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)
Hi Michelle – thanks very much for the information.
Ros
I’m related to William Shakespeare through his sister, Joan Hart. We have a family tree which clearly shows my connection to William Shakespeare, it goes from his great-great-great-great grandfather Thomas Shakespeare of Balshall to present day.
haha, I just realised there is another person who submitted on this page with the name Moya. Just to verify my surname is Davies
Hi Moya – thanks for this – that’s great to have such a long family tree. So do you have any interesting information about the actor, Charles Hart? I ask because he may be included in a historical novel I am planning to write, and it would useful to have some info – and his family information.
Thanks
Ros
Michelle Shakespeare…my father is my father. My father’s father is my grandfather. My grandfather’s brother is my great uncle. That seems a fairly straight connection. Now my father’s brother’s children are my cousins. Fairly close. But what about my relationship going to the 4th generation from the cousins of the grandfather of my grandfather?? The relationship you’d share with them today is quite distant and very indirect.
That’s similar to William Shakespeare for your Shakespeare family name. It’s great that you have such an extensive detailed history and no doubt you are directly related to a “Shakespeare” – maybe Richard Shakespeare. And it’s probably true that if you broadened the family tree far enough, the bard William Shakespeare would fall in there. But it would be as a far distant multiple-time removed cousin which I would argue is a fairly tenuous relationship probably similar in probability to any other last name reaching out into the past to connect to William Shakespeare as a distant cousin.
If you’re willing to climb up a family tree, move laterally along branches, and then (this is the tenuous part) start back-climbing down another trunk I’d say you start stretching to find a relationship other than remote.
Hello, I want to inform everyone on this site asking this question is there a living descendant, is that I am the direct living descendant of William Shakespeare as my Father Roger E. Hall is the direct descendant of William Shakespeare and of the mentioned Dr. John Hall in this article. I have all the pertinent information from ancestry.com that directly shows the direct line of genealogy from the William Shakespeare. I’m an American as Dr. John Hall’s son John Hall was one of the 240 first settlers of Hartford, Connecticut there is a monument in the oldest cemetery there dedicated to them. Dr John Hall was married to Susanna Shakespeare who is my 11th great grandmother and William Shakespeare is my 12th great grandfather. All of this is well documented in Ancestry.com site where my husband has been doing much of the genealogy work for both my family and his family name. If anyone wants to see from ancestry.com my name is Lisa Oaks (Hall). lisa@ucrads.com
Hi Lisa. Thanks for your comment. However, I am afraid that it is impossible to be a direct descendant of Shakespeare. If you read my article you will find that John and Susanna only had a daughter, so even if that line had continued (which it didn’t as the daughter did not have any children), it would have been with a different surname. I’m afraid that there must be some error in your tree – unless Dr. John Hall had children by another marriage – in which case there would be no Shakespeare blood connection of course. I am sorry to disappoint you but there really are no direct descendants of Shakespeare! If you need help with checking the sources you have used, then please let me know.
Cheers
Ros
My name is Brian quinney, I have traced my name back to Thomas it seems to connect to either him being great uncle or grandfather. That is just me doing my own look up on my family name. I would like someone who has knowledge on this subject to help back this up or prove otherwise as I.have a genuine curiosity.
Hi Brian. I am sending you an email.
Cheers
Ros
My great-grandmother Hathaway told us the family legend that her husband was descended from a bastard child – the first child of William and Anne. The tale is that Anne was knocked up with a bastard child with Will before they were betrothed. Great tale, but of course, not provable. Recently while at the Folger Shakespeare in DC, I spoke with one of the head librarians who said it was certainly possible. She told me that Anne was older than William and that it is believed that he was courting another woman, but he married Anne instead. She wondered if that reason was that Anne was pregnant with his child. Of course, bastard children could not take the surname of the father. Like I said, fun to contemplate, but short of DNA, we’ll never know.
Hi Cherie
This is an interesting theory. Though it is usually the case the children born out of wedlock would take the father’s surname if the parents then wed – so I am not too sure – but as you say, it is probably impossible to know for sure. Another possibility is that Ann was pregnant by someone else – and William married her out of sympathy, but also impossible to prove. However, it would explain why the surname remained in her name.
