Phillip Condit was an Oregon pioneer. In 1854 he traveled the Overland Trail to the Oregon Territory with his wife and seven children. Two sons were married, two were unmarried grown men, a fifth son was a child of eleven, and two daughters and three hired men. God called Phillip to the Oregon Territory to establish a Presbyterian Church on the Clatsop Plains. John Condit's Life as a Crown subject in the British Empire was onerous, and he had no freedom and very little liberty. John immigrated to the Royal Colony of New Jersey to be free from the oppressive rule of primogeniture and the Anglican Church. John was Phillip Condit's great-great-great-greatgrandfather, known as the ancestor of nearly all bearing the name of Condit, Condict, or Cundict in America. According to well-documented family genealogy, Philip Condit's ancestors have been in the "new world" since 1678. Primogeniture is the right, by law status, to be the first-born son among all children of the same parents. Primogeniture gives The right to the first-born son to inherit the parents' estate to exclude younger siblings, both male and female and other relatives. John struggled to survive in the old country under The Church of England's domination of his spiritual life. Anglicanism was his only option for spiritual enlightenment, but its grip on John's spiritual growth influenced his decision to immigrate. John sought freedom of religion in the royal colony of New Jersey. John experienced the freedom of religion in New Jersey and chose to attend A Religious Society of Friends church near his Newark, New Jersey home, but he was not satisfied. But then John learned about the Presbyterian Church and was drawn to their methodology and church organization. The Presbyterian Church's policy convinced John that each church employed ministers who were congregation members. In 1711, John attended First Presbyterian Church in Orange, New Jersey. The newly established church was a source of pure joy for John. Sadly, John died two later. His only son, Peter, continued to attend, initially to honor his father's memory, but he also believed that the Presbyterian Church was the best option for his family. John's profession as a weaver was lucrative. Before his death, he amassed a sizable income, and he became a landowner in 1689 when he purchased land in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. He bought a second track two years later. John bequeathed The twenty acres he acquired to his wife; the land would become Peter's upon her death. Peter died a young man, and his will stipulated that his estate be divided equally among his six children. Phillip Condit's great-grandfather and namesake established two significant patterns he followed. He followed the tenets of the Presbyterian Church, and he was a farmer. Great-Grandfather Phillip moved miles west to Morristown, New Jersey, sometime before 1726. In 1842 the elder Phillip was present at the organization of the First Presbyterian Church at Morristown, New Jersey. The grandfather Phillip acquired one hundred acres of land from Josiah Stanborough three miles west of Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey, in 1749. Great-Grandfather Phillip was very active in church, serving as an elder and baptizing his children there. Phillip Condit's father was David Condit, born on March 10, 1766. David met and married Rachel Ross, and the couple settled in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and started their life together; their two oldest sons were born there. There were a few opportunities for a man of David's ambition. In 1789 he saddled his horse and left New Jersey for the Pennsylvania frontier. The absence of a Presbyterian Church troubled David, and in 1798 he disposed of his Washington County property and moved to New Vernon, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. During the early nineteenth century, David Condit worked energetically to promote development and growth in New Vernon, Pennsylvania. Phillip Condit's father, David, was a considerable influence, sound and rational, and convinced several families to migrate to the Pennsylvania frontier, then a thick forest, to begin a new settlement of Presbyterians. The homesteaders worked exhaustively but only cleared enough land to construct one dwelling; a small log cabin and a corral in the summer. David stayed the winter to care for stock and improvements to the ground. The would-be settlers returned to the east. David gathered food, clothing, and fodder for the animals to survive the coming winter. The first harvest of oats and turnips, plus purchased cornmeal and milk from the small herd, provided sustenance for David to survive the coming winter. Augmented by game harvested by his trusty rifle, he passed an agreeable winter in his less-than-cozy solitary existence. The colony's long-awaited return in the spring brought David a third son and relief from isolation and anxiety. During their winter separation, David's wife, Rachel, endured a complicated delivery of the couple's third child Alva. The following summer, the colony harvested an oat crop that satisfied the needs of the settlement, and