CAUDILL FAMILY
Name: Variants include Caudle & Cordell. The surname was recorded in Renfrewshire in the Scottish-English Border Ridings where they were seated from ancient times -- some say well before the Norman Conquest. It has been associated with the Clan Campbell of Cawdor. Some think the Caudill name derives from Caldwell in England however there are those that believe that there is a link with Caudillo from Spain. "The story is told that when the Spanish Armada passed the coast of Northern Scotland some of the unfortunate galleons were wrecked on off-shore rocks. The sailors and soldiers straggled ashore and a few, at least, were permitted to survive by the fierce Scots. When the Scoots attempted to talk to them, the Spaniards pointed out an officer as their spokesman, and referred to him as "El Caudillo" In time the Scots came to apply this term derisively to all the castaways...The name stuck, and eventually through intermarriage there grew up a strain of "black Scotch" -- people with swarthy complexions, heavy black beards and coal-black eyes, who contrast sharply with the brown hair and eyes and ruddy skin of the Scots generally." The name appears most frequently in Kentucky in the 1990 census: 1:500 KY; 1:1,000 OH, IN, 1:2,000 NC, TN; 1:5,000 in most of the rest of the US.
Shield: Three black pennants hanging and in the base four red and green wavy bars.
Crest: A hand holding a sword emerging from a crown.
Motto: "Fac et Spera" Do and Hope
History: The progenitor of the Caudill line came into Sussex Co. Virginia then into Wilkes Co. North Carolina and finally into Eastern Kentucky. We are related to the family through two lines: the one shown below, and through a Cornett-Caudill union. Our link to the Caudill Family is through Elizabeth Caudill (b. 1833) Stephen Caudill is our progenitor, and was one of the Revolutionary War veterans to settle Kentucky after the war. A most famous Caudill, Colonel Benjamin Everage Caudill, is our 4th Cousin. He commanded "Caudill's Army", the 13th Kentucky Cavalry, CSA, in which many of our kin served, including his brother, Major David Jesse Caudill; our Great Grandfather, Russell Cornett; and our 2d Great Uncle, John Amburgey. Another celebrated cousin was Claire Louise Caudill; she delivered over 8,000 babies in and around Morehead Kentucky, and a wing of the local hospital was named in her honor. Stephen J. Caudill once walked from his mountain home to Washington to witness an inauguration, and returned with plans with which he built a mill. A recent cousin, Harry M. Caudill, wrote several authoritative books detailing the plight of Eastern Kentucky that prompted political and social action still in effect today. See oral stories of other Caudill cousins here.
Some Direct Descendants of Stephen Caudill
1 Stephen Caudill
... +Elizabeth Fields
........ 2 James Caudill, Sr.
.............. +Mary Yarborough
................... 3 Stephen Caudill
......................... +Sarah Adams
.............................. 4 John Adams Caudill 1798 - 1873
.............................. 4 Benjamin Caudill Bef. 1810 -
.................................... +Abigail Pennington Bef. 1810 -
......................................... 5 Ester Caudill Bef. 1825 - 1919
......................................... 5 Elizabeth Caudill 1833 -
............................................... +Noah May Abt. 1831 - 1864
.................................................... 6 Lydia Margaret May Bef. 1864 - Bef. 1896
.................................................... 6 Campbell May 1851 -
.......................................................... +Rebecca E. Adams 1852 -
.............................................................. 7 (Augustus) Noah May 1876 - 1944
.................................................................... +Sarah Elizabeth Cornett 1876 - 1966
......................................................................... 8 Anna Elizabeth May 1910 - Living
......................................................................... 8 Earl Campbell May 1906 - 1989
......................................................................... 8 Edith Rebecca May 1914 - 1982
............................................................................... +James Sutherd Carroll 1913 - 1989
.................................................................................... 9 Judith Ann Carroll 1945 - 1988
........................................................................... ......... 9 Mark Carroll 1949 -
........................................................................... ............... +Zetta Lyons 1948 -
.................................................................................... 9 Susan Lynne Carroll 1952 - Living
.............................................................. 7 Frank May 1879 -
.............................................................. 7 Fred C. May 1881 - 1947
.............................................................. 7 Harry May 1884 -
.............................................................. 7 James May 1888 - 1963
.............................................................. 7 David May 1891 - 1956
.................................................... 6 Wallace Bailey May 1855 -
.................................................... 6 Rhoda May 1857 - 1940
.................................................... 6 Jane May -
.................................................... 6 James Benjamin May 1853 - Bef. 1896
.................................................... 6 John C. Mason May 1860 -
.................................................... 6 Margaret May 1864 -
......................................... 5 Abel Caudill
.............................. 4 Esther Caudill
.............................. 4 Jesse B. Caudill
................... 3 James Caudill, Jr
................... 3 Matthew Caudill
................... 3 Thomas Aaron Caudill
........ 2 Benjamin Cordell
........ 2 William Caudill
Caudill Family Favorites:
Caudill Connections * Caudill GenForum * Caudill Tree * Caudill Cabin * Josh H. Combs Book *
Sources: Updated 2:05 PM 1/27/2013
Night Comes to the Cumberlands, Harry M. Caudill
Mark S. Carroll
