Laura Ann (Jackson) Arnold (1826 - 1911)

Born 27 Mar 1826 in Clarksburg, Harrison, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Died 24 Sep 1911 at age 85 in Buckhannon, Upshur, West Virginia, United States

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Biography

Laura Ann (Jackson) Arnold was born in Virginia.

Laura Ann , unlike her famous Confederate General brother (Stonewall) and sympathizer husband, she was a Union woman "from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet"; she opened her home to sick and wounded soldiers from both sides.
Honored for eternity:
In Memoriam

Laura Ann (Jackson) Arnold was interred in West Virginia.

Laura was born in Clarksburg, Harrison, Virginia on 27 Mar 1826. Her parents were Jonathan Jackson and Julia Beckwith Neale Jackson. She was the fourth of their children; her siblings were:

• Elizabeth (1819),
• Warren (1821), and
• Thomas Jonathan (1824).

Her sister, Elizabeth, and her father died of typhoid fever the day before her birth on 26 Mar 1826. Her mother then married Blake Woodson; however, he disliked his stepchildren. Laura and Thomas were sent to live with Jackson relatives in Jackson's Mill, Virginia and her brother, Warren, was sent to Neale relatives. Laura and Thomas were very, very close until the Civil War broke out. She was a strong supporter of the Union, he became the beloved General "Stonewall" Jackson of the Confederacy.

Laura married Jonathan Arnold on 1 Sep 1844 in Randolph, Virginia, United States. ^[1][2]

They were the parents of four children:

1. Thomas Jackson Arnold  (1845),
2. Anna Grace Arnold  (1848),
3. Stark William Arnold  (1851), and
4. Laura Zell Arnold (1854).

In 1850 and 1860, Laura, Jonathan and their children were living in Beverly, Randolph, Virginia. ^[3][4]

The Civil War came to Beverly in June 1861 when Confederate soldiers streamed in. The Battle of Rich Mountain, seven miles west of town, occurred on 11 Jul 1861, and the Confederates were forced to retreat to the south. Beverly Township was occupied by Union forces for the duration of the war. Laura opened her house as a hospital and cared for Union soldiers as well as Confederate soldiers. She dressed wounds and treated those suffering from diseases such as typhoid fever. When the Confederate army established a hospital near town, she often went to see how she could help. When that hospital had no medicine, she provided them some, and took the sickest men to her house and nursed them. She never had any disrespect from any soldiers, North or South. Union General George B. McClellan was a notable visitor to her home. ^[5]

Laura and Jonathan's marriage became more and more strained as the war raged on. Laura continued an outspoken Union supporter, while Jonathan became a Southern sympathizer. After the war, this conflict resulted in a nasty divorce in August 1870. Laura was awarded $400 per year, comparable to $9,300 in 2023.

By 1870, Laura was living in the Buskey household in Beverly, Randolph, West Virginia. ^[6]

In 1880, Laura is divorced and living in the household of her son Stark in Buckhannon, Upshur, West Virginia. ^[7]

In May 1890, Laura indicated that she had been at the Sanitarium for almost 9 years, saying that her nervous system was broken down by her experiences in the war, and that she had been an invalid ever since. She sold the family homestead when her husband died, but kept a farm there. She was quoted as saying: I was a Union woman from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. ^[5]

In 1897, the Society of the Army of West Virginia made Laura an honorary member for her "patriotism and past efforts on behalf of Union arms."

At the turn of the century in the 1900 Census, Laura is widowed and listed as a patient in the Sanitarium in Mifflin Township, Franklin, Ohio, United States. She had four children, one is still living.^[8]

In 1905, Laura attended a reunion of the 5th West Virginia Cavalry, which had occupied her home town. The veterans named her Mother of the Regiment – "That she is not only enshrined in our memories, but in our hearts, and indeed holds the position with us as the mother of the regiment, and in our prayer is that her life may be spared for many years, and that her future may be filled with days of happiness."

