Early life

Caswell was born at Glens Falls, New York

Glens Falls, New York

Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States. Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census...

, in 1807 with the given name of Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...

 although he always went by just the name "Burr." As a young man Caswell learned cabinet trade skills. He practiced this business for several years in Glens Falls.

In 1827 he married Hannah Green. They were married in Glens Falls where they remained for a few years. Caswell and his family afterwards made several changes in the next few years like many of the early settlers. They even went to Mississippi and were employed on the river boats. In 1842 Caswell and his family moved to Barrington Station, Lake County, Illinois. Here he bought a farm where he lived for three years.

Mid life

Caswell by himself then in 1845 went to Pere Marquette Township

Pere Marquette Charter Township, Michigan

Pere Marquette Charter Township is a charter township of Mason County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,228 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

 in Mason County, Michigan

Mason County, Michigan

Mason County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,705. The county seat is Ludington.-History:...

, for a while. There he spent most of his time fishing at Duck Lake. He was there to 1847 and then returned to Illinois and got his family of six and moved back to Pere Marquette Township. A distant relative Frances Caswell Hanna in her book Sand Sawdust and Sawlogs relates the story of their arrival,

His family was the first family of white settlers in the area which was then considered a frontier. They lived in dense wilderness and rugged terrain. The closest white settlers were in Manistee

Manistee, Michigan

Manistee is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,586. It is the county seat of Manistee County. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. The derivation is not certain, but it may be from...

 some 20 miles away. Caswell got along well with the local Michigan Ottawa Indians

Ottawa (tribe)

The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...

. He learned their customs and religion. Caswell built a small two story frame house in 1849 out of old driftwood

Driftwood

Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris or tidewrack....

. It was the first frame structure in Mason County which still stands at White Pine Village

White Pine Village

White Pine Village opened in 1976. It is an outdoor museum containing nineteenth century buildings and related artifacts. The centerpiece is Burr Caswell's 1849 farmhouse...

 very near its original location as the Mason County Historical Society

Mason County Historical Society

Mason County Historical Society, located in Ludington, Michigan, is a private, non-profit, educational organization. It is a museum dedicated to preserving the local history of Mason County, Michigan....

's outdoor museum's centerpiece.

A book of 1882 titled History of Manistee, Mason, and Oceana Counties says,
He continuely worked at improving his farm while working in the lumber industry. In 1855 when Mason County officially became a county Caswell turned over the first floor of his farmhouse to use for a courthouse and trading post. The family moved to the upstairs of the farmhouse. The Mason County Courthouse

Mason County Courthouse (Michigan)

The Mason County Courthouse is in Mason County, Michigan. It is in the town of Ludington in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.- History :The area early in its history attracted several lumbermen because of the abundance of white pine timber. Among these early settlers in the area were Burr Caswell,...

 county seat was placed at Caswell's house from 1856 to 1861. For many years Caswell produced lumber from the local timber that was shipped to Chicago for construction. The village which sprang up around the Caswells was then called Pere Marquette

Jacques Marquette

Father Jacques Marquette S.J. , sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan...

. This was in honor of the missionary that died in the area in 1675.

Caswell and his eldest son were fishermen and trappers at first. They later worked at Baird and Bean Lumber Mill in downtown Ludington. Caswell was the first Mason County surveyor, coroner, probate judge and fish inspector. Caswell's wife, Hannah Green, died in 1870 and he then moved to downtown Ludington. He became the manager of a local shingle mill.

Later life

In 1871 Caswell married again. His new wife’s name was Sarah. They then moved into the Big Point Sable lighthouse in 1873 where Caswell became its keeper. They lived there for 5 years until 1878.

Caswell and his wife then went to Mitchell, South Dakota

Mitchell, South Dakota

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 14,558 people, 6,121 households, and 3,599 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,475.7 people per square mile . There were 6,555 housing units at an average density of 664.4 per square mile...

. Here they operated a large hotel. They were there until 1886. Caswell then returned to Ludington and 10 years later he died in 1896. Caswell is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Ludington beside his first wife.

His September 17, 1896, obituary reads

Further family history

Caswell's daughter Mary, that was born about 1835, married Richard Hatfield at the Caswell farmhouse in 1854. This was the first recorded marriage in Mason County. Mary died in 1882 at the age of 46 (if the birth date is correct). She was the mother of fourteen children, nine of whom preceded her in death. Helen, who was Mary's younger sister, was born about 1837. She married Sewell Moulton. Caswells last child was Edgar, who was born in 1840 in Illinois. He married Julia Genia 1871.