WELCOME

Welcome to the seventh 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.

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 and Edens Surname Lists as well as listservs for Erath County, TX., King County, TX., Bossier Parish, LA., Murray County, GA., Grayson County, TX., 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.

If you haven't gone to our supplemental Self site, please do so at your earliest convenience. This site is for Self Seekers only. Feel free to change or update your own profile to enable services that will be of most use to you. For example, you cannot send e-mail unless you provide your e-mail address in the profile. We would especially like you to upload photographs and articles to this new site.

We are proud to be a very large repository of Self information. With three domains, a GenConnect Board, a Listserv, well over 5,000 pages of connected and unconnected Self lines, and over 840 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.

Membership fees remain the same in 1999: 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.

Remember the July 1998 issue? Remember all the wonderful photographs, articles, and genealogy? We can't do it without your help. PLEASE contribute something. Photographs, articles, family trees, and reunion recaps will be gratefully received and enjoyed by everyone, and they'll give a new twist to our newsletter.

At the beginning of this year, we automatically subscribed all "Self Seekers" members to our supplemental site called "MyFamily.com." We'd like to tell you more about this free site in hopes that you'll visit there if you haven't already done so, visit more often if you have, and contribute to its various sections once you've seen their promising possibilities.

MyFamily.com originates in Orem, Utah and is copyright 1998 by Ancestry.com, Inc. These two pieces of information tell us immediately that this service has been initiated with genealogy in mind. In fact, its creators state that it "...is designed to help families use technology to bridge the distance between their various members." It provides for the different needs of families, whether small or extended. You can, for example, start a MyFamily.com project for your immediate family, allowing you to keep in touch with relatives near and far in a way that is more public than e-mail but more private than a regular Website. You can share messages, photos, special events, and many other things with selected relatives. On the other hand, you can also set up a MyFamily.com site for a large group of distantly related cousins, such as our Self Seekers Self Family Association. You will gain 10MB of extra Web storage space for photos and reminiscences--a definite plus for Webmasters (like us) who are always being forced to calculate space requirements for our files.

LOGGING IN

You may set up and/or belong to several MyFamily.com sites. For each one, there is a User Name and Password which you must provide in order to log in. MyFamily.com sites are exclusive, and members are added by invitation only. The Administrator of the site (there can be more than one) sets up an account for each family member and e-mails the invitation which includes the User Name and Password. Passwords can be changed by the User when he or she makes a visit to the site. Forgotten passwords can be obtained by requesting that they be sent to the e-mail address registered for each member account. All in all, the security provided on MyFamily.com sites is very good. No one can crash your online "reunion," and your baby picture will not be visible to your boss or your bowling buddies unless they are part of your group. Moreover, the service promises not to collect and sell e-mail addresses or other personal information to businesses and potential spammers.

YOUR PROFILE

The "Member Information" that consitutes your profile is first set up by the group's Administrator. In most cases, unless the site involves only immediate family, this profile contains just a name and e-mail address, the minimum data necessary for initial participation. Once you have gained access to the site, you can edit and add to your own profile. Birthday information is copied to a master calendar which reminds everyone of your special day. Homepage URLs, Contact numbers and snail addresses can help others stay in touch with you through more conventional means. You can even list your choice of gifts for birthdays and other occasions and let others know what interests you might have in common with them.

One interesting note is that if you try to edit your "Relationship Information," your choices are limited to members of the group. This works well if MyFamily.com is used for immediate family, but it has limitations for an extended network such as the Self Seekers Self Family Association. For instance, if your spouse or brother is not a member of Self Seekers, you must request that person to be added to the group--even if they never plan to go there--so that you can show your relationship to that person. And if you are not a blood relative of the clan, there is no "relationship" category into which you can squeeze yourSelf no matter how hard you try.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Participation in "MyFamily.com" sites is fun and beneficial for all members--but it takes cooperation and a small amount of effort to gain the best results. You must be willing to participate, contribute, and cooperate with your cousins.

The authors of "MyFamily.com" refer to their features as "interactive family communications." These communications begin with a "Family News" area where you can post all kinds of information such as reunion dates and times, birth and marriage announcements, obituaries, or even update others on what you did on your summer vacation. You have the option of receiving notification of such postings. Those dates can be posted in another area as well--the "Family Calendar." This calendar is always current for 30 days from today's date. If you enter your birthday in your member profile, it will display automatically on the calendar. You can also enter any event that will occur within those 30 days--and these events can be anything from the birthdate of an ancestor to the date of your son's championship Little League game.

