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Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== The Ludington Record Thursday, May 21, 1896 Volume XXIX THE OLDEST INHABITANT --------------------- A SKETCH OF BURR CASWELL, MASON COUNTY'S PIONEER AND OLDEST INHABITENT. Michigan papers not infrequently refer to the memory of the oldest inhabitant for the purpose of adorning a tale of the weather, fishing, frost, storms, cyclones or other disturbances worthy of note. THE RECORD refers today to that interesting individual because he is in the city, alive and well, 90 years old almost, and with a good pros- pect of rounding out the century. MR. BURR CASWELL visited Pere Marquette lake in 1845 for the pur- pose of fishing as a ready means of making a livelihood. In 1847 he selected and entered the first farm ever taken by a white man in what is now Mason county. A year or two before this a small sawmill had been built at old Freesoil, and soon after destroyed by fire, not to be replaced for several years, but no actual settlement had been made for the purpose of building a home until MR. CASWELL secured his farm. It was located on the bluffs south of and adjoining Buttersville vil- lage. In those days a village of Ottawa Indians occupied the present site of Buttersville and extended quite a distance eastward along Pere Mar- quette lake. MR. CASWELL was born at Glen Falls, N.Y., in 1807. In 1837 he mar- ried MISS HANNAH GREEN, of the same place, and subsequently moved to the region of the lower Mississippi. Not liking that country he came north to Illinois and after coming as far north as Ludington to fish, concluded to make this his home. He brought his wife, daughters HELEN and MARY and sons GEORGE and EDGAR to their pioneer home. Their dusky neighbors proved to be quite friendly and MR. CASWELL from first to last maintained friendly relations with them. They named him Mush- tum-king on account of the flowing beard that adorned his face in those days. In 1850 RICHARD HATFIELD appeared and liked the country so well that he stayed too, and married MISS MARY CASWELL, RICHARD being the first white bridegroom to Mason county's credit. MRS. HATFIELD died several years ago. MR. HATFIELD will round out his three score and ten in July and is a hale and vigorous specimen of the pioneer yet. A very few years after, ex-Sheriff MOULTEN came to take the posi- tion of foreman in the little sawmill which had been erected at "Pere Marquette." He married MISS HELEN CASWELL, and they now in their de- clining years have MR. CASWELL, the subject of our sketch, under the same roof. The son GEORGE died in 1868, but EDGAR, the first white kid Mason county ever saw is the present popular and festive plumber of James street. MR. BURR CASWELL, our pioneer, was always a man of affairs during the forty years he resided here subsequent to the settlement of the county. He was harbor inspector during the first two years the gov- ernment took any cognizance of the port. In the annals of the county his name frequently appears in connection with positions of trust. In 1869 his wife died, and in 1871 he married MRS. SARAH M. KELLETT a native of New York state, a lady who has shared his joys and sorrows until today. In 1874 they took charge of the Point Sauble light-house and after eight years' service moved to Mitchell, South Dakota. They resided there thirteen years and on last Friday returned to Ludington and now reside with his daughter, MRS. SEWELL MOULTON. Aside from being somewhat deaf MR. CASWELL preserves his facilities to a remarkable degree and delights to tell of the pioneer days when Mason county was a wilderness and the lake shores swarmed with fish. He relates how with a gang of men he hauled out of Lake Michigan 93 barrels of fish in one day. He says the whitefish swarmed Lake Michi- gan fifty years ago and specimens weighing six pounds were common. Another interesting reminiscence related by MR. CASWELL is that soon after he came here he employed a very old French man whom he calls NARCISS DONEY. This "ancient of days" could speak several dia- lects of Indian and knew from Indian legends, not too old in the days of his youth, that the strong wooden cross then standing below the north end of the bluffs at Buttersville marked the grave of PERE MARQUETTE. In those days MR. CASWELL asserts it was a matter not to be doubted. The resident Indians revered the spot. The location was on the rising ground now divided from the bluff by the road at the point when it leaves the shore of Lake Michigan to turn eastward. The regular Indian burying ground is covered now by the brine vats at the salt works. MR. and MRS. CASWELL were at all times held by the people of Mason county in the highest esteem, and since their return many friends have been delighted to call to see and talk with them. May Mason county's pioneer settlers live long to enjoy all that advancing years can bring them. =========================================================================== If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access more of our growing collection of FREE online information by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/ ===========================================================================