THE CONDY/CONDIE SURNAME

The origin of the name is variously attributed to :-
1) those families who lived on or near, the estate of Condie in Perthshire (See later references) and who adopted the name and
2) the immigration of French Huguenots to the British Isles in the 17th century, both before and after the Revocation of the Treaty of Nantes (1685). These immigrants from religious persecution came largely from Normandy, where a number of settlements still exist with the name Conde' in their title (e.g. Conde' sur Vire). As shown later, a number of these families settled also in Ireland, particularly in Dublin and in Portarlington, Co. Laois.

Among the earliest records that I have traced of the estate name in Perthshire are the following :- The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland for 6th July 1514¹  refers to "Thos. Spens de Condy Joanii Spens filio et apparente Lerede Thom S de Condy" and for 16th January 1552 to "Jac Spens de Condy". The Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer ²  refer to "Conde' (Ducondie, Ducoundie, Duncondie) Servais de, varlet (sic) in the Queen's chamber" and, at Page XVI ...," the clerk of office,.....handed over to Servais de Condie, the young Queen's valet of the wardrobe, a long list of dresses and furniture in November 1561." (These references to the Queen are to Mary Queen of Scots). Queen Mary would also be familiar with the name Condie in respect of her Advocate, viz. John Spens of Condie - Queen's advocate. There are numerous references to him in these same Accounts e.g. "Item, to Maister Johnie Spens of Condie, advocate to our Soverane Ladie, for his fee be the said space" and "Magistro Johanne Spens de Condy advocato".

This Sir John Spens of Condie (1520 to 1573), was the son of the James Spens of Condie (referred to above) and Joanna Arnot ³ . He was educated at St. Salvator's, St. Andrews, and in 1555 was appointed joint Queen's advocate with David Lauder. He prosecuted the murderers of Riccio and attended officially at the indictment of Bothwell for the murder of Darnley. Other references to the family of Spens of Condie in the State Records include mention of a John Spens of Condie, King's Advocate, auditor of Exchequer and John Clark of Conady who "receives annuity of master of Hospital of St Mary Magdalen from fermes of Perth"⁴ .

17th century references become more numerous in both the state and the ecclesiastical records. The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland for the period 1604 - 160??⁵  mentions a "George Condie there.. , and Thomas Condie, his brother, £100 each not to harm William Bonnar in west side of Condie" and again "George Stirling of Ballaggane for Adame Greenhill at the mill of Strowyhill, Henry Neving ... George Condie there and Thomas Condie, his brother, £40 each, not to harm William Bonnar in Westside of Condie"⁶  : the Edinburgh Register of Apprentices for 10th July 1605⁷  shows a "David Condie with George Wilson, Tailor" : the Scottish Record Society⁸  for the 9th of July 1601 refers to a "Janet Condie, spouse to John Moncrief, in Carpow, parish of Abernethy, Sherrifdom of Perth" and for 17th July 1669 to a Patrick Condie in Muirstoune : the Canongate Register of Marriages⁹  lists the marriages of a James Condie and Marione Haugitsay (1st December 1624) and a Christine Condie and Andrew Frater on "Tuysday 20th June 1648".

Isobel Russell, spouse to Lawrence Condie, in Aldie (25th February 1664). The Register of Interments in Greyfriars Burying Ground, Edinburgh¹⁰  , show "Alexander Condie; poor; warrant; steps head (2nd October 1691)", "John Condie; baker; Cheislie Tomb; a truf (?) (12th November 1691)" and "James Condie; a halflin (half grown lad) warrant; Cheislie Tomb (22nd April 1693)". (The Cheislie Tomb is against the graveyard wall, just to the left of the main west gate to the churchyard ). Finally, so far as 17th century references in the state and church records are concerned, the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland¹¹  quotes that, on December 24th 1658 "The Protector (Cromwell) grants to Janet Swantoune ...... the toft of houses in Kinloche, with malt barn, kiln and coble, together with the croft of arable land belaying thereto .... lying beside the town of Kinloche, in the parish of Collessie and Sherrifdom of Fife, and bounds ... the which toft etc were approved at Coupar on 7th July 1658 at the instance of the said Janet Swantoune, from John Condie, as lawfully charged to enter heir to the deceased John Condie in Kinloch, and Bessie Thomsone, his relict, in payment of ... £214 . 5. 4."

At this point it is perhaps appropriate to say something of the estate of Condie which had probably given its name to most, if not all, of the Condie/Condys referred to above and those that follow. Condie, as a placename, still exists on the 1:25,000 O.S. maps of the Forgandenny area, as in Newton of Condie, Path of Condie, Mains of Condie, Condie Hill, and Condie Wood, all situated in close proximity to the village of Path of Condie in the Ochils.

