BIOGRAPHIES

Source:
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.
Publ. Chicago:  W. H. Beers & Co., 
1881

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Springfield Twp. - Springfield City - 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 Isenbarger, as everyone called her, was no ordinary person in 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 supported by the old lady in the manufacture and said 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 may a hungry 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 acts 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 came, she 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 going to 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 me! poys, to olt man is tet: 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 her 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 Icenbarger died in Springfield in 1839.” SOURCE: The History of Clark County, Ohio : Publ. Chicago: W.H. Beers & Co., 1881 - Page 441