Emma Arnold although not born in Livonia, did spend almost a century in the community. She was born October 4, 1859 in Saratoga County, New York. The daughter of Samuel Arnold, a stone mason. She had three brothers; Augustus, a farmer; Marvin, a teacher; Schuyler, a dentist; and two sisters; Prucilla; a seamstress; and Catherine. Emma taught for two years, but spent most of her life, inside the Arnold home.
The Arnold family came to Livonia in 1862, when Emma was only three years old. They settled first on Ann Arbor Road, and three years later purchased a small home on Ann Arbor Trail and Levan Road.
The whereabouts of Augustus and Marvin are unknown, however, Schuyler, moved to Denver in 1906. Catherine later married, but her husband's name is not known. Prucella and Emma stayed at home with their parents, Prucella being ill, left much of the work on Emma who had little time for social activities.
When Prucella died in 1916, she was buried in Newburgh Cemetery. Due to a number of grave robberies, her father, Samuel sat up nightly for over a year, watching over her grave. In 1919, Catherine died and was buried next to her sister, and shortly thereafter, Samuel also died.
At one time, the Arnold home was one of the best kept houses in the area. But with the extra work of caring for her invalid sister, as well as her parents, Emma was unable to keep up the appearance of the property. Soon trees and shrubs were growing wildly, and eventually lilac buses covered the grave of Catherine.
Wandering children and adults took interest in what appeared to be an abandoned house, and took anything that wasn't nailed down.
Emma then began the strange life, of sleeping days and staying awake nights to watch for prowlers. During this time she also started the practice of hanging a pair of men's pants out on the clothes line to make it appear that a man lived there. She slept in chairs, rather than a bed, and as she became older, the once spotless house, became covered with dirt and dust.
On May 9, 1949, Emma saw a group of boys, who were returning home from a picnic, and stopped in the yard to pick some lilacs. They knocked on the door, but recieved no answer. Assuming the house was uninhabited, they proceeded to pick the flowers. A few moments later, they heard a shot and one of the boys fell. They all saw Emma Arnold holding a gun.
The boys carried their companion to the car and drove to the home of Dr. Peck a physician in nearby Plymouth. An ambulance was called, the police were notified, and the boy was transferred to Eloise Hospital, with a bullet an inch below his heart.
Emma was picked up and placed in the county jail pending the boy's condition. When asked why she had shot the boy, she only stated that she didn't like people sneaking around her property and if they had asked her nicely, she would have given them permission to pick the lilacs. She also protested that she didn't mean to hit the boy, that she was only trying to scare him.
The gun used was a .38 caliber revolver, given to Emma by her brother, Schuyler, before he left for Denver. Her ability to use the gun was already known, as she had shot two prowlers several years before.
The 15 year old boy, recovered, and all charges against Emma were dropped, as the boys were tresspassing. Before returning home, however, she had to give up her revolver, and her house was cleared of newspapers and old junk, by order of the State Fire Marshall.
Emma continued to live in the home until she became to weak to care for herself, and was placed in a nursing home. On May 1, 1959, she passed away, leaving no known or found relatives. If she had lived until October 4th, she would have been 100 years old. She is also buried in Newburgh Cemetery.
