USA > Ohio > Clark County > The history of Clark County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men, V. 1 > Part 49
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ers. Another log house was on the southeast corner of Limestone and Main streets, and Col. Daugherty's large log house with its imposing stone chimneys was nearly opposite. A large two-story log house, which, in time of the Indian inenrsions incident to border life, was used as a block-house, stood near the southeast corner of High and Limestone streets. Not far from what was long known as "the old Buckeye corner," nearer the public square, was another cabin, in which two Frenchmen named Duboy and Lucroy sold goods suitable mostly to the Indian trade. The two taverns conducted by Foos and Lowry, with two or three cabins on Columbia street, composed the village of Springfield. The health of the neighborhood is indicated in the fact that there were at that time only four graves in what is now known as the old graveyard. One of these was the grave of Mrs. Demint, who died in the fall of 1803.
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF SPRINGFIELD.
Those who have been identified with the early settlement of a community leave their impress upon it. An insight into their habits, characters and modes of thought is essential to a thorough understanding of the growth and develop- ment which was made possible by their early struggles. A study of New En- gland without a knowledge of the Puritan character of the Plymouth fathers would be as valueless as a history of Old England without a thorough descrip :. tion of the Saxons and the Normans. Let us. therefore. take a glimpse at some of those hardy men whose names are linked with early life in Springfield.
Jobn Daugherty first comes under our notice as engaged in laying out the town plat of the village, having been called to this work by Mr. Demint. He was a native of Virginia, who had come to Demint's from Kentucky. He was a man of considerable natural ability, uncouth in person, but endowed with the faculty of making friends among all classes. His persuasive manners made him popular among the pioneers. He held various offices of trust; was elected Auditor of the county of Clark in 181S. Representative in the State Legislature during the winters of 1820. 1821. 1822. and again in 1824. As he had proven an efficient Representative, he had little difficulty in being chosen to the State Senate from the district then composed of Clark, Champaign and Logan Coun- ties. in IS25. The primitive method of electioncering. as used by this pioneer politician. was to make a personal canvass of the district on horseback, having a jug of whisky in ouch end of his saddlebags. An intuitive insight into char- actor suggested to him when to use a direct appeal for support, and when the more indirect, but equally as potent. influenes of the jug should prevail A ready wit, fluent speech and courteous bearing gained him a large following. At the close of his political life, he moved to a farm in Springfield Township, about two miles south of Springfield, where he died in 1832.
ROBERT RENNICE.
That portion of the city now known as the West End was originally owned by Robert Rennick, jointly with James Demint. Mr. Rennick at first settled in Springfield Township. but. soon after Demint's location of the town, he be- came a resident there. His land. which was in Section 5. Township 4, Range 9. was set avart to him upon a mutual division of the tract, which, as stated before, he owned in common with Demint. The east half. by this partition, came into the possession of the latter, while the former held the west half, the eastern boundary of which ran along the line called Yellow Springs street. He was a man of indomitable will and enterprise. The small mill at the mouth of Mill Run could not meet the demand made upon it from the surrounding country,
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which fact induced Mr. Rennick, during the years 1806 and 1807, to build a larger mill on Buck Creek, on the opposite bank, and a little below what is now Fern Cliff Cemetery. It became a valuable acquisition to the new settlement, and long continued in successful operation. About fifteen or twenty years later, this mill, together with the farm on the north side of the creek, came into the possession of a Mr. Henry Bechtle, who continued the business successfully as late as 1835. After the death of Mr. Bechtle, the mill was abandoned, and finally torn down.
Mr. Rennick, in 1820, held the office of Justice of the Peace. His rulings were marked by a profound contempt for the decisions of the higher courts, but were tempered by a sturdy common sense, which guided him aright. He was frequently a law unto himself, and served his own writs if a Constable was not convenient or suitable to his mind. At one time, a man charged with horse- stealing was arrested and brought before him. As the modern features of jail or station-house had not been provided, and it became necessary to retain the prisoner overnight to secure the attendance of an important witness, Squire Rennick proceeded to improvise a pair of stocks. He split a log in balves, and hewed them so that, when joined again, two holes sufficiently large to insert the prisoner's legs were made. In these holes his legs were placed, the log pinioned fast, and the offender secured. He then laid the man thus fastened in a convenient place on the ground, confident that he would not forfeit his recognizance for his appearance the next day.
