Self Seekers Newsletter, v.8, no.4

SELF SEEKERS:

THE SELF FAMILY ASSOCIATION QUARTERLY ONLINE NEWSLETTER SUPPLEMENT

Co-Hosts
Tim W. Seawolf Self    
Barbara Ann Peck
   [email protected]
Volume 8, no. 4   October, 2005
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WELCOME

Welcome to volume 8, no. 4 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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NINE YEARS OF SELFS

As we write this paragraph, it seems to us that the header read January the other day.  As we said in July's issue, time is flying by.  Summer literally disappeared for us in a flurry of movement.   You may have read the Self ListServ message about our move from Riverside County to the High Desert.  Leaving our long-time home was sad and stressful.  There were so many memories in the old place--among them that of beginning our "Self Portraits" Website nine years ago last month.  Basically the format hasn't changed much--it's the same familiar page you're all used to.  However, we've added a lot of information;  and we've expanded our sites to include the most material possible.  Thanks to you, our cousins and contributors, we have an especially fine collection of photographs in "Family Album"s One and Two.  Some major lines have come together, too, and we really feel that the past nine years have been important ones in Selfdom.  But now, just as in our new physical environment, "Self Portraits" is starting a new year with new ideas.  Each week, it becomes a bit less painful to think of the old house, and now we're having fun exploring our new environment.  As we approach a decade of Self-service, we hope you'll continue to accompany us as we move in new directions!

A Good Idea:  In the meantime, please join us at our VIRTUAL REUNION

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Please send us your 2006 contributions soon...

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REVIEW OF SARUM*
by Barbara Peck
Edited by Tim Seawolf-Self


NOTE:  Recently, through the magic of e-mail, I was reunited with my high school English teacher, Mr. R. Curtis McKee.  It's been 41 years since I sat in his classroom, but I remember very well the lessons he taught us.  One ongoing assingment was to choose a novel from a list of great works, read it, and then write a concise paragraph on a universal truth illustrated by that book.  I never got out of this habit.  The epic novel reviewed below contains many "universal truths."  Moreover, just as "Singing Wheels" served as my early introduction to American History, "Sarum" stretches back into time to offer a picture of the English history that shaped our own country's beginnings.  This issue is dedicated to Mr. McKee--the best teacher I ever had--the person who opened my eyes to the world around me and taught me how to express what I see...


INTRODUCTION

This is the second time that I've enjoyed reading "Sarum: The Novel of England" by Edward Rutherford.  Our library acquired a trade paperback edition of this nearly 900-page masterpiece in 1987 when it was first published.  Over the years, I had remembered bits and pieces of the story;  and this past winter I decided to borrow it through Interlibrary Loan and read it once again.  To my delight, I had forgotten that the novel was set in Wiltshire, the supposed home of "Olde" Robert Selfe, to whom I was introduced in 1993.  This one fact gave new meaning to the book.  This time I paid close attention to the description of both places and events, hoping for more insight into the times that molded our family in England and eventually prodded our progenitor to settle in the New World.

As in all good literary works, there is one "universal truth" that stands out in "Sarum":  We are a product of our times;  and it is our reaction to these times that in turn creates the times that future generations will live in and react to.  While the major events of history have created the world as it is today, the smaller, more personal happenings leading to these events are usually forgotten.  They were only relevant to those people who lived them.  Had those same people lived in other times, their thoughts and actions would probably never have been quite the same.

THE PLOT

As the subtitle states, "Sarum" is a novel of England.  It begins in the hunting-gathering years following the Great Ice Age and ends in the 1980s.  It follows the descent of several families, weaving a tale of their relationships to each other throughout the different eras in English history.  To Hwll the hunter and his little family--as well as to his sometimes companion and sometimes nemesis, Tep, life is simple:  you hunt, you eat, and when the hunting is poor, you move on.  As the generations become more "civilized," their lives also become more complicated by others who try to control them through religion, politics, and wealth.

THE LAND

The author provides a map of Sarum--divided into "Old Sarum" and "New Sarum" and its surroundings.  If indeed "Olde" Robert Selfe lived in Wiltshire, he grew up with bustling villages, lush green fields, forests once set aside for the hunting pleasures of the King, chalk cliffs, five rivers, and the majestic, mysterious Stonehenge.  According to the story, this was the second choice homeland for Hwll the hunter when he discovered that he lived on an island, separated from Europe by the waters left behind by the receding sheets of ice.  He could no longer reach the "warm lands of the East" where his distant ancestors had roamed.  In fairly recent years, the advancement of DNA and its genetic markers have confirmed the spread of human life from the Middle East to the northern parts of Europe.

