It would make some sense to me that those graves are very, very old (pre-dating 1700) because I have read references to such an old graveyard. It will be helpful to approximate the date of them because if they are that old, I would rule it out as a source for missing Caldwell graves knowing that there were lots of Caldwells near there in the 1700s and 1800s. My theory is that with so many Caldwells in the area during that time period and no found graves, that either Aghadowey is right and they (a) did not have graves; (b) just purchased a stone, no inscription; or (c) they are all in a family plot somewhere. I am still hopeful that the last theory is the correct one and we just have not found them yet. But I accept the reality that it could be (b). Magilliganlass had a very helpful suggestion that I will see if I can use next time I go to St. Aidans and Tamlaghtard. The grave in St. Aidans that lists my great, great, great, great Grandmother, Margaret Caldwell, is close to the church and on a slope with nothing around it. It is possible that there are other hidden graves there. But I think that is not likely because for much of this period St. Aidans was Catholic and we know that our Caldwells were Presby Scots. I am more curious about using that method at Tamlaghtard, however, because there are large plots in that graveyard where you would expect to find graves but do not find any. Either they are buried or have been otherwise destroyed. And that church is a couple of hundred yards from the biggest recorded Caldwell farm in the 1800s. We have viewed the record book at Tamlaghtard and have 3 Caldwells listed at this time - which is a little odd because it was CoI. But it pre-dates Magilligan Presby Church and so it looks to us like they would have had to pick between Dunboe, Ballykelly, or find some family connection to the CoI which gave them the moral justification to attend Tamlaghtard. Maybe not likely, but a possibility nonetheless.
