The Arnold Memor~Al Wilt.Am Arnold of Providence and Pawtuxet 1587-·1675
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The Arnold Memor~al Wilt.am Arnold of Providence and Pawtuxet 1587-·1675 And a Genealogy of His Descendants Compiled by Elisha Stephen Arnold 1935 The Tuttle Publishing Co., Inc. Rutland, Vermont Cos,yngl,t, 1935 By E. S. ARNOLD Platul,urgla. N. Y. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Foreword 5 Early Proprietors of Providence, R. I. 9 William Arnold Ancestry 43 First Generation 51 Second Generation 52 Third Generation 71 Fourth Generation . 88 Fifth Generation 105 Sixth Generation . 132 Seventh Generation 177 Eighth Generation . 225 Ninth Generation . 265 The Ancient Arnold Pedigree 273 Index of Names 279 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS E. S. Arnold . Frontispiece First Known Appearance of the Name of William Arnold on a Public Record . 18 Church of St. Andrew, Northover . 37 Church of St. Mary Major, Ilchester 39 Plat of. CowesetG Farms}. h S outh 11ne- 60 bor d ermg on reenwic FOREWORD Some years ago a time of leisure was granted, which enabled me to delve into the history of the noteworthy and interesting lives of my Arnold ancestors. William Arnold, the first of the line in America, came as a pioneer, assisted Roger Williams in the found ing of the State of Rhode Island and thereafter held posi tions of trust and honor in that State. His descendants have occupied a prominent position, not only in Rhode Island but in the nation. In early times they pushed westward into nearly every state in the Nation, cleared forests and helped build new towns and cities .. At Clarendon, Vermont, I found the records of the later generations of my own line, in the work of my great grandfather, Stephen Arnold. He brought his family on horseback from Rhode Island, through the forests of Connecticut and New Hampshire, into what is now the State of Vermont, and helped settle and organ ize that State. He was elected the first Town Clerk of Clarendon and held that position for many years. The search led me back to Providence, where pleas ure and help were derived from the assistance of J runes N. Arnold, Fred Arnold, Mrs. Shaw of the Elmwood Library, from Arthur James, William B. Browne and many others to whom I wish to give credit for their help. Information was secured from every available source. Town, state -and federal records, cemeteries, deeds, Bible records, probate records and accounts in reliable books, were carefully compared and verified. The history of our earliest known families, found in Fred Arnold's book, An Account of the English Homes of the Early Proprietors of Providence, is so much better than ·I could give that I have used it in its entirety. In the later generations this compilation does not pretend to be complete, but with its use, I believe any family which has not been enrolled may easily find its place. 6 THE A.BNOLD MEMORIAL I have also added a tribute to James N. Arnold, whose work in Rhod!;! Island History has placed him in a leading position in that field. He, and also Fred Arnold and Arthur Jam.es, in passing from us, have left a mon ument to their memory in their labors in Rhode Island history.. Now, past my ninety-first birthday, I submit the result of this research, which is so short of what I had hoped to make it, trusting in its reliability and in the hope it may be valuable and inspiring to all of the illus trious family of Arnold. E. s. ARNOLD An Account of the English Homes of Three Early "Proprietors" of Providence •.R. I. William A mold, Stulteley Westcott and William Carpenter By FRED A. ARNOLD M..i- of tJ.. RLod. Ialud Hiatonnl Soci.ty On June 24, 1635, there arrived in Massachusetts Bay a group of neighbors, nearly all related either by blood or marriage. They had sailed from Dartmouth in Devonshire· May 1 of the same year, all but one of the party, William Carpenter, coming from Ilchester, in southern Somerset shire or within about five miles of that place. The leader of the.party was William Arnold whose 48th birthday was the day of their arrival. His oldest son Benedict, one of the party, a lad 19 years of age at that time, has given us the only account that we have of their embarkation, in his own fainily recor4, written probably soon after his removal to Newport in 1651, which begins as follows: "Memorandom. We came from Providence with our ffamily to Dwell at Newport in Rhode Island the 19th of November, Thursday in afternoon, &. arived ye same night Ano. Domina 1651. Memorandom my father and his family Sett Sayle ffrom Dartmouth in Old England, the first of May, friday &. Arrived In New