THE GENEALOGY

Another feature of this book is the genealogical chart following the maps.  It's arranged so that the reader can match up the characters in each chapter and see their general line of descent.  The solid lines show a parent/child relationship.  But there are more dotted lines than solid ones because in most cases the generations are not immediately connected.  Often the story skips years--whole centuries at the beginning and decades near the end.  Be prepared to meet a great grandson without knowing just how he traces his line back to his great grandfather.  Also, understand that in most (though not all) chapters the plot focuses on only one descendant who is representative of his or her family.

Each family is defined early in the novel.  We know their physical characteristics, their professions, and their character traits.  These family distinctions are echoed throughout the centuries with few exceptions.  For example, most descendants of Tep are thin, tall, dark, observant, sneaky, resentful, and vengeful.  Though their professions vary, and though they rise from poverty to riches, they use cunning and manipulation to get ahead.  The Shockley family is tall, big, fair, daring and courageous.  The Masons are short and squat with large heads and eyes.  While not all of them follow the trade suggested by their surname, all we meet are artists of some kind, masters of design and beauty.  The Porteus family is logical and exacting;  and the Godfreys are dreamy and emotional.  This is a rather obvious attempt at portraying the visible work of genetics--but it seems very plausible.  We have to assume that variations in size, skills, colorings, and temperament can be ascribed to the infusion of new blood during marriage.

One of the things that made me sad--and something that is mentioned quite frequently--is that very few of the characters really knew much about their heritage or their genealogy.  Perhaps Hwll knew the most.  The story of the "warm lands to the East" had been passed down for generations.  And when he became old, he knew that he had to tell the story of his migration to the South so that it (and he) would be remembered by people living far in the future.  But in later times, there seemed to be a lack of continuity--no connection with people or events from the past even within families.  Young Will Wilson sees a "sign" from St. Osmund when a lightning strike creates a clear path toward London.  He has no idea that lightning actually struck the old Roman road buried beneath the meadow.  The modern-day Masons have absolutely no idea that their skillful ancestor, Nooma, built Stonehenge or that Osmund carved the stone relief in the Cathedral.  In 1985, father John Mason is puzzled by his son's desire to be a woodworker since he can't remember anyone else in the family ever having done handicrafts.  Even as far back as Roman times, the little statue that Hwll carved of his beloved wife, Akun, is thought to be that of a goddess.  Much later on, Canon Porteus takes pride in a relationship to past figures of that surname, believing it to be wishful thinking when it is really the truth.  Dr. Barnikel dismisses the story about the old Viking who cried "Bairn-ni-kel" (Don't kill the child) as "myth" when he is indeed descended from that warrior.  Finally, Sir Joshua Forest, who wrongfully lays claim to Godefroi connections, has no idea that the "Miz Maze" shown on his old tattered plan was the place where the first noble de Godefroi did his penance for so many years.

All of the above examples are reminiscent of the growth and spread of the Selfs, even though it covers a fraction of the time span in the United States.  Once there was a small family, consisting of "Olde" Robert Selfe, his wife, and his sons.  It wasn't long before his grandchildren and great grandchildren could be found all over the Southeast and Midwest.  Sometimes siblings each went their own way into a different geographic area and contact with the others was lost.  Just in our own line, two brothers born in the 1860s--not all that long ago--were separated when one moved to Washington State and the other, a while later, to Texas.  By the time their great grandchildren were born, neither group knew of the existence of the other.  It's only been in the last ten years or so, with the advent of the graphical Web and instantaneous e-mail that the genealogy "craze" really took off, resulting in families being united again sometimes after two or more centuries have passed.  We've tended to blame poor, slow methods of communication;  but the truth is sadly that one tends to forget yesterday in the furious ratrace of today.

Although there has been no sequel or "spin-off" to "Sarum," Mr. Rutherford has enough shadowy characters--brothers, sisters, and cousins of those featured in the book--to populate several more tales just like it.  It would be interesting to know what those people were doing, or even to read five or six novels that each follow the other members of a particular family through the same featured years.

THE HISTORY

In order to make his story believable, the author obviously had to do a great deal of research on the history of England in general and the history of Wiltshire in particular.  Then he had to present it in a way that enhances the novel and explains the atmosphere surrounding the characters in various eras while being entertaining at the same time.  In my opinion, he attains this goal in a spectacular manner.  The battle scenes, for instance, are vivid from the hand-to-hand combat against the invading Saxons and Vikings to the Battle of Trafalgar.  The thoughts and fears of the characters make these conflicts come alive.  I wouldn't doubt that history is full of long-forgotten heroics of women like the brave Aelfgifu--and the death of Nathaniel at the hands of his brother, Edmund, has been the theme of many such situations, both true and fictitious, especially during our own American Civil War.

