James Underdown (1713-1791)

Baptism
James Underdown was baptized on the 6th September 1713 in Widworthy, Devon to parents Thomas and Grace (nee Underdown). He was the eldest child of the family. The rector who baptized him was Robert Cole.

Widworthy
Widworthy is 3½ miles east of Honiton. It lies amongst hills and combes. It includes part of the village of Wilmington, which is partly in the Offwell parish district. Why James’ parents lived in this area is currently unknown, but it is possible that his mother may have originated from the area.

Marriage
No marriage record for James has been found, but it is believed that he may have married a woman by the name of Honor. This is not proven at this time and James may have never married.

Children
Two children are recorded as being born to a James and Honor Underdown, but as the baptisms occurred in Ottery St Mary, it is uncertain that they are children of our James. It is also uncertain because the baptisms for these children still record James surname with the ‘e’ on the end, which we know was dropped in the previous generation. It is possible that the James that had these children in Ottery St Mary is a descendent of a different branch of the family – one that had existed in Ottery St Mary several generations earlier at the same time as our line did. He would therefore still be related, but not as originally thought. I have decided to record the details of these lines so they are at least captured, and can be moved to the correct branch if evidence of it comes to light.

One of the children was Grace Underdowne, christened on the 16th April 1750 in Ottery St Mary and the second was Hannah, christened on 25th July 1754 in Ottery St Mary.

Marriage of Daughter?
If these are the children of our James, it appears that daughter Grace married a man by the name of Edmund Chowne on the 3rd February 1768 when she was 18 years old. She married in Rockbeare, which is near Exeter in Devon, and was recorded of the parish of Broadclyst (also near Exeter). Edmund had been baptized in Rockbear on the 26th July 1742 to Charles and Mary Chowne. Edmund was recorded as a yeoman and witness to the marriage was Mary Baker.

Grace and Edmund would have 5 known children all born in Rockbeare – Anna, baptized 20th May 1768; Edmund, baptized 23rd October 1769; Molly, baptized 14th November 1771; Charles, baptized 7th November 1773; and Grace, baptized 6th June 1775. There is also a child called Sarah Chowne baptized on 31st December 1777 at Rockbeare to mother Grace Chowne, but no father recorded. The reason for this is that husband Edmund had died 6 months earlier, and was buried on 12th June 1777 in Rockbeare. He left a will upon his death, the result of which is unknown. Grace remarried on 2nd February 1782 to James Pratt of Rockbeare. She was recorded as a widow with the previous name of Chown, and witnesses to the wedding were William Squire and H. Hooper (parish clerk).

Death of Wife
Honor Underdown was buried in Rockbeare in the year 1775. This is likely to be James’ wife, dying during a visit to her daughter and family. As Honor’s origins are unknown, it is not known how old she was when she died. The burial record states that she was the wife of James Underdown.

Death
James died in July 1791, aged 78 years. He was buried in Northleigh on the 31st July 1791.

Children

 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of James and Honor Underdown
 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of James and Honor Underdown