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Below is a family biography included in The History of Darke County, Ohio published by W. H. Beers & Co. in 1880.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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GEORGE ARNOLD, retired farmer; P. O. Jaysville; one of the oldest residents of Neave Township now living; he was born in South Carolina in 1800, and was eighty years of age on the 1st day of March; his father’s name was Moses, and he was a native of North Carolina, and a resident of South Carolina from the time of the Revolution until 1807; was married there to Rachel Lynch, and removed to Ohio, settling in Warren Co.; in the fall of 1815 or spring of 1816, he came to Darke Co., prospecting, and selected a quarter-section in Sec. 13, which he entered, and in the fall of 1816, George, then a young lad, in company with his brothers Aaron and David, and in company with their oldest sister Lydia, who afterward became the wife of James Townsend, came to this land and erected three cabins, one for the father and one for each of the two older boys, who were both then married; this tract was divided between the father and two sons; in the following spring, the father and David removed their families into the cabins, and began the work of making a home in this then wilderness, there being no house nearer than two miles, but plenty of Indians, and more wolves and bears and a few panthers; deer were then more plentiful and easier found than are squirrels now; there was no road excepting the Milton road, via which they came, cutting their own road from that to their cabins; it is difficult to imagine that such was the condition of this section within the life of one generation, and very few people have lived to see so great improvements as have been made within the lifetime of this venerable resident. George was married in Warren Co., Feb. 26, 1820, to Mary Dines, daughter of Chambers and Millie (Cole) Dines; she was born in Kentucky Nov. 4, 1800, and her parents removed to Warren Co. when she was quite young. Mr. and Mrs. George Arnold came to Darke Co. soon after their marriage, and began life here in pioneer style; they now reside in a brick dwelling, which stands in the same yard in which stood the cabin in which they first kept house; they having passed through the hardships, toils and privations of pioneer life, and taken part in the improvements of the past half-century, during the latter half of which there has been a remarkably rapid development and improvement of the county, both public and private. They have raised a family of five children, one son and four daughters, viz., Amelia (who is now Mrs. Michael Floyd, and resides in Kansas), Lydia (who is now Mrs. Henry Houk, and resides in Missouri), Rachel (now deceased, was Mrs. Jacob Shiverdecker, and resided in Darke Co.), Mary (also deceased, was the wife of Samuel Schlechty), John C. is the only son; was born in 1826, and grew to manhood here, during the days of hard work and little education. He was married in 1847, to Mary E., daughter of William and Maria (Heath) Shepherd; her mother, now a widow, resides in Twin Township. Mr. J. C. Arnold, with the exception of about five years, has always resided on the farm where he was born and now resides, and is now an old resident of Darke Co.; Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Arnold have a family of nine children— George W., Mary M., John H., Rachel J., Millie S., Winfield, Amanda E., Martha and Charles M. His aged parents also reside with them, and having served the world in their day and generation, now quietly await the call to the spirit land.

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This family biography is one of 659 biographies included in The History of Darke County, Ohio published in 1880 by W. H. Beers & Co.  For the complete description, click here: Darke County, Ohio History and Genealogy

View additional Darke County, Ohio family biographies here: Darke County, Ohio Biographies

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