{{short description|American politician (1741–1793)}} {{For|the Wisconsin politician|Jonathan Earle Arnold}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Jonathan Arnold | image = JonathanArnold.jpg | alt = | caption = Etching of Jonathan Arnold by Max Rosenthal | office1 = Member of the Vermont Governor's Council | term_start1 = 1790 | term_end1 = 1793 | predecessor1 = Peter Olcott | successor1 = Paul Brigham | office2 = Chief Judge of the Orange County, Vermont Court | term_start2 = 1792 | term_end2 = 1793 | predecessor2 = Jacob Bayley | successor2 = Israel Smith | office3 = Member of the Congress of the Confederation from Rhode Island | term_start3 = 1782 | term_end3 = 1784 | alongside3 = John Collins, Ezekiel Cornell, David Howell | predecessor3 = William Ellery, Ezekiel Cornell, Daniel Mowry Jr., James Mitchell Varnum | successor3 = William Ellery, David Howell, Henry Marchant | birth_date = {{Birth date|1741|12|03}} | birth_place = Gloucester, Rhode Island Colony | death_date = {{Death date and age|1793|02|01|1741|02|01}} | death_place = St. Johnsbury, Vermont | resting_place = Mount Pleasant Cemetery, St. Johnsbury, Vermont | occupation = {{hlist|Physician|statesman}} | spouse = Marry Burr (m. 1763–1781, her death)<br/>Alice Crawford (1782–1790, her death)<br/>Cynthia Hastings (m. 1792–1793, his death) | children = 11 (including Lemuel Hastings Arnold) | relatives = Noah Davis {{small|(grandson)}}<br/>Richard Arnold {{small|(grandson)}}<br/>Theodore Francis Green {{small|(great-great-grandson)}} | signature = Jonathan Arnold signature.tif | allegiance = United States (Patriot) | unit = Medical Corps | service_years = 1776–1781 | branch = Continental Army | rank = Surgeon | commands = Continental Army Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island }} '''Jonathan Arnold''' (December 3, 1741 – February 1, 1793) was an American physician and statesman from New England. He was born in Gloucester, Rhode Island, served in the Continental Army as a surgeon, and directed the army hospital in Providence. He represented Rhode Island as a delegate to the Confederation Congress in 1782 and 1783. He moved to a farm in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in 1787, and later served as a judge.
==Early life== Jonathan Arnold was born in Gloucester, Rhode Island{{efn|Some sources indicate Arnold was born in Providence.<ref name="Durfee">{{cite book |last1=Durfee |first1=Eleazer D. |last2=Sanford |first2=D. Gregory |date=1989 |title=A Guide to the Henry Stevens, Sr. Collection at the Vermont State Archives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIwWAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA29 |location=Montpelier, VT |publisher=Vermont State Archives |page=29 |via=Google Books}}</ref>}} on December 3, 1741 (Old Style December 14), the son of Josiah Arnold and Amy (Phillips) Arnold.<ref>{{cite book |date=1906 |title=The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography |volume=XIII |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THRMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA146 |location=New York, NY |publisher=James T. White & Company |page=146 |via=Google Books |ref={{sfnRef|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''}}}}</ref> He trained for a career in medicine and practiced as a physician in Providence.{{sfn|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''|page=146}} In 1774, he became a charter member of the Providence Grenadiers militia unit, and until 1776 he commanded a company with the rank of captain.<ref>{{cite book |last=Arnold |first=Samuel Greene |author-link=Samuel G. Arnold |date=1860 |title=History of the State of Rhode Island and providence Plantations |volume=II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OWkrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA342 |location=New York, NY |publisher=D. Appleton & Company |page=342 |via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1776, Arnold was elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly, where he authored the May Act that repealed the requirement for government officials and militia officers to swear an oath of allegiance to England.{{sfn|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''|page=146}}
