Working notes from the research, kept verbatim — what was read, what it proved, what stays open. Many open with a line grading the parentage; what the grades mean.

Research note · 30 Sep 2026

AUDITED 30 Sep 2026 - WIFE OF [538] ANTHONY ARNOLD (executed 1677). No record read by this project names any wife of Anthony. The given name 'Joanna' came in with an early import and is kept only as the mother slot for the children entered in this family; it is unsourced. Her birth (1628, Virginia) and death (1677, New Kent) carried no citation and were blanked 30 Sep 2026 (round-8 triage, Owen) - the same treatment Anthony's own imported birth received on 23 Sep 2026. The 1677 petition of 'the four poor distressed orphans of Anthony Arnold' (CSP Colonial, entry 143; citation 6993) does not name her. DO NOT ADD the surname 'Tilton': it traces to one Find a Grave contributor's memorials (no. 281504036, 2025), which cite no source. Nor the story that his widow went to Maryland and left a will in Anne Arundel Co. in 1689: no record ties it to this Anthony. Next documents: H. Franklin Minor, 'The Legacy of Anthony Arnold', Tidewater Virginia Families 12/4 (2004); Malcolm H. Harris, Old New Kent County (1977); Baldwin, Maryland Calendar of Wills vol. II (the 1689 check). Agent report: agent-report-539-joanna-2026-09-30.md.

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