the fledgling community survived. David built a large house for his wife, Ruth, in 1800 with the hope of a large family. The couple's three sons welcomed Phillip in 1801, and five sisters, born every other year. David and Rachel prayed for a large family. David lived out his Christian beliefs. He and Ruth joined the Fairfield Presbyterian Church in 1800, and new Vernon welcomed the couple and their children. The Pennsylvania governor appointed David justice of the peace for Mercer County in 1815 because of his sound judgment and equitable decision-making. He earned the nickname "squire Condit" because he made decisions by applying biblical wisdom and imparting sound Christian advice. As a result, his decisions withstood challenges from conflicting sides. Squire Condit conducted trials infrequently when conflicting sides wanted to present evidence or testimony to gain his favor. David presided over all court trials with the most solemn dignity, reconciling the advisory parties; his decisions prevailed. David Condit's household functioned to provide for his family's needs. Father and son managed the livestock, slaughtering and curing hogs, breeding cattle to raise cows for milking, steers for butchering, and bulls for breeding. Philip and David worked to provide for the family's sustenance. They tilled the land to produce crops of oats and corn, upwards of fifty acres. Phillip's brothers, William and Alva, worked year-round in the woodlot to produce lumber from the thick pine forest. William erected a sawmill near their father's land. The neighborhood men gathered with their families every winter for a day of communal logrolling. Large projects that required a large workforce relied upon community assistance. They began in spring to kill the trees by skirting. The men gathered the following winter to fell the trees, remove the branches, and cut them into sections. Willian and Alva milled the log sections into lumber for home construction. The workers earned a share of lumber in exchange for their labor. William and Alva milled lumber as long as water power was available on Big Sandy Creek. Phillip's brothers worked the family's woodlot, milling the neighborhood men who harvested the trees. Phillip and David were responsible for the public aspect of the family. They disposed of surplus products produced by the family on the developing market. They paid my family's taxes and voted on Election Day. They were present for militia training when called to muster. The women provided everything else for the family's needs. They raised the children, preparing the next generation of women and men to serve their families. Between 1822 and 1842, eighteen children were born between the two women. A household garden, worked by the women, provided much of the family's food. Women were responsible for dairy, milking, churning butter, and making cheese. The women and children managed the henhouse, collecting the eggs and butchering roasting hens. During the winter, women spun and wove fabric for the family's needs. Women were the sole source of moral instruction and spiritual training. Alva The birth of Phillip's brother, Alva, was a complicated delivery. The "granny lady," the midwife, was brought to the house at the first sign of labor on March 19, 1799. She stayed through the night, as well as the custom. Complications arose quickly. Difficult deliveries often turn tragic with the death of the child or the mother. David's brothers, Ira and Ezekiel, sat with him and asked the Lord to intervene. Clouds mutEd the sun's brilliance when it rose, and the same gloomy outlook prevailed inside the Condit home. By mid-day, when all seemed lost, we prepared for the worst. Ruth was exhausted and nearly dead. And then, inexplicably, the baby turned. The Lord had heard the men's prayers. We had witnessed Devine Intervention. Alva's wail filled the household with joy; never before had a baby's cry brought more relief. His delivery discharged eighteen hours of stress. Rachel slept, and the midwife cared for Alva. The midwife tried to explain the mysteries of childbirth as superstition and myth. David Condit knew that the Bible held the answers to life's mysteries. He quoted Psalm 139:13. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." And Genesis 3:16, to the women, He said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor, he will give birth to children." The Lord had woven the child inside the womb of Rachel. David and Rachel knew the Glory belonged to the Lord. David and Rachel had Alva baptized, and his life dedicated his life to the service of the Lord. David joyously spread the news of the miracle. All his New Vernon neighbors rejoiced a bit too much with him. Men were corruptible and prone to sin, and women were pure and inclined to virtue. Twenty-six months after the birth of Alva, David and Rachel was expecting the birth of their fourth child, Phillip. Rachel banished anxiety about childbirth as the familiar signs that the child she was carrying was born eminently. Phillip was delivered so quickly that the midwife slept a whole night before departing. Rachel was relieved by Phillip's birth. As with the delivery