History

Where did the Scottish Caldwell family come from? What is the Scottish coat of arms/family crest? When did the Caldwell family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the history of the family name?

Caldwell is an ancient Scottish name that was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. It is a name for someone who lived in Renfrewshire. This place-name may also be derived from the Old English words "caeld," which means "cold," and "welle," which means "well," and indicates that the original bearer lived near a well that gave cold water.

Before the printing press standardized spelling in the last few hundred years, no general rules existed in the English language. Spelling variations in Scottish names from the Middle Ages are common even within a single document. Caldwell has been spelled Caldwell, Coldwell, Caldwill, Cauldwell, Cauldwill, Cawldwell, Guildwell, Calewell, Caldewell and many more.

First found in Renfrewshire in Scotland where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

For Scottish immigrants, the great expense of travel to North America did not seem such a problem in those unstable times. Acres of land awaited them and many got the chance to fight for their freedom in the American War of Independence. These Scots and their ancestors went on to play important roles in the forging of the great nations of the United States and Canada. Archibald Caldwel, a Scottish prisoner sent to America in 1685; John Caldwell, a bonded passenger, who came to America in 1693; Charles Caldwell, who arrived in New England in 1718.