Abraham Underdown (1756-1837)

Baptism
Abraham Underdown was born in late 1755 or early 1756 and was baptised at Northleigh on the 6th January 1756 to parents Thomas and Joan Underdown (nee Cox).

He was their 4th child and 2nd son. His elder siblings were Sarah, Jane and Robert.

Death of Sister
Abraham’s sister Sarah died and was buried in Northleigh on the 15th August 1783, aged only 33 years. Her cause of death is currently unknown, but it is possible that it was a result of the after effects of a volcanic eruption in Iceland, which cause wide spread disease across England.

The eruption also had a major impact on agriculture, particularly on crops. A clergyman, the Rev Sir John Cullum, wrote to the Royal Society that barley crops "became brown and withered … as did the leaves of the oats; the rye had the appearance of being mildewed”. The effect of this eruption on crops may have been the imputis for Abraham and some of his brothers to leave Devon to seek work elsewhere, rather than stay in the agricultural industry like the rest of the family. It appears that Abraham and his brothers made this move during 1783, the very year this eruption occurred.

Another impetus for the move could have been the rules of primogeniture, the right (by law or custom) of the firstborn son to inherit his parent’s estate. Although not from a gentry family where these rules were often applied strictly, it could have been a custom amongst the Underdowns, where eldest son Robert would inherit on the death of his parents. If the family did follow this custom, younger brother Abraham and his other brothers were expected to make their own way in the world. It is not certain at this stage whether this custom was followed with the Underdown’s, as Abraham’s own father appears to have inherited despite being a younger brother, and Abraham’s younger brother Samuel also appears to have inherited from his parents. Either way, it needs to be considered amongst the reasons why Abraham and some of his brothers decided to leave Devon.

Move to London
Abraham Underdown appears to have moved to London by 1783 as he is mentioned in the Westminster Rate Books for Hart Street, St Paul Covent Garden, London for the years 1783 and 1784. The UK Poll Books and Electoral Registers also has Abraham Underdown, a milliner at Hart Street, listed as an elector with brother James for the year 1784.

Robbery
Abraham is likely to be the shop owner mentioned in Old Bailey Session Papers for 24th May 1786. It states that he kept a Hosiers Shop at No. 182 in High Holborn Tand on a Monday about 8 o’clock in the evening two women named Elizabeth Bailey and Ann Smith came into his shop and asked to be shown some silk handkerchiefs. He produced some at 4s. apiece and they offered him Three Shillings and Six pence apiece for two which he refused to take. They then went away and in about 5 minutes afterwards he missed a piece containing four handkerchiefs and he immediately suspected they had taken them and pursued them. The full transcript of his witness of the event is described at London Lives

London Land Tax Records
In the London Tax Records, Abraham is recorded at St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury for the years 1785-1788, where a Rev. Smart was the proprietor of the land. He was still occupying some of this property in the years 1791-1793, but is also continuously recorded between the years 1788-1801, at Farringdon Without. Farringdon Without is a Ward in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It covers the western area of the City. Charles Dickens described the area, in unflattering terms, in his novel Barnaby Rudge, set in 1780: "Fleet Market, at that time, was a long irregular row of wooden sheds and penthouses, occupying the centre of what is now called Farringdon Street. They were jumbled together in a most unsightly fashion, in the middle of the road; to the great obstruction of the thoroughfare and the annoyance of passengers, who were fain to make their way, as they best could, among carts, baskets, barrows, trucks, casks, bulks, and benches, and to jostle with porters, hucksters, waggoners, and a motley crowd of buyers, sellers, pick–pockets, vagrants, and idlers. The air was perfumed with the stench of rotten leaves and faded fruit; the refuse of the butchers’ stalls, and offal and garbage of a hundred kinds. It was indispensable to most public conveniences in those days, that they should be public nuisances likewise; and Fleet Market maintained the principle to admiration."[7]

The UK Directories has Abraham recorded at 5 Holborn Bridge, London as a hatter, hosier and clothier for the year 1791. The 1798 Land Tax Redemption Records states that Abraham occupied part of the Fleet Market at Smithfield precinct, London. He continues to be recorded at St Andrew, Holborn in the 1799 London Land Tax Records.

Death of Brother
Three of Abraham’s younger brother’s also moved to London and his younger brother Joseph Underdown died and was buried in 1799 at St James, Piccadilly, Middlesex. Joseph left a will that is archived in the Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The date of the will is 23/05/1799. Joseph left the whole of his estate to Abraham and the other brother who had move to London, James. How much Abraham inherited is currently unknown.

Death
There is the death of an Abraham Underdown in Greenwich, London dated September quarter 1837 that could potentially be him. This Abraham was buried in Greenwich on the 1st July, 1837.