Judith Shakespeare

Judith was William Shakespeare’s second daughter and Hamnet’s twin sister. She was named after Judith Sadler, a friend of the Shakespeare family.

At age 31, Judith married Thomas Quiney, the 26 year old son of a prominent local family. The pair were married in Lent of 1616. Scandal ensued when Thomas' lover, Margaret Wheeler gave birth to his son one month after the wedding. Tragically, neither survived. As a result of his conduct, Thomas was sentenced to perform penance clad in a white sheet before the congregation for three Sundays, and he gave 5 shillings to the poor. 

In her father’s will, Judith received £150 and a silver gilt bowl, plus additional money if she and her children survived another 3 years. This sum is considerably less than what was bequeathed to her older sister Susanna.

In 1616, shortly after her father passed away, Judith gave birth to a son named Shakespeare. Her other two sons, Thomas and Richard, followed a couple of years later but sadly, all three of her sons died before adulthood.