Like many who bear the famous surname as a forename this is derived from an ancestor, often it is the mothers maiden name, or the name of a grandparent. In the case of Harry Shakespear Phillips this goes back much further - to a great grandmother, Sarah Shakespeare, who was born around a century before his birth.

Harry's father was Christened Shakespeare Phillips in 1772, his parents being Nathaniel Phillips and Mary Maintru. Nathaniel and Mary married in Cheshire, but Mary's origins lie in London for her parents were married there in 1725. This is the origin of the Shakespeare connection, for her parents were Timothy Maintru and Sara Shakespeare.

Sara Shakespeare was presumably around 21 years of age when she married, and this is borne out by the fact that her daughter, Mary, was born in around 1747 when Sara would have been married for 22 years and presumably by then in her early forties. Another child, Elizabeth, was born in Stepney in 1742 according to the IGI. This is where the possible connections become interesting because Stepney was the home of the only Shakespeare family in this period with military connections - a tradition begun by Arthur Shakespeare, who took part in the Battle of Waterloo. This is interesting because the only possible entry on the IGI for Sara's baptism occurs in 1704, at St Dunstan's, Stepney, the church used for many generations by the 'Stepney Shakespeares'. The parents recorded for this baptism were Jonathan and Elizabeth Shakespear, who are documented in the 'Stepney' section of this site. From other sources it seems that this is, indeed, the correct baptism.

For an account of Captain Harry Shakespear Phillips' military record click here and here.