First of all let me say I am no expert on the Rhode Island Arnolds. But until you find one, here is what I know about them. Of all the email I get, a good 25% contains questions about the Arnolds, so I’m putting some thoughts down here.
There are two original Rhode Island Arnold families:
- The Smithfield Arnolds (Thomas Arnold). Early descendants tend to be in Providence or north of Providence.
- the Pawtuxet/Warwick Arnolds (William Arnold). Early descendants tend to be south of Providence.
I am descended from the Smithfield Arnolds, with a possible unproven connection to the Pawtuxet/Warwick Arnolds.
My Smithfield Arnold line of descent is: my grandmother Edna May Darling – her father Russell Earl Darling (1883-1959) – Addison Parmenter Darling (1856-1933) – Ellis Aldrich Darling (1824-1883) – Nancy Ann Aldrich (1800-1879) – Marcy Ballou (1778 – ?) – Lucy Arnold (c1755 – ?) – Thomas Arnold (1733-1798) – Thomas Arnold (1705-1765) – Richard Arnold (1660-1745) – Richard Arnold (1643-1710) – Thomas Arnold (1600 – 1674).
The Eleazer Arnold House in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Photo by Diane Boumenot
Let’s start with the Smithfield Arnolds
Descendants of Thomas Arnold of Smithfield, Rhode Island are in luck, because some excellent work has been done on this line by noted genealogist Richard H. Benson, The Arnold Family of Smithfield, Rhode Island (2009). If you are tracing your genealogy and you think you are descended in this family, you should own this book, or at the very least, borrow it through interlibrary-loan at your local library and study it carefully.
Eleazer Arnold House, side view. Photo by Diane Boumenot
Benson begins with a review of the misconception that William and Thomas were brothers, or otherwise closely related. That idea is based on a rather spectacular failure in 1870’s genealogy – a genealogist was hired to do research in England, and returned with an appealing and mostly faked report. This misinformation was repeated for a couple decades, then disproved. My recommendation to anyone researching Arnolds in Rhode Island is to treat the two families separately, and ignore any implication – in older, otherwise dependable works – that there was a relationship.
He goes on to provide documentation of the first five generations of the Thomas Arnold descendants, with an extensive bibliography. In many cases names of the 6th generations are given. Some of the more famous descendants include:
- Welcome Arnold (1745-1798), Providence merchant and possible conspirator in the 1772 burning of the schooner Gaspee
- jurists Thomas Arnold (my 7x-great grandfather; see his grave here) (1705-1765) and his son Peleg Arnold
- Eleazer Arnold (1651 – 1722), son of the original settler Thomas, whose large “Splendid Mansion” house survives today in Lincoln (formerly Smithfield), Rhode Island and is known as the Eleazer Arnold House.
Eleazer Arnold and others helped to build an early Quaker meeting house nearby. The first few generations of this family tended to be Quakers.
Plaque in front of the Eleazer Arnold House. Photo by Diane Boumenot
And now, the Pawtuxet/Warwick Arnolds
William Arnold was a contemporary of Roger Williams, and settled in an area south of Providence, along the bay, called Pawtuxet (now part of Warwick and Cranston). Unlike many early English settlers, he actually brought documentation with him of his family’s vital records back in England. So genealogically speaking, the family was off to a good start.
William prospered, and accumulated significant property. There is more about William’s life on Wikipedia. His son Benedict became the first Governor of the State of Rhode Island. Proud, perhaps, of that name, there were an additional four succeeding generations in a direct line that carried the name, leading to Benedict Arnold, born 1741 in Norwich, Connecticut.
Our own Benedict Arnold
I suppose, rightly or wrongly, most Americans do not feel sympathetic to Benedict Arnold, the American Revolutionary War military officer who became discontented with his lot and transferred his allegiance to the British, and fought on the other side. As familiar as the name is today, and as despised as it is, I think feelings ran even higher in the 19th century.
Benedict Arnold, as an American Colonel. London : Published by Thos. Hart, 1776. Courtesy of Library of Congress LC-USZ62-39570.
