Family History Overview

The Caldwell family is Scottish and came to America in the very early 1700's with Alexander Caldwell. The family started in Virginia then migrated to Kentucky. First to Pendleton Co. then to Campbell Co. They resided there until my Grandmother moved to Buffalo in her childhood. The Caldwells were prominent members of the community and even faught for the Confederacy in the Civil War. Much information exists from old documents and pictures that I have found, including the Caldwell family bible from the mid 1800's. I have placed most of the pictures and people but some still elude me. The Caldwell family can be traced very far back into American history. This history is described below.

» Read More

.

More information regarding the Caldwell family and Northern Kentucky

The Caldwell family - Relation to Daniel Boone

My Grandmother was the Great Great Great Grandniece of Daniel Boone. The relation to Daniel Boone has been handed down generation to generation and the original reason why I decided to look into my history was to either disprove or prove this theory. Well I proved it and while doing so discovered very old letters and documents uncovering new people and making sense of how everyone "fit" into my family tree.

Digging through my mother's closets and basements we found numerous minor and four major pieces of evidence that I was able to peice together. The Caldwell family Bible (circa 1850), an extreamly old letter written by my Great Great Great Great Grandmother Francis Augusta Lemon (1817), a poem written by the same, and letter written to my grandmother Thelma Caldwell Maul by my Great Great Aunt (1937). Each of these had some very important information critical to proving and discovering the Boone connection. Digital scans of these documents can be found on the Boone page.

Along with the very old documents above I stumbled across a six page letter written from my Grandmother's great aunt to my Grandmother in 1937. My Grandmothers Great Aunt was 70 when she wrote this letter. It speaks of her mother and her grandmother. The letter was written for the specific reason of explaining to my grandmother her family history. The letter gives dates and peoples names that prove our relationship to the Boone family. This was also a wonderful find as it filled in blanks when I first started my search.

Caldwell History - Draper Manuscripts

Lyman Copeland Draper served as the director of The State Historical Society of Wisconsin from 1854 to 1886. The collection reflects his lifelong interest in the history of the trans-Allegheny West from the 1740's to the period of the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Draper also maintained a lifelong interest in the pioneers of the Revolutionary era, especially Daniel Boone. In the words of retired archivist Josephine L. Harper Darling, Draper was "an indefatigable collector who preserved whatever he gathered." (From Press Release)

A GUIDE to the Manuscripts can be purchased from The State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

-Taken from USGenWeb hosted by RootsWeb

The Manuscripts include correspondence between Rebecca Boone (Grant) Lemond and Lyman Draper. Rebecca Boone Grant Lemond was a direct ancestor of mine and is the link to Daniel Boone. This explains the relavence of the Draper Manuscripts.

» Draper Manuscripts Website

Caldwell Family Tree - Pictoral Representation.

Click the picture for the blow-up size version.

The following link is a portion of my family tree from Boone side. It is a visual representation which I believe is much easier to understand than traditional text trees. This tree starts from my grandmother and continues up through the Boone branch as well as direct cousins and relatives of the Boone line. Known war veterans or important people in history can be noticed by the box surrounding their name. For my relatives this representation is by far the easiest way to view and understand our family tree.

Campbell County, KY - Info

Campbell County Facts - Boone, Maddox & Caldwell Line Settlement Roots

The nineteenth county in order of formation, Campbell County is located in northern Kentucky. Covering 152 square miles, Campbell County was formed on December 17, 1794, from portions of Harrison, Mason and Scott counties and named for Col. John Campbell, a Revolutionary War officer originally from Ireland. It has county seats at ALEXANDRIA and NEWPORT.

The topography of Campbell County is level to hilly. The rich river bottomlands produce large crops of burley tobacco, corn, hay, and vegetables. Pasture land is extensive, supporting large herds of beef cattle. The woodlands of the county are of mixed hardwoods, including ash, oak, hackberry, black walnut, and red cedar. The major watercourses are the Ohio and Licking rivers.

In early history of Campbell County, both Indians and pioneers moved along the Ohio River. Indian attacks were frequent during the settlement era. One of the first settlements in the area was Leitch's Station, built about 1789 by Maj. David Leitch, who fought in the Revolutionary War. In 1803 an army outpost (Newport Barracks) was established at the fledgling community of Newport to supply soldiers during the early Indian wars. This installation also served as a staging area for Soldiers embarking on campaigns during the War of 1812, the war for Texas independence (1836), and the Mexican War (1846-48).

Campbell County prospered during the antebellum period. The town of Newport was a contender for the capture of the river trade, but was eclipsed by the rapid growth of Cincinnati. Newport, however, became an important river city, retaining its status well into the twentieth century. Though sentiments for both sides ran high, the Civil War did not severely affect Campbell County, located as it was far to the north. During the war, the county continued to prosper and grow. Industries such as steel, meat processing, and brewing were created, mostly in Newport, which gave residents steady employment.

In 1887, following the destruction of the Newport Barracks by a flood in 1884, the army post was moved to higher ground and Fort Thomas was founded. As the post expanded, it eventually absorbed the nearby community of District of Highlands, and in 1914 the town of FORT THOMAS was established. In 1933 and 1937, the 10th U.S. Infantry, which assisted in flood relief, was garrisoned at Fort Thomas. In the late twentieth century the post was maintained by the Brooks-Lawler Army Reserve Center and a Veterans Administration Hospital.

Though Newport was chosen as the county seat in 1794, the desire for a centrally located seat of government led to the creation of two county seats. Three courthouses, built in Newport in 1795, 1805, and 1814-15, respectively, served Campbell County until 1827, when the seat was moved to Visalia, along the Licking River. Visalia was located too far from the population center of Newport, however, and the next year the government returned to the river city. It remained there until 1840, when it was moved to Alexandria, the center of the county. Though a new courthouse, completed in 1842, was constructed in Alexandria, the people of Newport, still the population center, built another courthouse in their city in 1883. Since then the county offices have been housed in both locales.

Caldwell Resting Places - Cemeteries.

Family Cemeteries - Campbell County, KY

This section contains the known resting places of the Caldwell family

 

James Caldwell Headstone

Mary Jane StillWell Caldwell Headstone (Wife of James)

Sydney Lee Caldwell Headstone

Evergreen Cemetery Link

--------------------

Caldwell Family Cemetery

Pieces of the Past - by Jim Reis (excerpt about James Caldwell's military service

Forest Lawn Cemetery

» Forest Lawn Cemetery Website - Buffalo, NY

Evergreen Cemetery

Caldwell, James b-Campbell Co; a-63y 2m 5d; s/o Aleck; d-10 July 1905 in Newport; br-12 July at 12:30 AM in Helen Scogin and Sarah E Clough lot No 20 section 5.

» Evergreen Cemetery Website - James Caldwell