Arnold family

The Arnold family is an American political and military family with ties to New England, Georgia and Ohio.

History

William Arnold was a son of Thomas "Nicholas" Arnold of Malcombe Horsey and was decended from the Welsh nobility and Sir Thomas Gam(m)age, Lord of Coity, a descendant of the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne. William was Born in Dorset, England and his wife Alice Gull(e)y. He lived for a time on his family’s estate at Cheselbourne before moving to Limington near Ilchester in Somerset, where most of his own children were born. The family's records of baptism were brought to America and thus preserved. William sailed with his family from Dartmouth, England to the Colonies on May 1, 1635. He came first to Hingham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he was said to have been of extreme wealth. William's son Benedict Arnold would later become Royal Governor of Rhode Island.

Other members of the Arnold family came to Boston from England in 1687. The. Rev. William George Arnold, a minister, was charged with the task of establishing a parish of the official religion of England, the Church of England in Boston. Upon arrival he found he was disliked in Boston and quickly learned that no one would sell land for the construction of a church that was not Puritan. He established King's Chapel in Boston in 1689 on public land. William was soon followed from England by his brother Edward Arnold, who opened a successful general store in Boston.

Edward Arnold brought two daughters with him from England. The older of the pair, Charlotte, married the Puritan minster Ebenezer Punderson in 1730. He was a Yale graduate and was ordained as a Puritan minister in 1729 and began serving as the minister of the Congregational Church in North Groton (now Ledyard), Connecticut. It seems that her Church of England upbringing and beliefs made an impression on her husband, as he announced his intention to be ordained in the Church of England and left his Congressional Church and was ordained in London in 1734. He erected a parish of the Church of England in Preston, Connecticut in 1735 and at a service attended by William and Edward Arnold the place was consecrated St. James' Church.

Upon the 1737 death of William Arnold, many of his children moved to Connecticut near Preston and St. James' Church where the climate for Church of England members was less harsh. The family prospered in Connecticut and married well. One of Benedict Arnold's descendants Benedict III married his cousin Mary Arnold (who was descended from the William George side of the family) and gained control of the family estate in Norwich. They named their first son Benedict IV. This Benedict Arnold became a general and war hero but would later be know as an infamous turn-coat during the American Revolution.

During the American Revolution the family became active in politics. The William George Arnold side of the family remained fiercely loyal to English rule while the Benedict side favored independence. Jonathan Arnold (1741-1793) became a member of the Rhode Island Legislature in 1776 and then a Delegate to the Continental Congress from Rhode Island from 1782 to 1784.

After the Revolution much of the family left New England for Savannah, Georgia, where they opened a number of mills. The Savannah branch of the family remained active in politics until the American Civil War.

Well known family Members

*Jonathan Arnold (1741-1793), member of the Rhode Island Legislature 1776, Delegate to the Continental Congress from Rhode Island 1782-1784, Vermont Governor's Councilman, Vermont State Court Judge.
*Richard Arnold, US Army General
*Richard Arnold, mayor of Savannah, Georgia
*Henry H. Arnold, US Air Force General
*Lemuel H. Arnold, Rhode Island State Representative 1826, Governor of Rhode Island 1831-1833, U.S. Representative from Rhode Island. Son of Jonathan Arnold.
*Samuel G. Arnold, Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island 1852-1853 1861-1862, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island 1862-1863. Granduncle of Theodore F. Green.
*Theodore F. Green, Rhode Island State Representative 1907-1908, candidate for Governor of Rhode Island 1912 1928 1930, Governor of Rhode Island 1933-1937, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island 1938-1961, Democratic National Committeeman 1936. Great-great-grandson of Jonathan Arnold.