One Norman root → an English branch and a Scottish branch → a 600-year undocumented gap → the progenitor Stephen → the American line.
⚜ NORMAN ROOT — “de Candel / de Caudel”
A territorial name from Caundle, Dorset, England · Norman family, c. 1100 AD C
↙↘
🏴 ENGLAND BRANCH
Cambridgeshire — Wm & Anistina Caudel1272 C
London — Wm Candel (Caudel?)1291 B
Wiltshire — James Caudel (juror, Salisbury)1367 B
Yorkshire — Thomas Caudel (Provost, cleric)1440 B
Suffolk — Anne Caudwell / Agnes Cawdell (Lowestoft)1581 A
Wiltshire — Caudill v Bunter, Bower Chalke (a TNA record)1666 A
★ Gloucestershire — Stephen Caudle christened, Withington1688 B
🏴 SCOTLAND BRANCH
Fife — Wm de Candel → Anstruther linec.1110 C
★ East Lothian — Wm de Caudel, Lord of Stevynston1374 B
East Lothian — John Caudill (Yester entries 229/522/555)15th c. B
★ East Lothian — John Caudill, burgess of Haddington1488 B
(family lore) Argyll / Campbell of Cawdor sept “Cadell”tale D
↘↙
❓ THE UNDOCUMENTED GAP — c. 1500–1731
No record links any branch above to Stephen below. Which branch is this line's is unproven on paper → only Y-DNA can resolve it.
↓
🇺🇸 STEPHEN CAUDLE — the progenitor
Christened Gloucestershire 1688? · first in Virginia by 1731 (195 acres, Surry Co.) · d. 1758 A (VA life) / B (origin)
↓ ONE DOCUMENTED DESCENT ↓
~1720James Caudill Sr. (m. Mary Yarbrough)
~1757Thomas Aaron Caudill (bro. of Rev-War James Jr.)Lunenburg, VA
~1790William CaudillSC
1812Wilbern E. CaudillLetcher Co., KY
1839William W. “Wild” CaudillIndian Bottom, KY
1865John J. Crittenden CaudillLetcher Co. → FL
1897Wilbur Chester Caudill Sr.KY → FL
1923Wilbur Chester “W.C.” CaudillWWII · Army Air Forces
1949Steven Wayne Caudill (1949–1996)Florida
todayThe Caudill family todayFlorida
Every theory anyone has proposed — with its evidence, its tier, and its honest status.
✅ Settled (for the name)
⚜ The Norman reconciliation
One Norman name from Caundle, Dorset that branched into both England and Scotland — so both traditions are right.
Evidence: de Candel→Fife c.1110; Caudel in London/Wilts/Yorks; de Caudel of Stevynston 1374. C–B
Resolves the whole Scotland-vs-England fight as a false choice. ⚠️ The link of “de Candel” specifically to the Caudill line is by name-resemblance (the source traces it to the Anstruther family) — an interpretation, not proof. It explains the *name*; it does not yet prove this line's descent.
🟡 Real but unlinked
🏴 Scotland — East Lothian
A documented Caudill family: Lord of Stevynston (1374), burgesses of Haddington (1488).
Evidence: Calendar of Writs at Yester House (primary). B · A family tradition.
The strongest Scottish documentation, confirmed in the Yester Writs. But East Lothian (Lowland) ≠ the Argyll (Highland) of the family lore, and nothing links it to the progenitor Stephen.
🟡 Best birth candidate
🏴 England — Gloucestershire
Stephen Caudle christened Withington, 1688 + “Caudle Green” place-name + the DNA project's own hypothesis.
Evidence: FamilySearch christening index; DNA-project. B
Three independent hits on Gloucestershire. The 1688 christening is the single best candidate for the progenitor's actual birth — but it's an index (not the original register) and isn't yet proven to be the progenitor Stephen. Next step: pull the original Withington parish register (FS film 427809).
❌ Partly refuted
🏴 England — Suffolk (Hopton)
The Cordell book's “Stephen Cawdle, bp. 1679 Hopton.” Real Caudwells in Lowestoft (1581+).
