: IMHO: Caldwell Anglo-Saxon Origins

It's just not there

: This article will answer the question why I believe the
: Scottish surname Caldwell more likely derived from the
: Old English/Anglo-Saxon words, caeld weille, or caelde
: waellen, meaning cold water welling from a fissure in
: the earth, i.e., artesian well, than from the many
: alternative explanations.
: The alternatives include possible derivation from 7th
: century King Cadwallon of Gwynedd; kald well,
: Viking/Danish spelling; kaltes quellen, German for
: cold spring-fed well; Colville, the surname of an
: early Renfrewshire landholder; keld, the Gaelic word
: for wood or forest, such that Caldwell with Gaelic
: input meant well in the wood; the three brother
: knights named Cauldwell allegedly from Cold Well,
: France just after the Scottish Reformation; and the
: legendary Caldwaldi clan of northern Italy fleeing
: Catholic persecution, probably the most publicized
: explanation, though not without criticism (see Michael
: Caldwell's web page at
: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/6455/).

I'm sorry, but Michael's information just isn't so. To believe that myth (one of three mentioned on this site) one must also believe that Caldwells were Muslim pirates in the late 1400s. Then to believe Randy's site, they were Muslim pirates living in England in the late 1400s, so they must have commuted.

But back to Michael's site. "Albigenses" & "Waldenses" are French of the 11th - 13th century, but, of course, from Italy.

So, these three boys living in the southern French province of Italy in, let's say the 13th century just to make it sporting, were Huguenots of the mid 16th century who sailed as Muslim pirates in the late 15th and early 16th century, after fleeing persecution under Francis I in the early 16th century?

I don't think so.

: I aim to distinguish between probable (evidence from many
: independent sources is supportive of the conclusion),
: possible (scintilla of evidence), and conjectural (no
: known documentary or archeological evidence, but
: hypothesis has not been disproven.)

Well, I'd say that there is both probable and conjectural evidence to support that Caldwell is of Scottish origins.

: I realize that linking Caldwell to some ancient noble,
: knight, or Protestant refugee from Catholic
: persecution, is far more socially appealing as well as
: more marketable. There are for sale Caldwell
: genealogies, crests and wall plaques attesting to the
: same but nothing corroborating or publicizing the
: Anglo-Saxon derivation of the surname, Caldwell. I

"Caldwell" was one of the 305 surnames faked by Gustave Anjou, and I would guess probaly one of the others as well. I don't think that there is any conspirasy by the heraldy companies who profit on the gullible, naive, or uninformed to exclude any Anglo-Saxon derivation of the surname - I just don't think that there is enough evidence to support the notion.

: hope I do not offend or agitate any Romantics or fans
: of Sir Walter Scott.

I think that fantasies of pirates are probably a bit more on the romantic side than starving within a walled city while being bombed.

: Notable among 20th century thinkers who despised Anglo
: Saxons was H. K. Mencken. He especially ridiculed the
: Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and southerners
: in general.

The same H.K. Mencken who said, "The function of the press is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."?

: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles are full of stories of
: poisonings, back-stabbings, dismemberments, and
: beheadings among their kings. The Anglo-Saxon era is
: the era of the Dark Ages.

And Paisley goes back to William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, and heads on pikes, children hanging in the trees, people drawn and quarter with there body parts cast throughout the land.

: Linking Caldwell to a common place name possibly is
: resisted by some because the words would be attributed
: to a people who never fought in the Crusades, were
: assimilated and subjugated by the Norman invaders,
: repelled by the tartan-wearing Scottish Highlanders,
: defeated by King Arthur and his valiant knights, and
: long considered among the least urbane of the
: inhabitants of Great Britain. Many Scots and their

It's very likely that Caldwell is a place name, just that the first place happened to be in Scotland.

: descendants are proud of their national identity and
: Scotland's historical achievements, and place far more
: weight on whatever is uniquely Scottish than what is
: traceable to earlier times or ancestries, be it
: Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Irish, or whatever.

I would have been just as happy to discover Roman, Anglo, Saxon, Norse, Pict, Gaul, or whatever. Since I get a tingle everytime I hear a bagpipe, it might be weird if the ancestory was, say, Roman, but I'm like 8th generation US born and raised, and probably more enamored by my great grandfather than say, William Caldwell, Lord Chancellor.

