousin 13x removed)
Well done Janelle – that’s amazing. Thanks for posting!
Ros
I have recently discovered that William Shakespeare is my 1st cousin 12x removed,Robert Shakespeare son of Richard Shakespeare and uncle to William is my 11 great grandfather, Isabelle Shakespeare daughter of Robert is my first cousin also , and Richard Shakespeare Williams grandfather is my 12 th great grandfather
Doug Johnston
Houston, TX
Thanks Doug – that’s great!
Ros
William Shakespeare is my first cousin 13 times removed, as verified on Family Search.org. I am also related to Edward Winslow of the Mayflower, as well as numerous other Mayflower passengers.
Thanks Darren
Ros