ARNOLD FAMILY

ARNOLD, PALMER

Posted By: Connie Swearingen - volunteer (email)
Date: 1/31/2016 at 15:15:25

Woodbury County History 1984

ARNOLD FAMILY
By Cornelius S Arnold

The Arnold family had its beginning in Iowa and Woodbury County in the person of George Arnold, who was born 13 April 1850 at Longsutton in Lincolnshire County, England. He was the fourth of thirteen children born to John (1823 -1904) and Jane (Palmer) Arnold 1825 -1904. The first four children, Elizabeth (1845 – 1857), William (1846 – 1930), Edward (1848 – 1850), and George were born in England. The young family, with the exception of Edward who died in England at the age to two, came to America in 1851 when son George was one year old. They settled on a farm at Leland, Illinois, and their nine more children were born. These were: Parker (1852 – 1854); Alice (1854 – 1856); Joseph (1856 – 1923); Henry (1858 – 1934); John Palmer (1859 – 1931); Sarah (1861 – 1862); Isaac (1862 – 1942); Charles (1864 – 1952); and Frank (1866 – 1879).

Life in Illinois held many privations for the young family. In July 1856, Elizabeth, twelve, the oldest and Alice, two, the sixth born were drowned fording a flooded creek somewhere near Leland, Illinois. The story has it that the children slipped between loose floor boards of the wagon and were swept away.

The mother, Jane (Palmer) Arnold, had come from a rather well-to-do family and was quite well-educated. She was determined to teach her children academic subjects, and held classes daily in their log cabin home for her own children and those of her neighbors. Evidently these studies included music because it is known that several of the children would play stringed instruments.

At the age of fourteen, son George left home (it is reported that he ran way), and went to Missouri where he was taken in by a kindly farm family. They prevailed upon him to write his parents and let them know where he was. He lived with this family four or five years. He then journeyed north to Iowa and Woodbury County. The time of his arrival there is indefinite but is thought to be about the year 1869. What prompted him to seek out the vicinity of Holly Springs is not known with certainty, but it is believed that he may have been acquainted with other persons or families from Missouri who had settled in the area. The reason for selecting a homestead two miles north of Holly Springs was that there was a fresh-water spring nearby. A source of potable water was a prime necessity for those early settlers.

In 1870, George married Elizabeth Bayne of Coleridge, Nebraska. A son, Cornelius stout, was born 21 July 1873. Within a few weeks following his birth, his mother, Elizabeth, died. The child, Cornelius, was cared for by a sister of his mother.

In 1873, the same year that Cornelius Stout was born and his mother died, George remarried. The name of his second wife was Avilda Lee, who place of birth is unknown. At about the time of this second marriage, George and Avilda Arnold acquired a farm about three-fourths of a mile north of Holly Springs, known to this day by many as the ‘old Arnold farm’. It was there that eight children, three girls and five boys, were born. Cornelius Stout remembered only of growing up on that farm as the oldest son, and the distinction of being a half brother was of little moment.

The eight children born to George and Avilda (Lee) Arnold were: Myrtle (1876 – 1942, John (1877 – 1958), Lorenzo Richard (1881 – 1956), Herman (1887 – 1952), Frank (1884 – 1966), Harry (1885 – 1953), Lyda (1879 – 1938), and Helen (1888 – 1971). All nine of the children of George Arnold lived full, active, and useful lives. Four of them married and took up residence in states other than Iowa; Harry farmed near Minneapolis, Minnesota; Lyda married Joseph Bend and farmed at Leland, Illinois, a farm adjacent to the original Arnold home site; Myrtle married Silas Minor and farmed in South Dakota; Helen lived at Valle Crusis, North Carolina.

The remaining five sons, Cornelius Stout, John, Richard, Herman and Frank, all married and operated farms in the county, never very far distant from their home at Holly Springs. George Arnold died 25 January 1895. Avilda (Lee) Arnold died 1 August 1921. Both are buried at Holly Springs.

Cornelius Stout Arnold married Addie Pearl Seamans in 1897. Addie Seamans was born at Janesville, Wisconsin, in 1877. She was a school teacher and was teaching in a one-room school house east of Holly Springs when she became acquainted with Cornelius. The couple acquired a farm one and one-half miles north of Holly Springs. It was there that five children were born. They were: Wave, 8 January 1900; Floyd and Ward (twins), 1 December 1902; Palmer, 14 August 1907; and Cornelius Seamans, 27 November 1910.

Farming was the principal occupation of the family. One of the main sources of income was dairying. A herd of Jersey dairy cows was developed, the central core of which were several registered cows. In later years, Cornelius switched to the Holstein breed for increased milk production.

In addition to operating the farm, Cornelius was quite active in community affairs. He and Addie were active members of the Church of Christ at Holly Springs. They were both avid readers and spent much time in Bible study. Cornelius delighted in teaching Sunday school classes.

During the first decade of 1900 and extending into the second, schools in the rural areas of the county consisted of one-room school houses. During these years, Cornelius, along with other stalwarts of the community, worked valiantly to establish a consolidated school district. This effort was finally successful, and a new school house was built and opened for classes in 1915. The first graduating class of four girls in 1919 included, Wave Arnold, the first born of Cornelius and Addie Arnold.

Cornelius served as Willow Township tax assessor continuously for more than thirty-five years. He was ably assisted in this work by Addie, who helped keep the records and prepare the tax reports. This activity provided them with a first-name acquaintance with most of the families in the township, a familiarity that continued in some cases for two and three generations. Addied (Seamans) Arnold died in 1944, and Cornelius Stout Arnold died 23 January 1965 at the age of ninety-one years. Both are buried at Holly Springs.

Wave Arnold earned a Bachelor of Science Degree at Morningside College, and taught in elementary schools in the county for several years before entering the nursing profession. She graduated from the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in 1932 and later became its director. During World War II, she was chairman of the district committee for procurement and assignment of nurses for military duty. On 16 July 1958 she married Ragnar Ostensen of Sioux City. Ragnar Ostensen died 3 August 1980, and Wave died 12 November 1982. Both are buried at Holly Springs.

Palmer Arnold died 6 April 1973 at Houston, Texas, and is buried at Holly Springs. The surviving members of the Cornelius Stout Arnold family are: Floyd, retired and living at Ames, Iowa; Ward, retired and living at Champaign, Illinois; and Cornelius, retired and living at Greenwood, Indiana.

A complete history of the Arnold family in Woodbury County should properly include the life stories of the many descendants of George Arnold, who first came to the area in 1869. It would be inappropriate to mention one and not all of those who bear the name. None will object if mention is made of one who gave his life for his country. Norman C Arnold, son of Frank and Flora (Clift) Arnold, was killed in action in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He lies buried with his parents and a sister in the cemetery at Sloan, Iowa.