Welcome to the 19th issue 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.

It's summer--but this summer is quite different from others in recent memory. During the past twelve months, the weather seems to have gone crazy. Some areas have received way too much rain, causing flooding and other misery. Others, like ours here in Southern California, have had a record low rainfall. The results in both cases have contributed to an extra-threatening fire season which, in addition to danger, means smoky, smoggy skies. While El Nino is said to be active again, no one knows for sure how hot this summer will be. And after September 11, 2001, many people will choose to take day trips rather than fly to distant places. Remember, if you're forced to stay inside and close to home, your computer is your "window on the world." Even if you don't visit them in person, your cousins are still waiting by their keyboards, ready to reply to your welcome e-mail and exchange genealogical information. We hope you visit our Self sites, too, and that they make your hot summer months relaxing and fun!

We are so happy to be the largest repository of Self information. With three domains, a second Webpage at RootsWeb, a surname forum and a suite of cluster pages at RootsWeb (see the link on "Self Portraits"), a Listserv, a Collaboration Surname list on the LDS "Family Search" site, well over 5,000 pages of connected and unconnected Self lines, and over 1330 valid e-mail correspondents willing to share information, we are well able to help you with your family research. We are also the Surname Resource Center (SRC) for the surnames of Self, Selfe, and Selph. We also host SelfSite at RootsWeb, an extension of Self Portraits containing our Census pages as well as state-by-state and county-by-county "loose ends," Selfs presently unconnected to any of the major branches. Family Record Online enumerates families presented on our Self Family of the Week page. And each time a new "Self Seekers" newsletter is released, we upload the one for the same month from the past year to our public page for all cousins to enjoy.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

We would like to have your gedcom so that we can add your information to our database. With your permission, we will also list and distribute your gedcom on request (but only with your permission). Please send us gedcoms so that we can start a library that will help others. If you've already submitted one, kindly re-send so that we will have the latest information. We would appreciate being kept informed of new family members as well as other changes.

If you haven't joined our Self Surname Mailing List yet, please subscribe. Instructions will be found on the main page of our Website. Note that we also host the Swindle, Eden, Edens, Cease, Breeze, Brezee, and Salazar Surname Lists as well as listservs for Erath County, TX., King County, TX., Bossier Parish, LA., Murray County, GA., Union County, GA and Clay County, NC. In addition, we host the King County, TX, Murray County, GA, and Clay County, NC USGenWeb sites. Our three county sites join "Self Portraits" in featuring a handy search engine for locating topics discussed in previous messages posted to their corresponding listserv--please click on the button directly beneath the instructions for joining the listserv on the main page of each site.

Membership fees remain the same in 2001: Regular Member, $12 and Charter Member, $25. If you are a Patron Member, your initial contribution is gratefully acknowledged and good for the lifetime of the "Self Seekers" association. We're accepting payment for the 2002 membership year now. We want to retain you as a "Self Seekers" member, and you cannot know how much your monetary contributions help keep us going. [Of course, we'll also take kind words along with your donation :-) ] So if you haven't sent your check yet, please do so.

And PLEASE contribute something to this newsletter. Photographs, articles, family trees, and reunion recaps will be gratefully received and enjoyed by everyone--and they will be released to the general public one year after first publication so that they can be shared with all cousins who visit our sites.

Who's the most important Self in the world?

You are, of course!

You're a very important part of our family as well as a contributor of research, stories, and photos. You're unique, and we try to give you the best service we can because in addition to your individuality, you're also part of us.

THE FLOCK

Every group, from church congregations to classmates to countries to sports teams, is made up of shepherds and flocks, teachers and students, government and citizens, coaches and players. There are usually fewer of the former and many more of the latter. The pastor, president, or leader is the "glue" that holds the rest of the group together--even though that person is also a member. We wouldn't exactly describe ourSelfs as having "leadership" qualities--for instance, we're both shy and have a really difficult time making decisions. But by putting up a few Websites and acting as a go-between for cousins seeking their ancestry and their close relatives, we've kind of fallen into that category. If you want to lead--or perhaps "coordinate" would be a better word--you have to accept the fact that there will be hard and time-consuming work. But it's a small price to pay for the rewards--in our case, the gathering of genealogical information into a single location and the sharing of that material with others; and--best of all--the creation of lasting friendships.

When you write to us, you will get an answer. Even if we aren't able to give you an ancestral line or even a reasonable clue toward finding your lineage, we will definitely write back to you as quickly as possible. No acquaintance is too casual or too fleeting--you're our cousin. Sometimes the initial contact leads to more involved things such as postings or exchanges of information; sometimes it's the only and final contact as the cousin loses interest or is unable to juggle demands on his time. But we don't forget about any of our cousin correspondents. Here's what happens "behind the scenes."

