Biography
Orson Pratt Arnold was born 1 November 1838 in Amboy, Oswego County, New York, United States to Josiah Arnold (1801-1859) and Elizabeth Bliss (1799-1850) and died 22 November 1912 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States of unspecified causes. He married Alicia Quilley Read (1840-1922) 4 November 1860 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. He married Fannie Dora Linnell (1846-1925) 19 June 1872 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.
Arnold, Orson Pratt, a veteran Elder in the Church and a noted frontiersman. His parents joined the Church before Orson was born and settled in Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1840. Here they became well acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-1844) and many of the Church leaders.
Brigham Young 1848 Pioneer Company
After leading his first historic 1847 Vanguard Company to blaze the trail to the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young (1801-1877) and many of the others returned back to Winter Quarters to collect their families and the rest of the church.
This family was numbered with the 1229 pioneers in 397 wagons make the 1,031 mile trek in 86 days (May 26 to Sept 24) and would be amongst the first of hundred plus wagon trains that would make the same journey over the next 24 years.
In 1848 the Arnold family emigrated to Utah, and the following year continued the journey to California. After residing in that State, near Sacramento, about three years, they returned to Utah and located in West Jordan.
Utah War (1857)
Young Orson was a sturdy youth, noted for his generosity and courage, but never became conspicuous until he went out with Lot Smith's command in the fall of 1857, to meet and, if possible, to prevent the entrance into Utah of Johnston's Army. Of his service on this expedition Lot Smith on several occasions declared that a braver man than Orson P. Arnold never lived. Bro. Smith had ample chance to observe not only his courage, but his patience and endurance, for through the accidental discharge of the gun of one of his companions just after the memorable burning of the train of army supplies in October, 1857, young Arnold was shot through the left leg. The main bone of the upper leg was so badly fractured that a part of the bone, five inches in length, had to be removed. The agony he endured while being conveyed from the scene of the accident is beyond words to express. He was carried by his companions on a rude litter for a distance of thirty-nine miles, before a wagon could be reached, and then hauled more than 200 miles in a springless wagon to his home in Great Salt Lake Valley. His recovery was long and tedious; he was compelled to use crutches to get about for fully three years, and when able to abandon them, his left leg was rigid at the knee joint, and he remained so during the rest of his life. Pres. Brigham Young interested himself in young Arnold during his convalescence and from that time up to the date of the President's death Orson was one of the most trusted and confidential men in the President's employ. He drove the President's carriage, journeying with him through the settlements he visited, and was shown every mark of confidence that any person could be by that great man for whom he had the utmost love and reverence. As a reinsman and a handler of horses Bro. Arnold had few superiors.
In 1860 he married Alicia Quilley Read, who bore him nine children. In 1866, when hostile Indians were raiding the settlements in Sanpete and Sevier counties. Bro. Arnold was among the courageous young men who volunteered to go to the relief of the settlers. His most intimate associates on that expedition never suspected how he suffered from pain in his wounded limb while riding on horseback in the mountains. His iron will and strong determination, however, enabled him to surmount that bodily handicap and lead a very active strenuous life. He was one of the most prompt and energetic business men in the community. In Salt Lake City he was active in establishing the street railway, and for a great many years he was its superintendent. Bro. Arnold died in Salt Lake City Nov. 22, 1912, leaving a large family, who were devoted in their attention to him during his long illness. The immediate cause of his death was leakage of the heart. During the last few years of his life, since he retired from active business, he devoted much time to looking after the organization of Indian war veterans in Salt Lake county, of whom he was post commander. He was a generous and firm friend and devoted husband, a kind and loving father and a loyal and consistent Latter-day Saint.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Orson Pratt Arnold (1861-1917) | |||
| Clara Arnold (1863-1926) | |||
| Georgina Arnold (1865-1865) | |||
| Alicia Arnold (1867-1937) | |||
| Willard Josiah Arnold (1869-1947) | 22 March 1869 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States | 12 August 1947 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States | Mary Ann McMaster (1872-1916) |
| Samuel Read Arnold (1872-1944) | |||
| Elizabeth Bliss Arnold (1874-1945) | |||
| Thisbe Evelyn Arnold (1877-1968) | |||
| Elsie May Arnold (1881-1882) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Ernest Henry Arnold (1874-1953) | |||
| Fanny Arnold (1876-1877) | |||
| Josephine Arnold (1878-1955) | |||
| Caroline Fullmer Arnold (1881-1959) | |||
| Frank Kinsey Arnold (1884-1973) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Boy McDuffee Arnold (1825-1840) | |||
| Marette Arnold (1830-1840) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Caroline Arnold (1835-1847) | |||
| Margaret Elizabeth Arnold (1837-1840) | |||
| Orson Pratt Arnold (1838-1912) | 1 November 1838 Amboy, Oswego County, New York, United States | 22 November 1912 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States | Alicia Quilley Read (1840-1922) Fannie Dora Linnell (1846-1925) |
| Joseph Smith Arnold (1840-1919) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Maria Tryphena Arnold (1855-1932) | |||
| Hyrum Chester Arnold (1857-1864) | |||
Residences
Vital Records
Gravestone
- Location : Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake County, Utah
- Plot # J_7_1_1_E
- Orson Pratt Arnold at Find A Grave
Death Certificate
Death Certificate for Orson Pratt Arnold
See Also
- Orson Arnold
- Arnold Family
- Arnold in Salt Lake County, Utah
- Arnold in Oswego County, New York
- Orson Pratt Arnold - Geni.com