Part of an old map of the San Jacinto area from the Texas Revolution

Veteran Bio

Texian Location:  Participant

The Kemp Sketch

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ARNOLD, HAYDEN -- When he took the oath of allegiance to the Government of Texas at Nacogdoches January 14, 1836, Mr. Arnold stated that he was born in Tennessee in 1805. On February 12, 1838, Captain Arnold entered suit in the District Court of Nacogdoches for the land due him as a headright. In his petition be recited that he had arrived in Texas during the latter part of December, 1835, without his family. Due to the fact that his family did not come to Texas with him the Board of Land Commissioners of Nacogdoches County had only granted him a Headright Certificate for one-third of a league of land. He claimed that as a married man he should have received a league and labor.

On March 6, 1836, a company known as the "Nacogdoches Volunteers" was organized at Nacogdoches. Most of the men lived in the present county of Nacogdoches and adjoining counties. The organization became the First company of the Second Regiment of Texas Volunteers with Captain Arnold as its commander. The company was disbanded June 6, 1836.

In Service Record No. 7460, Captain Arnold certified that his London Yager gun was lost in the action at San Jacinto, being shot nearly off at the breech and later entirely broken and left on the field. He valued the gun at $35.00. On January 25, 1839, he was issued Donation Certificate No. 781 for 640 acres of land for having participated in the battle of San Jacinto. His heirs on March 15, 1860, received a Bounty Certificate for 320 acres of land due him for having served in the army for a period of three months, period of enlistment not shown.

On November 8, 1836, President Houston appointed Captain Arnold Secretary of a commission to treat with Indians. He was a member of the House of Representatives from Nacogdoches County in the first Congress of the Republic, October 3, 1836, to June 13, 1837. As late as December 20, 1838, he was district clerk, pro tem, of the Nacogdoches District.

Captain Arnold died in Nacogdoches July 3, 1839, survived by his widow, Mrs. Selena Arnold, and three children, James R., Sophania and Hayden Arnold, Jr.

The State of Texas erected a monument at his grave in Oak Grove Cemetery, Nacogdoches, in 1936.

Mrs. Arnold died in Nacogdoches, August 3, 1840, and her son, James R. Arnold, was appointed administrator of her estate. Sophronia K. Arnold, the daughter, was married to George W. Long, and died in Rusk County in 1849, survived by her husband and two children, Sarah C. and Nancy Long. Hayden Arnold, Jr., who was an infant when Captain Arnold died, passed away prior to October 1, 1859, single.

The probate records of Nacogdoches County show that James R. Arnold, eldest son of Captain Arnold, was living in Nacogdoches County as late as October 1, 1859. They show that the two grandchildren of Captain Arnold, Sarah C. and Nancy Long, were living with their father on a farm in Wood and Hopkins County in 1862.

Written by Louis W. Kemp, between 1930 and 1952. Please note that typographical and factual errors have not been corrected from the original sketches. The biographies have been scanned from the original typescripts, a process that sometimes allows for mistakes in the new text. Researchers should verify the accuracy of the texts' contents through other sources before quoting in publications. Additional information on the veteran may be available in the Herzstein Library.


Battle Statistics

  • Died in Battle: No
  • Rank: Captain
  • Company: Second Regiment Texas Volunteers

Personal Statistics

  • Date of Birth: 1805
  • Birthplace: Tennessee
  • Origin: Tennessee
  • Came to Texas: 1835 Dec
  • Date of Death: 1839 July 3
  • Burial Place: Oak Grove Cemetery, Nacogdoches, Texas
  • Donation Certificate: 781
  • Wife: Selena Arnold
  • Children: James R. Arnold; Sophronia K. Arnold Long; Hayden Arnold