The Alexander Ahab Arnold Papers include the papers of Arnold; his second wife, Mary Douglas Arnold; their sons, Gerald D. and Archibald H. Arnold; and their daughter, Beulah Arnold Wiley. Also included is a document from Alexander's mother, Catherine M. E. (Schultz) Arnold. The collection exists in three segments according to the date of organization at the State Historical Society: the 1945 Accession (La Crosse Mss M), the 1973 Addition (La Crosse Mss AK), and the 1988 Addition (La Crosse Mss BM). Each accession is then arranged by name. Photographs in the Visual and Sound Archives relate to the Arnold family, their friends, and the career of son-in-law Guilford Wiley. Additional information about the family may be found in the separately-catalogued Guilford Wiley Papers.
La Crosse Mss M: 1945 Accession, 1856-1913. 2 archives boxes
The original 1945 accession consists of two archives boxes of Alexander Arnold's brief-entry diaries, dated 1856-1857, 1859-1895, 1902-1907, 1909-1913 and his financial records, 1863-1888.
La Crosse Mss AK; 1973 Addition, 1856-1939. 4 archives boxes
The 1973 Addition has been arranged in four small general series: the papers of Alexander Ahab Arnold, Mary Douglas Arnold, Gerald D. Arnold, and Archibald H. Arnold.
The ALEXANDER AHAB ARNOLD File includes ten diaries, 1858, 1896-1901, 1908, 1914-1915; one folder of correspondence concerned with both personal and business matters, 1880-1914; papers from Ohio legal cases in which Arnold acted as attorney, 1856-1858; informal notes from Arnold's surveying for the Town of Gale, n.d.; and about one archives box of the “complete and orderly” records kept by Arnold in his official capacity as a Captain in Company C, Thirtieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.
The MARY DOUGLAS File, 1876-1929, consists of the papers of Alexander Ahab Arnold's wife, who was, apparently, as interested in civic concerns as her husband. She was a charter member of the local WCTU and its president for six years after its founding in 1890, as well as a member of various other women's groups. Included in her papers are three diaries, 1877, 1920, 1929; correspondence concerning family and social matters, 1876-1917; pamphlets, reports, and newspaper clippings relating to her work with the WCTU and the women's suffrage movement; and reports and papers concerned with women's clubs and church activities. The reports to the WCTU are concerned with temperance, the accomplishments of the local chapter, petitions circulated by it, and suffrage. The papers read by Mary Arnold before various women's groups are handwritten and concern such subjects as: growing house plants, the place of women in the Grange, the hiring of help in the home, and an essay on girlhood.
The GERALD D. ARNOLD File, 1902-1939, consists of farm records of the son who took charge of the family farm upon his father's retirement. Gerald Arnold was quite successful as a livestock breeder; his Marinuke herd of shorthorn cattle was reportedly among the best in the nation. The file contains a private herd register (1917), to which are attached several newspaper clippings and copies of patents on farm machinery, particularly feeding mechanisms and dehydrators. One patent was registered in the name of William A. Arnold, the oldest son of Gerald Arnold.
The ARCHIBALD H. ARNOLD File, 1893-1895, contains a record of the sale of livestock, 1895(?), and two wedding invitations.
La Crosse Mss BM; 1988 Addition, 1854-1940. 2 archives boxes
The 1988 Addition continues the arrangement by family member. Five small general series consist of: Alexander Ahab Arnold, Mary Douglas Arnold, Gerald D. Arnold, Beulah Arnold (Wiley), and Catherine M. E. (Schultz) Arnold, the mother of Alexander Ahab Arnold.
The ALEXANDER AHAB ARNOLD File complements the existing collection with the addition of a diary, 1902; more general correspondence, 1893-1913; resolutions and estate papers relating to the death of Alexander (1915) in a new personal file; and bank books, 1883-1908, and extensive deeds and mortgages, 1854-1888 which round out the financial papers. Informal notes on the surveying of Trempealeau County, as well as personal slogans, are contained in fourteen notebooks kept in 1867 and between 1891 and 1907 and more accurately represent Alexander's surveying activities. The 1867 notebook is twofold in purpose, serving as a surveyor's notebook and a notebook for reimbursable expenses during the Civil War (1862-63). Papers relating to livestock breeding and other miscellany of Alexander Ahab's farm practice complete the series.
The MARY DOUGLAS ARNOLD File, also fills in the earlier holdings. Additional general correspondence, 1908-13; pamphlets from WCTU, 1915-1928; and handwritten notes on the events surrounding a meeting of the Woman's Relief Corps held in Madison, June 14, 1904, are included. Also added to Mary's file are quit claim deeds, a will, disposition of estate, a few tax receipts, 1914-1940, and other legal and financial documents.
The continued file of GERALD D. ARNOLD is confined to livestock circulars for the breeding service taken over from Alexander Ahab Arnold.
The BEULAH ARNOLD (WILEY) File consists of correspondence, 1907-1913 (mostly letters sent home while attending Rockford College); and material relating to her career as a grade school teacher, including notebooks and an examination.
The last file is that of CATHERINE M. E. (SCHULTZ) ARNOLD, mother of Alexander Ahab; it consists only of her last will and testament (1872).
