Stephen Caudill, born about 1680, in Scotland and came to America about 1700.  In the 1600s, the Scotland Caudills migrated into Ireland, England and to the new world, America.  Most of the people who came to America settled in Virginia.  Caudills are known to have been in St. Charles Co., Va. as early as the 1650s, 30 years after the first Pilgrims came from England to make their homes in America.  On August, 5, 1731, Stephen paid 20 shillings for a King George II, patent for 195 acres on the North Side of Nottaway River in Old Surry Co., Va.  A patent to those people back then was the same as deed is to us now.  From Surry County, Stephen and his wife Mary were traced into the St. Edwards Parrish of Burnswick [Brunswick] County and thence into Lunenburg Co., Va.  Many Caudills were in Va. in the early 1700s.  In 1600s and 1700s very few records were kept and that made it very difficult for researchers to trace a family name.  I am very thankful that a lot of people are interested in their own family trees and have done some researching and have found that some branches and twigs on their trees have become mixed and tied into twigs on our tree and have told me about some Caudills that I didn’t know about.

Stephen and Mary had two boys.
1.  STEPHEN CAUDILL and MARY ? CAUDILL
      Children:
1.  Sampson Caudill, b about 1717.  We have no record of his descendants.
2.  James Caudill Sr., b 1720, in Surry Co., Va., m Mary Yarborough.  He followed his children across the border into Rowan Co., North Carolina, in 1784, where he bought a 180 acre farm.  He later settled in the Roaring River section of Old Wilkes Co., N.C. where in 1795, he bought a 250 acre farm on Middle Creek fork of Roaring River.  James was a minister in the Old Roaring River Baptist Church.