In the spring of 1910 Laura returned to her girlhood home in Buckhannon, West Virginia to live out her remaining days and be buried there. She had been living for some time in the Shepard Sanitarium in Mifflin Township, Ohio. Her son, Thomas J. Arnold, and daughter-in-law Mrs. Stark Arnold, both of Upshur County, West Virginia, accompanied her. ^[9]

Laura passed away 24 Sep 1911 in Buckhannon, Upshur, West Virginia and is buried in Heavner Cemetery in Buckhannon. ^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage "West Virginia, County Marriage Records, 1776-1971", citing FHL microfilm: 000250147, FamilySearch Record: Q2ZJ-82CQ (accessed 8 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-C9B2-VBDT Image number 00005, Laurann Jackson marriage to Jonathan Arnold on 1 Sep 1844 in Randolph, West Virginia, United States.
2. ↑ Marriage "West Virginia Marriages, 1780-1970", citing Randolph, West Virginia, United States, , county clerks, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 808,786, FamilySearch Record: FY7H-NJC (accessed 8 June 2023) http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view2.aspx?FilmNumber=808786&ImageNumber=311, Laura Ann Jackson marriage to Jonathan Arnold in 1844 in Randolph, West Virginia, United States.
3. ↑ 1850 Census "United States Census, 1850", citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FamilySearch Record: M8DL-T82 (accessed 8 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HY-6797-3R9 Image number 00138, Laura A Arnold (26) in Randolph, Virginia, United States. Born in Virginia.
4. ↑ 1860 Census "United States Census, 1860", citing Page: 113; Affiliate Publication Number: M653, FamilySearch Record: MHMS-K8S (accessed 8 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9BSN-CZ, Laura A Arnold (35) in Randolph, Virginia, United States. Born in Virginia.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Interview Columbus Evening Dispatch - 26 May 1890. (Columbus, Ohio), genealogybank.com, "War Incidents, as related by Mrs. Laura Jackson Arnold – Sister of the Famous Rebel General, Stonewall Jackson".
6. ↑ 1870 Census "United States Census, 1870", citing Page: 7; Affiliate Publication Number: M593; Line: 25; FHL microfilm: 000553197; Record number: 12521, FamilySearch Record: MZ41-QC2 (accessed 8 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HT-6QZ3-9Y5 Image number 00329, Lola Ann Arnold (44) in Beverly, Randolph, West Virginia, United States. Born in Virginia.
7. ↑ 1880 Census "United States Census, 1880", citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm , FamilySearch Record: M6TH-K4Q (accessed 8 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YBL-9MM4 Image number 00658, Laura J Arnold (54), divorced, Keep House, head of household in Buckhannon, Upshur, West Virginia, United States. Born in West Virginia, United States.
8. ↑ 1900 Census "United States Census, 1900", citing Affiliate Publication Number: T623; Line: 53; FHL microfilm: 1241266; Record number: 48199, FamilySearch Record: MMZP-V2Q (accessed 8 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HT-DBBY-DC Image number 00988, Laura J Arnold (74), widowed patient, in household of Dr. William Shepard, M.d. (75) in Gahanna, Mifflin Township, Franklin, Ohio, United States. Born in Virginia.
9. ↑ Returning Home Columbus Evening Dispatch – 27 Apr 1910. (Columbus, Ohio), genealogybank.com, "Returns to Home in Southland to Spend Last Days".
10. ↑ Memorial Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10355562/laura-ann-arnold: accessed 30 June 2023), memorial page for Laura Ann Jackson Arnold (27 Mar 1826–24 Sep 1911), Find A Grave: Memorial #10355562, citing Heavner Cemetery, Buckhannon, Upshur County, West Virginia, USA; Maintained by Frank W Nichols (contributor 46614579).

See also:

• "Laura Jackson Arnold", The West Virginia Encyclopedia, (accessed June 8, 2023).
• "Laura Jackson Arnold – Sister of General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson", "History of American Women, Colonial Women 18th-19th Century Women, Civil War Women" (accessed June 6, 2023).
• 'Laura Arnold: stonewall Jackson's Unionist Sister", by Larry Spurgeon (2020), Jackson Brigade Corporation (jacksonbrigade.com), (accessed June 8, 2023).
• FS Profile for Laura Ann Jackson