The initial contact is usually through e-mail, and it's almost always initiated by the researcher. This isn't to say that we don't keep busy scouring the major genealogical sites for both data and the addresses of potential cousins--some weekends we send out 50-100 invitations to people to view our sites. Most of them, however, have just a handful of Selfs in their gedcom--some by marriage--and our surname is not their primary genealogical interest. They may visit the sites, but they don't write to us, and therefore, they are not considered "contacts." On the other hand, those who post to our RootsWeb Message Board are definitely "contacts" even if they don't know who administers the forum. Even when they receive our thanks for posting, they may choose not to write. Once in a great while, someone "anonymous" will subscribe to the SELF List. They may not give their name or respond to our "Welcome" message or ever post a single word--and they tend to unsubscribe within a few weeks--but they are also considered "contacts."

"Contacts" are entered immediately into a central "Cousin" database in Microsoft Access. The main table consists of E-mail address (the primary sort), Name (if known), Self line (if given), Date of first contact, and Notes. The most common revision to this database occurs when we're notified of a change of e-mail address.

Every fall we send out an annual greeting to all the names in our "Cousin" file. Being strong opponents of SPAM and bulk mail, we really do send each message individually, including the name of the cousin if we know it. Yes, this takes a lot of time! We begin sending greetings in October and may not finish until Thanksgiving. This is our way of keeping in touch with every contact to let them know we're here to help.

By now you also know that the annual greeting is also a yearly check on the validity of the e-mail addresses in our database. You might be surprised at how many messages "bounce" back to us. We're not sure just why people would post a query somewhere or even upload an entire gedcom to some of the major sites and not amend their e-mail address in those places when it changes. Well, sometimes it's hard to remember just where you posted. To the individual, it's no big deal--to us, it's the loss of a contact, a cousin, a member of the "flock," perhaps a friend, and certainly a resource for others in their immediate line. We don't let go easily. All the cousin entries that are returned as "invalid" are put into a separate table labeled by year. Putting all our tables together shows that currently we have about 1300 corresponding cousins but total correspondents, past and present, total well over 2000. When the greetings have all been sent, the next task is to go through the entries in this new table one by one, attempting to locate the "lost cousin" on the Web. This takes a great deal of time and often much creative thought considering that we may lose over 100 Selfs each year. The first place we look is on other genealogical sites. We may find that the person is mentioned on (or has posted to) some other specialty page--or we may find someone with the same name who turns out not to be the person we're looking for. Oftentimes a new e-mail address has also gone bad or the cousin--for whatever reason--chooses not to reply to us. All in all, we have about a 50% success rate--but it may take up to 2-3 years to locate someone.

In 2001 we had what we thought was a great idea. We designed a "Lost Selfs" sub-page on "Self Portraits" with a table for Selfs and one for Self descendants of other surnames. Most unfortunately, we've only had a few replies from those listed on that page. We'd like you to take a few minutes to check those tables and see if you recognize anyone there. If you know them, please send us their new e-mail address. Or, if you feel uncomfortable divulging it without their permission, do write them a message asking them to contact us. There have been numerous occasions when someone has replied to a posting several years old or writes about family members that a cousin was anxiously seeking some time ago. We're really disappointed when we can't bring these cousins together simply because the original correspondent failed to send us their new e-mail address. What a loss for everyone concerned!

STEPPING STONES

We see all of our cousins as a group of people who have visited our Websites and corresponded with us. But on an individual level, we view them in a much different way. With an eye to Self genealogy, each person is a "stepping stone" between the past and the present. They belong to a specific Self line that connects somewhere to all the other Selfs in the world. But they also have children and grandchildren of their own who, unlike their ancestors, are not static names and dates in our respective gedcoms. As you read this article, they're getting married, having children, and replenishing our surname and our genes to ensure that there are more stones farther ahead in the river of time. While we're all busy backtracking and recording our ancestors for posterity we need to keep up with the happenings in today's world as well. Because the identity of living people is a sensitive issue in a very public context such as the Web, it's all the more important to have modern-day information archived in a central location as well--and we're very happy to do that for you.

MY SELF, MY FRIEND

As in any large group, there are varying degrees of intimacy between ourSelfs and our Selfs. The majority of cousins write because they want to find their ancestors. Whether satisfied or discouraged, they're soon attracted to other pursuits--they're out there, but they write rarely or not at all. Still others write several times a year and/or join "Self Seekers." They may be busy, but they take the time to check in every so often. Hearing from them really makes us smile. And then there are the special few that just "click." They've gone beyond genealogy and become true friends. I know that I hardly ever look at Tim and think, "Hey, he's a real live Self--born with that surname and a descendant of Job." Sometimes I really have to concentrate to merge him with his ancestry. When others have reached that level, this is when we call you "friend." Anyone can be a cousin by accident of birth--anyone can be a delightful friendly acquaintance--but a friend is something that happens when you interact magically with each other. What's nice about friends is that there's always room for another one. And what's nice about genealogy is that it's a perfect way to make friends.

