 The Somerby pedigree of the Arnold family indicated that the family had lived in many counties in both England and Wales . This was not the case ; the Arnolds and their associates all lived in a small area within southeastern Somerset . While in England William Arnold and his family lived in Ilchester . His parents had come from the village of Northover , scarcely one half mile ( 0 @.@ 8 km ) across the River Yeo to the north . When Arnold 's son Benedict mentioned his " Lemmington " farm in his will , he was referring to a New England property named after the village of Limington in old England ; this village is less than a mile and a half ( 2 @.@ 5 km ) east of Ilchester . A very short distance north of Limington across the River Yeo is the town of Yeovilton where William Hopkins , the husband of Arnold 's sister Joanne , lived . Six miles ( 10 km ) west of Ilchester is the village of Muchelney , the home of Arnold 's wife Christian Peak , and five miles ( 8 km ) south of Ilchester is Yeovil , the home of Stukeley Westcott , whose daughter Damaris married Arnold 's son Benedict , and who may have accompanied the Arnolds on their voyage to the New World . Thus , Arnold and all of his known kinsmen had lived within six miles ( 10 km ) of each other in southeastern Somerset . 
