Arnold, John D.

Born: 1820-06-08 Erie County, New York

Died: 1863-04-18 Peoria, Illinois

Flourished: 1854-09-28 Peoria, Illinois

John D. Arnold studied medicine in New York and Pennsylvania before establishing an extensive and lucrative practice in Peoria, Illinois. In 1854, he was elected to the Illinois Senate, where he remained for four years. Arnold became mayor of Peoria in 1859, serving one year. In 1860, Arnold owned $25,000 in real estate and $5,000 in personal estate value. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him consul to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he lived until illness forced him to leave his post. Arnold improved just enough to return to Peoria in Spring 1862, dying the next year. He supported the Whig Party and then the Republican Party.

Gravestone, Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum, Peoria, IL; The History of Peoria County Illinois (Chicago: Johnson, 1880), 623; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Ward 4, Peoria, Peoria County, IL, 294.