I come from the Webb family, and we have our tree dated back to 1350. I’m very distantly related to William Shakespeare by marriage. His grandfather was my 12th great grandfather’s sister’s husband.
Excellent to have a tree going back that far Jacob – I am very envious!
hi moya I am doing a presentation on William and it would be really really amazing is you could send me a pic of the family tree on lucygryce80@hotmail.com
It is to my understanding that William Shakespeare’s parents are first cousins. Both of his grandmothers are Webb sisters. I believe I am a descendant of one of their brothers. Their great grandfather was Sir John Alexander Webb. My sister had done research. 🙂
I’m sorry. William Shakespeare’s great grandfather was Sir John Alexander Webb. I typed that wrong.
Hi my late nanna did her family tree and she fount out that she was 12th cousin to William Shakespeare I have asked my auntie to get the family tree 4 me x
Hi Amy. Feel free to post details when you get it!
Ros
Hi All
I would like very much to get my family tree together ,but my family has geandered through South Africa and who knows where else , I now reside in Australia, so am finding it really difficult to find information.
If anyone has an extended family tree from Joan Hart(shakespear) I would appreciate if you could send that through to me at tracydalehart at hotmail.com to help me further my quest to retrace my ancestry
regards Dale
Please could you send me details about tracing some possible link with my family history. My father John Hall from Canterbury, Kent recently departed on 04.09.2015 aged 69 and sadly has left many unanswered questions for me about his family of Hall’s. Many thanks Joanne Hall
Hi Joanne
I am sending you an email.
Cheers
Ros
Rosbot,
I was informed a few months ago that our family is connected to William Shakespeare.
I would love if you could confirm this for me!
Would love if you could email me and follow up on this!
Hi Blake – I have replied to your email!
Thanks
Ros
William Shakespeare is my 1st cousin 13 times removed. Our common ancestors are Robert De Arden and Mary Webb. They are the grandparents of William Shakespeare, and my 13th great grandparents. Mary Wilson and Sir Alexander Webb Jr. are my 11th great grandparents. They emigrated to America in 1626.
1. Robert De Arden (b.1506;d.1556)
sp: Mary Webb (b.1512;d.1550)
2. Margaret De Arden (b.1538;d.1608)
sp: Alexander Webb (b.1534;m.1555;d.1573)
3. Alexander Webb (b.1559;d.1629)
sp: Mary Wilson (b.1561;m.1597;d.1629)
4. Richard Webb (b.1580;d.1676)
sp: Grace Wilson (b.1594;m.1610;d.1680)
5. Richard Webb (b.1611;d.1675)
sp: Margery Moyer (b.1610;m.1629;d.1675)
6. Jonathan Webb (b.1665;d.1744)
sp: Judith Chamberlain (b.1690;m.1701;d.1734)
7. Judith (Judee) Webb (b.1714)
sp: Daniel Stevens (b.1711;m.1733;d.1751)
8. Amos Henry Stevens (b.1743;d.1809)
sp: Mercy Weed (b.1745;m.1766;d.1798)
9. Jonathan Stevens (b.1775;d.1843)
sp: Olive Hyatt (b.1775;m.1793;d.1843)
10. Julia Ann Stevens (b.1803;d.1875)
sp: Benjamin Hill (b.1789;m.1828;d.1876)
11. Alvin Hill (b.1831;d.1912)
sp: Salina Robbins (b.1838;m.1855;d.1860)
12. Nina (Salina) Hill (b.1856;d.1939)
sp: George Jacob Clemens (b.1853;m.1875;d.1936)
13. Rosa (Rose) C. Clemens (b.1876;d.1942)
sp: Earl Leland Gunn (b.1876;m.1898;d.1957)
14. Nina Clemens Gunn (b.1901;d.1950)
sp: Eugene John Weigel (b.1894;m.1929;d.1973)
15. Eugene John Weigel Jr. (b.1933)
sp: Wietske Pietrik Bakker (b.1937;m.1957)
16. Michael Edwin Weigel (b.1960)
sp: Julie Ann Ferrigno (b.1967;m.1995)
1. Robert De Arden (b.1506;d.1556)
sp: Mary Webb (b.1512;d.1550)
2. Mary Arden (b.1537;d.1608)
sp: John Shakespeare (b.1537;m.1557;d.1573)
3. William Shakespeare (b.1565;d.1616)
sp: Anne Hathaway (b.1556;d.1623)
Excellent – many thanks for this, Michael!
