Abraham Arnold (1753 - 1840)

Born 27 May 1753 in Springfield, Bucks, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Descendants

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Biography

Private Abraham Arnold served with Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolution.

Much of what we know about Abraham comes from is own handwritten statement submitted as part of application for a Revolutionary War pension.^[1]

According to his statement, Abraham Arnold was born in Springfield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania on the Sunday before Ascension day in 1753. Ascension Day, or Holy Thursday, in 1753 was May 31. The Sunday before Ascension Day, also known as Rogation Sunday, would have been May 27. He stated that there was no documentation of his birth but the information came from his mother.

He testified that he was living in Hamilton Township, Northampton County when the Revolution broke out (the township near Stroudsburg, now in Monroe County, was formed in 1762). In July 1776 he was drafted to serve for two months in Captain Mack's company of Colonel Jacob Stroud's regiment in the Pennsylvania Militia. It was this service that was officially cited when his pensions was approved. The regiment was charged with helping George Washington protect New York City. The company marched from Mount Bethel through New Jersey to New Brunswick and then to Perth Amboy.

In the spring of 1777, according to his statement, he was called for another two months service in Stroud's regiment, this time under Captain William Kromer. The company marched from Smithfield township in Northampton to a position 16 to 18 miles from Philadelphia, not far from Valley Forge. According to state records, in 1777 Captain William Kromer was leading the Fourth Company of the Fourth Battalion, which formed in Moore Township (Hamilton did not have its own unit).^[2] State archive records of the company's return on 18 Jun 1777 lists only the officers and Abraham was not among them.^[3]

On 14 May 1778, an Abraham Arnold appeared on the general muster roll for the Sixth Battalion of the Northampton Militia.^[4] He was a private 7th class in the 5th Company under Captain Henry Sewitz. The company formed in Hamilton in 1777.^[5]

He wrote that in 1779 he volunteered to serve in General Sullivan's Indian Expedition. He was assigned to guard the stockade and provisions in Hamilton under a Lieutenant Patterson. He also served as a scout. The area around Hamilton was the subject of numerous incursions by Native Americans. He did not join the expedition on its march and was discharged after six months.

That same year he married his wife Catherine, according to Edmunds. Her maiden name may have been Scheible (possibly related to Barthol Scheible of Hamilton). The couple's first known child, Maria Susanna, was born in March 1780, which would seem to support Edmunds.

In 1780, according to his testimony, he volunteered again in the Pennsylvania Militia under Captain John Gregory, which served on the Northampton frontier "north of the Blue Mountains." This time he served another two months. In 1780, Gregory was leading the Third Company of the Third Battalion, which formed in Chestnut Hill.^[6]

Although not mentioned in the pension files, a Corporal Arnel served in Captain Richard Shaw's Fifth Company, Fifth Battalion, Northampton County.^[7] Records of the company's return in 1780 militia also show a Corporal Abraham Arnel, a Private 1st Class John Arnold, a Private 2nd Class Jacob Arnold, and a Private 7th Class Marten Aarnold, who would appear to be Abraham and his brothers. Shaw's company formed in Hamilton in 1780.^[8]

Shaw was still leading the 5th Company when it returned in 1781. Records show the same four brothers holding the same ranks, except now Abrm. Arnold is a Private 7th Class.^[9]

The book Descendants of Pioneer Conrad Arnold reports that the father also served in this unit although no documentation has been found.^[10] Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolution lists what appears to be the four brothers under the name Arnol serving in Shaw's company in 1782, and lists Abraham as a corporal or sergeant.

Sometime after the war's end in 1783, he removed to Nescopeck Township, Luzerne, according to the pension file. Nescopeck was not formed until 1792 (prior to that, it was part of Hanover). He did not appear on the 1790 census for Luzerne County. He also did not appear in Hamilton that year, but an Abraham Arnold appeared, along with his father Conrad and brothers Jacob, and Martin, on the 1791 tax list for Hamilton. It is possible that he was the Abraham Arnold who appeared in Chestnut Hill that year.^[11]

The last child to appear in the records of Union Church in Hamilton was Mary, who was born 24 Oct 1792 and baptized 10 Feb 1793.

He first appears in Nescopeck in 1796 when he is on the list of taxables. He appeared again on the tax lists for 1798.^[12]

From there, according to the pension file, he moved to Hanover, where he appeared in the 1799 tax assessment (as Abram Arnold) and the 1800 census, and then to Newport, where he appeared for the 1810, 1820 and 1830 censuses.^[13][14][15]

According to "The History of Slocum-Slocum '76," Arnold received a large tract of land from the government as compensation for his service during the war.^[16] The 1873 Beers Atlas map of the original land warrants for northwest Luzerne County shows a 108-acre tract assigned to Arnold in the area that would eventually become Union Township.