Evidence: FreeREG parish registers. A
Anne Caudwell (1581) & Agnes Cawdell (1602) are real — at Lowestoft, not Hopton. But the book's emigrant “Stephen 1679” was refuted: FreeREG has no such Suffolk record, and Lowestoft's covered register shows no Caudwell after 1602.
🟡 Real record
🏴 England — Wiltshire / Dorset
A TNA writ: Caudill v Bunter, Bower Chalke, 1666 — and Caundle, Dorset (the name's root place) sits right next door.
Evidence: The National Archives C 5/363/57. A
A genuine 1666 “Caudill” family in south Wiltshire — and a Caudel sat on a Wiltshire jury in 1367. The Wiltshire/Dorset border is a real cluster. Link to the progenitor Stephen: untested.
🟡 English, but inferred
🇺🇸 Tidewater Virginia (Cordell)
“Fact or Fiction”: descent from James Cordell, London → VA, 1654; also Augustine Caudle → VA 1682–83.
Evidence: VA land patents (Cavaliers & Pioneers). B
A dense, real VA record trail — and the only documented transatlantic origin in it is English (London 1654). BUT it never produces a birth record for Stephen; its “born 1690 New Kent Co.” conclusion is pure inference. Proves the name in VA, not Stephen's parents.
💭 Lore / unsourced
🏔️ Highland Scotland — Argyll
Family tradition: “Stephen born ~1680 in Scotland/Argyll”; Cadell as a Campbell-of-Cawdor sept.
Evidence: online trees, Scots Kith & Kin, Cox book. D
The cherished family story — and the reason DNA matters. Unsourced, and it conflicts with the primary records (which are Lowland East Lothian, not Highland Argyll). The Cawdor/Macbeth romance is appealing but unproven.
Every attestation, dot-colored by region. Notice 1367 (Wiltshire) and 1374 (East Lothian) — the name in both kingdoms in the same decade.
c.1110
William de Candel — grants in Fife, Scotland (→ Anstruther). SCOTLAND · Norman dict. (C)
1272
William & Anistina Caudel — Cambridgeshire. ENGLAND · (C)
1291
William Candel (Caudel?) — deed witness, London. ENGLAND · City Letter-Books (B)
1367
James Caudel — inquisition juror, Salisbury, Wiltshire. ENGLAND · Wilts IPM (B)
1374
William de Caudel, Lord of Stevynston — assize, Haddington, East Lothian. SCOTLAND · Yester Writs (B)
1440
Thomas Caudel — Provost of Hemingbrough (cleric), Yorkshire. ENGLAND · (B)
1488
John Caudill, burgess of Haddington (+ more Johns to ~1500). SCOTLAND · Yester Writs (B)
1553
Anne Caudel — England (Strype's Memorials). ENGLAND · (C)
1581
Anne Caudwell bp. (& Agnes Cawdell m. 1602) — Lowestoft, Suffolk. ENGLAND · FreeREG (A)
1654
James Cordell — transported London → Virginia. → VIRGINIA · (B)
1666
Caudill v Bunter — Bower Chalke, Wiltshire (a TNA record). ENGLAND · TNA C 5/363/57 (A)
1682
Augustine Caudle — transported to Virginia. → VIRGINIA · (B)
1688
★ Stephen Caudle christened — Withington, Gloucestershire. ENGLAND · FamilySearch index (B)
1731
★ Stephen Caudle — 195 acres, Surry Co., VA. VIRGINIA · the progenitor (A)
1753
James Caudill Jr. (Revolutionary War). VIRGINIA → KY · DAR (A)
1811
Caudills settle Letcher County, Kentucky (Indian Bottom). KENTUCKY · (A)
1942
Wilbur C. Caudill — enlists, Army Air Corps, WWII. FLORIDA · NARA (A)
today
The Caudill family today. Florida
THE BOTTOM LINE
✅ Settled (facts): “Caudill” is a Norman name from Caundle, Dorset, with real medieval branches in both England and Scotland — the “Scotland or England” dichotomy was a false choice.
🟡 Open: which branch is this line's. No paper links any medieval bearer to the progenitor Stephen (a 250–600-yr gap). The best lead is the 1688 Withington christening; the only true resolver is a Y-DNA test. This is as far as paper can take it.