Charles N. Arnold – Worker of Wood and Politics
There were many prominent men who left their mark on the City of Poughkeepsie. Some gave us great institutions like Matthew Vassar and his college, and his nephews Matthew Jr. and Guy Vassar with their hospital and institute. Albert Tower had his iron industry and also contributed to the community by helping to build Christ Episcopal Church amongst other buildings. Some of these men sought political office, while others only hoped to make great changes with their money. Charles N. Arnold decided that he could do both as well as serve on any board you could think of.
Charles Nathan Arnold was born in Poughkeepsie on June 8, 1838, to parents Nathan and Mary Arnold. The family were members of the Hicksite branch of the Society of Friends (Quakers), and as a result he supported the work of local abolitionists. His father Nathan and Uncle William were the founders of a lumber business, which he took over in 1854. The lumber yard was located on the waterfront near where the Poughkeepsie skate park is today. Besides providing lumber and other building supplies, Charles also sold handmade chairs.
In his younger years he had been a member of the Free-Soil Party which opposed the expansion of slavery. This party eventually morphed into the Republican Party and at the age of 21, Arnold cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. He found himself being elected onto several boards during the course of his life beginning with the Board of Education from 1873 to 1883, and as a trustee of the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery in 1884, though he did respond to the request by saying “assuming that the duties of the office will not be very pressing, I accept” (he was a busy working man after all). He also served on the board of the Vassar Brothers Institute and the Vassar Home for Aged Men, and was president of the Merchant’s National Bank. This was all before he decided to run for mayor of Poughkeepsie in 1894, which he won and served for two years.
When he wasn’t running a business or overseeing the city, Arnold was also a volunteer fireman, and served with the Cataract Engine Company for over 20 years. Somehow in the middle of all of this he found the time to get married and raise a family. In 1869, he married Caroline Sherman and they had two children together, Frederick and Katherine. In 1900, he built a beautiful brick house at #12 Forbus Street which still stands today and was famous for his hobby of gardening and his flowers, so much so that in his obituary in the Poughkeepsie Eagle News it read, “he was a lover of flowers and finer things in life.” He died in his home on the April 19, 1918 at the age of 80. He had still been a regular at his office at the lumber yard up until that day.
References:
Arnold Plot Folder – Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery Archives
Poughkeepsie City Directories 1900
Poughkeepsie Eagle News – 5 Nov 1894, 9 Oct 1889, 19 Dec 1890, 20 Apr 1918
Images:
Ia22 – Portrait of Charles N. Arnold from Gallup Photography Studio. LH Collections.
MrsArnold – Portrait of Mrs. Arnold and their children Frederick and Katherine, Vail Brothers Photography Studio, 1879. LH Collections.
Mi5ld24 – Photo showing C.N. Arnold’s exhibit of chairs on display at the Poughkeepsie Exhibit. LH Collections.
