Terra de Caldwell - the land of the Caldwells near Paisley Abbey/Monastery in the vicinity of Glasgow.

The dates of the Abbey's Register are from 1163 to 1529 - it was first printed by The Maitland Club in 1832, and then again in 1877. The copy I have is #25 of 80 "ordinary copies" printed in 1877, and it was assigned to Alexander Crum. However, it carries the book plate of William Graham Crum, Thornliebank.

My ancestor was Anne Jane Caldwell, who married Dr. John Dudley Winston. Another Caldwell cousin of Nashville was James Caldwell - and when I first saw the Registrum, I immediately noted that James Caldwell, Esq. was the recipient of #4 of 12 of the large copies and # 10 of 80 ordinary copies. I did not think my James was closely related to the James listed in the Registrum, but I did check the index to see if Caldwell was mentioned. Only one entry was noted, on page 94 of 440.

While the Registrum has a an introduction that is a summary of the contents of the Abbey's register that is in English, Latin is the language of the actual Registrum. The entry on the land of the Caldwells (terra de Caldwell) is part of a three page "document". This confirmation granted Paisley Abbey the right to quarry stone/use of a stone quarry and to build near the quarry either a burn pit or crematorium. The confirmation outlines every right of the Abbey with regard to access, use of property, and then described the location almost like a boundary survey.

The Caldwell land formed a portion of the boundary - the western and then turning north/northeast.

There are few dates given in most entries I have skimmed, therefore I began checking entries before and after the one mentioning the Caldwells. I also checked the end of our entry to see if other persons were mentioned - William Wallace's uncle is one of them = Reginald Crawford. In the entries before and after ours, the King of Scotland, Robertus, is the reason for the entry. I propose that refers to Robert Bruce/The Bruce. Therefore, I believe the date of our entry occurs towards the end of the 13th century.

I am working on the translation of our entire entry. I will share it with you as soon as I can. It has been suggested that the Caldwell entry is perhaps the oldest official land record of the family in Scotland.

Regards to you all, and thoughts are welcomed.