Hannah Arnold, also known as Hannah Waterman King, was the mother of Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

.

Biography

She was born Hannah Waterman in Norwich, Connecticut

Norwich, Connecticut

Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...

 circa 1708 to John Waterman and Elizabeth. Her first husband, Absalom King, was a wealthy merchant who had settled in the area. The couple had a daughter, also named Hannah. Not long after, however, King died at sea from small pox.

Hannah Waterman King married again, this time to Benedict Arnold III, descendant of an early governor of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

, also named Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold (governor)

Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. Coming from Somerset, England, he was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, likely attending school in Limington, nearby...

. The Arnolds had six children. As was not unusual at the time, most of the couple's children died very young, many within months of one another due to a yellow fever

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....

 outbreak, including Benedict Arnold IV. The future patriot and traitor Benedict Arnold V

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

 was born in 1741 and was named after his deceased older brother. Shortly thereafter, market downturns caused hardships in the family finances.

After years of heartbreak, Hannah Arnold died on August 15, 1758. She was buried in the Old Norwichtown Burial Ground. Hannah’s death fell hard on her widowed husband, Benedict Arnold III, who lingered some time and suffered with alcoholism

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

and depression. He died in 1761.

Legacy

Hannah Arnold was and is remembered in Norwich as a worthy woman and a model of "piety, patience, and virtue." Her gravestone is still visible in Norwichtown Burying Grounds, yet no one knows who paid for it. The mysterious "Norwich Visitor" regularly pays homage to her at her grave. He or she leaves candles, flowers, and an occasional note. He or she always comes at night, is never seen, and whose identity remains unknown to this day.