"Family Album," like the sub-page of the same name that you can find on our "Self Portraits" site, is a place to post family photos. Unlike our "Self Portraits" site, however, these photos are not limited to subjects of bygone days. You can upload a photo of yourSelf, your children, a family picnic, etc.--we have double the space here that we have on our entire main Website. Please remember, though, that all photos should be scanned at an acceptable size and resolution. Space considerations still apply, and family members should be able to see an entire photograph without having to scroll down the page. Excess space around a subject should, if possible, be eliminated as long as it doesn't detract from the setting. Members can download these photo files in addition to enjoying them online.

One question we are frequently asked is why we don't make gedcoms available for download on our "Self Portraits" site. There are two answers: first, space is at a premium, and many gedcoms are quite large; second, we do not have a password capability for login to our ISPs' Servers, nor do we have an "anonymous" ftp user. On the "MyFamily.com" site, however, there is a "Family File Cabinet" where you can upload gedcoms as well as other files of general interest to members. Once you master the art of creating and exporting a gedcom (see our October 1998 newsletter for instructions if you use Family Tree Maker), you can export a gedcom to yourSelf and then upload that file to our site.

Other features of MyFamily.com include "Reviews," a place to share criticisms on books, movies, music, software, Web pages, etc.; "Who's Online," the capability to "finger" other members who are currently using MyFamily.com; a chat room; a multiple-user e-mail messager; and a quick way to access one MyFamily.com site from another.

All of these areas are detailed in "About Us," the explanatory page of the MyFamily.Com authors. This page also describes the general features of the project, external to any given family group but accessible by all.

WISHES AND DREAMS

We wish that our Self Seekers members would view MyFamily.com as an extension of "Self Portraits"--as a place to continue posting what space considerations limit on the main site, a place that offers new possibilities, and a place for wider communication among cousins. We wish for a large number of postings of any kind. We dream of online chats--you don't need a moderator, you can do it yourSelf. We'd like to celebrate your birthday and that of your favorite ancestor. In short, we wish to get to know you better and find out from your communications what you like to see and do most in the search for your roots.

And if you like, start a new MyFamily.com site of your own. As long as you have a unique name for your group, it can be another Self site, and we can have even more photos, data, and miscellaneous files online. We dream of a whole chain of Self pages, all set up to make genealogy more fun and interesting for all of our wonderful family.

If you are already a part of MyFamily.com, please go there and fill out your profile. Leave a file or posting behind to share with others. If you are a Self Seekers member and do not have a user name and password to the MyFamily.com site, please contact Tim to begin your new adventure.

Hope to see you there soon!

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Genealogy is flourishing today, thanks to computers and electronics technology. In addition to visiting the many wonderful Websites that increase in number each day, we now are assisted in our search by word processors, genealogy programs, e-mail, listservs, and chat rooms--to name just a few. One item that is often overlooked, however, is the digital video camera. This little device can enhance the enjoyment of climbing your family tree and your communication with cousins.

Not so long ago digital video cameras were fairly expensive. Also, they often failed to provide good resolution. Color cameras came at a premium but yielded washed-out hues. Today's cameras are significantly better--not without problems, but good enough and cheap enough to consider adding one to your home computer system.

CAPTURING AN IMAGE

I bought my Ezonics digital video camera on sale for $40 after a $20 rebate. Following the current trend in the computer industry, you can expect that either the prices will decrease or the quality will increase--or both. My camera is a "USB" (Universal Serial Bus) device. It installs in seconds and uses only one driver. There are 8 software programs included with it--two of which are essential. With these two programs you can take photographs, make video clips, and--most exciting of all--talk with another person "over the Internet" for free--and see each other during the conversation. Both the camera and the programs are so easy to use that anyone can learn to take decent "pictures" with no prior experience.

