Surname: Whelden (also Whelding, Wheldon)

The Whelden surname comes to me via Rosmer Pettis Kerr. One of his eighth great-grandfathers may have been:

• Gabriel Whelden, born in England, probably in the late 1500s. He may have been from Nottinghamshire. His first wife's name is unknown. His second wife's name was Margaret. He died in January, 1654. Gabriel and his first wife may have been my tenth great-grandparents.
• Catharine Whelden, born about 1615 in England. The Whelden family was at Plymouth Colony by 1638. On 9 October 1639 at Plymouth, Catharine married Giles Hopkins. They were my ninth great-grandparents.

In Early Wheldens of Yarmouth (p. 732-733, Library of Cape Cod History & Genealogy, No. 43, pub. 1914), author James W. Hawes says:

Gabriel Whelden, b. in England, was in the Plymouth Colony in 1638. The date of his arrival in America and the place of his landing are not known. He probably came from Nottinghamshire. His children were no doubt born in England and were probably by a first wife. When he died in 1654 his wife was Margaret, who, it seems clear, was his second wife and not the mother of his children....
...Children, order uncertain:
Ralph, probably; m.
Henry, m.
John, m. Mary, dau. of Thomas Folland, Sr.
Catharine, probably; m. Giles Hopkins Oct. 9, 1639.
Ruth, m. Richard Taylor after Oct. 27, 1646.

Well, that sounds fairly noncommittal, eh?

It doesn't appear that a lot has been written about this line, although my discovery of this twig in my family tree is fresh and my searching has been limited to Google Books and Internet Archive. If anyone knows of additional Whelden research that's been done, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

See also "HOPKINS" in Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs (p. 296+ and particularly p. 297, col. 1: "(II) Giles, son of Stephen Hopkins... "