Winning Fur Coat in Museum
by
Carolyn Saul Logan
Museum administrator Connie Overby was preparing a fur coat for storage when she discovered a card that had fallen through a hole in the pocket and was folded into the hem. Typed on the card is this message:
“This coat was won on an election bet in 1860 by Dr. John Dewey Arnold. At that time Dr. Arnold was mayor of the city of Peoria, Illinois. Later he was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as American Consul to Russia.”
Owner of the coat, F. D. Arnold
The election in 1860 set the stage for the American Civil War. The nation was divided throughout most of the 1850s on questions of states' rights and slavery in the territories. In 1860 these issues came to a head, splitting the formerly dominant Democratic Party into Southern and Northern factions. This meant that Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party could come to power without the support of a single Southern state.
Before the election, it was felt that the country was being torn apart. Newspaper cartoons blasted one candidate or another. People feared that the political and territorial map of the country would change in some way after the election. Political arguments abounded and so, it seems, did bets on the outcome of the election.
So how did a coat won in an election bet in 1860 by the mayor of Peoria, Illinois find its way to the Humboldt County Museum?
The answer may lie with the family of Hiram Arnold, who founded the town of Arnold in Humboldt County. A native of Erie, County, New York., Hiram was born April 4, 1825 in Erie County, New York. He came to Humboldt County in 1875 and farmed near Humboldt. Four years later, he moved to his farm at Arnold Station. Hiram had two sons—Eugene H. and Frank D. Arnold.
In 1911, Frank was a grain dealer at Arnold Station and bought the building, stock, and fixtures of Oliver DeGroote’s’ general store in Humboldt. Frank may also have inherited the fur coat that John Dewey Arnold won in Peoria, Illinois. After all, several Arnolds claim kinship between the two families and the note says the coat belongs to F(rank). D. Arnold. Incidentally, John Dewey Arnold also served in the U. S. House of Representatives for Illinois and died of TB in 1863.
This story, which cannot provide the final link and bring the coat to the Museum closet, illustrates the fact that every single item in the Museum has a story to tell. Each one, no matter how insignificant, helps fill in the fascinating tale which is the history of Humboldt County and its people.
That’s why museums are important and why every person in Humboldt County should pay a visit and/or donate historical items to the Humboldt County Museum.