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from Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa by Manoah Hedge The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1906
DAVID ELI ARNOLD. David Arnold, residing on section 15, Harrison township, is one of the few remaining old settlers of this part of the state, dating his residence in Iowa from 1854, while since 1862 he has made his home in Mahaska county. He was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, September 22, 1832. His father, Solomon Arnold, was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and a son of David Arnold, who removed to Ohio with his family when his son Solomon was a lad of fifteen years. There the latter was reared and in Jefferson county, Ohio, he was married to Miss Barbara Stonebroke, a daughter of Jacob Stonebroke, a native of Pennsylvania, who lived to the very venerable age of one hundred and two years. Solomon Arnold was a farmer of Tuscarawas county, and upon the farm which he there developed and improved he also reared his family. By trade he was a carpenter and joiner, but during much of his life his attention was given, to agricultural pursuits and upon the old homestead in Ohio he passed away. David Arnold spent the days of his boyhood and youth upon his father's farm in Ohio and when a young man came to Iowa, arriving in this state in 1854. He was married in Eddyville to Miss Eliza Steel, who was born in Pennsylvania and was reared in Pittsburg. In Eddyville he was connected with a packing business and also the operation of a saw mill, and while still conducting business interests at that point, he made his home for a time in Mahaska county. He later located where he now resides on section 15, Harrison township, purchasing here forty acres of raw land, which he cleared and developed, transforming a wild tract into productive fields. He is an enterprising business man and has carried forward the work of improvement to the best of his ability. He lived first in a log house, but later erected a good, neat frame residence in 1875. A year or two later he built a good barn and he now has a valuable and well improved farm of eighty acres. In 1891 Mr. Arnold was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died in November, of that year. There were three children of that marriage. John, the oldest, is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Eli D., living with his father, married Laura Nedefesser, who was born and reared in Mahaska county, a daughter of John R. Nedefesser, a native of Germany and one of the early settlers of this county. He and his wife died when Mrs. Arnold was a child. Three children have been born unto Eli D. Arnold: Eva, the wife of Ben Newman; Louis E.; and David E. Mary J. Arnold, the daughter of David Arnold, is the wife of John Fox, a substantial farmer of Harrison township. Politically Mr. Arnold has been a life-long republican, supporting the party since its organization. He was elected and served as township trustee and has also been road supervisor for eight or nine years, and school trustee. He and his son and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. For fifty years Mr. Arnold has been a resident of the county and has helped to improve and make it what it is today. His life has always been characterized by unfaltering industry and perseverance and in all his business relations he has been thoroughly reliable and trustworthy.
Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy