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Author: Billreed1946
Surnames: Caudill-Cordell-Caudle -Candle
Classification: queries
Message Board URL:
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.caudill/899/mb.ashx
Message Board Post:
Many have asked the same question as to why there were so many different spellings of the
Caudill name. In studying the family, of which, I too am a direct descendant, the reason I
have found was because of riffs amoung many of the family members, especially young folk
wanting to leave the mountains in search of a better life. Many traveled as far west as
California and Washington state, some stopping the journey to settle in the Ozark's
because of the resemblance of the mountains they left behind. To my knowlege, it all began
when Sampson Caudill, son of James Caudill Jr, left and change the spelling to Cordell. If
you look at the census records for Alleghany and Ashe Co.,'s of North Caroline you
will see the name spelled as "Candle". Why? Because, that is the way the
census-taker heard the name and entered it that way. Many mountain folk were un-educated
and could not spell their name, so the census-taker spelled it as best he could, him not
being much more educated that t!
hey were.
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