Index for Ward and Associated Families of Sassafras Neck, Cecil County, Maryland

A newspaper article by Emily Emerson Lantz, continued from the Sunday before.

NOTE: There is a fair amount of controversy, confusion and "tradition" over the early ancestors of the Caldwell family. I am trying to make sure this information is accurate but please note that the information contained in the newspaper article may NOT be correct but has not been changed by me.

Capt. Joseph Caldwell, a brother of Capt. Jonathan Caldwell, was of Colonel Patterson's regiment of the Flying Camp. He was a brave and gallant officer, and still another brother was the celebrated Rev. James Caldwell, of Springfield, N.J., whom Bret Harte has immortalized in the poem that preceded this sketch. Aside from that incident and the tragic event that led up to it little is known to the general public of this heroic Christian patriot who enjoyed the high esteem of ___, the enthusiastic devotion of the soldiers of the New Jersey brigade whose chaplain he was and who called him the "Soldier Parson," and the unbounded love of his congregation - that of the Presbyterian Church of Elizabethtown, N.J.

Rev. James Caldwell was born in Charlotte county, Virginia, in April 1734, and was graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1759. He is said to have had the singular experience of being a student under three Princeton presidents - Aaron Burr, who died in 1757; Jonathan Edwards who died in 1758 and Samuel Davies, who succeeded to the office in 1759. Rev. Mr. Caldwell preached for a while in the Carolinas, and when about 27 years old assumed the pastorate of the Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church, where he numbered among his congregation such men as William Livingston, Governor of New Jersey; Elias Boudinot, afterward president of the Continental Congress; Abraham Clark, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; Robert Ogden, Speaker of the Assembly at a later date, and others. A year after assuming the charge at Elizabethtown the young clergyman married, March 14, 1763, Hannah Ogden, of Newark, a sweetheart of his student days.

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War James Caldwell ardently espoused the cause of independence, and his preaching of the gospel of peace was through such a period of tumult that his devotional services were conducted with his loaded pistols lying beside him in the pulpit. Inspired by his earnest patriotism, from this one congregation went forth, it is said, to the Revolutionary War about 40 commissioned officers, not to speak about noncommissioned men. The clergyman was naturally the object of violent hatred on the part of the Tories, and in the winter of 1779 the manse was burned to ashes, and just one month later his church was burned by a marauding party. In 1780 Mr. Caldwell removed his family for greater safety to Connecticut Farms (now Union), a small village about four miles from Elizabethtown, and unhappily on June 6, 1780, General Knyphausen, with several thousand British troops, landed at Elizabethtown and marched into the interior devastating the country as they went. It was during the brief occupancy of Connecticut Farms by the enemy that Mrs. Caldwell was shot and killed by a British soldier, who fired through the window of a room to which she had retired with her children to pray. The houses of Connecticut Farms were then set on fire by the British, and General Lafayette related afterward, when he visited, in 11824, the graves of the Caldwells at Elizabethtown, that almost at the moment of the murder of Mrs. Caldwell occurred Lafayette, together with General Washington and Mr. Caldwell, stood on the heights of Springfield and the latter, looking out upon the smoke of the burning houses, expressed great joy that he had had the forethought to remove his wife and children to a place of safety, mistakenly thinking the smoke was not in the direction of her temporary home.

Mr. Caldwell found his dead wife the next day, and the tragedy so aroused the indignation of the patriots that it is small wonder, encouraged by the stricken husband, they fought with the strength of giants when Knyphausen attacked Springfield, or that the "Soldier Parson," when the wadding for their guns ran out, galloped to the village church, gathered up an armful of psalm books and rushed back to the struggling soldiers, shouting the words: "Now put Watts into 'em, boys!"

Scarcely a year and a half after the death of his wife Mr. Caldwell was shot by an American soldier, one James Morgan, who was believed to have been bribed by the British to commit the act and who paid the penalty of death for his crime. The murder occurred on Saturday, and in those days, when news traveled slowly, many of the clergyman's flock assembled in his church expecting to hear him preach as usual on Sunday morning. The body of the revered "rebel high priest" lay in state in the open street before his house, and Dr. Alexander McWhorter, with whom Washington held counsel the night he crossed the Delaware, preached the funeral sermon. Reverend and Mrs. James Caldwell are buried side by side in the churchyard of the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth. Above them is a monument erected in 1845 by the citizens of Elizabeth and the Society of the Cincinnati of New Jersey. The original slab that marked their graves is preserved in the walls of the church.

