Alexander Ahab Arnold, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin livestock breeder and politician, was born October 20, 1833, at Rhinebeck, New York, the son of Archibald H. R. Arnold, a farmer. He attended college in Poughkeepsie, New York, and taught school for a short time before entering the Ohio Law School at Poland, Ohio. He graduated in 1855 and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1856. Arnold practiced law in Poland until 1857 when he moved to Galesville, Wisconsin, where he practiced law, farmed, and did some surveying. At some time during the late 1850's, he was appointed district attorney for Trempealeau County. In 1859, Arnold married Hattie E. Tripp, 1833-1861, of New York, who died two years later leaving a daughter, G. Blanche.
In 1861, Arnold was elected Trempealeau County Superintendent of Schools, a position he relinquished in 1862 when he was commissioned a captain in the newly formed Company C, Thirtieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. The Thirtieth Wisconsin was stationed in Wisconsin, on the Indian frontier in the Dakotas, and in Kentucky.
At the close of the Civil War, Arnold returned to Galesville, where he increased his landholdings to 400 acres. In 1869, he married Mary Douglas (1848-1933), a member of a prominent Melrose, Wisconsin family.
Arnold joined the Republican Party and was elected to the State Assembly in 1870. He served as a member of the state Senate, 1877-1878, and returned to the Assembly in 1880 as Speaker. Arnold was also chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Trempealeau County and county surveyor for many years.
Arnold's main business concern was farming. He was a well-known livestock breeder, and he pioneered in breeding Shorthorn cattle and Berkshire swine. Active in agrarian organizations, Arnold served as president of the State Agricultural Society in 1886. Arnold also promoted the Galesville and Mississippi Railroad, and was president of that corporation in 1874. He was president of the Bank of Galesville and engaged in real estate development.
Arnold was energetic in his involvement in community affairs. He actively supported the public schools and was a longtime president of the Board of Trustees of Galesville University. He was also an organizer of the Galesville post of the Grand Army of the Republic, a member of the Masonic Order for fifty-seven years, and president of the Trempealeau County Historical Society. Although raised a Hicksite Quaker, Arnold became a member of the Presbyterian Church late in life.
Alexander Ahab Arnold died on march 1, 1915, at Galesville, Wisconsin. His children were G. Blanche Arnold (1860-1862), Roy D. Arnold (1872-1873), Kitty H. Arnold (1874-1877), Archibald H. Arnold, Mollie Arnold French, Gerald D. Arnold, Alex W. Arnold, and Beulah Arnold Wiley.
