Brian
Thanks for your story about Kald. The Mrs Lesley Gordon always said that the Caldwell's were originally Norse, I am not so sure but I would buy into Danish if someone came up with a good theory.
I will have to pester you for a bit of local information about Largs. Can you use your "connections" to find out where "Kempisland" is? Means the land over which there has been much fighting. Might have something to do with the battle of Largs. It was later renamed "Breed-Sorrow" in the plague times. It was in the Caldwell family from about 1400 to 1650 and eventually passed into the hands of the Brisbane family.
The family of Todriggs and Annanhill near Kilmarnock owned it.
I believe it was on the Gogo Burn which would make it directly inland from Largs. I cannot find any trace of it on the maps I have.
I originally thought it might have been on the Nodd and therefore the site of Brisbane House but I now believe this to be incorrect.
I am in touch with an "English" Caldwell with a very extensive family tree - the English family of the midlands is getting to look more and more like one single family with many branches.
I currently think that Caldwell came from Galdwallys - foreign Welsh. There is confirmation in the form of Galdwallys Castle in the Highlands near the Spey. This was built by one Freskin son of Ollec who originally came from the Ayrshire area and retined connections there. Freskin's family eventually became Murray or Moray from the region in ewhich they settled. Conveniently the Mure's (of renfrew/Ayrshire)to whom the early Caldwell's were closely connected who have been pronounced "Moo-ray" by the Normans referring to the French "Walled". The circle is getting tighter and perhaps we should all be looking closer at Ollec and Freskin.
You population statistics support the general facts as we know them. Thanks for your help.