Condits and Cousins
Volume 1 History and Biography
Chapter 6, The Condit Numbering System
The system of identifying numbers used in the Condits and Cousins is based on the "Modified Henry System" and may appear awkward at first sight, but really is extremely uncomplicated. It is hoped that it will meet with acceptance, if not with enthusiasm, because it is a keystone of the Condits and Cousins series.
There would be no advantage to assigning identifying numbers to John Cundict, the Ancestor, nor to Peter, his son, so the first numbers are assigned to the children of Peter as the first American born generation. They are numbered 1 through 7 in the order of their births. Each of their children in turn is identified by his/her Condit parent's number, followed by a digit representing the order of that child's birth among his siblings, and the same procedure is followed in each succeeding generation, as shown on the accompanying outline of the first three generations of descendants. Up to this point, nothing could be simpler.
John Cundict
Peter Cundict
1 Samuel Condict (1885 Edition # 1)
11 Daniel Condit, born Dec 27, 1723 in Orange, NJ; died Nov 11, 1785 in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 2)
111 Joel Condit, born in Orange, NJ; died in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 8)
112 Adonijah Condit, born 1749 in Orange, NJ; died Sep 13, 1770 in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 9)
113 Eunice Condit, born Abt. 1751 in Orange, NJ. She married Nathaniel Ogden. (1885 Edition # 10)
114 Jemima Condit, born Aug 24, 1754 in Orange, NJ; died Nov 14, 1779 in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 11)
115 Mary Condit, born Jan 18, 1756 in Orange, NJ; died Oct 19, 1826 in West Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 12)
116 Amos Condit, born Jan 22, 1759 in Orange, NJ; died Mar 12, 1802 in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 13)
117 Samuel Condit, born Aug 16, 1761 in Orange, NJ; died Aug 31, 1822 in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 14)
118 Ira Condit, born Feb 21, 1764 in Orange, NJ; died Jun 1, 1811 in New Brunswick, NJ. (1885 Edition # 15)
119 Martha Condit, born Abt. 1766 in Orange, NJ; died Abt. 1766 in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 16)
12 Jotham Condit, born Jan 29, 1726/27 in Orange, NJ; died Jul 9, 1752 in Orange, NJ. He married Rebecca Pierson (1885 Edition # 3)
13 Samuel Condit, born Jan 13, 1728/29 in Orange, NJ; died Nov 18, 1776 in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 4)
14 Martha Condit, born Oct 17, 1731 in Orange, NJ; died Jan 6, 1831 in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 5)
15 David Condit, born Mar 17, 1733/34 in Orange, NJ; died Apr 24, 1777 in in the war. (1885 Edition # 6)
16 Jonathan Condit, born Oct 18, 1736 in Orange, NJ; died Aug 29, 1823 in Orange, NJ. (1885 Edition # 7)
2 Peter Condict (1885 Edition # 1)
21 Sarah Condit, born Abt. 1726 in Morristown, NJ; died May 10, 1799 in Morristown, NJ (1885 Edition # 2)
22 Joseph Condit, born Abt. 1728 in Morristown, NJ; died Aug 8, 1776 in Morristown, NJ. (1885 Edition # 3)
23 Rhoda Condit, born Abt. 1731 in Morristown, NJ; died Apr 10, 1818 in Morristown, NJ. (1885 Edition # 4)
24 Nathaniel Condit, born Oct 1733 in Morristown, NJ; died Mar 19, 1781 in Succasunny Plains, NJ. (1885 Edition # 5)
25 Ebenezer Condit, born 1736 in Morristown, NJ; died Apr 3, 1777 in Mendham, NJ. (1885 Edition # 6)
26 Silas Condit, born Mar 7, 1737/38 in Morristown, NJ; died Sep 6, 1801 in Morristown, NJ. (1885 Edition # 7)
27 Phebe Condit, born Abt. 1740 in Morristown, NJ; died Jul 6, 1829 in Morristown, NJ. (1885 Edition # 8)
28 Peter Condit, born Apr 8, 1744 in Morristown, NJ; died Jul 14, 1774 in Morristown, NJ. (1885 Edition # 9)
3 John Condict (1885 Edition # 1)
31 Matthew4 Condit, born in Orange, NJ; died in Orange, NJ.
32 Ruth Condit, born in Orange, NJ; died in Orange, NJ.
33 Mary Condit, born in Orange, NJ; died in Orange, NJ. She married Samuel Wheeler; born in Orange, NJ; died May 1, 1759.