In addition to the political events that took place over time, there were also economic cycles and religious controversies--and all of them were intertwined and affected the way people lived, thought, and behaved.  Sometimes Sarum was prosperous;  sometimes poor.  A lot depended on who was in power, what the official religion was, and what was going on with neighboring countries, their leaders, and their merchants.  Religious belief did not only demand conformity as favored by the conquerors or kings, but it swung from one extreme to the other, often several times in one's lifetime.  Catholics, Anglicans, and all manner of Protestants passed through England, taking over as the "official" way to worship and were soon discarded in favor of some other sect.  Even before that, there were sun worship, moon worship, human and animal sacrifices, Druids, and pantheism.  So little of it really had anything to do with higher powers, and so much of it was all about wealth and control.

THE UNIVERSAL TRUTH

We are a product of our times;  and it is our reaction to these times that in turn creates the foundation for the times that future generations will live through and react to.  In "Sarum" we have an inside look at how several generations of several families reacted to the times in which they lived.  In the days of the early hunter-gatherer folk, food supply was the major factor influencing behavior.  If game had been plentiful in the North, Hwll would not have left for better hunting grounds, and Sarum might never have existed.  Centuries later, the transfer of power--and thus, peace--gave rise to Stonehenge and the bloodshed of sacrifice.  Other power structures imposed by conquering tribes caused the residents of Sarum to fight, to triumph or to yield, all affecting the future for years to come.  Sexual power was another form of domination leading to acts that changed the little world around them.  Failure to produce a child could end in disgrace for a man and death for a woman.  Marriages were arranged for personal gain--wealth, power, alliances--and love was often realized outside the bonds of these unions.  Men in power, from priests to kings, could put events into play that would cause reactions they had never guessed at.  Just the situations existing at certain times in history influenced the lives of everyday people and, eventually, their families.  What would have happened to Porteus and his descendants if he had been given a high position and returned to Rome to marry Lydia?  What if Katesh had married Tark instead of Nooma?  What if Edward and Katherine Shockley had not had the problem of religion between them or if old Walter Wilson had died from the plague?

So many "ifs"--so many winding paths to choose;  yet when we look back, all of them are straight and lead to only one end.  Because one character, reacting to the times in which he lived, did or said a certain thing, the stage was set for new scenery and new actors who would, in turn, create the setting for yet another group.  That word or deed was promptly forgotten by future generations, and yet their own circumstances and surroundings had been influenced from the moment the word was spoken or the action performed.  You can already see that if you were asked to draw a picture of this "truth," you'd come up with a genealogical chart.

"OLDE" ROBERT SELFE

We really don't know for certain what "Olde" Robert Selfe's ancestry was, nor do we know exactly where in England he was born.  He did have an association with Wiltshire because he sailed from that location when he exchanged the Old World for the New.  So if he didn't actually live there, he was at least somewhat familiar with it.  And we do have a record of Selfes who lived in Wiltshire back into the 15th century and of those with that surname who still live there today.  We also have documentation of Saewulfs who lived in England in medieval times and back to the days before the arrival of William the Conqueror.  We can surmise from their names that the Selfes of Wiltshire (as well as other counties) were descended in part from Vikings, Angles, Saxons, and Normans.  So when you read "Sarum," you can be certain that if not "Olde" Robert, there were plenty of Selfes whose lives could be be silently recorded in its pages.

Why did "Olde" Robert Selfe come to America?  "Sarum" offers a few choices:  freedom of religion, opportunity to prosper, freedom from oppressive and complicated politics in England and Europe, erasure of debt, letters from family who had already made the voyage, and--of course--the spirit of adventure.  "Sarum" makes the reader feel as if they've been in the Englishman's shoes, so to speak.  Through his characters, the author gives us insight into all the weighty problems of the day and offers a way to escape.  At least one, Capt. Adam Shockley, and his wife, Mary Mason, take advantage of this option, even though it is more than a century later and comes about as a result of military service in the Revolutionary War.

SUMMARY

"Sarum" is, as it proclaims itSelf to be, the novel of England--a small portion of England, anyway, and, by chance, the one in which many Self researchers are interested.  This second reading was enhanced immensely by my own desire to find the link between countries somewhere across the sea.  In the pages of this book, we can picture our Self/Selph/Selfe ancestors as they evolve from hunters to farmers to a variety of people on all levels of society.  We can see "Olde" Robert
 growing up in his own times and making the decision to sail to Virginia, a journey which will change the destiny of his family forever.  But whether or not he lived in Wiltshire, "Sarum" presents national and international happenings that affected "Olde" Robert and those around him long after he had departed his homeland.  We can better understand our British cousins today when we know about their history, their bravery, and their civilization, all of which influenced our own beginnings in the New World.  The author writes with skill and imagination, clarity and emotion.  I simply couldn't put this novel down (and consequently got behind on my work!).  I would recommend this book to anyone who is researching English ancestors.  You'll see what I mean...