My snapshot/video capture program installs quickly and requires almost no set-up. My guess is that most programs bundled with a digital video camera are optimized for use with that device. When you run the program, if you have the camera pointed toward you, you can see yourSelf in a small window on your monitor, moving, talking, computing, all in real time. As with photography in general, the best images come from experimentation. You may have to position the camera to get the best height and distance. And you may have to adjust the focus. The proper lighting also helps, overhead illumination being the best (and often the hardest to come by in newer homes and apartments). If you want to take a picture of yourSelf to send to someone, just strike a pose you like and click on the snapshot button. My software has a "Send To" feature and can save the image as a file or send it immediately to a recipient via e-mail.

The video capture is almost as easy to do as taking a snapshot. You have the choice of video alone or video accompanied by audio. The latter requires the use of a microphone and a sound card. If you choose to add sound, you'll be pleased to know that a $10 mike works just as well as the more expensive ones. But you need to test your microphone first--a good program for testing is the "Sound Recorder" applet that comes with the Windows operating systems--and you must find the best distance for your voice, regulating the sound buttons and sliders accordingly. When you're ready to make the video clip, you just press one button to start and one to stop, similar to the actions you perform when playing or recording music on your computer. Once again, you can save the clip and/or mail it immediately to someone as an e-mail attachment.

VIDEOCONFERENCING

Pioneered for business use between remote offices, videoconferencing is now possible--with reasonable quality--between two people using their home computers, a digital video camera, a sound card, and a microphone. The mechanics are simple: first, you install a program such as Microsoft's "Net Meeting" and then configure it to match your system--a relatively easy process. You will be asked to specify a default Server. This is not the same Server as your ISP uses for e-mail and Web access but rather a special ILS videoconferencing Server. In other words, you must first dial into your regular ISP or log on to your regular network and then access a second Server. These videoconferencing Servers are maintained not only by Microsoft but by others as well. You can find out their locations on the Web by entering "ils" in your favorite search engine. Many pages listing ILS Servers also describe their typical use, i.e., "family oriented," "general," or "adult."

Once you are attached to an ILS Server, you can make a call to another person on that same Server. Each person has a unique ID preceded by the ILS name of the Server (similar to the "http" URL). If you have enabled the Directory, you will be able to see who is currently online. For the sake of privacy, however, you may want to disable the Directory. As I found out in my one online "test," there are many people who see a new entry on the Directory and begin to make calls automatically, whether they know the person or not. You will, of course, have the choice of ignoring their call, but it can be an interruption when you're carrying on a conversation with someone else. If you and your close friends disable the Directory, you will be invisible to others but still have the ability to signal each other at some pre-set time and begin your communication. My test fortunately connected with a man in San Diego, California who was very proficient in the use of videoconferencing. He helped me to regulate my microphone and camera. I was amazed to find that "Net Meeting" provided two windows where I could see him as well as watching mySelf as I appeared to him--a feature that I could enable or disable at any time. It was a really fun session and ended only when my audio began to fade out for some reason. At that point, he ended the conversation--but either party can do so, just as you can with a regular telephone. His identification was automatically added to my speed dialer (a preset and changeable option) so that I can try calling him again someday.

PROBLEMS--AND HOW TO SOLVE THEM

USB: The Universal Bus Driver is a recent addition to the computing world and appeared on very new computers assembled from about autumn of 1998. Older digital video cameras that used serial or parallel connections will obviously not plug into USB ports which have a very small and distinctive size and shape. But transmissions sent from a serial or parallel camera to one using USB are perfectly clear. The problem arises when you buy a USB camera (or any USB device) and discover that you cannot attach it to your older computer. The solution is to purchase a USB conversion board that plugs into a PCI slot on the motherboard of your computer. But there is yet another consideration: USB devices that use the "plug and play" option require Windows 95 version b or later. You may want to upgrade to Windows 98 to take full advantage of USB possibilities. All of this preparation may end up costing over $100 more in addition to the price of the camera itSelf.

LOCATION: Even though it has a long cord and a good range, the digital video camera is still confined to the room where you use your computer.

CAMERA INSTALLATION: The only trouble I had with the installation of my camera was finding the serial number to enter in the boxes to ensure copyright and registration of the device. Cameras are not the only hardware to present this problem. Do not enter a serial number you might find on the device itSelf. Instead, look on the packaging (front and back) that it came on, or on or in the manuals that accompany it. Many manufacturers seem to put this number in some very unusual places.

