Ellen was born in 1845 in County Galway, Ireland and emigrated in 1866, with most likely family members. They stayed in Omaha, Nebraska for awhile to visit with the Fogartys, (her mother's family) and then traveled to Montana via stagecoach 3 years later. 21 year old Ellen came to the Bozeman area to keep house for her brother William (Billy), and their sister Anne, who was a school teacher.

One day while walking the streets of Virginia City two years earlier, Ellen's brother Billy met William Arnold and their friendship would last a lifetime. Both had tried their luck at gold mining there in Alder Gulch, MT and decided that was not for either one of them. They decided to pursue other means of income.

William Arnold acquired a government track of land near Ross Peak about 7 miles NE of Bozeman, which is now known as Springhill. Billy and William operated a saw mill there for a short time.

William would meet Billy's sister Ellen and marry her on May 21, 1870. They lived in a log cabin 18 by 24 feet and grew wheat on 560 acres, which would grow to 640 in 1892. ( Ellen purchased an additional 40 acres in 1893). They also raised cows, pigs, horses and poultry. The Arnolds also raised 10 children to maturity and an additional 2 die in infancy on that farm. They later build a beautiful 2 story home there in the early 1880s, which 100 years later in 1980 was still standing.

A remarkable thing about William and Ellen is that they believed in the highest education for all of their children. All the children, at a time when education was deemed sufficient up to elementary school, attended the Nelson School and then went on to high school as well. A majority of the Arnold children also would go on to college right there in Bozeman. This was in the 1880s and 1890s, when on a farm, all hands were important to run the day to day operations. Yet the Arnolds wanted their children to have the best education that they could, and sent them every day to school.

The Arnolds moved into Bozeman in the early 1900s and would visit Long Beach, CA every winter from 1912- 1920s due to William's health problems. In 1920 William died there, but was buried up in Bozeman.

A short time later in the early 1920s, Ellen purchased a home in Long Beach, and would leave the running of the farm to their daughter Alberta and son-in-law Conrad Wipf. Ellen made her home there in Southern California with three of her children Alice Anderson, Anne Arnold and Louis and also with her grand-daughter Roberta Anderson. Two more of her children would come to live there as well. William III for a time and her daughter Josephine Cush after the death of Josephine's teenage son and husband in the 1940s and 50s.

Ellen lived until 1937 dying at the age of 92.

This CA home remained in the family until the early 1960's, when it was sold to St Anthony's Catholic Church, which was located across the street. The family were members of that church for over 60 years.

Compiled from "The Arnolds" by granddaughter Roberta Anderson in 1982, and additional research by great great granddaughter Chris Marie Forest.