April 2008 Self Seekers Newsletter

SELF SEEKERS:

THE SELF FAMILY ASSOCIATION QUARTERLY ONLINE NEWSLETTER SUPPLEMENT

Co-Hosts
Tim W. Seawolf Self
Barbara Ann Peck
seawolf@selfroots.com
Volume 11, no. 2 April, 2008
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WELCOME

Welcome to volume 11, no. 2 of the quarterly online newsletter supplement to "Self Portraits: The Self Family NetLetter," the Website dedicated to Self family research at http://www.selfroots.com

You are receiving this newsletter because you were kind enough to join "Self Seekers: The Self Family Association." We appreciate all of your contributions, large and small, and we hope you will continue to support our page, our surname list, and this newsletter.

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HOW MANY SPRINGS?

How many springs has it been now that we've welcomed it in the "Self Seekers NewsLetter"? Not as many as our ancestors welcomed with planting and preparing for summer crops with an eye to the autumn harvest. So much depended on predictable weather with no catastrophes and no strange insect pests. The family could anticipate months of hard work outdoors before they could rest up a bit during the winter. In today's world, where everything comes out of a can or a frozen pouch, summer has increasingly become a time for vacation play, and spring is spent dreaming, making plans on the Web, and wrapping up things at work and at school for a well-deserved recess. We hope you'll make genealogy part of those plans. Please keep us informed of impending family history trips and the results of your research...

A Good Idea: Please join us at our VIRTUAL REUNION
It takes just a few minutes to supply a picture and a brief profile--and it's a FREE way to meet your cousins
We can't continue this featured site without your interest

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SELF SEEKERS MEMBERSHIP FEES

Please send us your 2008 contributions if you haven't already done so...
Your support is invaluable to us and keeps our ISPs from starvation...
The CHARTER page will be revised or eliminated based on 2008 membership as it exists this fall

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HERE'S LOOKING FOR YOU
by Barbara Peck
edited by Tim Seawolf-Self

All genealogists look for ancestors. Most of us also look for cousins. A very few of us, however, look for those who are living but have disappeared. A good chunk of our time is devoted to finding those who have written to us, perhaps placed queries, and then broke off contact. Sometimes they've passed away; sometimes they've moved; their ISP has merged or gone out of business; they've gotten tired of SPAM and changed their address to avoid it; they've developed other interests, hit "brick walls," taken on demanding jobs, or started caring for disabled relatives. In many cases, they forgot who they've contacted or where they've posted. In others, they've determined (falsely) that their lack of active research would make them less interesting to us.

Not so!

Once, back in the mists of time, the Selfs were just one small family. Like most families, their descendants migrated to new areas, and the memory of their relatives elsewhere faded with each passing generation. We've seen this happen in fairly recent times. The four children of Tim's second great-grandfather scattered from Georgia to Texas to Washington State, and by the time we tracked down his cousins, we were all strangers. But for twelve years now, the Web has enabled us to find thousands of cousins we didn't even know we had. Most researchers have met long-lost relatives from all lines and, in many cases, have become friends with lots of things in common. There really isn't any way we'd WANT to lose touch with any of you now. You've come to mean a lot more to us than just branches on a family tree.

So begins the ritual of the "Annual Greeting." This is our way of checking to see if your e-mail address is still valid. I really dislike those impersonal bulk mailings that begin "We're sorry to intrude, but you posted on our site..." If we have to do this job, we'd rather do it in a personal way, sending out cheery and/or informative messages to our cousins and friends. October seems to be the best time to start since our greeting leads up to the holidays but goes out early enough to stand out from the flood of well wishes at Christmastime. In the past few years, we've found it necessary to add a line asking cousins to remember to let us know when their e-mail address changes so that we're not disappointed by their disappearance next fall. These greetings are a good way to let you know, too, that our address is still the same as are the sites and listservs we presently host. Most of all, we want you to know that we're "here for you" whether you have a genealogy question, a new discovery, or just need an ear to listen when outstanding positive or negative events have touched your lives.

I won't say that it's not a tedious chore. Bulk mail is anathema to me, so I send out each greeting one by one. The time spent, however, is well worth it for all the great responses we get. There is a real sense of frustration, though, when the cheery greeting is bounced back to us--"Daemon Failure"..."No such person here"..."Mailbox full..."

For each "bounce" we get, we cut the individual's entry from our list of corresponding cousins and put it into a new table called "Invalid [year]." Out of over 1600 names, between 50 and 150 bounces are about the norm. When all the greetings have been sent out and all the "bounced" entries recorded in the new table, the search for lost Selfs begins.

