FamilySearch’s Online Microfilm Ordering—A Review

Recently, I decided to test out FamilySearch’s new online microfilm ordering system.  I’d noticed and made good use of their recent document scanning binge and while that’s not a perfect system, it seemed to be a good time to look into ordering microfilm of their non-scanned records.

Before the current online system was available, one had to trek to their local Family History Center to place an order for microfilm and payment could only be done with either a check or cash.  Then once the order was placed, you had to keep calling the FHC in order to find out if your microfilm had come in or not. 

I created a login and profile on the FamilySearch website, and chose a Family History Center in my area to be my ‘neighborhood FHC’ and then basically went shopping for microfilm.  It was a fairly easy process to navigate, almost as if I was buying something off of Amazon.com.  I was still nervous going through the process for the first time, because you never know if something unexpected will happen during an online shopping process. 

As like the old system, there was still the lengthy wait for the microfilm, but that’s just the nature of the beast of doing genealogical research.  I did keep checking up on my order because in the process of placing the order it wasn’t quite clear whether or not I would receive an email that my order was waiting for me at my local FHC.  I did try looking around on their website to find out if I would be notified and since it wasn’t clear, I went ahead and emailed them to ask.  The response I received was very kind and assured me that the status of my order would change from pending, in process, and then received.  Also, I was told that I would receive an email telling me that each roll I’d ordered was at my local FHC.

I waited for about two to three weeks and did finally receive an email letting me know that my order was waiting for me at my FHC.  Then I went in and was able to view it, just I’d done in the past.  Anyone who hasn’t tried this new system should definitely use it, because it’s a heck of a lot more convenient than the old one.  Patrons don’t have to keep calling up their FHC and bugging the volunteer there about their order.

Womble Research—Expect the Unexpected and When You Least Expect It

2013 so far has been an interesting year for my genealogical research.  It even ended with my unanticipated luck of finding church records of the Wombles in Nashville, Tennessee.  Thus being able to connect the family to the Methodist faith has opened up a new avenue of records to research.  I still haven’t received the records I ordered from the Tennessee Conference Archives and while I’m really not happy about that repository taking my money and not bothering to deliver the records I ordered, I’ve decided to attempt to move on with my research.  Perhaps, it’s just a sign that one needs to visit that repository in person to ensure getting the necessary information.

Despite this set-back, I’ve found some interesting finds and while some of them aren’t definitive proof of the events they suggest.  They do give me food for thought about the few stories I grew up hearing about the Womble family. 

One of the stories involved the Civil War, it was told to me by an uncle after talking to him about my interest in Womble genealogy.  He told me that during the Civil War, John Washington Womble went to work in Nashville, Tennessee to sew uniforms for the Confederate soldiers while the kids or the rest of the family stayed on the farm (which was located in southwestern Tennessee) with their servants.

Several years ago while doing some research at the TSLA in Nashville, I did find John Washington Womble listed in a Civil War era city directory.  There was also his marriage record to his 2^nd wife, Rhoda Caroline Richardson showed that the marriage took place in Nashville around the end of the war.  This gave some strength to the story and so I tried searching around for a record of his 1^st wife, Mary Jane Stephens’ death in southwestern Tennessee.  Unfortunately, at present my cursory search for death or burial records hasn’t revealed any evidence that Mary Jane died during the years of the Civil War.  There’s the possibility that the couple could’ve just split up, but no research has revealed this either.  Also, nothing I found suggested that this family had the money to hire servants or own slaves.

The more I thought about the story, the more it seemed strange to me that John Washington would’ve left his wife and kids alone to take care of the farm, while he went off to the city to work during such an uncertain era as the Civil War. 

While researching a member of John Washington Womble’s FAN club in the City Cemetery database at the Nashville Public library, I put in the last name Womble and didn’t get anything of interest.  Then I put in the alternate spelling of Wamble and up came, two young children who were the children of a J. W. Wamble.  As well as, a Jane Wamble, age 37. The name is very similar to Mary Jane, and Wamble is a common alternate to Womble. Jane’s age also correlates with the age of John’s wife in the 1860 Federal Census.  Could this be Mary Jane Stephens, who was supposed to be living down on the farm and not living with her husband while he toiled away tailoring uniforms?

If it is, it paints a different picture then the one I’d envisioned of the family’s life during the Civil War.  I didn’t let my search end with a find on the internet.  I ordered a copy of the interment record along with the lot card from the Metro Archives of Nashville and Davidson County.  Unfortunately, a lot card wasn’t available, but I did get a copy of the interment record.  It doesn’t give me any more additional information, except to show that the record isn’t just a figment of someone’s imagination.

I still have no idea if the Jane Wamble I found is in fact Mary Jane Stephens, but since nothing else has been found to suggest she isn’t, it does appear that John Washington Womble may have brought his wife and youngest children to Nashville with him during the course of the war.

