Jane Lewis was born around 1841 in Ohio to John and Sarah Lewis. Her parents were Welsh immigrants, and her father earned a living as a farmer. She grew up and attended school in St. Albans, Ohio. She married John T. Arnold in the 1860s, and they had at least six children: Elizabeth, born around 1866; Della, born around 1867; Rosco, born around 1870; James, born around 1874; Sarah, born around 1876; and George, born around 1879. They lived in Orange, Ohio, and her husband worked as a farmer. By 1870, they owned $2,900 of real estate and $600 of personal property. She died in 1898.