Early life and education
James Arkell was born in Oxford, England on October 16, 1829, to William and Mary Arkell. The family later moved toCareer
Newspapers and factories
While working on the farm, he frequently contributed to the ''Canajoharie Radii'' newspaper, which Arkell and L. F. Allen then bought from Levi Backus in 1863. He was editor of the ''Canajoharie Radii'' until 1866, when he sold his interest in the ''Canajoharie Radii'' paper to Angell Mattewson. He also remained a writer in his later years, and contributed articles to '' Leslie's Weekly''. In 1859, he became interested in the manufacturing of flour bags, and that year he printed his first bags on a hand press in the ''Radii'' printing office. His father supported his bag business, Arkell & Smith, as the price of cotton cloth became expensive during the Civil War, and Arkell experimented until he had created a manila paper sack that was as durable as a cotton one. Deciding to focus entirely on paper bags because of the high price of cotton bags, he opened the plant of Arkell & Smiths and Canajoharie. He was granted thirty-two patents for the manufacturing of paper bags. In 1873, the bag factory suffered an explosion, with a worker dying and the factory destroyed. Arkell's son William J. Arkell was also badly burned. A more modern factory was erected on the same site.New York Senate
Arkell was active in public affairs and served in the New York Senate for one term as a Republican. He was elected senator for the eighteenth senatorial district in 1883. As of 1885, he was serving as a New York senator and along with his son W. J. Arkell, then the proprietor of the Albany ''Evening Journal'', were both supporting William M. Evarts to Senate. That year, the ''New York Times'' described the senior Arkell as "reported to be a regal entertainer. He is of English stock, one of the family traditions linking an ancestor with the Royal Plantagenets, and the hospitalities of his race have lost none of their generosity by lapse of time." He hosted a series of tea parties to rally support for Evarts' US senatorial bid.After senatorship
As of 1886, James Arkell had a firm, Arkell & Smith. Around 1879, Louis Paul Juvet partnered with James Arkell and businessman A.G. Richmond to mass-produce around 60 variations of his invented time globes, which were built at a Canajoharie factory. The factories burned in 1886, ending production of the object. As of 1887, Arkell continued to be known as a paper bag manufacturer out of Canajoharie, and had been recently named as a principal stockholder of thePersonal life and family
Married on July 23, 1853, James and his wife Sarah Hall (Bartlett) Arkell had their first child, Bartlett Arkell, on June 10, 1862. Bartlett died in 1946. Their son William J. Arkell was head of the Arkell News Company, and the couple also had three daughters. In March 1887, the ''New York Times'' reported that Arkell's daughter, Laura Arkell, had been disinherited by her father after she determined to marry John C. Ilse, a business superintendent from Canajoharie, against Arkell's objections. However, that month she came of age and she gained access to $20,000 bequeathed to her by her deceased uncle Leonard Carter, and was instead escorted by her other uncle John Forsberg for the marriage ceremonies. James Arkell died on August 12, 1902, at the age of 72, in Canajoharie. His wife Sarah died on February 28, 1911.See also
*References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkell, James 1829 births 1902 deaths New York (state) Republicans