John Edwards Caldwell, the eldest son of ____ parents, was taken to France by Lafayette in 1782 and educated in that country. He returned to America nine years later and became the founder and editor of the Christian Herald; also one of the founders of the American Bible Society and a leader in all lines of philanthropic work. He died, greatly honored and beloved, March 9, 1819.

The three patriotic brothers above, referred to - Jonathan, Joseph, and James Caldwell - were descendants of John Caldwell, of the French ancestry before mentioned and son of Sir David Caldwell, of the north of Ireland. Captain Jonathan Caldwell, commanding the Blue Hens Chickens, was the great-granduncle of Dr. John Jabez Caldwell of Baltimore.

The latter's grandfather___----
__well, of Bollingbrooke, Talb-----
who died about 1838, in the ---
of his age. He was a contemporary and friend of Leeds Kerr, the elder Edward Lloyd, Charles Goldsborough and other distinguished sons of Maryland, with whom at different periods he served in the State Assembly and other positions of honor and trust. Jabez Caldwell married in 1790 Elizabeth (Sarah - correction made in the margin of the newspaper article by my Aunt Liz Caldwell) Hardcastle, daughter of Dr. G. Hardcastle, of Talbot county. The children of Jabez and Elizabeth (Sarah) (Hardcastle) Caldwell were: (1) James Caldwell, (2) Joseph Caldwell, (3) Soloman Caldwell, (4) Sippel Caldwell, (5) Caroline Caldwell, (6) Elizabeth Caldwell.

Caroline Caldwell married Charles Goldsborough, of Bollingbrooke, Talbot county, MD, with whom she lived until 1850, leaving quite a large family of children, the eldest of whom is John Caldwell Goldsborough, now residing near the Relay House, Baltimore county, MD.

Elizabeth Caldwell married Henry Davis, son of the late Judge Davis, of Smyrna, Delaware. She died in 1862, leaving a family of three daughters. The children of Jabez and Elizabeth (Sarah) (Hardcastle) Caldwell inherited the paternal estate in Talbot county and their uncle, Gen. John Caldwell's estates in Delaware. The beautiful property "Oak Hill" in New Castle county, was "bequeathed to John Sippel Caldwell. James died about the thirtieth year of his age. Joseph died when he was 35 years old. Soloman Caldwell, through his energy, established the cloth department of A.T. Stewart, the merchant prince of New York city. He still lives at his country residence, Greenwood Lake, Orange county, N.Y.

John Sipple Caldwell, father of John Jabez Caldwell (scratched out in pencil by Aunt Liz Caldwell), in early life followed agricultural pursuits and in later years was actively engaged in real estate transactions in New York. In 1835 he married Rebecca Baker, youngest daughter of Richard and Rebecca Baker, of Chester county, Pa., who were descendants of the Webbs, Harlans, Bakers, Marshalls, contemporary settlers with William Penn, and members with him of the Society of Friends.

The children of John Sipple and Rebecca (Baker) Caldwell were 12 in number, 4 sons and 8 daughters, all of whom are still living, and with the exception of the youngest son, Alexis Dupont Caldwell, are all married and comfortably established. Col. John Sipple Caldwell died at the residence of his son Alexis in Brooklyn, March 14, 1878. He was a remarkably handsome man, of strong and fine character, a man of the strictest probity and of the highest morality. John Jabez Caldwell, son of John Sipple Caldwell (crossed out in pencil), was born at Oak Hill New Castle county, near Wilmington, Del., April 28, 1836. His early education was received in the public schools of Wilmington and at the well-known boarding school of the late John Bullock, a member of the Society of Friends and one of the most successful educators of his day. In 1859-60 young Caldwell graduated with the highest honors at the New York Medical College and was a student in Bellevue Hospital during the years 1858, 1859 and 1860. After successfully following his profession in New York until the outbreak of the Civil War, he entered the United States Army as a surgeon and continued in the service until the conclusion of the war.