This leads me to the reason I personally am very angry with Benedict Arnold. In the 19th century, Rhode Island was the home of one of New England’s leading genealogists, a pioneer in the field, the person responsible for a great deal of the early work on Rhode Island vital records and cemetery transcription. James Newell Arnold founded a genealogy journal, The Narragansett Historical Register, produced the 21-volume Vital Record of Rhode Island, and performed some similar work in nearby states.
Why didn’t James N. Arnold produce a definitive genealogy of the Arnolds, including the William Arnold descendants? I mean, the index cards were probably sitting right there in his undoubtedly crowded and dusty genealogy study. I have only begun to explore his manuscripts, but there certainly was no published compiled genealogy. I have a suspicion that he might have neglected this because he didn’t want to admit his kinship with Benedict Arnold. My suspicion is based on a remark of his that I read years ago and failed to record (I had no idea I was related to the Arnolds then) claiming that Benedict was absolutely not descended from any Rhode Island Arnolds. Although I suppose it’s possible he was fascinated with collecting and editing information, not so much with analyzing and compiling it. I wonder if I will ever figure this out?
For a slight indication of the spirit of denial, this is from the index of my digital copy of the 1935 book “The Arnold Memorial” by Elisha Stephen Arnold (marked as a “Genealogical Society of Utah” copy).
from the index of The Arnold Memorial last name Arnold, first name Benedict – page 132 is crossed out
Which Benedict Arnold appears on page 132?
The description of Benedict Arnold in The Arnold Memorial
The page ends with a list of his children. It’s a bizarre rendition of the life of traitor Benedict Arnold which, I should think, fooled no one. I wonder if the crossed-out index entry was meant to deny that this Benedict belonged in this lineage, or to simply express displeasure at his existence.
What we do have on the William Arnold descendants
So, lacking the truly good work we could have had from James N. Arnold, we must turn instead to a variety of inadequate compiled genealogies on the William Arnold descendants. They are listed at the bottom of this page.
The books tend to focus on the wealthier descendants – perhaps that is by necessity, since Warwick vital records are far more complete among well to do families, and there are more probate and real estate records for such families, or perhaps it is somewhat intentional. Because of that original documentation by William Arnold and a few generations of his descendants, the early genealogy is quite complete. It’s the later generations that get spotty.
If you are studying Arnolds
In each of the two Arnold families, there was of course a great deal of intermarriage with the other early local settlers in that region. For the Smithfield Arnolds, this means the Comstocks, Smiths, Ballous, Whipples, Steeres, Aldriches, Buffums, Manns, and Inmans. If you descend from these Arnolds, you have interesting ancestors in the other lines, too. Remember that what was originally Smithfield is now Smithfield, North Smithfield, Lincoln, Greeneville, Cumberland, and Woonsocket. My Arnold ancestors lived at one point in Union Village, North Smithfield, and some of their graves are at the Union Cemetery.
Union Cemetery, North Smithfield, R.I. Photo by Diane Boumenot
For the Pawtuxet/Warwick Arnolds, there was intermarriage with the Greenes, Gortons, Holdens, Wickes, Westcotts, Rhodes, and Carpenters. Settlement of Warwick spread quickly to the south and west of Pawtuxet and eventually the towns of West Warwick and Coventry were split off. Cranston was nearby on the north and East Greenwich on the south. Certainly, for descendants, a visit to the village of Pawtuxet is in order, plus the Warwick Historical Society which is located up the road in the John Waterman Arnold House.
In the beginning, Warwick and Smithfield held agricultural settlements which grew out of Providence, with accompanying forges, grain mills, etc. But around 1800 small textile mills began to spring up around Rhode Island’s rivers and streams. Both locations were impacted, resulting in mill towns like Woonsocket and West Warwick. Although there is less manufacturing going on in those locations today, many of Rhode Island’s towns show remnants of many overlapping historical eras – several centuries of growth and change. Surprisingly, even the late 1600’s era can be glimpsed from time to time along the bay, in rural areas like northern Cumberland and western Coventry, in historic cities such as Newport, and in the many small historic sites such as Smith’s Castle in North Kingstown.
If you have a mystery in this line, you are welcome to leave a query here in the comments. Perhaps someone else will have an answer. But please also use the sources I’ve listed below and the “Free Rhode Island Resources” link up top to see what you can find, as well as many other research strategies. Perhaps you could add a few sources that you know of in the comments. The Arnolds are not easy to research; there are a LOT of them, and many other early families in other states. Good luck!!
