Samuel Washington (Wat) Arnold (September 21, 1879 – December 18, 1961) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Early life and career

Born on September 21, 1879, on a farm near Downing in

Schuyler County, Missouri Schuyler County is a County (United States), county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 4,032, making it the fourth-least populous county in Mi ...

, he was the son of Cumberland Wilson Arnold and Mary Elizabeth (Hill) Arnold. He attended the

Coffey, Missouri Coffey is a city in northern Daviess County, Missouri, United States. The population was 151 at the 2020 census. History Coffey was originally called Salem and then Coffeyburg, and under the latter name was laid out in 1856 by B. H. Coffey, and ...

, rural school, then advanced to the North Missouri Normal School (now known as

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a Public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Kirksville, Missouri, United States. It had 3,664 enrolled students in the fall of 2024 pursuing degrees in 55 undergraduate ...

) in

Kirksville, Missouri Kirksville is the county seat of and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri, United States. Located in Benton Township, Adair County, Missouri, Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Kirk ...

, graduating in 1902. After a brief career as a teacher and superintendent in several rural northeast Missouri schools, Mr. Arnold moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, in 1904 for employment with the internal revenue office. It was also in 1904, on Christmas Eve, that Sam married his wife Myra Gertrude Mills. The following year, 1905, the Arnolds moved to

Atlanta, Missouri Atlanta is a city in Macon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 379 at the 2020 census. History Atlanta was platted in 1858. The community was named after Atlanta, Georgia. A post office called Atlanta has been in operation since ...

, where he began a fifty-plus-year career as a lumberman. Seeking a larger customer base, Arnold moved his family to Kirksville in 1908 and established the Arnold Lumber Company. It continued to be a fixture of the Kirksville business community for the next seventy-five years.

Politics

Arnold was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-eighth, Seventy-ninth, and Eightieth Congresses (January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1949). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1948 to the Eighty-first Congress, for election in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress, and in 1952 to the Eighty-third Congress. Following the defeats he retired from political life. Mr. Arnold was also a founding partner of North Missouri Broadcasting Company, which built and operated radio stations KIRX in Kirksville, Missouri, and KTTN in

Trenton, Missouri Trenton is a city in Grundy County, Missouri, Grundy County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,609 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Grundy County. The city used to be the world's largest producer ...

. Congressman Arnold died in

, December 18, 1961, and was interred in that city's Maple Hills Cemetery.A Book of Adair County History. Published 1976 by the Kirksville-Adair County Bientennial Committee.

References

* ''A Book of Adair County History'', Published by the Kirksville-Adair County Bicentennia Committee, 1976. {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Samuel Washington (Wat) 1879 births 1961 deaths People from Schuyler County, Missouri People from Kirksville, Missouri Truman State University alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri People from Macon County, Missouri 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives