| The Arthur Family |
| Most of what I know of this family came from letters and an interview with my grandfather, Ralph Lane Arthur. He was a typesetter and printer by trade, and worked from the age of 15 until his retirement in the early 1970s. What Ralph had always been told was that his "grandfather" was named Samuel Arthur, and that he was born in England. He sailed down the Ohio River to the Midwest to seek his fortune. His wife, name unknown, was born in New York. Ralph's grandfather was indeed named Samuel, but he was born somewhere in Indiana in 1831. His obituary says he was born in McLean County, but there is no such county in Indiana. Was he, perhaps, born in Bloomington Indiana? The county is Greene, but the name is the same as Bloomington, Illinois, county seat of McLean County. No records have been found linking this Samuel Arthur to any of the Arthur families in Greene County Indiana. It is likely, however, that part of what Ralph heard was true; on the 1880 census, Samuel's father is listed as having been born in England and his mother in New York. What is known is that Samuel and some of his children were inventors. Samuel perfected a type of wagon, but didn't have the funds to make large scale manufacturing a success. His son, John E. Arthur, had a blacksmith/manufacturing plant in Lane, IL, where he manufactured some of his inventions. Patent papers for three of these are listed at the left. |
