Thomas Underdown (1757-1839)

Baptism
Thomas Underdown was born in 1757 and was baptised on the 17th April 1757 in Northleigh to parents Thomas and Joan Underdown (nee Cox).

He was their 5th child and 3rd son. His elder siblings were Sarah, Jane, Robert and Abraham.

Early Life
Very little is known about Thomas’s life. He never married or had children, and does not appear to be mentioned in newspapers or other references as much as his brothers were. His will states that he was a yeoman (tenant farmer).

Freeholder and Tenant Farmer
According to the Devon Freeholders book for 1799, a Thomas Underdown was recorded as a landowner in the Colyton hundred at Farway. It is unknown at this stage whether this refers to this Thomas, or the Thomas Underdown who would marry his sister Susannah, but it is most likely the Thomas mentioned here.

Thomas was also a tenant farmer on land belonging to James Townsend, as recorded in the Land Tax Redemption Records for 1798. This was in the parish of Southleigh, and he was also a tenant farmer on Townsend land in Colyton.

Death
Thomas’s death occurred at Wilmington, which is part of the Widworthy District. He died on the 23rd April 1839. His sister Elizabeth Pippett (nee Underdown) was present at his death. He was aged 82 years and his cause of death was mortification of the leg.

Thomas was buried on the 30th April 1839 in Widworthy, Devon.

Will
Thomas left a will worth under £800 which was overseen by executor Robert Henry Aberdein, gentleman of Honiton. His brother Emanuel was named executor in the will, but appears not to have any involvement in the administration of (it was all handled by Robert Aberdein). The will was witnessed by John Tippetts, Michael Albilcox and W. Dommett. The will was proved on 5th July 1839.

No mention of any wife or children is made in the will, so it is still assumed that Thomas was unmarried. He gave £10 each to two of his nephews (William Humphrey Pippett and Joseph Upham Underdown) and the rest of his property to brother Emanuel and Robert Aberdien in trust. He requested that these two executors sell everything that he had and, once his debts and funeral expenses had been paid, to divide the remaining money equally amongst his living brothers and sisters.

The will was documented in the year 1835 and is very interesting in that it lists the names of his entire siblings still living at the time, and gives the married names of most of his sisters.