World History

Heminges was the business manager for the Globe and Blackfriars. Also ran the beer concession at the Globe. His position in the Grocers Guild had him overseeing the weighing of coal and other goods for the City of London. So he was always concerned with accounting.

He was highly literate and worked with lawyers to defend his daughter Thomasina's 1615 lawsuit against him to acquire more shares of the playhouses. That lawsuit btw includes the only surviving mentions of Shakespeare as a co-owner of the Globe and Blackfriars and is the basis of accounting for his shares in each. How Shakespeare disposed of his shares between their mention in 1615 and his passing in April 1616 remains a mystery. Shakespeare's Will was penned by the law clerk of Francis Collins, was substantially updated and was apparently suppressed for 110 years after its discovery in 1747. When it was finally released to the public, people saw that the mourning rings for Burbage, Heminges and Condell was written in between other lines on the third page.

Heminges and Shakespeare were analogous to the upper middle class. Both were businessmen and their Wills reflect their wealth and access to lawyers. Estate planning for lower classes was less involved and could default to things like dower rights. In London but not in Stratford, dower rights asserted that the wife of the deceased was to receive 1/3 of the estate. Stratford became a predominantly Puritan town and the Puritans often treated men and women as equals albeit with prescribed gender roles. Confusingly this equality seems to have precluded acceptance of the dower rights convention seen elsewhere in England.

Will have a look at your link. Thanks for that!