SUMMARY

We're happy that we've been able to provide information, links, contacts, and friendship for our Self cousins. We're always here for you, whether you want to talk about genealogy or your hobbies or your jobs or your troubles and triumphs. Genealogy is a little bit about names and dates and a whole lot about people. Our Selfs, it's so good to get to know you!

In addition to the Viking blue eyes and love of chocolate, Selfs have inherited many skills and talents. Among our contacts we've found quite a few artistic cousins. Most of these are into the visual and practical arts--but a few have entered the field of music where they've amassed at least a "cult following." One Self in particular was quite well known in his day and wrote music that became hits for other artists.

While you may still be able to find a recording by these Selfs, there isn't much material on the Web concerning their lives and lineages. We're hoping that someone will recognize their names and tell us something more about their place in the Self family.

The links in this article [all used with permission from their respective Webmasters] point to pages containing discography and/or other information about the individual. Please check them out--they're very interesting.

ALVIE SELF Alvie Self recorded on the Ford and Donray labels in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He's said to come from Arizona and may still live there today. Click on the link above and then do a "find" on the page for the name "Self." We were unable to get in touch with, Robert Morritt, the person who posted the message concerning Alvie Self in December of 1998. However, Bob Timmers, the Webmaster of the "Rockabilly Internet Hall of Fame" site gave us permission to link to it. It's really too bad that the e-mail address is invalid because the author has met Alvie Self in person and was impressed with both the man and his music. If anyone knows or knows of Alvie Self and his family, please contact us.

G. SELF Just who was G. Self? He recorded one rock single on the Acme label in 1957. Nothing more is mentioned about him on the Web.

JIM SELF A Self-described "tubist," Jim Self has a wonderful Website. On this page, you'll find a mixture of biography, musical accomplishments, family photos, and the very bright, happy smile that is characteristic of most Selfs. In granting permission to link to his site in this article, Jim writes: "I am James Martin Self born Franklin, Pa. 1943. My father was James Warren Self born Franklin, Pa. 1907 (only child) His father was James Self also but I have no other information on him. I have no uncles, aunts or cousins on father's side and no other ancestral information." Perhaps you have some additional data that could help him find himSelf in our family tree.

JIMMY SELF/SELPH Jimmy Self recorded four songs in the Rockabilly style, one single on the Coin label and one on Coral. Oddly enough, his surname is spelled "Self" on the Coral release while it's spelled "Selph" on the Coin recording. We know absolutely nothing about this artist's genealogical background--not even where he was from or what approximate year he was born, although his recordings were made in the mid- to late-1950s.

MACK SELF Information can be found at this link and at another great site. Mack Self comes from West Helena, AR. We're not sure if "Mack" is his real given name or a nickname. He is one of the more prolific Self musicians, performing in the rockabilly style. He recorded mostly in the late 1950s and early 1960s on the famous Sun and Philips labels as well as for Zone and Twin. His most famous songs are "Vibrate" and "Mad At You." We've heard a sample of his music--one of the lesser known works called "Goin' Crazy." Judging by that one song, he appears to be a genuine Southern Son, writing about "down home" experiences that were a part of traditional hillbilly life. He has a large following in the South where he still performs. Some of our Arkansas Selfs may be able to identify his lineage.

RONNIE SELF See this site and another for more information. Ronnie Self is perhaps the most widely known musical Self. Born July 5, 1938 in Tin Town, MO and died Aug. 28, 1981 in Springfield, MO, Ronnie Self was the son of Raymond and Hazel (Sprague) Self (we don't know his lineage). We're fortunate enough to own a CD-ROM of Ronnie Self singing his rock songs. They're instantly recognizable as products of the 1950s but with the distinctive flavor and fervor belonging to "Mr. Frantic." If you like oldies--and if you like the kind of unique compositions written by other stars such as Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins--you'd love this collection. Ronnie Self was quite versatile. For instance, listening to the songs on his CD, you'd never guess that he was the composer behind Brenda Lee's big ballad hit, "I'm Sorry." We got the impression that while he wrote in the style of the day--knowing that rock and roll was one of the greatest bombs ever dropped on our culture and that there was big money to be made in its exploitation--he had a softer, more gentle side as well.

STEWART SELF Recording with a group called "Stewart Self & The Gents" on the Starrett label in 1963, Stewart Self also recorded a single for Ermine in that year listed as a solo artist. His music is placed in the rock and roll genre. We'd like to learn something of his background and ancestry.

TED SELF Ted Self recorded four rock and roll songs--2 singles--in 1960, one on the Plaid label and one on Savoy. We would like to know something more about this artist.

SUMMARY

The Self family is made up of many talented people. There are surely many more musical Selfs out there. We'd be happy to list any that you know, from recording artists to your grandchildren in the school band. Please send us news of your musical family members and we'll feature them in a later issue.

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.

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