It still seems incredibly stupid that someone would leave their children home alone while a war is going on, but perhaps John and Mary Jane believed as so many others did that the war wouldn’t last very long.  For all I know, Mary Jane could’ve planned to spend the duration of the war on the farm and traveled with her children or possibly the two youngest to Nashville to visit John.  The children could’ve gotten sick and died, and then the same could’ve happened to Mary Jane.

What’s interesting when thinking about these Womble stories is that the story says one thing and the records suggest something almost entirely different.  If I step back a bit and try to take in the whole picture, I can see where this story about the Womble family’s Civil War era experiences possibly came from something else. 

After taking in this story and the records I’ve found, is the suggestion that the story my uncle told me actually is about how almost ten years after the Civil War, John Washington Womble went to work in Nashville quite possibly planning to relocate the whole family there.  So, he left his 2^nd wife, Rhoda Caroline Richardson and children to seek work in Nashville.  In my collection of Womble memorabilia, is a tin type photo of a woman, that I believe is Rhoda.  It’s my belief that since he was leaving her and their children behind that he wanted something to remember her by, so the picture was taken of her.  Also about ten years after the war, John W. Womble is listed off and on in the Nashville City Directory.  In the 1880’s the Nashville city directory list, his wife, Rhoda and their children, who are now young adults, which strongly suggests that they’re living in the city with him.

I may never truly learn the truth of the Womble family’s experiences during the Civil War, but in a sense I feel that I’m a bit closer to what may have actually transpired.

Dollhouse Enclosure Project Update

In February, I posted an update of what progress I’ve made with enclosing my dollhouse.  Last weekend, the weather was warm enough to have windows open.  So, I took advantage of the unseasonably high winter temperature, flung open the windows, and resumed working on re-gluing the Velcro strips to the plastic sheets using the epoxy glue.

The glue didn’t smell too fumy or toxic, which was great and seemed to set fairly quickly.  This seemed to make the whole gluing process go faster than I’d anticipated. With the large plastic sheets now affixed to the rear of the dollhouse, I was ready to begin on the curved attic section. 

I had long thought about how this opening could be enclosed and the only solution I came up with was to use a thin sheet of flexible plastic.  Since I wanted to use something that I already had on hand, my only option was to use a sheet protector.  I cut the sheet protector to the size and shape necessary to cover the attic opening.  After cutting some black Velcro that I’d used for another project to the length needed, I began gluing it to the roof using clear tacky glue.  At first, it seemed that I wouldn’t need to clamp the Velcro to the roof, but then found that clamping was necessary.  With the clamps holding the Velcro strips to the roof while waiting for the glue to dry, I then focused on gluing with the epoxy glue the Velcro to the plastic.

Again, this was a lot easier than I had envisioned and only a small amount of clamping was necessary since the epoxy glue dried faster than the tacky glue.  After leaving everything to set for a few hours, I returned later to see how everything functioned once it was put together.  I laid the plastic sheet protector that now had Velcro strips glued to it over the attic opening, being careful to match up the Velcro and then stepped back to admire my handiwork.

Success!!  Or so I thought at the time.  The plastic over the attic opening seemed to work out really well and it was cut exactly to fit the opening perfectly.  I then took ahold of one end of the flexible plastic to see how removing it would work.  To my horror, the Velcro that was glued to the sheet protector came off and remained attached to its mate that was glued to the roof.  It became readily apparent that this method wasn’t going to work as I had thought.

I thought about my problem some, but couldn’t quickly come up with a solution.  My husband said that I should use Velcro that already had adhesive on the backside, because that might keep it in place better.  He had used some for an old computer project of his and still had some left over.  I took some of it and affixed it to the sheet protector in the exact same places where the glued strips had been.  Then, I again laid it over the opening and everything seemed to be great.  I tried to make a minor adjustment to the placement and discovered that when I pulled up one corner the Velcro that had been glued to the roof began coming off.  It became very apparent that I needed to use the adhesive backed Velcro for the roof as well.

Unfortunately, my husband didn’t have anymore left, and I also found that I had torn part of the sheet, so I would have to visit the local fabric store and buy more.  Last evening after work, we made a trip out to the fabric store where I bought more adhesive backed Velcro. 

Today, I cut the Velcro to the length needed after completely removing the old glued on Velcro that was coming off.  I cut another plastic sheet protector to the size I needed, using the torn one as a pattern.  Then, I stuck half of the Velcro strips to the roof, taking care to cover the roof areas that still had dried glue on it.  Once those pieces were in place, I placed the remaining Velcro strips over their mates that were adhered to the roof.  Then, I began laying the plastic sheet over the attic opening being careful to align the sheet so that the top edge was flush with the underside of the roof’s verge boards and trim.

So far, the adhesive Velcro is working out nicely and the dollhouse is now completely enclosed.  The next step of course is to give the entire dollhouse a thorough dusting inside and out and to also dust off the large table it sits on.  My hope is that by enclosing this dollhouse that it will stay dust free more easily because the rooms aren’t open to the air.  Then I’ll only have to dust off the outside of the house and the table in order to keep it looking descent.

Here are pictures of the finished project.