St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1914-11-11
GOLDEN WEDDING
Mr.. and Mrs. Lyndon Arnold Mar
ried so Years Descendant of
Founder of the Town.

Mr.. and Mrs. Lyndon Arnold will
observe the 5Oth anniversary of their
wedding today. They will hold an
informal reception in Grand Army
Hall tonight to which all their friends
are invited. They will be the recip-
tents of many gifts as reminders of
the event. The history of the Arnold
family here is practically the history
of the town as DIR. Jonathan Arnold,
/ great grandfather of Lyndon Arnold,
was the founder of ST. Johnsbury.
| Lyndon Arnold was born on a farm
here February 90, 1874, the son of
William c. and May (Phelps) Ar
mold. He received his education in
the public schools and In st. Johns
bury Academy. At the age of IT
he enlisted with the third Vermont,
serving eight months. Subsequently
he was with the 45th Massachusetts,
for nine months and then with the
1st Vermont Artillery two years, be-
ing mustered out at the end of the
war. Following the war he returned
to his home here and worked for a
time in the scale factory but left that
place afte~ few years to take up
the trade of painting and became one
of the best known painters and de-
corators in this section, trade which
he still follows. With two other
men Mr.. Arnold organized the pres
ent Co. D of the State Militia. He
is past commander of Chamberlin
Post, G. A. r.
Mrs. Arnold was formerly Emily
L. Sprague, daughter of Silas w. and
Betsy A. Sprasd de of Danville, whe-e
she was born June 12, 1916. While |
attending st. Johnsbury Academy she |
met Mr.. Arnold and they were en-
gagged before his enlistment. 1t was /
not until he was home on a ten days |
fuIlough in 1854 however, that they |
had an opportunity to be married and |
even then as the Vermont law made |
it necessary that contemplated mar
riage should be posted eight days in /
advance, they were obliged to go to |
New Hampshire and the ceremony |
was pc. formed at LittletOn. OF four |
children born to them two are living, |
Austin w. Arnold of Boston, direc-
tor of No. 8 switch tower Of the N. |
Y, N. H. and Hartford Railroad and |
h'F~ed G. Arnold. 1st Lieut. in the |
26th U. s. Infantry located at Texas |
III leXas.
Mr.. Arnold traces his ancestry back !
% the l fth century in England. The !
first of the name came to Anne, lea |
aDout 1885 and settled in Rhode ,
Island where for many years they |
were prominent in the affairs of the /
Providence Plantations. Jonothan
Arnold was a surgeon in the Revolu-
tionary War and afterwards mem
ber of the Rhode Island Assembly be-
fore the ratification of the Union. He
obtained from Governor Chittenden
of Vermont a charter of the land |
which included the present towns of
Sutton, Lyndon and st. Johnsbury |
and in 1897 with his two sons VIII
liam G. and Josiah Lyndon, came to
Vermont. William located in Sutton I
md Josiah Lyndon in the town which
took his name, while their father es- !,
tablished himself in st. Johnsbury.
The house which Jonathan Arnold
built has disappeared but the one
built by his son on what is known as
the Century farm, over 100 years
ago, is still standing and occupied.
Arnold Park and Court House square
two spots of interest were given to
the town by the family. Besides the
Revolutionary War and Civil War the
Arnold family was represented In
DORIS Rebellion by Lemuel Hastings
Arnold and in the Spanish-American
War by Lieut.. Alfred G. Arnold. Be
sides this Mr.. Arnold's father and
were captains of the
State Militia and his grandson, Claude
9. Arnold has also served three
years with Company d.
Besides their two sons Mr.. and Mrs.
Arnold have two grandchildren,
Claude C. and Miss Vera Arnold, both
If this place and one great &: andson,
r,vndon Rudolph Arnold, eight
months old who is the seventh in line
rom the founder of the town.