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;
History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio;
Map of Clark County; Constitution of the
United States, Miscellaneous Matters,
etc., etc.
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO:
W. H. BEERS & CO.
1881.
SPRINGFIELD, CLARK COUNTY, OHIO
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CONTENTS. PART III. HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY. PAGE. FILE ONE ---------- PAGES - 214-290 FILE TWO-----------PAGES - 290-333 FILE THREE -------PAGES - 333-424 Introduction ............................... 213 The Battle of Piqua..................... 214 The Siege of the Old Indian Town of Piqua, August 8. 1780......... 214 Notes of the Battle of Piqua.........218 Tecumseh and Piqua....................220 Indian Occupancy.............. .........221 The Shawnee Indians ..................223 Extinction of the Indian Title ..... .233 Original Land Surveys ................. 234 Extent and Boundary .................. 237 The Erection of Clark County ......238 Physical Features ........................ 239 Miscellaneous Statistics for the year ending June 1, 1880.................. 243 Mounds, Relics, Etc................. ....243 Log Cabin Song ........................... 247 The Homes and Hearths of the Pi- oneers .......................................247 The Ax .......................................253 The First White Man................... 253 John Paul .................................... 254 County Buildings ....................... .260 County Officials .......................... 263 Representatives to Congress ..........263 Representatives to State Legisla- ture ......................................... 263 County Commissioners ..................263 County Auditors ...........................264 County Treasurers........................ 264 County Recorders ........................ 264 County Sheriffs... .........................267 County Coroners ......................... 267 County Surveyors ....................... 267 Clerks of Court ......... ................ 268 Prosecuting Attorneys .................268 Probate Judges ........................... 268 County Infirmary ........................ 268 Children's Rome .......................... 269 Sketch of the Bench and Bar of Clark County ........................... 270 The Bench ............................... 270 The Bar................................... 273 The National Road ....................... 280 New Boston ................................. 283 Anti-Slavery Sentiments ............... 284 John E. Layton and the Greene County Rescue Case of 1857.......287 The Military History of Clark County .................................... 290 Training-Day Period .................... 291 The Mexican War........................ 293 County Military Committee ..........297 Provost Marshal's Department from 1863 to 1866.............................. 297 Aid Societies ............................... 299 Clark County's Ex-Soldiers ...........301 Biographical Sketch of Gen. George Rogers C.ark............................... 333 The Spelling of the name Clark .....337 Simon Kenton.............................. 339 John Humphreys.......................... 342 David Lowry, Jr........................... 342 Jonathan Donne1......................... 343 Israel Ludlow .............................. 343 Sketch of Clark County Agricult- ural Society .............................. 344 Officers of Clark County Agricult- ural Society, from 1840 to 1881, except Managers ....................... 348 The Clark County Medical Society.348 Clark County Bible Society ...........351 Clark County Sabbath School Union359 The Grange in Clark County............360 The Mad River Valley Pioneer and Historical Association.............. 360 Clark-Shawnee Centennial ............. 367 The History of Short-Horn and other Cattle ................................ 398 Table of Distances from Springfield, Ohio, to several Important Cities of the United States ................... 414 Population of Clark County .......... 414 Table of Distances in Clark County.419 Decennial Appraisement of Real Property, Clark County .............. 420 Valuation of Real Property in Towns and Villages.... ................ 421 PART IV. HISTORY OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD. CITY OF SPRINGFIELD ------ PAGES - 425-523 CITY OF SPRINGFIELD----- PAGES - 523-601 City of Springfield ........................ 425 La Ohonda.................................. 426 The First Settlement .................... 426 James Demint, the Founder of Springfield ............................... 426 Original Plat of Springfield .......... 429 Beauty of Location ...................... 430 First Commercial Enterprise ......... 431 Character of Demint.................... 431 Griffith Foo's Arrival................... 432 The First Tavern ......................... 433 Picnic to Yellow Springs .............. 433 Improvements, Mills, etc.............. 433 Dayton & Springfield Road ........... 434 The City in 1804.................... ...... 434 The Early Settlers of Springfield .... 435 Robert Rennick ............................ 435 Jonah Baldwin............................ 436 Walter Smallwood........................ 436 Rev. Saul Henkle......... ............. 439 John Ambler .............................. 440 Cooper, Ludlow......................... 440 Pearson Spinning ........................ 440 Granny Icenbarger...................... 441 Joel Walker ................................ 442 Little Daddy Vicory.. ................... 442 James Wallace . ............................ 443 Doctor Needham.......................... 443 Elijah Beardsley .......................... 443 Maddox Fisher ............................ 444 Ira Paige ................. ................... 444 James Johnson ............................ 445 Major Christie............................. 445 Steady Growth of the Village .......446 The First School .......................... 449 First Church Building ...... ...... ......449 A Seat of Justice ....................... 450 Treaty with the Indiana ...... ..... ....450 The First Brick House .................. 452 Additional Church Edifices .......... .453 Volunteers for Harrison ............... 453 Smith's Academy .. ....................... 454 Springfield as a County Seat .........454 "Old Virginia" and "Sleepy Hol- low .......................................... 455 A Relic of the Mound Builders.... 455 A Temperance Organization.... ....456 Werden's Tavern ........................ 456 The First Census......................... 459 Bible Societies .................... 459 Public Buildings ....... ....... .........460 Lighting the Streets ................... 461 Springfield a Town .................... 461 The Paper Mill .......................... 461 The First Mayor ........................ 462 A Daily Mail .............................464 Societies ................................... 464 The Market House .................... 465 A Visit from Henry Clay ........... 465 The First Book Store-Nichols.....465 The Cholera ............................. 466 Fire .................... ..................... 470 Political Excitement. ............. 470 Springfield a City................... 473 Manufacturing Interests .......... 474 Celebration of. the Laying of the Atlantic Cable .......... ............ 475 Springfield in the War............... 476 Assassination of Lincoln .......... 480 Reception to Returned Soldiers .481 Return of Peace ....................... 481 Unprecedented Commercial Activ- ity ..........................................481 The Hard Times ....................... 483 The Womens' Crusade ............. 483 The Centennial Celebration........486 Mill Run Improvement ........... .486 The Fine Arts .......................... 489 Frankenstein Family ................ 493 S. Jerome Uhl.......................... 496 Present Prospects ................... 496 Churches ................................ 500 Education ................................523 The Springfield High School.....530 Wittenberg College .......... ...... 534 Industrial Interests ................. .540 The Printing Press .................. 559 Springfield Public Library ....... 569 Y. M. C. A..............................570 Secret Societies ..................... 572 Fire Department ..................... 582 Police Department. ................ 585 The Telegraph... ......................585 Street Railways ....................... 586 Railroads ... ............................. 591 Banks ...................................... 593 Home for Aged Women ........... 595 The Old Graveyard................... 595 Greenmount Cemetery ............. 595 Fein Cliff Cemetery....................596 The Pioneer Dead ..................... 597 Officers and Tax Levy ............... 598
PART V.
