Randolph County, West Virginia Biography of DANIEL HARVEY HILL ARNOLD This file was submitted by Valerie Crook, E-mail address: The submitter does not have a connection to the subject of this sketch. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 554-555 Randolph DANIEL HARVEY HILL ARNOLD. The law is known as a stern mistress, demanding of her devotees constant and un- remitting attention, and leading her followers through many mazes and intricacies before she grants them success at her hands. This incessant devotion frequently precludes the idea of the successful lawyer indulging in activities outside of the straight path of his profession, especially if his straight vocational duties are of a large and important nature. Such has been and is the case with Daniel Harvey Hill Arnold, lawyer and member of the bar at Elkins, a master of the perplexities and complexities of the law, whose activities are directed incessantly to the demands of his calling. He was born at Beverly, West Virginia, January 18, 1879, a son of Thomas Jackson Arnold, and a member of one of the old and honored families of the South. The Arnold family records show that in 1765 three brothers, Jonathan, Andrew and Jesse Arnold, removed from Chester County, Pennsylvania, to what became Greene County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1765 but one family of the name of Arnold lived in Chester County, where in 1720 Richard Arnold died. He is believed to have been the grandfather of the above-named brothers, of whom Jonathan Arnold married Rachel Scott. According to the reliable authority of a genealogical chart of the Arnold family on file in the Congressional Library at Washington the Arnolds are of English lineage, dating back to the eleventh century. It was Jonathan Arnold, the grandfather of Daniel Har- vey Hill Arnold, who founded the Arnold family in what is now Randolph County, West Virginia, when he settled at Beverly in 1822. There he continued to reside the remainder of his life, dying July 20, 1883. Upon locating at Beverly, Jonathan Arnold established a tannery, which he operated for a few years, and then engaged in raising and handling cattle, in which he met with a very gratifying success. He was conservative and of sound judgment and of unquestioned integrity, kind-hearted, sympathetic, con- siderate of those in distress, and faithful in his friendships. He was an ardent whig in the days of that party, was strongly opposed to the secession of Virginia, and in 1861 voted, with the minority of the country, against the ratifica- tion of the ordinance of secession. Early, however, during the war, when he felt that the Federal administration, in his opinion, was going beyond the limits of the constitution, he experienced a change in his opinions, and his sympathies were more in accord with the seceding states, which to him then were more in accord with the underlying principles of the forefathers. Hence he opposed and voted against the formation of the State of West Virginia, and because of this was regarded by the Federal authorities as disloyal. In the autumn of 1863 he was arrested and was virtually held as a prisoner until the close of the war, notwithstand- ing that through the intercession of influential friends he was paroled within narrow limits not long after his arrest, but he was not allowed to return to the vicinity of his home until a short time before he was released immediately before the war terminated. He was the eldest son of William and Hulda (Knotts) Arnold, and was born on his father's farm near West Brownsville, Greene County, Pennsylvania, March 27, 1802. William Arnold was born and reared in Greene County, Pennsylvania, and there became a well-to-do farmer, and there he spent his life and died. William Arnold and his wife had the following children: Jonathan, William, Rachel, Sarah, Charles, Pinkney and Caroline. William Arnold was a son of Jonathan and Rachel (Scott) Arnold, whose children were as follows: Samuel, Benjamin, Levi, Jonathan, William and James, twins, Rachel, Hannah and Sarah. It was Jonathan Arnold, father of the above family, who was one of the three Arnold brothers who in 1765 migrated to Greene County, Pennsylvania, as related above. Jonathan Arnold, grandfather of Daniel Harvey Hill Arnold, and grandson of Jonathan Arnold, the founder of the Arnold family in Greene County, was three times mar- ried. His first wife was Thursa Butcher, who died about a year after their marriage. No descendants survive from this marriage. In 1841 he married Phoebe Ann Collett, and was again unfortunate, his wife dying within a few months. In 1844 Jonathan Arnold married Laura Ann Jackson, of Clarksburg, West Virginia. She was a daughter of Jonathan and Julia (Neale) Jackson. By this marriage there were three children who grew to maturity, namely: Thomas Jackson, Anna Grace and Stark W., the first named, Thomas Jackson, being the only survivor. He was born at Beverly, West Virginia, November 3 1845. Thomas Jackson Arnold when thirteen years old was placed in a school at Lexington, Virginia, and made his home with his uncle, then Major Jackson, but afterward attaining to undying fame as General "Stonewall" Jack- son. In 1863-4 he attended school at Parkersburg, West Virginia, under Rev. William L. Hyland, rector of Christ Church. In 1866 he began the study of law at Beverly under Col. David Goff, and afterward took the course in law and equity at Washington and Lee University, Vir- ginia, graduating therefrom in 1867, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. The following year he entered upon the practice of his profession at Beverly, and in the fall of that year was elected prosecuting attorney for Randolph County, and was three times elected to this office. In 1880 be went to San Diego, California, where he continued to practice law, and in 1886 he was appointed by President Cleveland collector of the port of San Diego, which office he held for about two years, in that period making a splendid record. In 1896 Mr. Arnold, with his family, returned to West Vir- ginia to look after his estate in Randolph County. He located at Arnold Hill Station, and here. he continues to reside. Since his return from California Mr. Arnold has not practiced law. He is the author of "Early Life and Letters of 'Stonewall' Jackson," published in 1916 by Fleming H. Revell Company, New York. On June 1, 1876, Thomas Jackson Arnold married Miss Eugenia Hill a daughter of Lieut.-Gen. D. H. Hill, a dis- tinguished Confederate soldier and officer, who, following the close of the war was prominent in literary and educa- tional work until his death, which occurred September 24, 1889. Mrs. Arnold was born at Lexington, Virginia, but she was reared at Charlotte, North Carolina. The following children were bom to Thomaa Jackson and Eugenia (Hill) Arnold: Isabel, D. H. Hill, Thomas Jackson, Jr., and Eugene H. Their son Thomas Jackson Arnold, Jr., was for seven years a Presbyterian missionary in Africa. The other sons became lawyers. Daniel Harvey Hill Arnold, the person whose name heads this review, is a worthy representative of both the Arnold and Hill families. He was reared at San Diego, California, where his preliminary education was obtained. In 1900 he received his Master of Arts degree from Washington and Lee University, and afterward, in 1902, completed his law studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich- igan, and that same year was admitted to the bar of West Virginia, and has since then been engaged in the practice of his profession at Elkins. He is a democrat in politics, but has never sought or accepted political honors, preferring to devote his entire time to the practice of the law. He is a deacon in the Presbyterian Church, and sincere in the per- formance of his religious duties. Fraternally he maintains membership with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a Royal Arch Mason. Through the Rotary Club he keeps in close touch with the progress of Elkins and its vicinity, and is helpful in the carrying out of the objects of this organization. In 1906 Mr. Arnold married Miss Mary Ann Denham, of Florida, who died September 1, 1909, leaving no children. In 1914 Mr. Arnold married Miss Rebecca Andrews, of Staunton, Virginia, and they have two children, namely: Eugenia Elizabeth and Rebecca Arnold. Mr. Arnold is a commanding figure in his profession, bold, independent, fearless, scorning petty tricks, fighting out in the open for what he believes to be right, a man of sound judgment who weighs carefully both sides of a ques- tion so as to be just to each. Few men have a family his- tory so replete with interest, and Mr. Arnold is proud of his connection with some of the historic characters of his country.