John W. Caswell Biography from History of Rockingham County, NH From: Ranee Egee - raneeegee@hotmail.com Surname: CASWELL Source: History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and Representative Citizens by Charles A. Hazlett, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill., 1915 Page 934 JOHN W. CASWELL, residing at No. 264 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, N. H., with the assistance of his two sons, is engaged in farming and dairying, having a good farm of 75 acres. He is a native of Rye, N. H., where he was born October 30, 1841, and was reared by his grandparents, William and Polly Caswell, who were of English descent, the grandfather being a promi- nent and well to do farmer. Mr. Caswell's grandmother died in 1868; his grandfather in 1884. He was educated in the common schools of Rye and subsequently engaged in farming until 1858. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted as a sailor and was appointed to the position of master in 1861 and resigned in 1865. Soon after he resigned he resumed his old occu- pation of farming for two years, at the end of which time he bought out the old firm of Marston & Rendal, wholesale fish dealers. He continued in that business for thirty-one years, or until January 1, 1900, when he retired from the fish business and came to his present location, where, as above men- tioned, he is carrying on a prosperous farming and dairy business with the help of his sons. Modern equipment and methods characterize the place and Mr. Caswell has the distinction of having one of the finest homes in Rocking- ham County. A Democrat in politics, he has from time to time taken an active part in public affairs. In 1882, 1883 and 1884 he served on the board of aldermen, was custom house inspector under Cleveland's first administra- tion, and was a member of the state legislature in 1907, showing ability and fidelity in each of these positions. A man of recognized integrity, his fellow citizens place the same reliability upon his word they would upon his bond. Mr. Caswell was married July 10, 1864, to Miss Harriet McEwen Mathes, who was born in Rye, N. H., a daughter of Abraham and Betsey (Berry) Mathes, who were farming people. The Mathes family consisted of six chil- dren, but all are now dead except two, Mrs. Henry D. Foss, of Rye, N. H., and B. S. Mathes of Keene, N. H. Mrs. Caswell died October 30, 1910. She and her husband were parents of children as follows; Ida, who is the wife of John P. Sweetser of Portsmouth, and has one son, Harold C.; Hattie A., wife of Alfred G. Ramsdell, who lives in Rye, N. H.; Oriel M.; Harry C., who married Mildred Flint and has two children, Forest F., and Harriett H. The family attends the Orthodox Church, while Mr. Caswell's fraternal affili- ations are with the Odd Fellows. ************************************************************************ * * * * Notice: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * * The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.