JONAH BALDWIN.
One of the Commissioners in the council with Tecumseh held in the vil lage in 1807 was Jonah Baldwin, who was selected because of his sound judg- ment and excellent character. He came to Springfield in 1804, a young and then unmarried man. He built a large two-story frame house some years after his arrival, on a lot a little east of Limestone street, on Main street. Here he opened a tavern, which also served him as an office as a Justice of the Peace. He had a remarkable memory for dates and circumstances connected with the history of the nation. Mr. Baldwin died near Springfield in 1865, having at- tained the age of eighty-eight years.
WALTER SMALLWOOD.
In the spring of 1804. Walter Smallwood, with his young wife, came from Virginia, purchased a lot on the south side of Main street and erected a resi- dence near where the Western House now stands. He was a valuable acquisi- tion, as he was the first, and, for a number of years, the only, blacksmith in the place. Mrs. Smallwood was a woman of superior intellect, cultivated manners, and very active in all matters pertaining to the social improvement of the com- munity. She became one of the original members of the first Methodist socie- ties organized here. She was remarkably gifted in prayer. Her choice words and sweet voice, melting in its tenderness, were frequently heard in supplica- tion in the religious worship of that church. Mrs. Smallwood became the mother of six children- three boys and three girls-all of whom reached mature years, and, under the early teachings of a pious mother, identified themselves with religious organizations. The oldest son. Louis, went farther west in 1832, and settled in Lexington. Mo .. where he engaged in the practice of his profes- sion, the law. He served several terms as Clerk of the Court at Lexington, with credit. In 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Smallwood followed their children to Missouri. Their youngest son. Walter, who had learned the trade of a painter, and also studied law while in Springfield, became a Judge in one of the inferior courts
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in Missouri. He entered the Union army during the rebellion, serving a por- tion of the time as staff officer. At the close of the war, he went to Mississippi, where he assisted in framing the new constitution of that State, and wrote a very able address to the Senate of the United States in advocacy of its approval by that body. The Smallwoods were all loval during the rebellion, and none more so than their aged father. The following anecdote of Mr. Smallwood is related by a writer in Harper's Magazine, and is characteristic of his intrepid character: "When the rebel Gen. Price, with his army, was making a raid in the vicinity of Lexington, Mo., Mr. Smallwood was standing one morning at the gate in front of his house in that city, when a rebel officer rode rapidly up to him and inquired if he could inform him where Gen. Price and his army was. The old gentleman gazed indignantly at the officer a moment, and then replied. 'I don't know, sir, where they are, but can tell you where they ought to be at this moment.' The officer innocently asked, 'Where?' Mr. Smallwood, raising his cane and shaking it with great violence at the rebel officer, exclaimed, in a loud voice, 'In hell, sir, in hell!' The officer pursued his inquiry no farther, but rode rapidly away."
Mr. Smallwood buried his wife in Missouri before the war, following in 1869, at the age of eighty-seven years.
REV. SAUL HENKLE.
The first settled minister of the Methodist Church in Springfield was Rev. Saul Henkle, who came from Hardy County, Virginia, in the spring of 1809. on horseback. with his young wife and child, two months old. He moved in the log house built by Archibald Lowry, then occupied as a tavern, and continued to live there until he built his one-story brick house on High street in 1825, where he lived the remainder of his life.
Mr. Henkle was a regularly ordained preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but joined the Protestant Methodists soon after their organization. He was a devout Christian and an exemplary citizen, living to promote the moral and religious welfare of the people in the village and neighboring coun- try. His ministerial life covered a period of twenty-eight years. At every marriage feast and every funeral ceremony, he officiated, and neither would have been complete without him. A funeral in those days was attended with a solemnity unobserved at the present time. The coffin rested upon a simple- bier, and was carried on the shoulders of four or sis men, walking to the grave. The officiating minister preceded the coffin, and the pall-bearers, the mourners and friends. with,"solemn step and slow, " walked behind in twos. When the procession began to move, the minister would commence the singing of a famil- iar hymn, in which the rest would join, and which they continued until they reached the grave. The usual hymn sung on these occasions was the one beginning-
"Hark! from the tombs a doleful sound."
