The simplest numbering system had to be used to accommodate all the names and generations in the Coleman line. Robert Coleman and Elizabeth Grizell are Generation 1. Their six known surviving children each have a link on this website. Each child has been assigned a number based on the order of their estimated birth dates:
Descendants are numbered consecutively throughout the six links. Eventually, when new and revised information is added to each link, descendants will be numbered consecutively within that link.
Descendants are grouped by generation in order to more easily determine relationships such as cousins, aunts and uncles, etc.
Each child from the above list will have his or her number in front of his or her descendants. For instance, in the case of (5) Daniel Coleman, a (5) will appear in front of each of his descendants. The number (5) will serve to separate Daniel’s descendants from those of his brothers and sister. This is helpful when cousins marry each other from different links. Any number, for instance (6)136, will tell the reader that the person with that number is descended from (6) John Coleman.
Each family will begin with a generation number, followed by the name of the father and mother of the children listed for them.
It is important to remember that when the 1998 book was published, an index was iincluded. Unfortunately that index will not work on a website with individual links. For the moment, it is more important to post the descendants online. As new and revised information is substituted in each link, an index will also be posted in that link.
If a researcher knows the birth year of an ancestor, or even an estimated birth year, it should not be difficult to find the generation in which the ancestor belongs.