Some sources for the Smithfield Arnolds
Benson, Richard H. The Arnold Family of Smithfield, Rhode Island. Boston: Newbury Street Press, 2009. Available for sale on the NEHGS web site.
“Eleazer Arnold” by William Greene Roelker in Rhode Island History, vol. 11, no. 3, (July, 1952) p. 81 (picture of the house on cover). Available on this Rhode Island Historical society web page.
Greene, Welcome Arnold. “Notes on Genealogy of the Arnold Family.” Providence: typescript, c1840 – 1914. Located at Knight Memorial Library; paper copy available at New England Historic Genealogical Society Library, Boston.
Richardson, E. History of Woonsocket. Woonsocket, R.I., 1876. Link opens the Archive.org pdf download.
“Some Arnolds of Smithfield, R.I”. by H. Minot Pitmann in Rhode Island History, vol. 13, no. 4, (October, 1954) p. 111. Includes a correction to the “Eleazer Arnold” article. Available on this Rhode Island Historical society web page.
Benedict Arnold Tavern, Warwick, demolished 1840. From page 144, Fuller’s History of Warwick, R.I.
Some sources for the Pawtuxet/Warwick Arnolds
Arnold, Charles Robbins. The William Arnold Outline: a list of persons surnamed Arnold, descendants of William Arnold of Providence and Pawtuxet, Rhode Island. 1983. [link goes to FamilySearch screen for the book]
Arnold, Elisha Stephen. The Arnold Memorial: William Arnold of Providence and Pawtuxet, 1587-1675 and a genealogy of his descendants. Rutland, VT: The Tuttle Publishing Co., 1935. [link goes to FamilySearch screen for the book]
Arnold, Ethan L. An Arnold Family Record, 323 years in America: a record of some of the descendants of William Arnold and his son, Governor Benedict Arnold of Rhode Island, and his grandson, Benedict Arnold, Junior: 1635-1958. Salem, Mass.: Higginson Book Co., 1997. [link goes to FamilySearch screen for the book]
Arnold, W.H. (William Hendrick). The Arnold Family. reprint Salem, Mass.: Higginson Book Co., 2002.
The post you are reading is located at: https://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2016/01/24/meet-the-arnolds/
Do you by any miracle have any information on the Arnolds that ended up in South Carolina and then Mississippi? I’m stuck at Zachariah William Arnold born in Abbeville, SC 1798. ???
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It’s a common name. Without evidence that they had Rhode Island origins, there’s no reason to think there’s any connection.
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My name is Andrew Peter Palmer. I am the son of Drew Haigh Palmer. He is the son of Andrew Potter Palmer. He is the son of Florence M. Haigh. She is the daughter of William Henry Haigh and Minerva Estelle “Minnie” Arnold Haigh. Minnie is the daughter of Dr. Seth Arnold of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. So that’s my connection with the Arnold family and it’s as far back as I’ve been able to go. I suspect because of Minnie’s resting place in the Arnold-Vose Cemetery in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, that she’s related to Richard Arnold, one of the first settlers of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Richard’s son’s name was John Arnold. The date on a historic marker on the cemetery gate has the dates of 1670 through 1756. I’m not certain if that refers to John or Richard or both.
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Andrew, thanks for your note. You should talk to your town library about getting access to the Thomas Arnold of Smithfield book by Benson. I suspect you could trace your line there, or at least come up with some likely candidates to be the father of Seth Arnold. Good luck with finding them.
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Many thanks!
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I’ve traced my ancestors back to Thomas Arnold GG x9. Married to Pheobe Parkhurst.(Thomas Born 1608 died 1674 )GGx8 Captain Richard Arnold. GGx7 Richard Arnold II, GGx6 Joseph Arnold, GGx5 Jacob Arnold, GGx4 David Arnold, GGx3 Heyskiah Arnold, GGx2 Satterlee Arnold, Sr. GG Satterlee Tracy Arnold father of paternal grandmother Margaret McClellan Arnold.
They are from Smithfield Rhode Island. I think this is same Thomas Arnold? I’m anxious to review your information and the sites you have listed. Thank you we may be related?