In the year 1827, Mr. Henkle edited and published a religious paper called The Gospel Trumpet. He performed all the labor at his residence on High street. He also wrote some editorials for the Western Pioneer. In 1830, he was elected to the office of Clerk of the Court, in which position he proved an efni- cient and popular officer.
He was a man a little below the ordinary height, of rather slender forni, inclined to stoop in the shoulders, with a remarkably pleasant face, and manner indicating his ministerial office. In the pulpit, his speaking was extempora- neons. He was slow in delivery, but his words were appropriately chosen, and his thoughts were entertaining and instructive. His first wife died in Septem-
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ber, 1825, and he married again in 1829. He died in Springfield in 1837, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. His second wife, a most excellent woman. sur- vived him about thirty-seven years. She was a very active and consistent mem- ber of the High Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Saul Henkle, Esq., now of Washington City, and Mrs. J. S. Halsey, were their children.
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JOHN AMBLER.
John Ambler came from New Jersey to Springfield in 1808, remaining but a short time, when he purchased and removed to a farm on Mud Run. The occupation of farming not being congenial to his tastes, he soon soll his farm, and removed, with his wife and children, to Springfield. Among the residents when he first came to the village were Griffith Foos and Archibald Lowry, tav- ern-keepers; Mr. Hodge and Samuel Simonton, merchants: Walter Smallwood, blacksmith: James Shipman, tailor; Mr. Doyle, saddler; Mr. Fields, who kept a repair-shop for articles in wood and iron: Dr. Richard Hunt, the first physi- cian; and Col. Daugherty, the surveyor. In 1812, Mr. Ambler was both mer- chant and tavern-keeper, occupying a small log house nearly opposite the Mad River National Bank. He was a very public-spirited, worthy gentleman, and among the foremost to advocate the prosperity of the place. When Springfield became the county seat, he was elected Treasurer, and used his private resi- dence as the office. This building was a two-story brick house, on Main street, on the northwest corner of the alley west of Factory street. Mr. Ambler and Maddox Fisher were the contractors for building the first court house: also, to inclose the old graveyard on Columbia street with a stone wall. He also donated one-half of the lot now used by the First Presbyterian Church, of which he was one of the original members, and contributed largely to the first church building thereon, paying for and doing a portion of its painting.
Mr. Ambler died shortly after, turning over the books and papers of the Treasurer's office to James S. Halsey, who had been elected his successor. Mrs. Ruth Shipman, mother of John Shipman, present Postmaster, was the daughter of Mr. Ambler.
COOPER LUDLOW.
Cooper Dudlow, who came to Clark County in IS05 and settled in Spring- field Township, near the first Mad River bridge west of the city. was a tanner by trade, and worked a tannery in connection with his farm. In 1812. he moved into Springfield, and kept a public inn on the corner of Main and Fac- tory streets. He was an industrious citizen, and invaluable in laving the foundations of Springfieldl's prosperity. Mr. Ludlow was twice married. Dr. John Ludlow, President of the First National Bank, was his son by his first wife. His second wife was the mother of Abraham Ludlow, member of the City Council, and of the extensive manufacturing firm of Thomas, Ludlow & Rodgers. George Ludlow, ex-member of the police force, and three other sons, and one daughter. Mrs. Ferriy. His descendants have been valiable citizens, and have aided much in promoting the prosperity of the place of which their ancestor had been one of the founders. The house of Mr. Ludlow for many years was on the southwest corner of High and Factory streets, and but recently gave place to the new High-School building.
PEARSON SPINNING.
