This profile currently identifies Anne Walden (Walden-372) as the child of Ralph (Wallen-2) and Joyce (Unknown-248038) Wallen. Many researchers appear to make this claim, and the argument for it may originate with Wilder at pp. 2-4 (cited in the profiles for Ralph and Anne). Wilder claims there is “strong evidence to support the belief that Ann [Walden] who married John Smalley was one Wallen daughter,” based on the similar last name, proximity in Plymouth colony at the time of Ann Walden’s marriage to John Smalley in 1638, and the fact that Joyce Wallen’s household was the only Wallen family in Plymouth at the time of their marriage.
However, I think other evidence contradicts this claim. Most importantly, there is no child listed for Ralph and Joyce Wallen in the Division of Cattle in 1627, indicating that Ralph and Joyce were a childless couple in 1627; most researchers agree that this Division of Cattle list captures all residents of Plymouth Colony at that time, even newborn babies. See, e.g., Stratton at 28 & Appendix G; Rue at 47; Bowman at 148 (all cited in the profile for Wallen-2). If Anne Walden was born in England, on board the Anne, or in Plymouth Colony to Ralph and Joyce Wallen in or before 1627, she should appear on this list, but she does not. If she was born to them after 1627, then she would have been only 11 when she married John Smalley in 1638, which seems very unlikely. In addition, although some later generations of the Wallen/Walling line do spell the last name as “Walden,” the fact that Ann’s last name was Walden rather than Wallen when Joyce and Ann were both living in Plymouth colony in 1638 creates additional reason for doubting the connection. Several carefully-researched sources conclude that only Mary (probably) and Thomas (possibly) can be identified as the children of Ralph and Joyce. See, e.g., GMB: 1620-1633, at 1916; Rue at 52.
I believe a more likely alternative explanation for Ann Walden’s origin is that she was born in England and emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1630 or later as a part of the PGM before her marriage to John Smalley in 1638. John Smalley arrived in 1632 on the William & Francis, and lived initially in Plymouth, where he married Ann Walden in 1638 (GMB: 1620-1633, at 1687-89). Anderson identifies an “Anne Walden” who was admitted to Boston church between Oct 1632-Sept 1633, from which he estimates she likely arrived in about 1633 (GMB: 1620-1633, at 1901). The GMB entry for her says there is “[n]o evidence whether she died, married or returned to England,” but it is plausible that the Anne Walden who was admitted to Boston church in 1633 is the same Ann Walden who married John Smalley in Plymouth a few years later.
Based on her absence from the 1627 Division of Cattle list, I think that Anne/Ann (Walden) Smalley should be removed as a daughter of Ralph & Joyce. I would also include the alternative explanation above in her profile as the probable source of her origin, based on Anderson GMB entries cited above (and the Records of the First Church in Boston and other sources he cites). If anyone disagrees, please weigh in. Thanks!
