B. F. Arnold, well-known Coldwater abstractor and realtor, passed away in his home in this city at 1:10 a.m. Saturday, May 8, after an illness of a few months. He had been in ill health for a longer period but since January had been unable to be at his office.Last Friday evening he suffered two severe chills and later developed severe pains in his chest and arms. His physician, Dr. R. A. J. Shelley, was called but Mr. Arnold failed to respond to a hypo and grew steadily worse. However, he passed away quietly without pain. He had been troubled with hardening of the arteries and a heart ailment for several years.
Funeral services were conducted from the Presbyterian church in this city at 7:30 Monday afternoon and were in charge of the pastor, Dr. S. A. Fulton. He brought a most comfortable message on "The Triumphant Life" and gave eloquent tribute to the Christian life and example of the deceased.
Mrs. J. P. Scholle sang "The Lord's Prayer" and a mixed quartet composed of Mrs. Scholle, Mrs. Helen Currier, Gene Gates and K. C. Elrich sang "Now the Day Is Ended," accompanied on the organ by Mrs. E. H. Gregg.
Interment was in Crown Hill cemetery near this city. The active pallbearers were H. H. Kopke, Verne Cooper, Ward Butcher, Horace Rich, Victor Allderdice, Otha Landess. The honorary pallbearers were DR. R. A. J. Shelley, Mark Brown, Frank Dodson, S. J. Gilchrist, Walter Ferrin, Hobart McMillen, Lutzie and Claude Rowland, the latter of Protection.
Obituary Benjamin Franklin Arnold was born January 19, 1879, in Lawrence county, Missouri. He was the eighth of nine children born to Absalom and Deliah Arnold.
Mr. Arnold attended a boys academy in Carthage, Mo., and later attended Drury College in Springfield, Mo. During the early days he was a member of a party which surveyed for the old Oklahoma & Northern Railway, later the Orient and now a part of the Santa Fe system. With two other surveyors he sailed from San Diego, Calif., to Old Mexico and worked there until during a Mexican Insurrection they were warned by the U. S. government to leave. One of the group refused to come back to the states and was killed by a band of guerillas.
Mr. Arnold came to Coldwater from Saratoga, Okla., where he had established a store and on his arrival in 1907, was employed in the Geo. H. Torrey store. One year later he went into the abstracting business and it remained his chosen vocation until his death on May 8 at the age of 69 years 3 months and 19 days. He also conducted a realty and insurance business.
He was a very capable and public spirited man and served his fellowmen in various capacities - as County Commissioner, Clerk of the District Court, school board member and as president of the Albert Pike Highway Association. He was much interested in better highways and was the father of the Albert Pike Highway which ran from Hot Springs, Ark. through Coldwater and Bucklin, to Colorado Springs.
Mr. Arnold was a well read man, a lover of the classics, and was faithful to his trust. He was a 32d Degree Mason but had not been an active member during the past several years.
He joined the church when he was a small boy and became a Presbyterian during the Rayburn meetings.
On October 23, 1912, he was united in marriage with Mabel Ann Guseman. To this union were born two children, Ellen May Corkhill of Chicago, Ill., and Calvin C. Arnold of Kansas City, Mo.
Besides his wife and two children, Mr. Arnold is survived by two sisters and one brother. The sisters are Mrs. Priscilla Cooper, Wichita, Kans., and Mrs. Fannie Collins of Kansas City, Mo. The brother is R. L. Arnold of Wichita.
Thus ends the life of one of Coldwater's most useful citizens. The sorrowing relatives have the sincere sympathy of all.
Also see:
Coldwater Centennial Notebook, 1884 - 1984 by Evelyn Reed
Republican Convention, The Western Star, March 26, 1920.
Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!
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