The Caldwells have been scholarly men and women throughout their several generations, earnest and profound thinkers, true to their convictions, whether religious or patriotic, and representative and progressive citizens.

Just a year ago fully 125 descendants of the several branches of the Caldwell family assembled at the homestead, at Ipswich, Mass. to commemorate the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the date - August 31, 1654 - when John Caldwell purchased the quaint old house now for two and a half centuries identified with the history of the family.

Among the prominent members of the Caldwell family have been Col. Luther Caldwell, former Mayor of Elmira, N.Y. and later of Lynn, Mass. and Washington; the late Prof. Merritt Caldwell, of Dickenson College, Carlisle, Pa.; Mrs. Eunice (Caldwell) Cowles, for many years principal of the Methodist school at Kent's Hill, Maine.

Among living members of the family are Miss Lydia A. Caldwell, librarian of the Ipswich (Mass.) Public Library; Dr. S. Cushman CAldwell, of Pelham Heights, N.Y.; Dr. J.J. Caldwell, of Summit, N.J.; Col. Nathaniel Shaftswell, of Washington; Rev. Augustine Caldell, of Eliot, Maine; Mrs. Clara M. Jones, of Ipswich, Mass., whose mother was a Caldwell, and who occupies the old Ipswich house built by Governor Bradstreet in 1633, bought by John Caldwell in 1654 and uninterruptedly the homestead of his descendants since that date.

The writer is indebted to Dr. John J. Caldwell, formerly of Baltimore, for placing at the disposal of The Sun family manuscripts and much valuable data.

Maryland Letter Box

[Communications from readers of THE SUN on subjects relating to Maryland Genealogy should be addressed to "Maryland Heraldry," Sun office, to insure their prompt appearance. Such communications will be published without charge. The names and addresses of the writers should accompany the communications. Write on one side of the paper only and be careful to write names distinctly.]

Messrs. Editors:
In connection with the Caldwell sketch, which appeared last Sunday in THE SUN, I take the liberty of sending a copy of some data which I have in my possession. This data was given me by my sister, Frances Antoinette (Roller) Calwell, the wife of Michael B. Calwell, of Harrisonburg, Va. There may be something new or confirmatory of what you have. It came to me in the way of correspondence and is not genealogically correct - that is, bearing dates, authority, etc. - but is as follows:

Family of Caldwell, Calwell, Colewell, etc., from the memoranda of Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun and from Joseph E. Caldwell, who had the same memoranda in his possession from Hugh Caldwell, of Virginia: "The first mention or account of any person bearing the name of Caldwell I have met with was in an ancient family record in the possession of Oliver Caldwell, whom I once met accidentally in Carlisle, Pa. He had just emigrated from somewhere in Ireland and was in Carlisle in 1754, then in quest of a place of residence, in the neighborhood of where I met him. He was accompanied by a young man, who was a distant relative, named David Cawldwell, from Scotland. On my alluding to the difference in the spelling of their names Oliver handed------
spelling it 'Colewell,' others 'Cawldwell,' others again 'Callwell,' 'Caldwell,' 'Colwell,' 'Calwell,' etc.

Extract form this record:
"Three brothers, named John, Alexander and Oliver, who were connected with and commanded vessels under two notorious and powerful pirates by the name of Barbaroso, who had completely the mastery of the Mediterranean the latter end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century. All the nations of that sea paid them tribute and at the same time courted their friendship, dreading their power and influence, for they were in alliance with the most daring spirits of Spain, France and Scotland. These pirates flourished about 20 years, when they were defeated and broken up by the Governor of Oran, a captain of a nation in Africa. After this defeat those of the pirates who escaped dispersed and settled in various parts of the world. John, Alexander and Oliver, above mentioned, settled near Toulon, in France, in which city they were born, at a place called Mount Arld, where they were most dreaded, for they commanded a powerful banditti, who were notorious as the Robbers of Arld.

"Francis I, then King of France, was in battle made prisoner by the victorious Charles V of Germany, who was also King of Spain. After his release he was by these brothers robbed while on his journey home. This circumstance turned the attention of that monarch to their conduct as robbers. By his orders they were closely pursued that they thought proper to provide for their safety by leaving the country. They settled in Ireland, near Solway Frith, where they bought an estate from a bishop named Douglas, with the consent of James I, on condition that the said brothers, John, Alexander, and Oliver, late of Mount Arld, and which estate should thereafter be known as Cauldwells, should send when the King should require each a son with a troop of 20 men of sound limb, to aid in the wars of the King."

