Re: Caudill/Cadle

Well, you have run into what so many of us have in searching our families...name changes.But be assured that James Caudill is also the same as James Coddell/ Cordell/Caudle etc. who married Mary Yarborough/Yarbrough/Yarbo etc. in Virginia.You can find them in church minutes at the NEW RIVER NOTES website.Even within the documents, the names are spelled different ways each paragraph.

I am descended from four of James Caudill's sons (James, Jr., Stephen, Thomas Aaron, and Matthew, Sr.) and one of his brothers (Benjamin).Yet in Anson County, NC lives many of his other descendants who spell their name Caudle, and other descendants who moved to Magoffin and Johnson County, Kentucky who spells their names Cordell.

So, just watch the dates and locations more than the names...if the dates match and the locations match but the names are a little off, you are likely looking at the same individuals.Remember, prior to 1800, only about 20-30% of the population could read or write (on average throughout the US).And even then there was no common spellings...just spell it well enough that you could be understood was the standard.