Mary Underdown (1715-)

Baptism
Mary Underdown was baptised on the 8th February 1715 in Widworthy, Devon to parents Thomas and Grace Underdown (nee Pennington). She was their third child and first daughter. Her elder siblings were brothers James and Abraham.

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 Mary’s parents lived in this area is currently unknown, but it is possible that her mother may have originated from the area.

Marriage
Mary married Phillip Domet at Sidbury in Devon on the 2nd May 1739. He was the son of Phillip and Jane Dommett (nee Collier). He had been baptised in the Widworthy church only 6 days after Mary’s own baptism.

Philip’s surname was often misspelt in official records. Alternative spellings include ‘Dommett’ and ‘Dommet’.

Children
Mary and Philip had 4 children baptised in the parish of Offwell. Eldest son John was baptised on the 4th May 1740. His sister Grace was baptised on 22nd January 1741. Eldest son John must have died before 1745 because another son John was baptised on 15th May 1745. Their last child Philip Dommett’ was baptised on 29th March 1747.

Death of Child and Husband
Mary’s youngest son Philip and husband Philip died in the same month in 1747. They were both buried in Widworthy. One of them was buried on the 6th July and the other on the 30th July. It is not known which burial applies to which Philip at this stage. For convenience sake, I have attributed the 6th July to Mary’s husband and the 30th July to her son.

What cause the death of her husband and child is currently unknown, but it is reported that there was a strong outbreak of scarlet fever in England in 1747. If her husband was a similar age to herself, he would have been approximately 32 when he died.

Second Marriage
Mary appears to have married for a second time on the 28th January 1766 in Cotleigh, Devon to James Shepherd.

Death
Mary died in the year 1771 and was buried on the 10th November 1771 in Honiton, aged 56 years.

Children

 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of Philip and Mary Dommett
 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of Philip and Mary Dommett