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Posting for a reader, if anyone has any help to offer, respond here.
Ludwig H Feist
I descend from an Arnold family that deadends in Pennsylvania/Ohio
It starts with a John Arnold who first appears in 1800 Washington County, Pennsylvania. By 1805 they move to Poland, Ohio
The dead end for me is John Arnold born about 1768, he dies in 1838 Poland, Ohio. His wife Hannah is born abt 1774 in New York according to 1850 Census.
I have a few dna connections to Benedict Arnold’s lines but cannot find info to connect my Arnold’s to any of his relatives.
Any leads/suggestions on this? I have exhausted any resources I can find including the Arnold books mentioned in your article.
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Hi, I live in Coventry Rhode Island and I have the deed to my home dated 1867..in the deed it states Welcome Arnold, Benjamin Greene were the land owners and Philip and Phoebe Johnson sold the land to the Quidnick Reservoir. The Greene history is very prominent here, Nathaniel Greene’s homestead is here in town. The deed talks about the “dam” and the waters and coincidentally I l live on Johnson’s Pond (and the seller on the deed was Philip Johnson). It was 2 1/2 acres of land which could have been this small road I live on and now there is a pond outside my back door. I understand from the town historian that it was originally a “frog Pond” and then the mills flooded the land and it became a very large pond! I searched at the town hall with the local historian and found this land goes back all the way to the Greenes, the Arnolds, and King Philips War. I am curious to know of any other information anyone may have?
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Hi JoAnn. Well all I can say is if you have gone through resources at the town hall, you have probably covered what can be known of your particilar deeds and location. You will have to keep learning about town history to know more about your specific location (and that includes the history of the towns which previously owned the Coventry area). I would suggest a visit to the local history section of the Coventry library. It often seems like we can find pinpointed info, if we try, but in my experience we have to pursue a lot of broader info first, and then we really do become more expert at drilling down to facts which might help us with our exact question. I wish you a lot of luck, it sounds like a fascinating quest. Who knows where it will lead you.
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Thanks for thinking of others and writing about the Pawtuxet Arnolds, from whom I am descended…..my grandmother was a direct descendant from Zachariah Rhodes who married Joanna Arnold. Most of the trees that I see include a father of Zachariah as Walter Rhodes. I have a couple of sources that mention a Walter in Providence at the time, and it appears that he may have interacted with Zachariah or his cronies, but I can find no proof that he was Zachariah’s father. Have you ever seen anything that might prove or refute this?
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Judi I usually ignore what I see on the web, particularly the earlier persons mentioned. This is such a well known family, if earlier connections back to England were proved, it would probably be written up in a genealogy journal. Next time you have access to those – through a membership to NEHGS or a visit to a library that features Genealogical resources – try the NEHGS Register or other journals. That is the only source I would trust. Good luck!! And thank you for visiting the blog.
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Hi Diane, I descend thru Thomas Arnold born Malcomb, Dorset Eng & his wife Alice Gulley whose daughter Joanna m William Hopkins. Their dau Francis m Thomas Mann whose dau Mary m John Lapham.
But what is interesting is on a totally different line. Hugh Ledlie who m Chloe Stoughten bought Benedict Arnolds house on 31 March 1764 In Norwich, CT. It sat on 5 and 1/2 acres & cost 700lbs. “Capt Ledlie’s wife fell into a state of deplorable insanity, which rendered confinement necessary & this misfortune obtained for the house a superstitious reputation. In 1775 the house was occupied by Deacon Wm Philips” From History of Norwich CT by Frances Manwaring Caulkins 1886 pg 410
Thought you might enjoy that…
Mary Ellen Wright
melody401@aol.com
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Wow, Mary Ellen, that’s quite a story! It never occurred to me wonder what happened to Benedict Arnold’s house. Of course Loyalists always forfeited their property, if they left it behind, but I never thought about his Norwich property. Thank you for the story!
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I descend from both Thomas Arnold and William Arnold.
From Thomas thru his daughter, Elizabeth, who married Samuel Comstock in 1678. From William thru _his_ daughter, Elizabeth, who married William Carpenter.
One of my mysteries is this: Assuming Amey Phillips married Gideon Comstock before June 1749, who are her parents? (see Benson: The Arnold Family of Smithfield, pp. 93-95.
