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John Arnold, M. D
History
of Rush
County
Indiana
John
Arnold, M. D. one of Rush County's senior physicians and a very
scholarly
gentleman, was born on the Isle of Wright, January 14, 1815. He was
the son of
John and Mary A. (Cole) Arnold, the former of whom was the son of
Richard and
Mary (Bull) Arnold, and the latter was the daughter of James and
Sarah
(Dennett) Cole. Both his paternal and maternal ancestors were of
English
extraction,
and had resided upon the Isle of Wright for more than three
centuries. In 1821,when the subject of this sketch was but six years old,
his
mother and her
children, in company with her brother-in-law, Isaac Arnold and
his family setout for America, with her husband had come to locate a home
a
year previous. He
had left his native Isle, in company with his brother,
Richard Arnold, on the20th of May, 1820, and on reaching this country, he
came on westward to Rush
County, and on the 1st Monday in October, 1820, he
entered a 160 acre tract of
land in Union Township, where he settled down and
immediately set about
preparing a home for his family, who was soon to join
him in the wilderness. In
the following year he went on horseback to
Philadelphia, where in September, he
met his wife and children, and the
re-united family made haste to reach
their
Rush County home, when they arrived
October 21, 1821. The development of
a farm
was at once begun, and in the
course of a few years the forest was converted
into beautiful and well-tilled
fields; and with other corresponding
improvements, the cabin and forest were
replaced with a comfortable home and a
good farm. That farm, which has ever
since been known as
"Arnold's Home";
has, since the day it was
entered,
been in possession of the Arnold
family,
and it is now owned by the
subject
of this sketch. In 1824, John
Arnold,
Sr. moved his family to
Cincinnati,
where, for two years, he was
engaged
in the clothing business. In
1826,
he removed to Aurora, this state,
and they're
engaged in general
merchandising.
While a resident of that place,
on
the 2nd day of July 1826, he
was
bereaved of his beloved wife, and his
children
of their affectionate
mother.
On meeting with this misfortune he
determined
to return with his
children
to his farm in this county, which he did
the
following year. There he
opened
a store, which he conducted in connection
with
his duties as
Postmaster,
for about ten years. He continued upon the farm
until 1855,
when
he
moved to Connersville, and there spent the rest of his
life,
his death occurring June
26, 1864. At twelve years of age, or in 1828,the subject of
this sketch
became a student at the first academic school ever
taught
in
Rushville,
which was presided over by Dr. William B. Laughlin. After
pursuing
his studies
with diligence for one year, he spent a short time upon
the
farm,
and in May,
1830, he entered the preparatory department of Miami
University,
at Oxford
Ohio, in which institution he remained four years,
completing
the
junior year.
He then returned home, and after spending some time
recruiting
his health,
which had become somewhat impaired, he entered upon the
study
of
medicine with
Dr. Jefferson Helm, who was then practicing at Vienna,
now
Glenwood, this
county. November 6, 1836, he was licensed to practice
medicine
and
immediately afterward he formed a partnership with his preceptor
Dr.
Helm, with
whom he was associated until 1841. By this time the state of Dr.
Arnolds
health was
such as to seriously threaten his life, and realizing that it
was
necessary in
some way to check the disease which was fast gaining hold of
him,
he concluded
to make a trip to England and his native land, believing that
the
change
of habits and climate which the trip would occasion would
either benefit him or
produce fatal result. In August 1841, he started on his long
journey,
and at the end of about fifteen months he returned with his healthfully
recovered. Early in 1843, he located in Connersville, and there
he was
actively
and successfully engaged in the practice of his profession for
a
period
of ten years. His practice was very extensive, and was frequently
more
than
he could attend. In 1853, he purchased the Old Arnold homestead in
this
county,
upon which he located and where he continued to reside until 1877,giving
his attention to the practice of medicine and to the management
of his
farm.
He then became a resident of Rushville, where he has since
practiced his
profession.
The marriage of Dr. Arnold occurred December 25,
1838, when
Sarah
Ann
Ball became his wife. She was born in Fayette County,
being
the daughter of
Abner Ball,
who was among the first settlers of Fayette
County.
Doctor Arnold
and
wife are the parents of four children, three of whom are
living. They are: Mary
Ann, who is the wife of Hamilton R. Holmes, of
Mobile, Ala,
William W.,
who
received a diploma from Philadelphia medical
college, in
1886, and at
present
he is successfully engaged in the practice of
medicine at
Colorado
Springs,
Col. The third child is John Arnold, who is a
farmer by
occupation,
and
resides in White Co., Ark., and Abner who died in
infancy.
Doctor Arnold
and
wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. The
political
affiliations of
the
former have always been with the Whig and
Republican
parties. He takes a
lively
interest in politics, and uses every
available
instrumentality to
promote
the welfare of his party. While not an
agriculturist,
in fact, his
sympathies
have always been with the improvement
of the
condition of the
agricultural
classes and for a number of years he has
been
identified with
various
societies having for their object, the
dissemination
and utilization of
the
latest and most approved methods for the
farming
community. He is a member
of
the Rush County Agricultural Society, and
has been
Secretary of the Farmers'
and
Stock Growers' Union Association, of
Rush, Shelby,
Bartholomew and Decatur
counties
He is a member of the Rush Medical
Society, the Union District
Medical
Society,
the Indiana State Medical
Society, the
Medical Association of the
Mississippi
Valley and of the American
Medical
Association, in every one of
which
he has frequently been honored with positions
of trust and distinction. Doctor
Arnold has always been actively
with the Old
Settlers' Association and
has
been officially connected with the
society ever
since its formation. As a
writer,
he has exhibited remarkable
skill and
fluency, and in that capacity his
historical
sketches and his "Remininisinces
of an old settler",
a
series
of articles published in
the Rushville
Republican, have all been read
with
interest and have given him
considerable
of a reputation. He is a man of
positive
convictions and he does
not hesitate
to speak his sentiments in
support
of what he considers to be
right. He
possesses a vivid recollection of
the
scenes and incidents of
pioneer
life, and there is certainly no other living person
who is so familiar with
the country's early history. He is a man that
has always exhibited public
spirit, and
there has probably been no
enterprise
within the radius of his
associations,
having for its object, the
general
welfare of the public, with
which he has
not been conspicuously
identified.
His portrait is presented in
this
volume.
Lora1957@aol.com
Related Genealogy Resources: Search OneGreat Family for Arnold Surname New England Early Genealogy for Arnold Surname Family Tree Connection for Arnold
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