Agnes Underdown (1768-1846)

Baptism
Agnes Underdown was born in 1768 and baptised on the 5th April 1768 in Northleigh to parents Thomas and Joan Underdown (nee Cox).

She was their 13th child and 5th daughter. Her elder siblings were Sarah, Jane (Jenny), Robert, Abraham, Thomas, James, Philip, Samuel, Benjamin, Joseph, Elizabeth and Mary (Molly).

Marriage
Agnes married James Bishop on the 18th March 1794 in Northleigh. He was the son of James Bishop and brother to Elizabeth Bishop who had married Agnes’ brother Benjamin.

Both were recorded of the Northleigh parish when they married. Agnes signed the marriage record and it was witnessed by her siblings Susanna and Emanuel.

Children
Agnes and James would have 5 children baptised in Northleigh – Ann in 1795. Caroline in 1799, Elizabeth in 1801, Louisa in 1805 and John in 1808.

Brother’s will
Agnes is mentioned in brother Thomas’s will, documented in 1835. Both she and her husband were still alive at the time the will was written.

Sale of brother’s farm
According to two newspaper articles, Agnes’ husband James assisted his in laws with the sale of Northleigh House, a property once owned by her brother Robert. He made himself available to enquiries from the public about the property in 1836 and 1842.

1841 census
Agnes and James are in the 1841 census for Devon, located in the parish of Offwell in Colyton. Their farm is called Coomb, and they have four servants living with them, Ann Greenslade age 16 (possibly relation to their son-in-law Joseph Greenslade), William Pound age 13, John Pound age 9, and Emily Crabb aged 15.

The farm Coombe appears to have originally been in the hands of Agnes’ brother-in-law and possible cousin, Thomas Underdown, husband of her sister Susannah. Thomas advertised to sell the Dorset side of the property in the Exeter Flying Post on 1/10/1812. Whether James bought the property from this sale or later is yet to be determined.

Death
Agnes died on the 21st June 1846 at Northleigh. She was 79 years old and her cause of death was natural decay (otherwise – old age). She was recorded as wife of James Bishop, farmer, and witness to her death was Ann Pavey, her eldest daughter. She was buried at Northleigh.

Death of Husband
Husband James died on 8th June 1861 at Northleigh, some 15 years after Agnes. He was aged 96 years. Daughter Ann Pavey was again witness to the death, which was of general decay. He managed to be recorded in the 1861 census before he passed, living in the house of daughter Louisa and her husband Robert Underdown (Agnes’ nephew via brother Benjamin) at Sticklepath Cottage.

Children

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