: I have never been to Scotland. I never looked at the
: primary documents of Scotland, as did John Caldwell,
: Barry Robertson, and Thomas Caldwell, in researching
: the issue. I am neither a genealogist nor certified
: lineal descendant. So I am not an expert. But this is
: my story and I am sticking with it.

That Caldwell tenacity!

: 5. Occam's Razor. The simplest explanation is usually the
: correct explanation. I do not mean that this rule be
: applied mechanically. It simply reflects the notion
: that more weight should be given to the simpler
: explanation, in evaluating all of the evidence pro and
: con.

Exactlly, which is why Caldwell is much more likely of Scottish origin that English. Place, dates, people - more relating to Caldwell in Scotland and Ireland than in England.

Whew, you're wearing me out more than the local Venice socialists do. lol....

: surnames was well established in Scotland by the 13th
: century. I wish I knew whether any Caldwells are
: listed in this document. If so, that would weigh
: heavily against the notion that the Scottish surname
: Caldwell derived from the arrival of three brothers
: Cauldwell to Scotland in the 16th century, as
: publicized by Mrs. John Q. Anderson, in her Caldwell
: Workbook, 1966, Virginia State Library System,
: CS/71/.014/1966.

I have absolutely no idea where she came up with that information. I'm glad that she did as I would never have gotten this involved had her stories and dates added up.

: 27. John Caldwell (o2tan@venicebeach.com) and I have
: jousted severally times over the origin of the
: Caldwell surname. John remains erect, like the statute
: of Robert Bruce mounted on his horse, ready to do
: battle. In fact, his on-site picture even bears a
: resemblance to Robert Bruce's facial features. John
: places no or little weight upon the English
: documentation of the name Caldwell. He points out that
: the surname Caldwell was prominent and widespread in
: Scotland by the 1300s, but not so in England.

You haven't budged me yet, but I'm open for consideration. I think in the end we'll either determine that it's too close to call, or compete for the oldest record to the bitter end. lol....

: Virtually all of the Caldwells in North Ireland,
: America, Australia, and Canada, descended from Scots,
: especially from Ayshire and Renfrewshire, many of who
: relocated first to N. Ireland (Donegal, Antrim,
: Londonderry) and later to America. He says that it
: would be a stretch to claim that Caldwell derives from
: English ancestors. Looking at each item of evidence
: that I have presented, he sees no persuasive or
: compelling case, just as if he had taken up a piece of
: puzzle, and said, it shows nothing. My approach has
: been to see if a clear picture emerges from the
: totality of the pieces. In my view, the spread of the

lol.... Ah, I love ya like a Caldwell, and I must admit that you've give the best arguements for Anglo-Saxton so far.

: Caldwell surname throughout the English-speaking world
: has been one of repeated relocations of successive
: generations of Caldwells, from England to Scotland,

Here's the thing, let's say that this "Caldwell" of record in England in 1195 moves from "caeld weille" in Derbyshire some 300 miles to Paisley, Scotland near a "kald well".... what are the odds?

Could it happen? Sure. Did it? Maybe, maybe not.

Those American Caldwells who hang their ancestory on the Cub Creek bunch trace back to William of Straiton, who in turn is said to be descendant of William, Lord Chancellor ca. 1349. "Of that ilk" taking it back at least 100 years has us at 1249. If William Anderson made his "ancient family of that name for some centuries" statement in respect to William, Lord Chancellor, then it would suggest that origins are pre-1100 in Scotland.

I did some some other research on it a few years ago that made a referrence to the place name in the Paisley region around 485 AD. I can't put my fingers on it right now, but if memory serves, it was in relation to the settling of and around Paisley in about 500 AD. I'll see if I can't find it after I complete my Williamite project.

: then to North Ireland, and from there, to Canada,
: America, and Australia. The early Caldwell settlers
: aimed for New Jersey and Pennsylvania, then spread to
: North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas,
: Ohio, etc. John favors the notion that Caldwell might
: have derived from the Viking words, kald well. I
: cannot disprove that assertion. But I find it much
: less likely than the theory I have advanced, and far
: better supported by numerous historical documents.
: 2002 © David Caldwell

Maybe Viking, maybe Gaelic, certainly Anglicized, but I'm not yet convinced Anglo or Saxon.