Cadwode History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

Brythonic in origin, the name of Cadwode came from the rugged landscape of Wales. The name is from the Welsh personal name Cadwaladyr. In Old Welsh, this name was Catguallon. Both Cornish and Breton, which along with Welsh, make up the family of Brythonic Celtic languages have cognate forms of this name; the Cornish form is Caduualant, and the Old Breton form is Catuualon.

Early Origins of the Cadwode family

The surname Cadwode was first found in Harlech, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. According to legend, this ancient family is descended from Cadwaladr (d. circa 664) Welsh King of Gwynedd, leader of the Celtic resistance against the Anglo-Saxons. Later accounts have made him a national hero, a Saint, and called him the last of the Kings of Briton. 1

Cadwaladr (d. 1173), the son of Gruffudd, the son of Cynan, "was the son and the brother of the two most famous north Welsh princes of their time. During his father's lifetime he accompanied his elder brother, Owain, on many predatory excursions against rival princes. In 1121 they ravaged Meirionydd, and apparently conquered it. In 1135 and 1136 they led three successful expeditions to Ceredigion, and managed to get possession of at least the northern portion of that district. " 1

Early History of the Cadwode family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cadwode research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1520, 1568, 1590, 1610, 1666 and 1690 are included under the topic Early Cadwode History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cadwode Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Cadwode have included Cadwallader, Cadwelleder, Kadwalleder, Cadwinder and many more.

Early Notables of the Cadwode family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Casail Cadwaladr (fl. 1590), a Welsh poet, who flourished in the latter part of the sixteenth century. 1 Roger Cadwallador (1568-1610), was an English divine, a native of Stretton Sugwas, Herefordshire. " At length, on Easter day, 1610, he was apprehended and taken before Dr. Robert Bennet, bishop of...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cadwode Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cadwode family

North America in the 1800s and 1900s saw the arrival of many Welsh people hoping to share in the wealth of land, work, and freedom that they felt North America held. Those who made the journey often attained those expectations, but only through an enormous amount of hard work, perseverance, and often a bout of good luck. These immigrants helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and culture of both Canada and the United States. Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Cadwode: Humphrey Cadwellader who settled in Virginia in 1641; John Cadwalader settled with his wife in Philadelphia in 1820; C. Cadwalader arrived in San Francisco in 1852..

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print