At the start of the American Revolution, Arnold joined the Continental Army as a surgeon.{{sfn|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''|page=146}} During the war, he was head of the military hospital in Providence.{{sfn|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''|page=146}} He was elected as a Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation in 1782, and served until 1783.{{sfn|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''|page=146}} While he was a member of Congress, the body voted in secret to arrest Luke Knowlton and Samuel Wells of Brattleboro in the Vermont Republic on suspicion of communicating with the British in Canada.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cabot |first=Mary Rogers |date=1921 |title=Annals of Brattleboro, 1681-1895 |volume=I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zF90vZBrQ5oC&pg=PA133 |location=Brattleboro, VT |publisher=E. L. Hildreth |pages=133–134 |via=Google Books |ref={{sfnRef|''Annals of Brattleboro, 1681-1895''}}}}</ref> They fled before they could be detained, but returned to Brattleboro after the end of the Revolution.{{sfn|''Annals of Brattleboro, 1681-1895''|pages=133–134}} Arnold was accused of warning Knowlton and Wells prior to their arrests, which he denied, but fellow members of Congress including James Madison did not believe his denial.{{sfn|''Annals of Brattleboro, 1681-1895''|pages=133–134}}
==Later life== thumb|left|1898 Richard Creifelds portrait based on original miniature In 1786, Arnold moved to Winchester, New Hampshire, where he continued to practice medicine.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=May 1867 |title=Selections From Portfolios In Various Libraries (Continued) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OvEOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA284 |magazine=The Historical Magazine |location=Morrisania, NY |publisher=Henry B. Dawson |page=284 |via=Google Books |ref={{sfnRef|''The Historical Magazine''}}}}</ref> He subsequently became proprietor and the first settler of St. Johnsbury, Vermont,{{sfn|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''|page=147}} and served as St. Johnsbury's first town clerk.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilbur |first=La Fayette |date=1900 |title=Early History of Vermont |volume=II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VowUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA387 |location=Jericho, VT |publisher=Roscoe Printing House |page=387 |via=Google Books}}</ref> While living in Vermont, Arnold also obtained charters for the towns of Bestbury (now Lyndon), Burke, and Billymead (now Sutton).<ref name="Durfee"/>{{efn|Several sources indicate that Arnold named Lyndon, Burke, and Billymead for his sons. Lyndon was named for his son Josias Lyndon Arnold,<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=August 15, 2022 |orig-date=September 3, 2016 |title=Kingdom Guide: Caledonia County; Lyndon |url=https://www.northstarmonthly.com/kingdom_guide/town_profiles_history/lyndon/article_dfea99a6-71fa-11e6-8687-abe8f4873a46.html |work=The North Star Monthly |location=Danville, VT}}</ref> and Billymead for his son William C. Arnold,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.suttonvt.org/about-us |title=Town of Sutton History |website=Sutton VT.org |publisher=Town of Sutton |location=Sutton, VT |access-date=August 16, 2022}}</ref> but Burke was named for Edmund Burke.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://burkevermont.org/town-history.php |title=Burke Town History |date=2013 |website=Burke Vermont.org |publisher=Town of Burke |location=Burke, VT |access-date=August 16, 2022}}</ref>}}
After settling in Vermont, Arnold served on the governor's council from 1790 to 1793.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fairbanks |first=Edward Taylor |date=1914 |title=The Town of St. Johnsbury, Vt: A Review of One Hundred Twenty-five Years to the Anniversary Pageant 1912 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vrU3AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA569 |location=St. Johnsbury, VT |publisher=Cowles Press |page=569 |via=Google Books |ref={{sfnRef|''The Town of St. Johnsbury, Vt''}}}}</ref> He was a judge of the Orange County court beginning in 1792, and he remained on the bench until his death.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hemenway |first=Abby Maria |author-link=Abby Maria Hemenway |date=1871 |title=The Vermont Historical Gazetteer |volume=II, Part 3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFMSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA804 |location=Burlington, VT |publisher=A. M. Hemenway |page=804 |via=Google Books}}</ref> While living in Rhode Island, Arnold's family had been given a slave, Ruth Farrow, as a gift.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kanell |first=Beth |date=August 30, 2018 |orig-date=June 28, 2018 |title=The Fairbanks Family: Abolitionists of St. Johnsbury |url=http://www.northstarmonthly.com/features/abolitionists-of-st-johnsbury/article_33cf86da-7adc-11e8-9bff-879a7faf6f43.html |work=The North Star Monthly |location=Danville, VT |ref={{sfnRef|"Abolitionists of St. Johnsbury"}}}}</ref> Arnold was a member of the Providence Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and freed Farrow, who continued to live with and work for members of the Arnold family until her death in 1841.{{sfn|"Abolitionists of St. Johnsbury"}}
