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MacCAUL, MacCawell, Caulfield

(Mac) CORLESS, Carlos Caulfield a surname of many origins. The majority of our Caulfields are MacCawells - Mac Cathmhaoil in Irish, a Cenél Eoghain sept traditionally descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages. Located in the barony of Clogher (Co. Tyrone). Other anglicized forms are those Campbell, Howell, MacCarvill, MacCowhill, Callwell, MacCall and MacHall. The last two are also used for Mac Cathail of Hy Many, which, when found in its homeland in Connacht is now Corless, Carlos or Charles; Corless and Carlos are often Mac Carluis in modern Irish. Today MacCaul and MacCall belong mainly to the Armagh-Monaghan-Cavan area, while Caulfield is most numerous in north-east Ulster and in Mayo. Petty's "census" (1659) indicates that Cawells and MacCawells were then numerous in Armagh and Louth, two of the counties comprised in ancient Oriel: the abbreviated form MacCall had not yet been adopted and Caulfield appeared only as a planter family. This was established as a leading Ulster landlord family by Sir Toby Caulfield. Born at Oxford in 1565 and registered at baptism in the name of Calfehill, came to Ulster in the service of Queen Elizabeth; in 1607 he obtained a large grant of abbey lands in Co. Armagh and also in Co. Derry. He acted for the government as collector of rents and fines on the forfeited O'Neill estates from 1608 to 1611. He was the first Baron Charlemont and ancestor of the present peer. One of the seats of this family, Castlecaulfield was the centre of the town of the same name in Co. Tyrone. They were always active in the English interest. William, the 5th Baron, captured Sir Phelim O'Neill in 1652 and in the next generation they took the side of William of Orange. They retained until recent times their extensive estates and in 1883 held over 26,000 acres in Counties Armagh and Tyrone. Another Lord Charlemont, James Caulfield, 1st Earl, (1728-1799), first president of the Royal Irish Academy, was cornmander-in-chief of the Irish Volunteers as well as being a scholar. Another James Caulfield was Catholic Bishop of Ferns from 1785 to 1810. Since the Charlemont family lived in the same territory as the Gaelic sept of MacCawell some confusion arises as to the origin of individuals since the partial adoption by the MacCawells of the surname Caulfield. Before the eighteenth century identification is not difficult. MacCawells are found often in early seventeenth century Ulster records, e.g. in the 1606-1609 inquisition juries, most of whom were of Gaelic-Irish stock. It is of interest to recall the recorded fact that in 1609 of 15 Limavady jurors (including two MacCawells as well as MacAttagarts, O'Heaneys and a MacGilligan) 13 "spoke good Latin." The MacCawells are principally noteworthy as ecclesiastics: two were Bishops of Clogher between 1390 and 1432 and many others held lesser positions in the diocese between 1356 and 1612; and there was also the Franciscan historian and philosopher, Hugh MacCaughwell (I 571-1626), who was appointed Archbishop of Armagh the year he died; but possibly he was not of this stock as in Irish he is usually called MacAingil.