 Born 21 December 1615 in Ilchester , Somerset , England , Benedict Arnold was the second child and oldest son of William Arnold and Christian Peak . Living in the large town of Ilchester , he was familiar with the nearby villages of Northover , from where his grandparents Nicholas and Alice Arnold had come ; Yeovilton , where his Aunt Joane 's husband William Hopkins ( ancestor of Rhode Island Governor Stephen Hopkins ) was from ; and Limington , after which place he would name one of his properties in New England , calling it " Lemmington Farm . " All four of these localities lie within two miles of each other . Arnold was likely educated at the Free Grammar School associated with the parish church in Limington , slightly more than a mile to the east of Ilchester . This ancient school is where Thomas Wolsey was the curate and schoolmaster from 1500 to 1509 . Wolsey later became the Lord Cardinal and Primate of England . 