==Death and burial== Arnold died in St. Johnsbury on February 1, 1793.<ref>{{cite book |last=Benson |first=Richard Harold |date=2009 |title=The Arnold Family of Smithfield, Rhode Island |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VKkZAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Dr.+Jonathan+Arnold+died+at+St.+Johnsbury%22 |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Newbury Street Press |page=273 |isbn=978-0-8808-2221-3 |via=Google Books}}</ref> He was initially buried in the Arnold family plot in the town cemetery.{{sfn|''The Town of St. Johnsbury, Vt''|page=76}} When the cemetery's land was appropriated for a courthouse in 1856, Arnold was reburied at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury.{{sfn|''The Town of St. Johnsbury, Vt''|page=76}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Batcheller |first=E. Ellen |date=1903 |title=Fifth Report of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQNHAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA300 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=300 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Arnold Park in St. Johnsbury is located near the site of Arnold's former home, and is named for him.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stjathenaeum.org/a-brief-history-of-st-johnsbury |title=A Brief History of St. Johnsbury |author=St. Johnsbury Historical Society |website=St J Athenaeum.org |publisher=St. Johnsbury Athenaeum |location=St. Johnsbury, VT |access-date=August 16, 2022}}</ref>
==Family== In 1763, Arnold married Marry Burr (1743–1781).{{sfn|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''|page=147}} His second wife was Alice Crawford (1757–1790), whom he married in 1782.{{sfn|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''|page=147}} After the death of his second wife, in 1792 Arnold married Cynthia Hastings Ladd (1763–1838).{{sfn|''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography''|page=147}}
Arnold was the father of 11 children:{{sfn|''The Historical Magazine''|page=284}}
*Amy Arnold Deuel (1764–1843) *Amaziah Arnold (1766–1767) *Josias Lyndon Arnold (1768–1796) *Polly Burr Arnold (1770–1772) *William C. Arnold (1773–1813) *Sarah (Sally) Arnold Burrill (1777–1814) *Abigail Arnold Dow (1780–1824) *John Crawford Arnold (1784–1784) *Freelove Crawford Arnold (1788–1789) *Freelove Crawford Arnold Davis (1790–1848) *Lemuel Hastings Arnold (1792–1852)
Arnold's son Lemuel Hastings Arnold served in the United States House of Representatives and as Governor of Rhode Island.{{sfn|''The Town of St. Johnsbury, Vt''|page=77}} His grandson Noah Davis served in the United States House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite book |author=Town of Littleton, New Hampshire |date=1887 |title=Exercises at the Centennial of the Incorporation of the Town of Littleton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=en9lZMk5xgcC&pg=PA121 |location=Concord, NH |publisher=N.H. Democratic Press Company |page=121 |via=Google Books}}</ref> His grandson Richard Arnold was a career officer in the United States Army who served as a brigadier general of volunteers in the Union Army during the American Civil War and attained the rank of major general of both volunteers and the regular army by brevet.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://heroesofcivilwar.weebly.com/richard-arnold.html |title=Richard Arnold–Union Army (1828–1882) |editor1-last=Chappell |editor1-first=Jon |editor2-last=Furniss |editor2-first=JT |website=Civil War Heroes |publisher=Jon Chappell and JT Furniss |access-date=August 20, 2022}}</ref> His great-great-grandson Theodore Francis Green served as Rhode Island's governor and as a United States Senator.<ref>{{cite book |author=Joint Committee On Printing, United States Congress |year=2016|orig-date=1950 |title=Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JrXYvgrwkM0C&pg=PA790 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=790 |isbn=978-0-598-68615-2 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Jonathan Arnold}} {{Portal|United States|Rhode Island|Law}} {{CongBio|A000289}} * {{cite BDA1906 |wstitle= Arnold, Jonathan |volume= 1 |page= 144 |short=1}} *{{Find a Grave|13505612}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Jonathan}} Category:1741 births Category:1793 deaths Category:Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island Category:Vermont state court judges Category:Continental Congressmen from Rhode Island Category:Continental Army officers from Rhode Island Category:Medical doctors in the American Revolution Category:People from colonial Rhode Island Category:Medical doctors from Rhode Island