Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

WTHEATFIEILD TOWNSHIP' AND ITS HISTORY

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he would scratch at the door and whine. When the door was
opened he would sneak under the bed and remain quiet till morning. His dogs' share of the entertainment was over and he would
rest from his labors.
Mr. Caswell had four sons-Chester, Adelbert, Ira and Charles.
They were choppers and later took jobs of felling timber for the
settlers that came in. Each man was an expert with an axe.
They knew all the good points of that tool as a skillful workman
knows his hammer, plane or chisel. The artist was Ira. Many
times I have watched him at work on a log swing his five pound
ax, saw the flying chips, and timed his cut. How easy the great
shoulder and arm muscles worked, the ax was buried in the
crackling wood with hair-like accuracy, and the cut was so smooth
that it looked as if it was planed. He and his brother Chester
in the month of March, 1866, cut thirty acres of heavy timber in
twenty-two days. My father let them the job and paid them six
dollars per acre.
Nicholas Emmer was a hard working farmer, who by his own
efforts and frugal German ways accumulated a fortune in a few
years. In after years, when he had retired from active work, he
told me he did not enjoy himself as he did when he arose at 4 a. m.
worked until 10 p. m. and came home so tired that he slept on the
hard floor beside his kitchen stove. In his opinion he rested
better and was more refreshed than he was when he slept on a
spring mattress.
Mr. Rehle had two sons. The younger, Charles, was a schoolmate in the Williamston school. I cannot recall among my boyhood friends a young man of more happy disposition or more
sterling qualities. That dread disease, appendicitis, claimed
him and he "went west" in the pride of his early manhood.
Jacob, his brother, still living, has been sheriff of Ingham county.
Peter Zimmer was a rival of Nicholas Emmer. For years each
tried to get more land or make the most money, and Nick's death
was the only thing that stopped this rivalry. I think Pete was
lonesome after this, but in the following years he met with a bitter
disappointment. His son, that for years he had educated for a
priest, chose law instead of theology for his profession, and by so
doing nearly broke his father's heart.
Two brothers from the state of New York settled in the eastern