John Shakespeare
John Shakespeare (c. 1531 – 7 September 1601) was an English businessman and politician who was the father of William Shakespeare. Active in Stratford-upon-Avon, he was a glover and whittawer (leather worker) by trade. Shakespeare was elected to several municipal offices, serving as an alderman and culminating in a term as bailiff, the chief magistrate of the town council, and mayor of Stratford in 1568, before he fell on hard times for reasons unknown.[1] His fortunes later revived and he was granted a coat of arms five years before his death, probably at the instigation and expense of his son, the actor and playwright.[2][3]
For the British diplomat, see John Shakespeare (diplomat).
John Shakespeare
c. 1531
7 September 1601 (aged 69–70)
- Richard Shakespeare (father)
He married Mary Arden, with whom he had eight children, five of whom survived into adulthood.[4]
He married Mary Arden,[16] one of the Ardens of Warwickshire, a local gentry family and reportedly a niece of John Shakespeare's father Richard Shakespeare. It is not known when they married, but a date around 1557 is assumed as there is a baptismal record for a "Joan Shakespeare, daughter to John Shakespeare" dated 15 September 1558.
The Shakespeares had eight children:
Risk taking and financial problems[edit]
Shakespeare fell on hard times in the late 1570s that would last until the early 1590s. He failed to attend council meetings, attending just once (on 5 September 1582) between January 1577 and 6 September 1586 when he lost his position as an alderman for non-attendance. In 1592, he was recorded as among several local men who stayed away from Church services for fear of being arrested for debt.[18] Records indicate that he was also prosecuted in the 1570s for usury and for illegal dealing in wool. Such illicit trade would have been profitable to his glove business by avoiding the middleman. In 1570, he was accused of making loans to a Walter Mussum, worth £220 (equivalent to over £50,000 in 2007), including interest. Mussum was not a good risk; at his death, his whole estate was worth £114, or barely half what Shakespeare had lent him. The financial risk was just one side of his potentially problematic business activity. The law described usury as "a vice most odious and detestable" and levied severe penalties for those caught in such practices, even in a small way. The law stated that anyone caught lending money with interest illegally would forfeit all the money lent, plus forfeiture of any interest due, face a fine on top and also possible imprisonment. He was also engaged in trading wool illegally in 1571, when he acquired 300 tods (or 8,400 pounds (3,800 kg)) of wool, a large consignment.[18]
In 1576, Shakespeare withdrew from public life in Stratford. He had been excused levies that he was supposed to pay by supportive townsmen and business associates and they kept his name on the rolls for a decade, perhaps hoping that in that time he would be able to return to public life and recover his financial situation, but he never did so.[19] He is mentioned in the local records in 1597 when he sold some property to George Badger, a draper.
John Shakespeare was buried on 8 September 1601 at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.[20]