Among the first merchants, who contributed largely by his wealth and energy toward the prosperity of the village, was Pearson Spinning, who came to Springfield from Dayton in the fall of 1812. He at once entered upon the
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sale of dry goods, and continued in that business until 1834, when, having accumulated a large property, he was considered the wealthiest man in the place. For many years, it was Mr. Spinning's custom to make a trip to New York City and Philadelphia once a year, on horseback, to purchase goods, and. owing to a lameness with which he was afflicted, always rode on a side-saddle. It required about six weeks, then, to make the trip. The goods he bought were brought over the Allegheny Mountains in wagons to Pittsburgh, and in keel- boats floated down the Ohio River to Cincinnati, and from there to Springfield in wagons. Freight then averaged about $6 por hundred weight, while wheat only brought 37 cents per bushel. In 1827, he built his fine residence on the east side of Limestone street, which now forms a part of the King building. and, in 1830, he commenced the block of buildings on the northwest corner of Main and Limestone streets, known as the "Buckeye" building, and at one time occupied as a hotel. In 1837, Mr. Spinning took large contracts in the public works of the State then in progress, in which he lost a large portion of his property. After this, he continued the business of his hotel. called the "Buckeye House," for several years, and later in life he acted in the capacity of Justice of the Peace. Mr. Spinning was born in Elizabethtown, N. J., in 1786, and died in Springfield in 1957, in the seventy-first year of his age.
GRANNY ICENBARGER.
We are indebted to Dr. John Ludlow for the following description of two original characters. for many years familiar to the residents of Springfield:
" " Granny' Icenbarger, as every one called her, was no ordinary person iu the early history of the town. She came here with her family during the war of 1812. They were Germans, and the family consisted of four children, .the aforesaid Granny, and a wild and drunken husband. The family were sup- ported by the old lady in the manufacture and sale of cakes and beer, in which capacity she gained a wide popularity among the people of both town and country. She was a woman of unblemished character, and diligent in her calling. She was admitted within the bounds of all camp-meetings, and was a regular attendant of all military musters and other public gatherings.@ where her cakes and beer were made part of the programme, and many a hun- gry and thirsty soul was replenished at her board. Her kindness of disposition to all, especially to the children, gained for her the respect of every individual. She ever had a cake as a reward for kind acis from boys, and all stood ready to befriend her. She was a portly, good-natured and motherly looking person, and lived in town for more than a quarter of a century of its early history.
"For several years after she canie, she lived and conducted her business in a log house on the west side of Market street, not far from the southwest corner of Main street. It was while she lived in this cabin that her husband died. He was a small, thin man, with very slender and crooked legs, which seemed to stand very far apart when he walked, and when he was under the influence of liquor. which was nearly always the case, he was extremely noisy, and danced and hopped about in the wildest manner, and was a source of much trouble to his wife. At the time of his death, I remember goingto their house, in company with some other boys, to show our sympathy and gratify our curiosity on the occasion.
"It was in the evening, and the old lady met us at the door and said to us: 'Law mno! poys, to oft man is tot: what a pity!' After telling her son to hold the candle that we might see the remains, she told us, in her simplicity, how much it would cost ber to bury him. Nevertheless, we thought she was deeply afflicted at her loss, though we boys expected to see her rejoice at his departure. Granny Ieenbarger died in Springfield in 1839."
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JOEL WALKER.
In the two-story log house in which the first court was held (near the pres- ent location of the First Baptist Church), there lived for many years a very eccentric and notable pioneer named Joel Walker. He came to Springfield among its first settlers, and one of his brothers lived among the Wyandot Indi- ans. Mr. Walker. unlike his brother, was a man of plausible manners and smooth words, whose chief occupation consisted in a careful attention to every- body's business but his own. He was "headquarters" for all the gossip and news of the village, and a standing witness in court. While regularly imbibing his "morning dram," he carefully kept himself from drunkenness and profan- ity. His greatest vice was the excessive laziness, loafing much of the time, leaving the support of his family to the labors of his wife and daughters. He made a seeming care of the morals and welfare of the community. He wore a stout leather belt, fastened around his body by a large buckle, as a substitute for suspenders, with which he often strapped his boys for being trifling and lazy. By shrewdness or politeness to a stranger, or the proffer of a bunch of tanzy, he procured his "morning dram" at the bar of some tavern, or perhaps by the recital of some funny anecdote, cracking a joke, or giving one of his long and peculiarly loud laughs, he satisfied his love of the ardent for the day. If he had nothing to eat at home, he managed to drop into the house of a neigh- bor at meal time and accept the invitation to "set up" at the table. He was a very singular man. and, by his eccentricities, he afforded much amusement and fun in the town. So noted were his lazy habits that it became a common expression by any citizen then out of employment, if asked what he was doing, to reply, "Helping Joe Walker."