England. June 24° Ano 1635. Merom. We came to Providence to Dwell the 20th of April 1636. per me Bennedict Arnold." No other account of the sailing of this vessel, its name, . or passenger list, has been found either in Old England or New. Gov. Winthrop records that within six weeks from June 4, 1635, there had arrived in the Bay 15 ships with store of passengers and cattle, but gives the names of only two, the ·"James," Captain Graves, and the "Rebecka," Capt. Hodges. Much complaint was being made at this time in England, and stringent laws and orders passed in order to preven~ the sailing of passengers without registra tion. But while we have no official list of those coming with William Arnold's family, sufficient evidence has been found 10 Tm: A.BNOLD Mnl:OBIAL to show tliat the following persons may have come on the same vessel, or if not on the same ship, certainly at about the same time and from the same locality; that upon arriving in New England, they separated for a while, each family in its own way seeking a good location for settlement, and that while so engaged in the fall and winter of 1635, they met with Roger Williams imd others, his friends, then plan ning a new settlement, abandoned plans of their own partially made, joined forces with him, and so became among the first ~ttlers and proprietors of Providence. They were William Arnold, aged 48, son of Nicholas and Alice (Gully) Arnold of Ilchester; his wife, Christian Peak, aged 51, daughter of Thomas Peak of Muchelney, anciently Mochel ney; their children Elizabeth Arnold, aged 23, Benedict Arnold, aged 19, Joane Arnold 17, Stephen Arnold 12; Thomas 19 and Frances Hopkins 21, children of William and. Joane (Arnold) Hopkins; William Man, husband of Frances Hopkins; William Carpenter, son of Richard Car penter of Amesbury, Wiltshire, husband of Elizabeth Arnold; Stukeley Westcott 43, of Yeovil and his wife name unknown with children, Robert Westcott, Samuel Westcott 13, born at Yeovil March 31, 1622, Damaris Westcott, later wife of Benedict Arnold, Amos Westcott 4, Mercy Westcott, and Jeremiah Westcott. The evidence upon which this list of names and places is based is, :first the "family record" brought from England by William Arnold, second a deed from William Carpenter, recorded at Providence, third, researches made in the summer of 1902 at Northover, Wells, and elsewhere in England, by the late Edson Salisbury Jones Esq. of Port Chester, N. Y., and fourth the "Bishop's Transcripts" of Somerset parish records now being published by Mr. Dwelly of Hants, England. The "family record" of William Arnold, preserved and extended for six generations in the family of his son Governor Benedict, and covering a period of two hundred and twenty-three years, was found in 1878, by the Hon. Isaac N. Arnold,. president of the Chicago Historical Society1 in the hands of Mr. P.A. McEwan Esq. of Windsor, Canada, and is printed in the "New England Gen. Register" for 1879; Vol. 23, p. 427. I quote the portion that seems to have been THE ARNOLD MElloRIAL 11 written by William Arnold himself, and gives only records of baptisms and births. No marriages or burials. [1] "A Register, or true account of my owne agge, with my Mother, my Wife, my Brothers and Sisters, and Others of my frinds and acqauntance. 1. Imprimis Alce Gully the Daughter of John Gully of Northover. Who was my Mother, was Baptized ye 29:- Septem 1553. 2. Tam.zen, my Sister was Baptised the 4° of Jany. 1571. 3. Joane Arnold, my Sister was Baptized the 30 ° of N ovem ber in the yeare 1577. 4. Margery Arnold, my Sister was Baptized the 30 ° of August, 1581. 5. I William Arnold, their Brother was Borne the 24 ° of June, 1587. 6. Robert Arnold, my Brother was Baptized the 18th of October 1593. 7. Elizabeth Arnold, my Sister was borne the 9 ° of April, 1596. [2] 8. Thomas Arnold my Brother, my Mother in lawes Sonne, was Baptized the 18 ° April, 1599. 9. Elenor Arnold, my Sister was Baptized the 31 ° of July 1603. The age of my Sister Tamzens Children. 1. Robert Hacker was Baptized the 22 ° of Jany. 1597. 2. Francis Hacker was Baptized the 24° of Jany. 1599. 3. John Hacker their brother was Baptized the 25° of October 1601. · 4. William Hacker was Baptized the 31 ° of October 1604. 5. Alce Hacker was Baptized the 25 of August 1607. 6. Mary Hacker was Baptized the 4th of March 1609. 7. Thomas Hacker was Baptized the 7th of April 1616. 12 TBE ARNOLD MElloBIAL [3] 1. Christian the Daughter of Thomas Peak of Muoheny my wife was Baptized the 15 ° of February 1583. 2. Elizabeth Arnold our Daughter was home the 23 ° of November 1611. 3. Benedict Arnold her Brother was home the 21 ° of December 1615.