Update of John Washington Womble Neighborhood Project

I braved the 90°+ heat to resume my research on my John Washington Womble neighborhood project.  The microfilm I looked at contained petition files that were mainly settling estates for those who died intestate.  What I found interesting about these files were that they were cataloged with the land records and not with probate records in the FHL online catalog as is the case with Edgecombe County, North Carolina.  So basically, if you weren’t going through the FHL online catalog with a fine toothed comb you might miss these records.

I’d gone there with the mindset of obtaining copies of only two petition files.  One for Mahala Grantham and the other for Lazarus Johnson; even though, in the back of my mind was the plan to look through the whole roll of film and make note of other petitions that might pertain to my project.  It was a good plan to keep on the lookout for other petitions as I found other familiar names and noted down to make copies of those files.

The petitions varied in length from only being under 10 images or to over 50 or more in length.  Because I was carefully looking through the entire roll of microfilm and noting down which files interested me, my time was limited at my local FHC.  When it came time to make copies of the petitions on my list I pared down the number I would copy that day to 5 out of the 12 that seemed to pertain to my project.  I’ll make copies of the remainder at a later date.

Upon returning home, I began transcribing the file for Mahala Grantham in order to better understand what was happening.  Also while the index indicated that the petition was for Mahala Grantham, she wasn’t the initial person making the petition to settle an estate and divide land.  The main petitioner was a Sarah Grantham, and whose name I hadn’t encountered until looking at the name on the file.

Mahala is mentioned in the petition file as being a widow, but as to who she was married to it’s unclear in the file.  Perhaps, when I complete the transcription all of this will become clear.  If not I’ll have to research Mahala and those mentioned in order to make sense of the petition and those involved.

It’s not clear to me how this Grantham line connects with that of John Washington Womble’s neighbor, Chalkley Grantham.  Obviously, they’re likely related and somewhere in my records I had located an old copy of a Grantham family newsletter that seemed to give an overview of the familial connections.

My plan after transcribing the Mahala Grantham petition is to then transcribe all the rest of the petitions that I copied on Saturday.  Hopefully, they’ll contain land descriptions that can be added to my plats, essentially adding more pieces to the “jigsaw puzzle.”

Running Down the Lost Train of Thought

It may appear that I’ve been neglecting my genealogical research since my last post.  You likely know the saying life happens while you’re making plans.  When last I left off with my research plans I’d finished reading through vol. N, but had yet to plat any of the deeds that I’d found.

I’ve been trying to get back into the swing of this land research project after being away from it for some time.  Earlier last month I was finally able to get over to my local Family History Center in Annandale and finish reading through vol. O and make the copies of the various pertinent deeds that I’d found in both volumes O and P.

Since then, I’ve reviewed my previous work so that I could find my way back to the train of thought that I’d lost.  I read through my last blog post and notes I’d taken about the project and these seemed to help me.  This holiday weekend has been partly devoted to running down my lost train of thought, platting deeds I’d discovered, developing an extremely rough and unofficial research plan for my next trip to my local Family History Center, and reading digitized documents on FamilySearch.org about some of the still unaccounted for land that’s missing. Then updating my landownership spreadsheet and coming up with other ideas for keeping track of further records I should try to find on those land owners.

My next step before reading through the microfilm I ordered is to create the official research plan, so that I stay on focus with my research system. 

The game plan that I’ve come up with thus far is that I’ll try to locate some of the land owners for who I’ve been unable to find deeds for in petitions that are on microfilm at the FHL.  I’ve already indicated on my land ownership spreadsheet which land owners have petitions. 

Then for those who are still missing such as the infamous Amos Reed, I’ll see what the microfilmed Trust Deeds have in store for me.  If nothing’s found there either, then a trip to the Bolivar Courthouse is in my future.

I’m also in the process of trying out Evernote as a means of trying to keep track of some of my genealogical research—I joined the fb group some time ago and have yet to read any of the posts.  Many people have mentioned how helpful the program is, and so I finally decided to give it a shot.  We’ll see how it goes with me using it.  I’d love to find books on it at my local library, but for some reason haven’t been able to find one in my area that owns a copy.