Another peculiar character was a son of Granny Icenbarger, who was familiarly and widely known as "Gabe." Gabe had inherited some of his father's weak elements. and had several times been arrested for violation of the law. Upon one occasion. he was brought before His Honor, Judge Swan, then Presiding Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, on an indictment for unlaw- fully selling liquor. Upon his plea of guilty. the Judge announced a fine of '$25. Gabe very impudently responded by telling the Judge to charge it, as he had an open account with the county. The indignant Judge added thirty days' imprisonment to the fine. Gabe was hustled off to the jail. but insisted that his kit of tools -- being a shoemaker --- should be sent him. Having procured some leather. he worked assiduously at his trade, and when his time expired he refused to leave. when ordered out. He said that he had an understanding with the Judge by which he was to occupy the jail permanently. It was finally Decessary to eject him by legal process.
LITTLE DADDY VICORY.
Merryfield Vicory. an odd but genial character, located in Springfield in the year 1814. and soon afterward received and held the sobriquet of " Little Daddy Vicory." He was a short, round man, with a jolly face. He had been a drummer in the Revolutionary war, and had his drum shot from his side by a cannon ball at the siege of Yorktown. Mr. Vicory in one instance displayed skill and bravery in catching a thief while stealing some bacon from his smoke house. He seized the thief and tied him fast with a rope, and. it being Sunday morning. kept him in confinement until the horn for church, when he drove the thief down Main street under threatening's of a large club, with two sides of bacon swinging over his shoulders. He went so far in his efforts to huumiliato that thief as to take him to the door of the Presbyterian Church and ask the people there assembled if they claimed him as one of their members. The
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thief was never after seen in the town. Mr. Vicory received a pension from the Government, and, soon after his settlement here, he bought ten acres of land on the old Columbus road, on what afterward became the cast end of High street. He was father of Mr. Freeman Vicory, another esteemed citizen, who inherited the property, and spent his days also in Springfield. Mr. Merryfield Vicory was buried with military honors, in March, 1810, aged seventy-seven years.
JAMES WALLACE.
James Wallace was a native of Kentucky, and came to Ohio when he was a boy of fourteen years old. During the war of 1812, he brought the mail once a week to Springfield on horseback, returning with the same to Cincinnati. He settled in Springfield about the year 1814; apprenticed himself to William Moody, a harness and saddle manufacturer, but, before finishing his trade, he bought the remainder of his time, and, by the assistance of Pearson Spinning. he opened a store in the village of Lisbon. He soon returned, however, and entered Mr. Spinning's store as partner,* where he and Mr. Fisher, on opposite corners, kept up a lively competition. In 1823, Mr. Wallace had a store in his own name, in the brick building immediately east of the present Mad River National Bank building, where for several years he continued as a leading mer- chant. Mr. Wallace was a very affable man, a good talker, somewhat excitable, and an excellent salesman. He was opposed to any one leaving his store with- . out purchasing goods, and often he was seen enticing customers in from the streets or pavement as they were passing along. He kept a great variety of goods, so it became proverbial, if an article could not be found elsewhere, it could be had at "Jimmy Wallace's." Becoming unfortunately embarrassed in his business in later years, he sold out and left Springfield. He maintained. however, during these and subsequent days, his standing in the Presbyterian Church, and reached a good age ere the day of his death.
DR. NEEDHAM.
One of the pioneers in the profession of medicine in Springfield, Dr. Will- iam A. Needham, came from Vermont in 1814. He first lived in a small log house in the vicinity of Lagonda, but, in 1817, moved into his new frame house on the southwest corner of Main street and the alloy east of Limestone street, opposite the building now owned by William Burns. The Doctor became a popular physician and leading citizen. He was a jovial man, full of quips and pert sayings, and his social qualities and kindness of heart gained for him a large circle of friends. He was the father of the wives of Samson Mason and Jonah Baldwin, and died in Springfield in 1832, aged sixty-five years.
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