SOFTWARE: Install only what you need. If your primary use of a computer is for word processing, spreadsheets, and your genealogy program, you may need to install every piece of software that comes with your camera. If you have a Scanner or use graphics quite a bit, you may be able to cut down the installation to two or three programs since your current software will perform the same task. For example, you don't need to install a photo retouching program if you already use a fairly recent version of PhotoShop or PhotoPaint.

RESOURCES: Digital video cameras, like all graphically-oriented devices, utilize software that is resource-intensive. It is definitely possible to take pictures, make videos, or videoconference using only 16MB of memory, but the more memory you have, the better. If you have only 16 or 32 MB, shut down other programs before using the camera. Even with 64 or 128 MB of RAM, it is best to leave only e-mail open (yes, you can still receive regular e-mail while you videoconference). Formats present yet another problem: my software saves snapshots in a bitmap (.BMP) format which means that the files will be large in size (this means the size of the file, not the size of the picture) and unsuitable for the Web. You will want to convert them to .jpg format using your paint program or a shareware converter such as "WinJpeg." Recipients of e-mail will usually prefer a .jpg file as well, since they download quickly and open easily into a Browser. .Gif files are also a possibility for these snapshots. My software does save video clips to handy executable (.exe) files, but another word of caution: keep these clips short. Saying more than a few words or trying to capture half an hour of video will make the size of the clip files enormous, and your recipient will not welcome e-mail that takes an hour to download to their computer and then eats up several megabytes of hard disk space.

CONVERSATION: For best results, both you and the person you call should have fairly fast modems (33.3Kbps or better) or, even better, an ISDN or LAN connection. It is also helpful for both of you to have "full duplex" sound cards. While over half of the systems I've reviewed in my job as a network administrator now come with these two-way sound cards, they are very rare in systems manufactured before fall 1998. They are not expensive--you can get one for $10 or go all the way up to over $100 for the best Sound Blaster models--but it may seem like an unnecessary outlay of cash when you have a sound card that works just fine for other applications. It is, of course, possible to use a "half duplex" or "regular" sound card, but the result will be more like the talk, then wait, then talk that you find on amateur radio rather than the simultaneous give and take that are possible in telephone conversations.

VIDEO CLIPS: Not all programs are alike, and I can only speak for mine which is called "Live Express." Before making a video clip with this software, you need to press both the Video and Audio buttons. The Audio has a verification screen, but the Video does not. Instead, you are greeted with a totally blank screen which can be very disconcerting. At this point, you need to press the Video button again and then begin recording.

ILS SERVERS: It is extremely difficult to access an ILS Server, especially at peak times (evenings and weekends). There are too few of them, and too many people are using them. Microsoft ILS Servers appear to be the most reliable, but the still take a while to connect. Some software, such as "Net Meeting," allows you to see who is connected without actually connecting yourSelf. This is a nice feature if you want to check out where your friends or cousins might be, but it can be very misleading and make you think that you can talk to them as soon as you find them. If the Directory feature is disabled, you can still see these connections, but you will not appear there; and if your frequently called companions are also masked from the Directory, you will not see them even if they are there. You will need to tell your friends to set their default Server and stick to it--or decide upon a Server and change it on both ends before trying to connect. Then, if you have to wait for your friend to come online, you may be disconnected from the Server before you can connect to him.

Finally, beware of ILS Server Directories. As with chat rooms, videoconferencing Servers attract many unsavory characters. Those who allow themSelfs to be visible on Directories are usually either novices anxious just to make contact and those who wish to use or manipulate them. I have viewed the Directories while unseen to others and found that most of those logged on are those looking for romantic or sexual partners. They have even invaded the "family" Servers. This greatly curtails impromptu contacts and forces you to pre-schedule meetings with others. In addition, two-way conversations--even in a "meeting"--are limited to two parties or locations at a time.

USES IN GENEALOGY

The digital video camera can enhance your genealogical research and contributions. You can take instant snapshots of yourSelf and your family and send them to others. You can also send and receive video clips. While you will still have to use a Scanner to capture that old photo of your Great Uncle, you can hold up large objects--such as family Bibles, keepsakes, pottery, jewelry, etc.--and have them captured by the camera's eye. And you can videoconference as an alternative to a chat room and experience the wonder of hearing your cousin's voice and seeing him or her live as you talk without paying long distance charges to do so.