I was told that all Hathaways have a common ancestor and that the family fell out in an English Civil war.
My branch moving to Staffordshire
,Anne Hathaway`s remaining around Warwickshire
i should like to contact Cherie Siebert.
Hi Robert
I have sent Cherie an email asking if she would be willing for you to contact her.
Thanks
Ros
Thanks so much for this wonderful site. I delightedly learned recently that William Shakespeare is my first cousin 12x removed. My 11th great-grandmother was Margaret (Arden) Webb, the sister of Mary (Arden) Shakespeare. This was exciting to discover, as I am a writer myself (local reporter, content writer, freelance writer, etc), including having published two books that are of historical topics. As a teen, I traveled to England with my grandparents, and actually visited his burial site…my grandfather was there and had no idea at that time of the connection (he is Williams first cousin, 10x removed) , and sadly passed away in 2007. He and I used to take genealogical excursions in our local area, and though I did know about the Webb connection, and family connection from England in this line while he was still living, I happened to be tracking the genealogy of some notable people recently, including Shakespeare, and happened on this. I’ve always loved his works, have enjoyed writing poetry since my youth. I have also enjoyed acting and been involved in productions. This makes greater sense now why I’ve had this innate interest. What is also of great interest is that Harry Elkins Widener, who sadly perished on the Titanic, was a great admirer of Shakespeare’s work, and it’s commonly known that he acquired a copy of Shakespeare’s Folio, which is in the Widener Library at Harvard, erected in his memory a year after the sinking. I know in my heart of hearts, Harry would have been tickled to know that he was related to Shakespeare too (for Harry, they were 8th cousins 11x removed…Harry is my 8th cousin 1x removed). I am just wrapping up a book now, and who knows…a Shakespeare biography could be my next project.
Thank you again Ros…have a great day.
Hi Jennifer – many thanks for your post and your lovely comments. We share a love of Shakespeare + plus I have also been an actress in the past, and I am also a writer! I am envious that you have a genealogical link to the great man. However, I am lucky to live close to Stratford on Avon, and my father was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company until his death in 1994.
Have you used the archives at the Shakespeare Birthplace Centre? check out the website, and if there’s anything that you would like me to look up, please let me know. Perhaps we could collaborate on that biography???
Best wishes
Ros
I am in possession of William Shakespeare’s personal ash stick from Stratford Upon Avon. I would like to get the word out to family or anyone interested in this walking stick. I tried 35 years ago to prove this through the William Shakespear Museum and library with no success. My number is: 267-939-6597.
I have been tying to do some genealogy on my Shakespeare line and we have come to a road block. Could you please email me if you think you can help. Thank you.
Hi Amy
I have sent you an email.
Ros
I read this article with great interest. My late father traced our family tree back and my great,great (about 11 times back )Grandfather Thomas Etykins married Mary Arden’s sister, Katherine, in 1560 at The Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon and I am proud to possess a family Tree depicting this.
Thank you Susan. That’s excellent!
I was just informed that by my aunt that someone in the family did a genealogical search and that it traced back to Shakespeare. I’m supposedly a 14th cousin once removed. Would love to find out for sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Amber. This takes a lot of detailed research. If you can get hold of what your family member did, it would be very useful. The most important thing is that original sources were used (not just index results or published trees). If you can’t find the information your family member found, then you would have to start from scratch tracing your family back from you to 16th century Warwickshire – not an easy task! Email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com if you would like some professional help.
Ros
I think I may have found a link by marriage to the Arden family. I have a John Gordon b. 1842 in South Africa, d. 1904 in Wellington, NZ, who married Emma Arden, d.o. Hamar Humphrey Arden. I have been able to trace her lineage back to the Arden family of Longcroft Hall and beyond.
