: I dont know whether it is wise to totally discount the
: French Pirates theory or rather to examine it in a
: different light.

: During the "Thirty years war"many Scots fought
: in that European conflict and Scots were involved in
: the rescue of French Hugenots at La Rochelle centre of
: the French navy.It is conceivable that some of the
: soldiers were Caldwell's.
: Just a thought.

Hi Plunkett, You're right, there is a fair chance that Caldwells as well as lots of other Scots became "Wild Geese" as the Scots and Irish mercenaries were called. It's a well known fact that a lot of European countries had Scots/Irish professional soldiers in them. What I was trying to put down was the insinuation that "the three brothers from Mt Aud who became pirates" before coming to Scotland, settling near the Solway (where you find very few Caldwells in the phone directory) and then they went on to found the whole clan and supposed to be the start of the name. I don't think so. I enjoy a lot of your input. Keep it up.

David in Manitoba
: Plunkett Caldwell
: Hi Barbara