The only tool we have for searching lost cousins is the World Wide Web. First, we go to Google and enter the prefix of the old e-mail address. In many cases, people who change addresses have some attachment to their former I.D. and choose to use it again with a new ISP. If the prefix is a common one (e.g., Self123), we often modify it with +"john" or +"john self" or +"doe" or whatever part of the person's name might yield a unique result. If this method fails, we then enter the person's full name as we know it, +"the year" (e.g., for those who first became invalid in 2007, we would enter that year). We go through a few modifications: we add or subtract a middle name or initial; we change to the previous year on the assumption that they changed addresses after October of that year; or we add +"genealogy," etc. Sometimes we find another hobby or interest or the place where the person works. All that is helpful. If we can't find an actual address this way, we can often then substitute "jewelry" or "plumbing" for "genealogy." We may also write to the workplace or organization asking that the message be passed on to the lost cousin. In such a message, we ask for the new personal address so that we don't bother them through this third party again.

We have a pretty decent "find" rate, over 33% of all searches. This is probably because we keep at it until there are no more clues left to try. When this happens, the individual and their former address are placed on a special "Lost" webpage in hopes that either the cousin or someone who knows them may discover it and put us back in touch. Sadly, we have quite a few of these pages filled with relatives who have slipped back into oblivion.

When this whole process is complete, we go back to previous years and see if there are any new "leads" for those we've searched before.

If this sounds like a long, time-consuming process, it is. Sending out all the happy greetings is the fun part--searching for the lost is a sad activity, punctuated only by the happiness when someone is finally found. Could we be putting our time to better use? Certainly we could. We are roughly one year behind on data entry. Sometimes a person writes to identify someone in the "Loose Ends" section. We try to remove the entry right away, but additional material sent may wait unprinted in a file until we have time to look at it. Sometimes a person writes to answer a query and we have to reply saying that the posting cousin is now lost and may never be able to receive the helpful information. We've found that if you wait long enough, an answer comes. But its value depends on your ability to keep us informed of your whereabouts.

Please understand that we want to keep in touch with you. Understand also that other researchers would like to do the same. New researchers just starting on their ancestral quest could benefit a lot from your information and experience even if you aren't active in genealogy any longer. And remember that we're always interested in YOU. Regardless of your Self line, your geographical location, your gender, your interests, your problems--you are a Self and therefore a cousin sharing genes with us and many others. Keep us up-to-date and help avoid a long and needless search.

(NEXT: "How do you spell SELF")
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RECENT SELF OBITUARIES
Contributed by Cousin Barry

SELF, GEORGE DAVID - age 91, born in Blount County, but lived most of his life in Seymour, passed away December 31, 2007 of a cerebral hemorrhage at Baptist Hospital. He was an active member of First Chilhowee Baptist Church, Meridian Baptist Church, and Grace Baptist Church in Seymour. He was the dedicated caretaker of Chilhowee Cemetery in Seymour. He retired from McBee Corporation after many years of service. He was predeceased by his wife, Ninevah Reed Self; parents, Rachel and Thomas Self; brother, Merle Self; sister, Margaret Johnson; and grandson, Andrew Self. Survived by daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth Jane and Robert Haynes of California; son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Melody Self of Kentucky; grandsons, Billy and Johnathan Self of Kentucky; brother, James Self; sisters, Katherine Burleson and husband N.E., Barbara Broyles, all of Knoxville; several nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Shriner's Orthopedic Hospital for Children. Funeral service Friday, 7:00 PM, Berry Funeral Home Chapel, Rev. Ed Cloud of Grace Baptist Church, Seymour, and Rev. Dana Fachman of Meridian Baptist Church officiating. Son-in-law, Bob Haynes will bring the eulogy. Family and friends will meet at Chilhowee Cemetery at 11 :00 AM Saturday for interment services. Family will receive friends from 6:00 PM until 7:00 PM Friday at Berry Funeral Home, Chapman Highway. www.berryfuneralhome.com

George David Self was the son of Thomas Self, who was a son of James Patton Taylor Self, born ca. 1829, son of Claiborne Self, born ca. 1808, son of Thomas Self, born ca. 1779, son of Joseph Self, born ca. 1746 or 56, son of Thomas Self, born ca. 1719, son of Henry Self, born ca. 1695 probably of Virginia, Northumberland County.

This information was taken from “The Family of Josiah Franklin Self and Francis Augusta (Wright) Self and Various Related Families” Second Edition Compiled by Victor H. Self August, 1952 and from James Self, brother to George David Self.

