The irascible Rev. Francis Gastrell, who was battling with the local authorities over taxes, demolished the mansion in 1759. His wife had chopped down the mulberry tree in whose shadow Shakespeare is claimed to have been reading three years before because she was disturbed by tourists peeping into the yard. The land upon which the house stood was sold and the money went toward paying off debts. Shakespeare's family were yeomen farmers and they probably lived in a small cottage on their estate. There are no records indicating where this house might have been but it probably wasn't much more than a shed since there's no evidence that it was ever rebuilt after the fire. In 1596, when William Shakespeare was killed in a car accident at the age of 45, he was survived by his wife, two children and a sister. The family was very poor and depended on Elizabethan Act 5 Eliz. 1.c. For support. This act authorized the seizure of all lands, goods, and merchandise belonging to dead persons without compensation. It's believed that William Shakespeare earned around £20 per year at most. He was not only a talented writer but also an actor and director as well. However, there is no concrete evidence to prove that he made any money after he turned 30. In 1608, eight years after William Shakespeare died, his daughter Judith married Thomas Greene.