Including documents from Benjamin Caswell's time as a government employee, this service file was compiled at the Office of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. Although Caswell began his career as an assistant disciplinarian at Carlisle from 1893-1895, this folder focuses on the second half of Caswell's career. He worked as Superintendent of Cass Lake School until 1912 then transferred to an overseer of timber position. He then worked as a Clerk for the Department of Justice and White Earth Agency until 1918. Resuming work in 1922 as Chief of Police, Caswell's final position in government was Junior Clerk (with his daughter Margaret Caswell) from 1930 to 1933.
Note: the documents are arranged in reverse chronological order.
The first PDF's documents give an overview of Caswell's service and then go into detail about his retirement benefits and how he left government service. It seems that due to budget cuts the BIA fired Caswell by abolishing his position. Because he had worked in the government for over 30 years, he was given retirement benefits. The second half of the PDF concerns an effort in 1930 to establish his complete government service record.
The second PDF includes documents about Caswell's transition from being Chief of Police to a Junior Clerk at the Consolidated Chippewa Agency in 1930. There are also documents from the late 1920's about Caswell's earlier requests for transfer or promotion.
The third PDF contains a variety of documents from 1922-1926 including a petition by a group of Chippewa people to have Caswell removed from government service. There is also correspondence asking that Caswell receive a raise.
The fourth PDF begins with correspondence about Caswell's transfer to be interpreter or clerk for White Earth Agency in January of 1918. Then it focuses on Caswell's work that preceded that. In 1913 Caswell had been transferred to be a clerk and interpreter with J. H. Hinton of the Department of Justice to assist with prosecution of cases of land fraud in White Earth. There is documentation about the transfer then paperwork related to the job itself, including requests for Caswell's salary to be increased.
The final PDF contains documents related to Caswell's job as Superintendent of Cass Lake School and Overseer of Timber in 1912 and 1913. There are efficiency reports about Caswell's work as overseer and negotiation of his resignation from the Superintendent position.