The estate is historically linked, first, to the Colville family and from the early 17th century to the family of Oliphant, a now extinct peerage, but at one time a very important family in Scottish history¹² . The surname Oliphant was originally Olifard. The first Olifard in Scotland was David de Olifard, who accompanied King David I when he came to Scotland from Winchester in 1141. A branch of the Olifards settled in Kincardineshire. Under King Malcolm IV Osbert Olifard was Sherrif of Mearns, and his only daughter married Hugo de Aberbothenoth, ancestor of the Viscounts Arbuthnott.

Sir William Oliphant, the first of the Oliphants to achieve fame, defended Stirling Castle (1304) and Perth (1313) against the English during the Wars of Independence and contributed to the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320. In 1458 King James II created the 1st Lord Oliphant.

The House of Condie (on the estate) was built probably about 1545 by William Oliphant of Newton, a cadet branch of the family. The house was then called Newton House. William's son, Alexander, became Albany Herald, and his son was Lawrence Oliphant, 1st of Condie.

This Lawrence Oliphant, (at that time of Ross (and afterwards of Gask)), married, some time before 1606, a Lilias Graeme of Inchbrackie, the widow of William Colville of Condie. Lilias had two daughters who were called Catherine and Marione Colville of Condie. William Colville was alive in 1601 as it was in that year he sold (the estate of) Condie to Lawrence Oliphant," servitor of William Oliphant, King's Advocate". (Another source quotes that the estate was sold to the Oliphants by Matthew, second son of Robert Colville, 1st of Cleish!¹³  ). Bit by bit Lawrence Oliphant bought the lands of Gask; Ross in 1610, Lamberkin in 1614 and from 1625 he became known as Oliphant of Gask.

The Oliphants were prominent Jacobites in the 18th century and Caroline Oliphant, Lady Nairne, the song writer, is perhaps the best known of the family. The 2nd Statistical Account¹⁴ , published in 1854, describes the village of Path Struie or Path of Condie, lying in the Ochil Hills, as containing 40 people in 22 dwelling houses, a mill, an Antiburgher meeting house ( built in 1748) and a school. The adjoining Wood of Condie had deposits of copper.
The Condie estate at its maximum extended to some 3,900 acres but was broken up by sale in 1881. The old mansion house, a mile west of Forgandenny, was burned down in 1866 and not rebuilt.¹⁵  ?? who died on the 28th of June 1715 aged 67. (I have visited this graveyard and took sketches and photographs of these remarkably well-preserved tombstones. The inscriptions are shown in Appendix 1).

The pre 1855 records also list the burial at Forgandenny - Pathstruie Churchyard (at the present village of Path of Condie, Lair No 6, on the west wall) of Thomas Condy and Jean Greig in 1756; in the Edinburgh Marriage Register¹⁶  the wedding of Richard Condie, writer, in South Kirk Parish to Beatrix Bell, daughter of the late George Bell, surgeon in South Kirk Parish (26th March 1718), of Ann Condie and David Clark, Wigmaker (19th October 1740) and of Helen Condie and John Thomson, Servant (7th January 1750); in The Register of Testaments, Commissariot of St Andrews"¹⁷  the testament of David Condie, merchant in Auchtermuchty (5th June 1728), that of Mr (sic) Thomas Condie, minister at Dairsie (12th December 1770), of "Mrs Mary Oswald, relect of the same Thomas Condie, last residing in Ceres", of a William Condie, tanner in Kirkcaldy (15th September 1777) and of David Condie, tansman in Kirkcaldy (16th March 1797); a record in the Commisariot Record of Edinburgh¹⁸  to a Thomas Condie, mariner on board H.M.S. "Princess Royal" and sometime of the parish of St Johns, Wappins, Middlesex (8th January 175?); in the Glasgow High Kirk Parish Registers of Burials¹⁹ , the burial of John Condie, aged 2 (16th November 1772), of Janet Condie aged 9 months (12th July 1786), of James Condie aged 1 (29th December 1777), of Jean Condy aged 2 (29th November 1791), and of Thomas Condie aged 21 (5th September 1792); in the Canongate Register of Marriages²⁰  the marriage of James Condie, bookbinder in Paisley and Elizabeth Mill, daughter of John Mill (11th June 1790); and in the Edinburgh Marriage Register²¹  St Andrew Parish, the wedding of Ann Condie,"daughter of deceased John Condie, labourer at Fosway, and Alexander Bonar, weaver." (2nd September 1797).

These figures show a remarkable concentration of the name in a few small parishes in a limited area of central Scotland²² . The other area showing a strong concentration is in the contiguous parishes of Fife²³ , with dispersed examples in Glasgow, Dunblane, and a few other places in the central belt. For many reasons the significance of these figures should be treated cautiously--the preservation of records varies very much from parish to parish.