He filed his pension application under the Revolutionary Claim Act of 1832 while living in Newport. He was approved for a $40 per annum pension and placed on the rolls 3 May 1833. His payments were backdated to 4 Mar 1831. He received an initial payment of $120.^[17][18]

He prepared a will giving everything to his youngest daughter Mary on 6 Apr 1837.^[19]

"I, Abram Arnold of Newport Township do make and ordain his my last will and testament ... I give and bequeath to my daughter Mary Arold the homested and the the goods and chattels their unto bellonging and the said M.A. is to settle all accounts in my name and if not the goods and chattelle shall be sold to the amount of the debts the floing [following] property now belonging to Mary Arnold, one bed and bed close and one heifer. Also one pig and three sheep. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the sixth day of April 1837."

He signed with his mark. The witnesses were Abram Line and John Fairchild.

Revolutionary War Pension ledgers from the Office of the Treasurer in Philadelphia include a penciled notation giving a date of death of 23 Jan 1840.^[20]

He did not seem to appear in the 1840 census, which was enumerated June 1.

On 23 Jul 1840, the Treasury Office issued a letter stating that the children of Abraham Arnold, deceased, were being issued $40--their father's pension for the year from 4 Sep 1838 to 4 Sep 1839. The children were not named.

His will was probated 22 Mar 1854.

Research Notes

• Some family histories list Catharina Scheible as the wife of Abram Arnold Jr. Barthol Scheible and Conrad Arnold (and their families) are closely associated in the record of the Hamilton Church.

Sources

1. ↑ U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900. Pension Claim S.6533. Accessed on 18 Sep 2021 at https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1995/MIUSA1775D_134643-00206/6317?backurl=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/165821047/person/312152378013/facts/citation/922440008480/edit/record.
2. ↑ https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Revolutionary-War-Militia-Northampton.aspxhttps://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Revolutionary-War-Militia-Northampton.aspx.
3. ↑ Montgomery, Thomas Lynch, ed. Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Volume III. Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, State Printer, 1906. Page 303. Accessed on 22 Sep 2021 at https://wolfensberger.org/pages/library/books/Pennsylvania/pennsylvaniaarch48penn.pdf.
4. ↑ Montgomery, Thomas Lynch, ed. Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Volume III. Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, State Printer, 1906. Page 433. Accessed on 22 Sep 2021 at https://wolfensberger.org/pages/library/books/Pennsylvania/pennsylvaniaarch48penn.pdf.
5. ↑ https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Revolutionary-War-Militia-Northampton.aspx
6. ↑ https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Revolutionary-War-Militia-Northampton.aspx.
7. ↑ Montgomery, Thomas Lynch, ed. Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Volume III. Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, State Printer, 1906. Page 382. Accessed on 22 Sep 2021 at https://wolfensberger.org/pages/library/books/Pennsylvania/pennsylvaniaarch48penn.pdf.
8. ↑ https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Revolutionary-War-Militia-Northampton.aspx
9. ↑ Montgomery, Thomas Lynch, ed. Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Volume III. Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, State Printer, 1906. Pages 414-415. Accessed on 22 Sep 2021 at https://wolfensberger.org/pages/library/books/Pennsylvania/pennsylvaniaarch48penn.pdf.
10. ↑ Hartman-Arnold, Velma and Bond-Arnold, Grace. Descendants of Conrad Arnold" Amazon Publishing, n.d.
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKJ-NPD : accessed 18 September 2021), Abraham Arnold, Chestnut Hill, Northampton, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. 247, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 8; FHL microfilm 568,148.
12. ↑ Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Accessed on 18 Sep 2021 at https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2060/images/32643_B036825-00227?pid=316021&treeid=165821047&personid=312152378013&hintid=1048979523358&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true.
13. ↑ "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHR6-DY8 : accessed 18 September 2021), Abraham Arnold, Hanover, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. 328,329, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 39; FHL microfilm 363,342.
14. ↑ "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHL5-4CZ : accessed 18 September 2021), Abraham Arnold, Newport, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. 376, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 105; FHL microfilm 181,410.
15. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPR-861 : 20 February 2021), Abraham Arnold, Newport, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing 386, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 145; FHL microfilm 20,619.
16. ↑ Full Citation Needed. Page 27.
17. ↑ United States Senate. Report from the Secretary of War, in Obedience to Resolutions of the Senate of the 5th and 30th of June, 1834, and the 3d of March, 1835, In Relation to the Pension Establishment of the United States [Pennsylvania Section]. Washington, DC, Duff Green, 1835.
18. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., The Pension Roll of 1835 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
19. ↑ Luzerne Co. Will Book B, p 564.
20. ↑ "United States Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24Q-LHBH : accessed 18 September 2021), Abraham Arnold, 04 Mar 1831; citing Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, NARA microfilm publication T718 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1962), roll 7; FHL microfilm 1,319,387.