I have a copy of research done by a genealogy group for the name
Caddell. I don't know how accurate it is but I will share it.
Before I start I have a question about a possible link with a name that
sounds close to Caddell. I got this information out of a couple
historical sources:
"It is well known history that the Scots of Scotland came originally
from the Irish-Scotch of Ulster. The origin of the word Scot was traced
from Xat, Catti, or Gadi, meaning "fortune seekers" or "adventurers".
At
an eary date these "adventurers" were led by a certain Gadelius, Gadil,
or Gallam. The name Gadelius is the latin form of Gadil. The Gadelians
are said to have boasted that they were the heroes of Spain. Irish
chronology places the coming of these Gadelos about 700 to 650 B.C.
Their landing in Uladh (Ulster) was fiercely contested by the Danaans in
the land but were able to hold their ground and were amalgamated with
the Danaan; and out of the various forms of Gadil, Gadelos, Gadels.
Gaidheil, the term Gael and Scot emerged and Gaelic, the name of the
language of Ireland and the related Gaelic of Scotland."
It may be my imagination but Gadil/Gadel sounds awfully close to
Caddell. The genealogy resource that I will quote says that in the
archives researched the earliest spelling of the name bore little
resemblance to the one now used. The do not elaborate on what that was.
I do not remember the name of the genealogy company that did this
general history of the name Caddell.
"The ancient name Caddell is believed to be originally of the Pictish
race. Legend relates this founding race as being settled in
North-Eastern Scotland, coming originally from the shores of Brittany
about the 15th century B.C. Migrating, they sailed northward to Ireland
where the Kings of Ireland refused them permission to land and settle,
but they were allowed to settle in the eastern part of Scotland on the
condition that all Pictish Kings marry Irish Princesses, thus assuring
the Irish of a colony which would always be a part of the Irish royal
court. According to the Vernerable Bede, England's oldest historian born
in 673 A.D., this Pictish settlement established a matriarchal hierarchy
which was unique in the annals of British history."
I will skip some of the history of the Picts:
"From some of the many early records, researchers examined such records
as the Inquisitio, 1120 A.D., the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, The
Ragman Rolls, the Chronicles of the Picts and Scots, and various other
cartularies of parishes in Scotland. From these archives they produced
the early records of the name Caddell, in Banffshire 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.
The family name Caddell emerged as that of a Scottish Clan or family in
this territory. More specifically they developed from original
territories of Banffshire where they were recorded as a family of great
antiquity seated at Ardwale and Asloune in that shire. They settled in
Banff from about the end of the 14th century and became a broken clan,
but they continued their feud and even as late as 1600 were raiding in
Banffshire. Hector and Robert Cadell were notable Clan Chieftains. They
later acquired territories in Renfrewshire and in Kilmadock. Notable
amongst the Clan at this time was Hector Cadell.
In North America, some of the first migrants which could be considered
kinsmen to the surname Caddell, or having a variation of the family
surname spelling included John Cadell who settled in the Barbados in
1654; another John arrived in NY in 1774; Elizabeth Cadell arrived in
New England in 1767."
Susan