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Nettie Arlene Byers Beaver of Hiawassee, Ga., passed away on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008 in the Union County Nursing Home, Blairsville, Ga. fol¬lowing an extended illness. She was born on Jan.9, 1929, in Monroe County, Tennessee the daughter of the late Jack Gaston Byers and the late Dovie Self Byers. She was a loving mother and grand¬mother and will be missed by all who knew her. She was of the Baptist faith. She was 79. Preceded in death by a daughter, Annelene Beaver in 1974. Survivors include: Kenneth Beaver of Augusta, Ga., Vernon and Barbara Beaver of Gainesville, Ga., Claude and Maria Beaver of Mesquite, Nev., Evelyn and Randy Hunter of Hiawassee, Ga., Hoyt, Jr. and Sue Beaver of Hayesville, Ga., Doug and Jennifer Beaver of Braselton, Ga.; brother Junior Byers of Madisonville, Tn; sisters Mary Garrett of Etowah, Katie Davis of Coker Creek, Ruby Stanley of Dahlonega, Ga., Alice Roberts of Etowah, Gladys (Dollie) Lynn of Delano; stepsister Nellie Mae Lovingood of Madisonville, Tn; grandchildren Meghan, Brannon, Nate, Cody, Lucas and Brittany Beaver; many other relatives and friends also survive. Funeral services were held at noon, Tuesday Feb. 5, at the funeral home chapel with the Rev. Waymon Lovell and Rev. Harley Hunter officiating. Serving as pallbearers were: Steve Kelley and Cody Beaver and other family members. Interment followed in the Burch Cemetery. Mountain View Funeral Home of Blairsville, Ga. is in charge of the arrangements. You may sign the family guest book and send condolences online at www.mountainviewfuneral¬home.com

Nettie Beaver was the granddaughter of Jobe Smith Self and Anna Stephens Self and the great-granddaughter of John Jones Self and Lydia Avaline Waters Self.

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MARTIN, FRED, age 76, of Lafayette, TN, formerly of Tellico Plains, passed away Wednesday morning, December 26, 2007 at Sumner Medical Center. He was a member of Unicoi Baptist Church. He was a 50-year member of Local 102 Plumbers and Steamfitters where he served as business manager for the last 3 years of his career.

<>Survivors: wife Martha Martin, son and daughter-in-law Fred, Jr. and Sharon Martin, Sandy, OR; step-son Vin Cline and wife Diane of Lafayette, TN; 4 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; sisters LaVern Hensley, Englewood, TN, Zandra Martin, Tellico Plains, TN; brothers and sisters- in law Carl and Sherry Martin, Richland, IN, Clarence & Sharon Martin, Ames, Iowa, Johnny Martin, Grandview, IN, Larry & Mary Martin, Roberts, KY, J.W. & Linda Martin, Friendsville, TN; several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by parents Elbert and Ina Josephine Kirkland Martin. Funeral was 11 a.m. Saturday, December 29 in Biereley-Hale Chapel, Rev. B.J. Wall officiated. Interment was in Unicoi Cemetery. Arrangements by Biereley-Hale Funeral Home, Tellico Plains, TN.
<>

Fred Martin was the grandson of Ruth Self Kirkland and Jess Kirkland and the great- grandson of John J. Self and Lydia A. Waters Self.

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John William Henegar, Jr., age 57, of Niota, TN went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday night February 13, 2008, at Woods Memorial Hospital in Etowah, TN. He was preceded in death by his father: John William Henegar, Sr., and his mother: Ada Smith Henegar both of Niota. His grandparents were the late James Thomas Smith and Mary Louisa Self Smith, and William “Bill” and Callie White Henegar. Survivors include uncles James “Jim” R. Henegar, of Athens, TN, Charles Lee Henegar, of Southgate, Michigan, and aunt Grace Henegar Bradford, of Falkville, Alabama, special aunt: Anna Smith Johnson, of Niota, TN and numerous cousins of McMinn and surrounding counties. He graduated form McMinn County High School, and Cleveland State Community College. John was a former employee of Strom Copper Components of Decatur and Seaton Iron and Metal of Athens. John was an avid computer user and expert, and enjoyed helping everyone he knew solve their computer problems. John was a Christian who loved the Lord. He was a member of the Open Door Baptist Church, in Sweetwater where he taught Sunday school. John was an exceptionally fine man and will be missed greatly by all of his family members and friends. The body is Kyker Funeral Home, Sweetwater, where the family will receive friends on Friday night from 6:00P.M. until 8:00P.M. with the service to follow at 8:00P.M. in Kyker’s Chapel with Rev. Ted Watson, and Rev. Scott Standridge officiating. Family and friends will meet Saturday at 9:45 A.M. at the Niota Cemetery for a 10:00A.M. interment. Pallbearers will be: Hosuston Anderson, Michael Anderson, Brad Anderson, J.T. Tallent, Travis Standridge, and Jimmy Reed.

John Henegar was the grandson of James and Mary Self Smith and the great grandson of Rev. Cicero Self and Mosurie Whitmore Self.

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PLEASE CONTRIBUTE BIOGRAPHIES AND PHOTOS

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MINOR SELF LINES
part 18
by Barbara Peck and Tim Seawolf-Self

In 2003, we presented an article on the major unconnected Self lines. Now we'd like to concentrate on the minor lines that are still not connected to Olde Robert Selfe, even by "best evidence." In this installment, we've included Self branches from South Carolina. We hope to feature more small family lines in the following newsletters.