34 Elizabeth Condit, born in Orange, NJ; died May 30, 1763 in Orange, NJ.
35 Jemima Condit, born 1736 in Orange, NJ; died in Orange, NJ.
4 Nathaniel Condict (1885 Edition # 1)
5 Mary Condict (1885 Edition # 1)
6 Philip Condict (1885 Edition # 1)
7 Isaac Condict (1885 Edition # 1)
Although the dates of birth of the children of John Cundict are not known, it was necessary to assign an identifying number to each, so the original editors listed them as shown. It is not always true that the child's birth order is reflected by his/her number as dates of birth are not always known. In any event, once a number has been assigned, it always will represent that same individual. This was not the case under the former system, so that Edward I. Condit, "#489 on page 128" of the 1885 edition, became "#495 on page 108" of the 1916 revision, whereas under the new numbering system his designation is simply "1378 1" under both. Under the old system it was awkward to insert a name without changing all subsequent numbers, except to assign a fractional number (such as #2192 ½ on page 188, and #1359 ½ on page 410 of the 1916 revision). With the new system a positive and unchanging number is held in reserve for every unborn child and for every relative not mentioned in previous editions. That number is highly significant because it contains his/her complete pedigree back to John Condict, the Ancestor.
Each number shows the American born generation to which he/she belongs by counting the number of digits in the number; e.g., a four digit number belongs to a fourth-generation American descendant. You can also quickly determine which child of the family he/she is by looking at the last digit, a last digit of 5 would indicate the fifth child of the parents. By this method you can read the quite a bit of information from the identifying number:
Edward I. Condit 1378 1
He is a fifth generation American, fifth generation from John Cundict's grandson.
He is the first child of his parents.
His father was the eighth child of his parents.
His grandfather was the seventh child of his parents.
His great grandfather was the third child of the first grandchild of John Cundict, the Ancestor.
Since some families have ten or more children, letters must be used instead of digits to represent numbers greater than 9, so a capital A is used instead of 10, B instead of 11, and so forth. These capital letters should cause little confusion, if your own identifying number has a capital letter in it you will understand its significance. Otherwise you will not often run across a number containing a capital letter.
Small or "lower-case" letters are used to designate spouses and their relations in the genealogy. This allows anyone related to a Condit descendant through marriage to be assigned a number that expresses that relationship. Here are the lower-case letters that may be encountered and their meaning:
h = first husband
i = second husband
j = third husband
k = fourth husband
n = fifth husband
w = first wife
x = second wife
y = third wife
z = fourth wife
v = fifth wife
b = brother
f = father
m = mother
s = sister
Currently very few of these identifiers are used in the records. Of the foregoing letter, those used most frequently are "h" meaning first husband and "w" meaning first wife. The index lists the names of spouses' mothers if known, and these are easily recognized because they will end with the letter "m." Therefore, Edward I. Condit's wife Charlotte would be "1378 1w" and her mother would "1378 1wm."
Note: The 1885 "Condits and Their Cousins in America Volume 6" used the Modified Register System to number individuals. The system now being used is the modified Henry System with a slight modification by Norman I. Condit.
Merely for convenience, longer numbers are broken up by spaces after every four digits. It is easier to remember four digits at a time than trying to remember more than that. As shown for Edward I. Condit, his number is "1378 1" since he is fifth generation with five numbers.
The numbering system described must always relate to the descendants of one original "common ancestor" or married couple, in our case Peter Cundict, son of John Condict the Ancestor.
The daughters of Condit's are very often shown in the genealogy with both a spouse and children. The system used to maintain continuity with the numbering system is to put a ":" at the point where the line changes from Condit to another surname so that children can still be related back to the Condit line. Thus Samuel Condit's daughter Martha (14) married Gershom Williams (14h) and had seven children.
Gershom Williams
Martha Condit
14:1 Jotham Williams
14:2 Mary Williams
14:3 Rhoda Williams
14:4 Jairus Williams
14:5 Eunice Williams
14:6 Joel Williams
14:7 Gershom Williams
In the event both spouses are descendants of Condit family members the children take on the numbering of the father with the mother's annotated also if desired. In the event of subsequent marriages there is no need to annotate the change with a ":" since it only designates a change from the Condit line of descent, no other.
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