There are a lot of Caldwells in Kentucky. They share first names. Information will be carefully sifted and credited. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated. The information below comes from two family histories:  Family History, Caldwell and another simply titled Caldwell, which was hand written.  I found the first in the Caldwell County KY and the Christian County Ky libraries.  The second was found in the Logan County KY Library.  Any source documents that can support the story please CONTACT US .

David Varna Caldwell was born in 1753 probably in Albemarle County Virginia on Cub Creek. The extended family had formed a settlement there about 1734 and for years it was known as the Caldwell Settlement. His parents were David Caldwell and Mary Dudgeon.

His father died in 1765 and Mary took her children to Kentucky . She went to Boyle County Kentucky according to Family History, Caldwell.  Caldwell differs a bit. It says that in 1784 Mary took her family to settle near Danville. Danville is currently the county seat of Boyle County but Boyle County did not exist until after 1840. Danville was right on the dividing line between Mercer county and Lincoln County. Indeed Caldwells are found in both.

It probably is an open question of who took whom to Kentucky. Mary's son, David Varna would have been 31 years old in 1784 with a wife and young family of his own. This would also be true of his siblings. The Filson's Map of Kentucky 1784 has a point near Danville marked "Caldwell's Station". We have a copy of the map and Caldwell's Station is due west of Danville on the Salt River. They had been there a few years. The History of Kentucky 1884 by Butley & Perrin states in their Bio Sketch of Charles Caldwell on page 745 that Robert Caldwell moved from Virginia to Danville area in 1781. Robert was David Varna's brother. It is possible that the whole family moved together in 1781. We also have David Varna's son David who reported on the 1850 census that he was born in Kentucky in 1782.

The Family History, Caldwell goes on to state that David Varna Caldwell married Phoebe Mann, his brother, John Caldwell married Dicey Mann, and his sister Mary Thankful Alice Caldwell married Beverly Mann, brother to Phoebe and Dicey. It is probable that these weddings took place in Virginia.

The children of David Varna and Phoebe Caldwell listed in the Family History were:
1. Josiah Jackson Caldwell born 1774 - a church leader at Mud Meeting House
2. Thomas Caldwell born 1776
3. Frances Mann Caldwell born Aug 3, 1778 wed Nancy Davidson
4. Sally Caldwell born 1780
5. David Caldwell born May 15, 1782 wed Catherine Davidson
6. James Caldwell born 1783
7. Dicey Caldwell born 1785 wed Currey McAfee
8. William Caldwell born 1787 married first Mary Henderson, second Rachel Rannick
9. Phoebe Caldwell born 1790 wed Archibald Adams
10. John Caldwell born 1790, War of 1812 vet, wed Mary Knox
11. Cary Allen Caldwell born 1792
12. Betsey Caldwell born 1795 wed Samuel Walker Caldwell
13. Jackson Mann Caldwell born 1797
14. Samuel Caldwell born 1799

The Caldwells were active church leaders. The Mud Meeting House was founded near Harrodsburg in 1800. This is about 10 miles north of Danville. John Caldwell, brother to David Varna, was active in founding Bethel church near Campbellsville, KY in 1800, about 20 miles southwest of Danville. Robert Caldwell, another brother to David Varna, founded Caldwell Church near Danville.

 Old Kentucky Entries and Deeds by Jillson note that a David Caldwell of Lincoln County bought land in 1786 on Chaplin's Fork. Chaplin's Fork is within four miles of Caldwell Station. The 1795 Census of Kentucky lists a David Caldwell in Washington County. These bits are pulled together in the Pioneer History of Washington County, Kentucky as compiled from newspaper articles by Orval W. Baylor and Edited and Indexed by Michael L. and Bettie Anne Cook. Article 86 "Washington County Genealogies - the Caldwells" starts with the history of the family settling in Pennsylvania in 1719-20 and then moving on to Bedford county VA about the year 1737. It notes that David, John, Samuel, Robert and other Caldwells owned land in Washington County.

There are so many Caldwells that share the same name it is very difficult to know which David. In 1786 the Chaplin River began in Lincoln County then flowed north into Mercer County and finally into what was Washington County in 1795. We do know the family was in this area and many moved on to more western parts of Kentucky and elsewhere.

One last, interesting note from the Washington County book. There is a section on the Lincoln family: Abraham Lincoln Sr. and Bersheba, his wife. These were the paternal grandparents of President Lincoln. In 1786 Abraham Sr. was shot dead by Indians leaving his widow and five children without a will. The article states hat with the help of Brumfields, the Caldwells, the Mitchells and others she kept the family together. Abraham could read and write and Bersheba "taught all the Lincoln brood to read, write, and work. .....If the truth were known we might find that the children of the Lincoln household, in company with those of the Berry, Caldwell, Sibert, Thompson, and other homes of the Beech Fork neighborhood, had instruction at the hands of the same teacher, probably in a little log school house not far from either or all of the homes." In October 1788, John Caldwell was appointed to administer the estate of Abraham Lincoln, deceased.

According to Family History, Caldwell, David Varna Caldwell died in Logan County in 1840. However, we have different information from the Caldwell Chatgroup on the Web. It stated that David Varna died in Mercer County on March 26, 1840. They are very likely two different Davids.

A handwritten history of the Caldwell family was found in the Logan county library. It is simply titled Caldwell. It states that two Caldwell families had settled in Logan County. Oliver Caldwell settled there in 1795. He was an Irish immigrant. He had three sons, David owned a leather business with his brother Andrew. There was a third son Daniel. 

 The General Samuel Caldwell and his wife Ann Batch arrived earlier in 1792. He was a first cousin to David Varna and had also lived in Caldwell Station. The writer of Caldwell believed the two families were connected in Ireland but that connection is not known. We agree and believe this family came in through Pennsylvania and into Northern Kentucky before settling in Logan County.

If you know the answer please CONTACT US.

1. What records are there to confirm he lived and died in Logan County?

2. Check Mercer County records to confirm death date and place.

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Doc; gscal030
Date created: 10/18/2004
Date edited 12/5/2014