SUMMARY

Digital video cameras can be fun. They can help you contact your cousins and friends and provide pictures for your family album. Just experiencing the advanced technology of these little devices can be a big thrill in itSelf. They are easy to install and use, and the hassles involved are not major once you get set up and practice your skills.

You may have noticed a proliferation of viruses threatening your computer in recent months. Avoiding a virus used to be simple: you never put a diskette into a strange computer without either scanning that computer for viruses and/or scanning your diskette and hard drive in your own machine. With the advent of the World Wide Web and e-mail, you never ran anything that had an .exe extension, signifying an executable file. Today, things are a lot more complex--those who pride themSelfs on causing chaos for others have found new ways to do so, sometimes masking their handiwork from users who then unknowingly infect their own computers and those of everyone else around them. There are now macro viruses, spreadsheet viruses, and viruses hiding inside zipped up packages. If you download or receive many files, it is good to keep reliable anti-virus software on your computer--but even the latest update may not keep up with the latest virus--and anti-virus software is notorious for slowing down your system or causing problems if left on during installation and setup of other programs.

Here are two simple tips that will help you avoid receiving and passing on most computer viruses through e-mail:

RECEIVING FILES: Never open any file attachment unless you have been told to expect it. One of the most insidious things about today's virus creators is that they rely on your trust of friends and colleagues. They are usually correct in assuming that you will run, open, or unzip something from a person you know well.

SENDING FILES: Never send a file attachment unless you state the name of the file and your intent to send within the message. Get into the habit of doing this automatically.

Those of us involved in genealogy continually send and receive attachments. Following these tips will erase doubts about your files and maintain good feelings between you and your cousins.

These individuals and families are a supplement to our "Self Family of the Week" page and its compilation, Family Record. If you know anything about their origins or descendants, you can write to us or post them to the SELF listserv (please refer to this online newsletter)

GEORGE T. SELF--He m. Sep. 15, 1893 in Volusia County, FL., Frances Helena Fisher.

We are looking for the ancestors of any SELF descendant who came to California. If you have a branch of Selfs in your family or have come across any Selfs in your research that settled anywhere in California, please let us know. We have many individuals that have yet to be connected to their forebears in the Southeast and Midwest.

JOHN G. SELF--Born Sep. 1873. He married twice, Minnie (surname unknown) and Minnie T. (surname unknown) and backtracked to Jackson County, MO. CHILDREN: Annie, Claudine, and John. Who are his ancestors?

We have quite a few "loose end" individuals who lived and died in Connecticut according to the Social Security Death Index. Among them are:

FAIRFIELD COUNTY: Charles (1900-1966); Charles (1921-1986); Clarence (1923-1986)

UNKNOWN COUNTY: Harold (1907-1978); Walter (1879-1963); Bertram (1899-1990)

DANIEL SELF--Born about 1785 in Culpepper County, VA. He m. (1) Jan. 3, 1807 in Roane County, TN., Ann Robinson; (2) Feb. 6, 1831 in Adair County, KY., Mary Childress, b. 1799 in Culpepper County, VA.

CHILDREN: Martha, b. 1832; Margaret S., b. 1833; John Walter, b. May 9, 1834; Nancy Jane, b. 1838.

Daniel Self was probably related to William Self of Adair County, KY. We have information on John Walter Self, but nothing more on the other three children except for the marriage of Margaret S. Self to William Meguiar in 1864.

THOMAS SELF--Born 1758. Died Mar. 13, 1836 in Russell County, VA. He m. Dec. 10, 1779 in Amelia County, VA., Sarah ("Oney") Ham, b. 1760 and d. Sep. 9, 1850 in Russell County, VA. The family lived in Pittsylvania County and briefly in NC before settling permanently in Russell County, VA.

CHILDREN: Burwell (1785-after 1850); Elzenia ("Seany") (1795-1875); James Mastin (1795-1844)

We know a lot about this family after Thomas served as a private in the Virginia Line during the Revolutionary War. There are pension records (beginning in 1831), and his descendants to the present day have been documented by Cousins Sherry, Virginia, and Diane among others. However, we are all stumped on Thomas Self's ancestry. It has been said that his parents were Francis and Elizabeth (Gravat) Self of Amelia County, VA., but they were married several years after Thomas was born.

You can see the earlier "Loose Ends" families in past newsletters, beginning with April 1999.

SELFS IN SPACE

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