TEXAS, part III
Counties: McLennan-Raines

TEXAS (III)

D. F. SELF: We begin with initials. Both D. F. Self and his wife, M. L. Self, were born in Alabama in the 1840s and arrived in Texas before 1866. All four children were born in Texas and are listed in the 1880 Census--D. F., M. A., Tommie, and C. P.

W. L. SELF: Midland was home to this Self. His wife, L. Mary, was born in KY. The couple had five sons, Lewis H., Harry, Jimmy B., Willie B., and Frank D.

BEN P. SELF: Another native of Alabama, Ben P. Self was born there in 1854. He and wife, Sarah J., lived in Milam County where Malinda A. M., Charlie F., and Ben Thomas Self were born.

ROLLIE CLARENCE SELF: We're pretty sure that Rollie Self (possibly Raleigh Self) was born in Louisiana where his first wife, Louisa Watson, came from. His second wife, Martha Ann Jones, was born either in Louisiana or Milam County, TX. Since he is first noted in Milam County in 1877, all of his children by his first wife must have been born elsewhere, probably in Louisiana, too. Their names: Eugene Clarence, Willis B., Rollie F., Martha V., and Oceola E. Children Lon, James, Dodd, Oak, Roy, Sadie, Letha, Buelah, and Rose were from his second marriage and nothing is known of them except that they were born after 1877 in TX.

DANIEL SELF: Born in 1841 in Alabama, son of a Tennessee-born father and an Alabama mother, Daniel Self m. Martha, also born in AL. Daughter Bessie was born 1877, probably in Milam County, TX. Son John Calhoun Self was born in 1879 and died in 1966 in McLennan County.

W. D. SELF: Though he married wife, Callie, in Alabama, W. D. Self was born in Arkansas. The family was in Navarro County, TX before 1868. Both Billy C. and I. E.--their children--were born in Texas.

W. T. SELF: More initials to interpret. In addition to W. T. Self of Navarro County, there is his wife, R. M., and his five children: R. D., S. P., W. H. T., J. Q., and E. J. Who were these Selfs?

MARY ANN SELF: Originally from Vernon Paris, LA., Mary Ann and her husband, John Francis Marcus, lived in Newton County, TX with their two children, Mahalia and Jonie.

JOB SELF NEWTON: This is a curious individual. He was obviously named for someone from the Job Self line, but we don't know if he's an actual Self or just a namesake. He lived in Nolan County, TX and had at least one child, Nancy Buckner Newton, born in 1856 and died in 1923. We would be most interested to know more about him.

WINFIELD SCOTT SELF: Born Sep. 1848 in MO, he m. Ellen Josephine (mnu), b. 1849 in MS. The family, with daughter Maudie M. Self, was in Palo Pinto County, TX before 1880.

EARY SELF: Born 1847 in MO. His wife (either named Ada or Susan Ada) was born 1847 in MO and married 1876 in Palo Pinto County. Their child was James Ross Self who m. Sabia Hall in 1906.

AARON ROGER SELF: Aaron Self was also born in Missouri, and it appears that all of these Missouri Selfs who came to Palo Pinto County in the mid-19th century are related. Aaron Self had two wives, Ida Bell Jones and Martha Ann James. The family moved to Roosevelt County, NM sometime after the turn of the century. The children--Jacob Francis, Edwin B. S., Jessie Ora, Samuel L., and Artis Maybell--were all from his first marriage and all born in Texas.

SIMPSON SELF: He may have been born in Texas. He appeared to live in Palo Pinto County most or all of his life, as did his wife, Fanny. They had four children: John, Joseph M., Mary A., and Riley A.

J. A. SELF: He lived in Potter County, TX., and was possibly born there. His wife was E. S. Self. His line possibly traces to the Selfs in Meriwether, GA. We know that he had a sister named Fannie Morrow and two children, Ida D. and Joe.

A. B. SELF: This Self came from South Carolina and settled in Raines County, TX. His wife, A. A. Self, was born in Alabama. In the 1880 Census, he had two nieces living with him. One of them had the surname STILL and the other's last name was LITTLE.

(NEXT: Minor Self Lines, part 19)

Maybe your ancestors used to tell stories about life in the "old days," stories you remember hearing as a child. Please tell us about them. We will even supply editing and formatting; but we'd all love to know about daily life in the Self families of old--and you may be able to help. Please contact us. And please state that your story is specifically for the newsletter.

LOOSE ENDS

Please go to our "Loose Ends" subsection at our SelfSite at RootsWeb.

DEAD ENDS

Please go to our "Dead Ends" subsection at our SelfSite at RootsWeb.

SELFS IN SPACE

What would you like to see here? This space is reserved for any topic of interest to Self cousins. Express YourSelf!!

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