James Milner Underdown

206 Lower Street

206 Lower Street as it is today

Occupation: Gentleman

According to Bagshaws Directory James Milner Underdown is living at 206 in 1847 and listed as a Gentleman.

He married a Caroline Corbett in 1795 and with her had three children before Caroline’s death in 1806. None of their children seem to have lived to adulthood. James then remarried in 1812 in Canterbury to a Caroline Loop who according to the  Kentish Weekly Post dated Tuesday 24 February 1824 died in Rotterdam on 16 February.

Kentish Weekly Post or Canterbury Journal – Tuesday 24 February 1824

James died in 1849 in Bridge. What exactly he was doing there is unknown though his niece Louisa Hardeman nee Wilkins was living there with her husband. With them, according to the 1851 census is Ann Wilkins,  Louisa’s widowed mother and her spinster sister Rebecca Underdown, both are listed as ‘companions’, probably meaning to each other. Ann dies in 1862 followed by Rebecca on January 9 1864. Both are buried in St Peter’s Church, Bridge.

Louisa was living at 206 when she married watchmaker William Hardeman a widower from Bridge in 1841. Interestingly there were six witnesses to their marriage.  One of which was John Bell  the others were –  Mary Ann Wilkins, William Wilkins, E. Underdown,  E. H. Verrier

206 Lower Street as indicated by the arrow
This image was taken from South Street and facing up towards Broad Street

Name Born Baptised Married Died Buried
James Reaks 1796
Herne
17 April 1796
St. Martin’s, Herne
Sarah Dixon Belsey
18 June 1822
St Mary Bredin, CanterburyBorn 1785
Coldred
Died 1842
Deal
1833
Union House, Deal
15 May 1833
St. George’s
Sources and further reading:
With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)