Hi Ros
Just wondering if you may be able to help. My great grandfather Arthur Hart -from Rugby has led us along the Shakespeare path – as his great grandfather Joseph married a Fanny Shakespeare in 1851. This then goes all the way through Dudley and then to Wroxall 1515 and a Richard Shakespeare. My nine year old is desperate to know if their may be some kind of connection? I know its a long shot!!
Kind Regards
Michaela
my greatgranma was mary ann Shakespeare. her father was named isacar. they were born in old hill staffordshire
Thanks Ann.
Have you tried tracing them back?
Hi Michaela
This kind of research can be very time-consuming – and I don’t have any ready answers, I’m afraid! You have done extremely well to get back so far anyway – but trying to establish links at these dates can be extremely frustrating and difficult. If you would like my professional help (my charges are £25 per hour), please contact me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Best wishes
Ros
This is all fascinating. I have been doing our family tree, partly because I had some information about Thomas Guy (of Guy’s Hospital) and subsequent family links with Christ’s Hospital School which he endowed. I knew that the family name was Hart until my Grandmother married, then found out that her mother was a Shakespeare until she married my great grandfather James Hart (1839-1875). So that set me off on the Shakespeare hunt but I haven’t really got anywhere with it. We do have a very old copy of the Complete Works with the Shakespeare coat of arms on the cover so at some stage someone way back wanted to find a link! There is also a Tamworth town link somewhere in all this because my lot (the Guy ones – no direct descendants, it’s via Thomas’s aunt) seem to have come from there. If anyone has any family trees I’d be very willing to share what I have in exchange. On the Guy side I have got back to 1500.
I’d be interested to know if my family is related to John Hall. My grandmother is Elizabeth Hall Herbert (nee Hall) and her mother was Elizabeth Hall also, and her father was a John Hall. My family are closely tied to Warwickshire also.
I’m going to have to look into it!
Hi Cherilyn
Yes – there’s a lot of research to be done there! Of course, Hall is a fairly common name, so don’t hold your hopes too high – but if you need any professional help please don’t hesitate to contact me on info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Ros
Thanks Liz. There are a few Shakespeares around still, I believe. But whether or where they link to Will is probably difficult to find as it would have to be from before Will’s birth. If you can find links with Warwickshire then at least you can get a feeling that there is a strong likelihood!
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust archives can be very useful for tracing Warwickshire families.
Ros
Recently checked my ancestry and discovered that William Shakespeare is my 13 times great uncle. His sister, Joan Shakespeare married William Henry Hart. They had a son Thomas Hart, Sr. Thomas Hart Sr. Had a son, Thomas Hart Jr. Thomas Hart Jr. Had a daughter Mary who married Richard Linville. They had a son Thomas Linville Sr. who had a son Thomas Linville Jr. He had a daughter Mary Sybilla who married John Wesley Mynatt. They had a son Hardin Winfield Mynatt who had a daughter Daicy Emaline Mynatt. She married James M. Sharp. They had a son Samuel Wyatt Sharp. He had a son Alfred Franklin Sharp and he had a son James Henry Sharp. He is my father.
Cynthia Sharp Olmstead
Hi Cynthia. That’s brilliant. I presume you have verified all these facts using original documentation?
Ros
Yes, I have verified through documentation on Amcestry
A happy possible Shakespear descendent here! My mother is a Shakespear and so is my middle name. We can trace back our family to a hamlet out side of Stratford-upon-Avon but as you said it is very hard to prove do to bad record keeping and no direct descendents! Oh well! It’s a good story to tell and a joy to book for tickets for Shakespeare play for Shakespear and see budding Shakespear fan’s delight and disbelief!
Hi – Great post, thanks.
Have you come across the name Bridget Hart (possibly born 1634 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England)? She married Robert Duffield in 1660, and I am descended from them. Some ancestry charts say Bridget’s father was William Hart, or William Peter Hart, Jr., b. 1605, and say that William Hart is the son of Joan Shakespeare. But no one lists their source — where did that come from?! And from your work it seems like there’s no indication Joan’s son William had a daughter Bridget. It seems unlikely to me (but fascinating). I wish I could pin down Bridget’s birthdate and parents. Anyway, I’m wondering if you are familiar with her name or have any thoughts. Thank you!