TOWNSHIP HISTORIES.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP ................... 605
HARMONY TOWNSHIP .......................... 635
PLEASANT TOWNSHIP.......................... 658
MOOREFIELD TOWNSHIP ..................... 673
GERMAN TOWNSHIP ............................. 679
PIKE TOWNSHIP ......................................693
BETHEL Township .................................. 704
MAD RIVER TOWNSHIP .................. ..... 719
GREEN TOWNSHIP ....................... ......... .735
MADISON TOWNSHIP ..................... ....... 746
PART VI.
BIOGRAPHICAL. SKETCHES.
Springfield Township File One..................779-895
Springfield Township File Two...................895-954
Harmony Township....................954
Pleasant Township..................... 971
Moorefield Township.................. 981
German Township....................... 997
Pike Township........................... 1011
Bethel Township ....................... 1026
Mad River Township................. 1039
Green Township......................... 1048
Madison Township..................... 1059
PORTRAITS.
Gen. George Rogers Clark........ Front.
David Lowry (deceased).............. 115
George Croft (deceased)............... 133
John T. Stewart (deceased)......... 151
James Foley (deceased)............... 169
Rev. Henry Williams................. 187
Thomas Mills (deceased)............. 205
John Ludlow............................. 212
J. S. Christie.............................. 225
J.S. Halsey (deceased).................. 235
J. L. Torbert (deceased).............. 245
William White........................... 255
J. S. Goods............................... . 265
J. Warren Keifer................... _.. 275
George Spence........................... 285
William Foos............................. 295
Samuel Barnett (deceased).......... 305
John H. Thomas........................ 315
James Leffel (deceased)............... 325
E. G. Dial.................................. 335
A. Dunlap................................. 345
C. Thompson (deceased).............. 356
George W. Hastings.................... 365
F. Holford................................. 366
S. Jerome Uhl............................ 375
J. S. Crowell............................... 386
T. J. Kirkpatrick....................... 386
Judson Redmond....................... 395
Ross Mitchell............................ 405
James P. Leffel.......................... 416
Mrs. Elizabeth Leffel (deceased)... 417
E. V. Van Norman..................... 427
Anthony Byrd..... ...................... 437
Samuel Wolf............................... 447
Thomas V. Crabill... .................. 457
Harrison Rice............................. 467
William Perrin........ ................... 477
George Brain............................... 487
Isaac C. Wood............................. 497
Lewis Skillings (deceased)........... 507
Frederick Kobelanz (deceased)... 517
William Coffey........................... 527
Lemuel Hunter ........................... 537
Nathan Neer................................ 547
Milton R. Hunter........................ 557
Andrew Nicholson (deceased).... 567
Henry Oxtoby.............................. 577
W. D. Baird................................. 589
Mrs. Sarah M. Baird (deceased).588
Michael Wilson, Sr. (deceased)...599
William Troxell........................ .. 609
John Thorpe (deceased).............. 620
Mrs. Elizabeth Thorpe (deceased). 621
L. W. Haughey............................631
E. E. T. Collins............................ 641
R. B. McCollum.......................... 651
William Comrie......................... ..661
William Davisson ........................ 671
David T. Colvin........................... 681
Presley Jones............................... 691
Reuben Shellabarger.................. 701
W. B. Jenkins.............................. 711
J. W. Hanes................................. 721
James Anderson.......................... 731
W. Brand Todd........................... 741
Abraham Kitchen....................... 753
Mrs. Matilda Kitchen................. 752
E. H. Keifer................................. 763
I. N. Kitchen................................ 773
Robert Tindall........................... ..783
A. C. McLaughlin....................... 793
Jesse Mead................................... 803
H. Senseman................................ 813
J. J. Scarff.................................... 823
Horatio Banes (deceased)............ 833
Jeremiah Yeazell (deceased)........ 843
Charles M. Clark ........................ 853
James Clark..................................863
John A. Marguart...................... 875
Mary J. Marquart...................... 874
R. Rector (deceased)................... 885
Eliza J. Richards........................ 887
Joseph L. Richards................ .... 897