of their three other children, He who held the entire world in His more than capable hands was again present in the Condit home. David and Rachel dedicated their son to the service of the Lord. Phillip and Alva were close as children, practically inseparable. The two boys enjoyed visits with Grandma Mary, their mom's mom. Grandmother Mary groomed Phillip and Alva to understand what a life of service required. She would read Bible stories to Phillip and Alva and tell the boys about the Love of Jesus. Through the years, She marveled at their understanding of their calling. Phillip always remembered she used to say, "he burned with the white-hot intensity of the Spirit and that I had the understanding of an old soul." Philip often spoke of the gratitude he had for his grandmother Mary. He would tell of her influence on his early life and the importance of keeping his heart clean as it was the home of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Holy Ghost within us. Mary taught him to pray at an early age. Not even Mary could remember when Philip received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. Phillip attributed to his grandmother the knowledge of the Bible and his relationship with the Lord, his Wise Counselor. She knew Jesus deserved the Glory. Like his father before him, Philip lived out his faith. He exhibited in his daily life the Fruit of the Spirit. Phillip seldom showed frustration and controlled his tongue. Phillip became an itinerant farmer and began living the life of a pastor who farmed. He knew his congregants were primarily farmers who sowed seeds as their Service to God and their families. Like their fathers, They grew enough food on their farm to feed their families. Phillip understood and accepted that farmers didn't produce excess crops and that he, like them, wasn't wealthy. They lived in a household-based subsistence economy. The men, even young boys, knew the household consumed the food the family produced. Subsistence farmers did not grow crops to engage in the nascent market economies in the Midwest. Farmers understood the difference between market price and actual price. Markets were unnatural and artificial, driven by supply and demand, emphasizing wealth accumulation, and based on speculation. Midwestern farmers were predominantly men of faith; they planted seeds, coaxed and prayed them into mature, seedbaring plants from the ground, and ground the seeds for flour and cornmeal. As Americans, they chose their Socioeconomic entanglements. The subsistence farmers traded goods and services in an informal exchange system with their families as the workers, the beneficiaries, and the overseers. Farmers could decide what products, how much, and the purpose. Men like Philip Condit created their own social and economic system, the householdbased subsistence economy. Their household was the primary means of production. Gender roles determined work duties on the household farms. Women's and men's work on those Midwestern farms were separate. With the combined efforts of women and men: the family was the primary means of production. The farms could only exist with the combined labor of both sexes. Yet, men gave women very little recognition for their toil. Women contributed more to the household economy than men but were not equal. Together the men, women, and children produced virtually everything the Midwestern required. The work of the women and men on Midwestern farms was separate. In the first half of the eighteenth century, women worked in the household, kitchen, and garden. Women milked the cows and collected the eggs. The women were responsible for the care and instruction of the children. The men were responsible for life's outdoor, physical, public, and economic facets. Women's influence was within the privacy of your home, and they were the sole source of holiness and purity children saw. Men took the contributions of women for granted, and women had no social, economic, or legal status. 18th-century American men considered women too fragile, delicate, or simplistic to care for themselves. They required men to be guardians of their public lives. Women had to choose between spinsterhood in their father's home or a farmer's wife. Either way, they were not allowed to be themselves. Socially, women and men did not interact; women had their institutions and conventions. Women relied on other women; had their own apart from the men. Women were socially isolated and responsible for the activities within their homes, primarily child-raising and caring for their husbands. Women didn't have civil rights; they could not vote, serve on juries, or own property. When a woman married, she became dependent on her husband and lost most of the civil rights possessed by single women. Sexual segregation was the dominant feature of society up to the Civil War. Men and women filed into and sat separately in social situations. The male public world of cooperative farm labor, village social life, politics, and the state excluded women. Men's social events, the hunt, the chase, the horse race, the foot race, public meetings, elections, and school meetings did not include women.