The same gentleman, Oliver Caldwell, had in his possession, which he showed me, a silver cup, from which I inferred the place took its name from a watering place. The cup represented a chieftain and 20 men on horseback, all armed, a man drawing water from a well; underneath were the words 'Alexander of Cauldwell;' a fire burning on a hill; underneath were the words "Mount Arand,' and a vessel surrounded by high waves."

This record continues: "Joseph, John, David, Daniel and Andrew Cauldwell went with Oliver Cromwell, whose grandmother was Anne of Cauldwell, to Ireland, of which he was their Lord Governor. after his promotion to the Protectorship of Ireland and they ---
Joseph died in Ireland---
Daniel continued there, but several----emigrated to Virginia
---Rhode Island

Messrs. Editors:
I have been greatly interested in the publication of the "lineage of the Caldwells" and wish to add some data and some corrections.
In the issue of THE SUN of September 3 the material furnished Miss Lantz mentions the Caldwell brothers in France as living at "Mount Arid." This, I feel sure, must be a misprint or a mistake in copying at some time prior to publication. I have in my possession copies of several Caldwell records mentioning the birthplace of the Caldwells, and in every record I have ever seen the place is given as Mount Aud, and Mount Aud is easily located on any map of France. Farther down the same column mention is made of Oliver Cromwell, whose "mother was Anne Caldwell, of Salway Frith." Oliver Cromwell's grandmother was Anne of Caldwell, and not his mother. I wish to ask what proof Mr. J. E. Porter Boulden has that John Caldwell, who came
---------, was the son of Sir
(David Caldwell)------ he mentions as being
-----------------------
was proudly suspended in the great hall of his ancestral castle."

Dr. Caldwell's parents came to America in 1752. His father was a lieutenant in the royal service, but was wild and extravagant, sold his commission, married and came to America to start anew.

My records show that John Caldwell landed with his party at New Castle, Del., the day George II was proclaimed King (1727), went thence to Chestnut Level, Pa., thence into Virginia, to Lunenburg, which at that period included the great southwestern section, from which was cut off many counties.

John Caldwell's wife was Margaret Phillips, who he had married in Ireland, Country Antrim. He died in October, 1750. This couple had seven children, i.e., William, Thomas, David, John, Robert, James and Margaret.

William married Rebecca Walkrup in Ireland before coming over with his father and was the grandfather of John Caldwell Calhoun through his daughter Martha, who married Patrick Calhoun. Thomas married, but we do not know the lady's name and are now searching for it. If any of your readers can give me this information I will be greatly obliged. He had one son, Thomas 2d, who married an English lady, Philadelphia Ballard, of Virginia, in 1765, and their son, Ballard Caldwell, was my husband's great-grandfather. Thomas Caldwell 2d changed the spelling of his name to Coldwell, which he considered the proper rendering of the Scotch Cauldwell into English. He served in the Indian wars from Augusta county, Virginia, and after the Revolution he moved to Rogersville, Tenn., with his family. Ballard Coldwell, son of Thomas 2d and Philadelphia Ballard, was born in 1766 in Augusta county, Virginia (now Botetourt), and married in 1791 Sarah Evans, of Virginia, who was always referred to as "a beauty and an heiress." Her mother was Jane Campbell. The eldest son of this couple was John Campbell Caldwell, who fought with General Jackson in the Creek war and at the battle of New Orleans, and whose daughter Mary married Capt. Jacob Cross Fite, of General Hardee's staff, Confederate States Army, and was the mother of my husband, Dr. Campbell Caldwell Fite.

Any information of the Caldwells, Ballards, Evanses or Campbells will be very welcome, and I hope some of your correspondents will continue the subject.
E.M.S.F.

Messrs. Editors:
The writer who placed the Caldwells as pirates is altogether wrong, as they captured Barba Rosa and got their reward. Please have this corrected.
J.J. Caldwell, M.D.

Last updated: November 24, 2001.