In an article of this length it is possible to include only a few references to Condies whose names are mentioned in published sources in the 19th century. Of these John Condie, in terms of Scottish,(if not indeed world), industrial history, is perhaps the most important and least recognised. In 1901 the British Association published a volume entitled " Local Industries of Glasgow and West of Scotland" edited by Angus McLean. In a reference to an ironworks at Calder owned by William Dixon Ltd. the following statement is made.

"This works was commenced in 1799. It was here Condie, who was experimenting with the hot blast, invented the water tuyere, without which the hot blast could never have become a success. The tuyere is used today exactly as designed by Condie. There are six furnaces, all in blast, one making silicon iron. The ammonia plant is Dempsters."²⁴ 

Yet another Condy industrialist in Glasgow was the founder of "Henry Bollman Condy, Manufacturers of disinfectants" at St Vincent St. around 1861 and perhaps also founder of Condy Mitchell & Co, Vinegar manufacturers of the same address.²⁶  "Condy's fluid", a strong solution of sodium manganate or permanganate, used as a disinfectant was sufficiently well-known to qualify as a mid 19th century phrase for inclusion in the dictionary!

In the "Military History of Perthshire (1660 - 1902)" published in 1908 by Atholl, there is a reference to a "Lt. William Condie, formerly of the Perth Rifles, 9th May 1855, Capt. Perth Rifles 26th January 1856, and now of the Royal Perthshire Rifles (86th). Son of James Condie, Writer, Perth, he was commissioned in the East India Company's service shortly before the mutiny, and died in India on his way up country from Calcutta."²⁷ 

In 1820 there occurred one of the better known radical uprisings in Scotland , an account of which is given in "the Scottish Insurrection of 1820" by Ellis and Goban, published by Gollanz. One of the principal leaders was Andrew Hardie who was arrested, tried and condemned to death. The last letter he wrote from prison was to Isobella Condie of Stirling, a young woman who had nursed the wounded prisoners in Stirling Castle, "a token of gratitude for her kind attention to him while a prisoner in Stirling Castle, who fell a martyr to the cause of truth and justice on the 8th September 1820". Hardie was executed in Broad St., in front of Stirling Jail²⁸ 

Among Condies / Cundy's mentioned in published sources furth of Scotland, and which have not been researched, but noted in passing, are the following, taken from the British Biographical Index (Vol 1 A-C K.G. Saur 1990) :-²⁹ 

• James Condie (fl. 1837) Merchant, Social reformer.
  
• John Conduitt (1688 - 1737) Master of the Mint. He was a nephew by marriage of Sir Isaac Newton, educated at Westminster School and Trinity College. He died on the 23rd 0f May 1737 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His only daughter married the eldest son of the Earl of Portsmouth and their son became the second Earl of Portsmouth.
  
• Nicholas Condy or Cundy and son :- Painters 1793 - 1857 and 1818- 1851.

With regard to Ireland, the name is on record in Dublin from 1653 with the christening of a Jonathan Conduit at the church of St John the Evangelist³⁰ . The IGI All Ireland lists 11 Conduits from that church and 2 Condits from Co Antrim.

As Condy, and less commonly Condie, the name is still common in parts of Northern Ireland. It seems probable that the name came from two well-defined sources. In " The Huguenots - their settlement, churches and industries in England and Ireland"³¹  the author refers to the register of the French Church at Portarlington (Co. Laois) which was still preserved³² . Commenced in 1694 it recorded the names, families and localities from which the refugees came. On Page 396 he states "Other pure French names were dreadfully vulgarised... thus Conde' became Cundy". The other source would surely be the ease of immigration to, and the plantation of Scottish settlers in, the north of Ireland . There is plenty of evidence in the Tithe Applotment records, Griffith's Valuation records³³  and other sources for believing that the concentration of the surname in some five or six particular civil parishes in Co. Tyrone is not the result of chance.

It was outside the scope of this account to begin to consider the many Condie/Condys who emigrated to the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the world. As a token reference I have listed in an Appendix some information I came across about 17th and 18th century Condie/Condys who emigrated to the American colonies.³⁴ 

As a direct descendant of a Condy family who were resident on Rathcarrick Estate, near Strandhill in Co Sligo, Ireland, in the 1850s, and whose paternal Grandfather came to the west of Scotland about that time (and changed his name on his wedding day to Condie!) I would dearly love to establish a much earlier Scottish link and may, some day, be fortunate enough to do so.



Ian H. Condie. 1995

Appendix 1 Text of inscriptions on gravestones at Forgandenny Churchyard ;-