More on My Rhoda Caroline Richardson Research

When I last posted about my research on Rhoda Caroline, I had sent an e-mail to the Tennessee Conferences Archives, History Depository and hadn’t received a response.  I was considering sending an e-mail directly to the archivist inquiring about records for the Elm Street Methodist Church.  Also, I had ordered the Elm Street Methodist Church records on microfilm from the TSLA.

Shortly after sending in my order to the TSLA, I received a phone call and e-mail from them telling me that those records actually covered 3 reels of microfilm.  They asked if I wanted to send in more money to order the other 2 reels, since I had only sent in a check to cover the cost of one reel.  There was nothing on the TSLA’s microfilm ordering page indicating the number of reels for a particular record group.  I wrote back saying that I was interested in the membership records for the Elm Street Methodist Church and if they were on one reel than I’d like to purchase that.  The staff found that those records were on one reel of microfilm and so they sent that reel to me.

In the meantime, I sent another e-mail to the archivist’s personal e-mail address of the Tennessee Conferences Archives, History Depository and received a reply.  I told them the name of the family I was looking for.  Since the records that were available were from the mid-1880’s, I thought it best not to ask if there were records for Richardson and ask about records for people with the last name of Womble.

I received a response which contained a decent about of information about the Womble line I’m researching.  I asked about the possibility of purchasing copies of the information that had been found and sent a check to them.

I haven’t received the copies yet, but I imagine that they’ll appear after the holidays.  Last week, I received the microfilm reel I had purchased from the TSLA.  I went to my local library to look at the records on the reel.  I found some of the records that the archivist at the Tennessee Conferences Archives had found for me.  While I looked through the membership records for the name Womble, I also searched for Richardson and Mijers, which is the name of a person who co-signed the marriage bond with John Washington Womble.  I didn’t see anyone with the last name of  Richardson or Mijers.

While looking at the records I noticed that Rhoda Caroline or Callie as she’s listed in the Elm Street Methodist Church membership records was received in 1885.  Her daughter, Maud was also received later that same year.  John Washington Womble was received in 1886 and it’s noted that it was done via vows.  I’m not sure what the significance of that is.  I’ve heard that when someone joins another church as a baptized adult that they’re received.  If they’ve never been baptized then they might be baptized when they join a  church; however, if John W. Womble hadn’t been baptized then I would think he would’ve been when he was received.  So again, I’m not sure if it’s significant that when he was received it was with vows.  Could he not join in person and so conveyed his intention to join the church via vows?

Since both Rhoda Caroline and her daughter were received without any vows or baptism, it seems likely that they had already been baptized when they joined this church.  Maybe this is a question to ask the archivist when I receive my copies?  I also should ask about other Methodist churches in Nashville that may have records available dating back to around the Civil War or at least ask what happened to the early membership records for this church.

Based on what I’ve read about using church records in genealogical research, it seems that the records are sometimes only really great if the person recording the information was extremely thorough in their record keeping.  My extremely limited knowledge of Methodist church records is that that particular denomination was not big on keeping records as a general rule.  So perhaps what I found is as good as it’s gonna get for me.

I’m happy that I sought out this information since church records are still uncharted waters in my genealogical skills.  I have a bit of experience in obtaining them, but this is the deepest that I’ve ever dove into the religious records pool of genealogical documents.  Still after having found this tidbit of information, I’m left with a “what’s next” feeling.  I’d really like to milk these records for every once of information, but I’m not sure that it’s really possible.

I do think that it would be a good idea to see if I can dredge up other church records for this family.  Since I found them belonging to a Methodist church, then there’s a good chance that I may be able to find them belonging to another Methodist church in another locale.  Hopefully, the more information I can find about John Washington Womble the more information I will locate about his wife, Rhoda Caroline Richardson.

 

Update on Rhoda Caroline Richardson Research

Soon after writing about my ideas for learning more about Rhoda Caroline Richardson, I sent away for her daughter, Maude Womble Cudworth’s marriage certificate.  After receiving it, I did a bit of digging on J. B. Erwin M. G. the person who married Maude and her husband, Frank and learned that he was a minister at Elm Street Methodist church in Nashville, Tennessee. 

In the case of Rhoda’s son, Albert’s marriage certificate, I researched the person who married him and his wife Mattie.  I found that E. T. Brantly V D M was pastor of Edgar Chapel in Nashville, which was a Presbyterian Church.

Once learning the religious affiliation of J. B. Erwin, I then began to try and determine how I could go about obtaining records from Elm Street Methodist Church.  I learned that records for the church unfortunately aren’t available at the Family History Library, so I can’t order any microfilm from them.  I discovered a website for the Tennessee Conference and this led me to another website for their Archives, History Depository and Library. 

I also found that rolls of microfilm can be ordered from the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA).  They also have records for Elm Street Methodist Church, so are a possible repository for me to use.

In the past, I’d had similar success when I contacted the Drew University Library when I wanted a copy of Warren Womble’s obituary that was published in a Methodist magazine.  So I sent an e-mail inquiring as to what records for the Elm Street Church are available to the archivist at the Tennessee Conferences Archives, History Depository and Library early last month, but haven’t received any response yet, perhaps my inquiry was too broad.  I’m considering sending another to the archivist’s direct e-mail and see if I get a quicker response.

While considering this option, I ordered the Elm Street Methodist Church records on microfilm from the TSLA.  It’ll be interesting seeing if I can view the microfilm at my local public library, I see another blog post about this subject in my future!

The interesting thing I noticed while placing my microfilm roll order with the TSLA, is that they have other Methodist Church records available to order on microfilm.  Hopefully, these records will help me further my Womble family research.

I’m still not sure that Rhoda Caroline had any connection to the Methodist religion either before she married or afterwards, but at least this is a place to start my search.  I think it’s a pretty good guess at least during the years she was married to John Washington Womble, because so far I’ve found that at least two of their children had some connection to this religion. In both Albert and his sister’s, Maude's obituaries their religion is mentioned and states that they were members of a Methodist church where they lived or had lived. 

Previously, I had discovered that Albert’s wife, who may have been Presbyterian before she married must have converted to Methodism afterwards.  The reason being is that she’s listed as being a member of the Fountain Avenue Methodist church in Paducah, Kentucky both in her obituary and in records from that church.  Also John Washington Womble’s brother, Warren became a Methodist minister and relocated to southwestern Tennessee with a number of family members both from his family as well as his wife, Mary McDade’s family.

I don’t know if finding Rhoda Caroline listed in records for the Elm Street church will lead me to learn what her religious affiliation was prior to her marriage and further the paper trail on her, but I feel that this is my best course of action to learn more about her.