Here are some more sources for the Smithfield Arnolds (Thomas), namely for his wife, Phebe Parkhurst:
“The Family of George Parkhurst of Watertown and Boston, Mass.”, NEHGR vol. 68 (Oct. 1914), pp. 370-375.
“The Dalton and Batcheller Pedigree”, NEHGR vol. 27 (Oct 1873), pp. 364-369.
“Phebe Leet, Wife of George Parkhurst”, TAG vol 52 (1976), p. 113.
Threlfall, John Brooks, Fifty Great Migration Colonists …, pp. 256-277.
Sources for the Pawtuxet Arnolds (William):
Great Migration, 2nd series, A-B, pp. 84-91.
“The First Settlers of Hingham”, NEHGR vol. 2 (July 1848), p. 250.
Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John 1630 vol. 18, pp. 7-10 (has ancestry taken from The Arnold Memorial), vol. 25, p. 8.
“Early Records of the Arnold Family”, NEHGR vol. 33 (Oct 1879), pp. 427-432.
(This is a journal begun by the immigrant William and continued by his descendants. It gives his mother’s name, his wife’s name, births of many siblings and children and the dates of emigration and arrival. Cited in GM sketch above.)
(Thanks: I learned of some of these sources from New Englanders in the 1600’s by Martin E. Hollick.)
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Sorry, Howard, I forgot to mention the Great Migration, I was mostly thinking of treatments that covered more generations. Good catch. I also love New Englanders in the 1600’s and it’s a very valuable book.
I also have a Phillips – Elizabeth Phillips married John Ballou. Adin Ballou’s book An Elaborate History and Genealogy of the Ballous in America says she was the daughter of Joshua Phillips of Sutton Mass. Although usually pretty good, I think he’s wrong. Austin’s Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island (p. 152 of the 1987 edition) talks about descendants of Michael Phillips, of Newport, who moved to Providence. I really don’t know what the answer is but I suspect the Michael Phillips descendants intermarried in both our lines. Just a theory, though.
Thank you for all the great sources.
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Pheobe Parkhurst married to Thomas Arnold ? My GGx9.
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An historian in England was making a movie about Benedict Arnold and came to the University of Maine a few years ago to tell of his progress and to get ideas. The public got to see what he had done so far, with a Q&A afterward. A couple years later I asked the UM history dept chair if the movie had been made, and he didn’t know. Would love to see it! There was a lot in it of the Gage ineptitude and Wilkinson treachery that so turned Arnold off. Arnold lived on Campobello Island off Maine for a time after the War and traded with Rev War Colonel and George Washington friend John Allan of Treat Island (one of the few US islands in Passamaquoddy Bay), Very interesting post, all of it, not just the BA part!
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Pam, I agree, the Benedict Arnold story is so complicated. He had great instincts about service, volunteered for duties others would have shied away from, felt eventually he should be rewarded with a higher rank, and that never came. Some of this was mentioned recently in Nathaniel Philbrick’s Bunker Hill. If you ever hear more about the movie, let me know. Thanks for reading!!
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Hi Diane,
Thank you so much for the information on these two lines of Arnold. I have one lone Samuel Arnold who married Margret Jackson, daughter of Capt Stephen Jackson, in most likely Rockaway, NJ sometime around 1798. I have nothing on Samuel and this gives me a new direction into which to look.
Enjoy reading your blog!
Have a wonderful night
Julie
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Thanks, Julie. I don’t envy you, Samuel Arnold is a very common name. New Jersey is not the most likely spot for any of these folks to end up but you never know.
These Arnolds are really hard to deal with!
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I have an old note from some New Englander that told me my JONES connected to these Arnolds. IF you find a JONES let me know.. Susi
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Too funny, Susi! I never see Jones in the Smithfield area, I suspect they are south of the Warwick area. Will keep looking!
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Love reading about all of you research. I keep looking for “Rachel” Smith along with my Rachel….or is it Rachael? Thanks Diane.
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Thanks Mickey. Well I think spelling is probably not very important in Rachel’s time. Thank you for keeping an eye out. Sometimes I think I am closer to narrowing down that Smith family. Someday!!!!
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