*Rutherford, Edward.  Sarum.
  New York: Gramercy, c1987
  ISBN: 0517223546

(NEXT: "In Historical Perspective:  Clues From the Past")

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A Life of Edith Pauline Bridges Self

compiled by Cousin Larry

Edith Pauline Bridges came into the world on December 8, 1902 as an early Christmas present for her parents, Hickey Oliver Bridges and Eva Ethel Aldridge. Edith was the first grandchild in the Aldridge family and the first grandchild born in the Bridges family since their move to Morgan County. It must have been a time of celebration for all. The Bridges family had moved from the McDonald’s Chapel community in Jefferson County just before the turn of the century. Family stories are still told of how the youngest Bridges and McDonald children sat huddled around a heater in the back of the covered wagons as the family moved in the dead of winter.

Hickey was already a man, about twenty-five and single, when the family reached the Johnson Chapel Community. The Bridges and McDonalds were Methodists. Hickey’s grandpa, William McDonald, had been pastor of McDonald’s chapel until his death so the family may already have had some knowledge of the Johnson Chapel-Neel area since it supported several Methodist churches. The family may have even known the Aldridge family as Ethel’s father, the Rev. William Warren “Billy” Aldridge was a circuit riding Methodist preacher in Morgan and Lawrence County.            

Whatever the circumstances Hickey courted and won the hand of Ethel Aldridge and they were married at her home in Neel on February 5, 1902. Ethel’s maternal grandfather, the Rev. T. B. Parker, performed the marriage.  Edith’s children remember the home as the Bridges Place because it is where Hickey and Ethel lived when the Self children were growing up.

Hickey was a farmer. He learned carpentry from his father, James Washington Bridges, and his McDonald relatives. He moved his wife into a small log cabin on Maddox Road about half way between Johnson Chapel and Neel. He later built a wood frame house around the log cabin and this is where Geneva, Edith’s sister, said that Edith was born. The house was torn down in the late 1990’s, leaving a one-room log cabin that was torn down a few years later.

After Edith, nine other children were born into the Bridges family. Buren was born in 1905, Marvin in 1907 and Geneva in 1909. All are believed to have been born in the same house where Edith was. Geneva was delivered by a local mid-wife, Martha Brown. After Geneva came Cleora in 1911, Ollie in 1915, Cecil in 1917, and Hazel Idalene in 1920. This little girl was a breech birth and had a broken neck. She was the only Bridges child that did not survive infancy. Buel was born in 1921 and the youngest, Laurene in 1923. Edith would name most of her own daughters for her sisters and other family members.

The Bridges family attended Johnson Chapel Church where Hickey played a leading role. It is believed that he helped build the new church in 1911 and probably the new school that same year. About this time Hickey got a job in Decatur at the L & N Railroad shops. He worked during the farming off-season, boarded with relatives who lived near Decatur and came home on weekends. Edith attended Johnson Chapel School and later Liberty School.  The schools only went through the sixth grade, but Edith loved school and loved to read.  At least one of her books is still in the family, and daughter Idalene remembers that Edith’s favorite book was Little Women and wanted all of her daughters to read it.

Edith had many girl friends. We have several photographs of Edith with groups of girls taken at school, home and Johnson Chapel cemetery on Decoration Day. Nettie White was an early friend and would remain so all of Edith’s life. She remembered Edith fondly fifty years after her death.

                                   

           

James Elbert Self was born in Blount County, Alabama January 4, 1901. He was the youngest son of James Elijah Self and Louramey Truitt. Like Edith he only had a grammar school education and came from a line of Methodists. His father and grandfather Self were both Methodist preachers. Elbert left home at sixteen, rode a train to Morgan County and lived with a sister for awhile, probably Nanny Weston, whose husband, Marion, was a Methodist Preacher and schoolteacher in the county at that time. Marion taught at Rocky Ford, which is only a short distance from Neel and Johnson Chapel. Elijah and Lou were in Morgan County by 1920 and Elbert began living with them. Elbert’s sister, Bertha, separated from her husband about this time. She and her three small children also moved into the Self household. Elijah preached at Johnson Chapel church on occasion, and rented a farm near Neel on Iron Man Road. That house stood until the 1990’s

Elbert attended local churches and social events where he made friends with Roy Roberts and Buren Bridges. Buren introduced him to his sister, Edith. Elbert had a young filly named Dolly who was his pride and joy. He loved to race her against the local competition. There was only one race he didn’t win and that was against Roy Roberts. They were racing down the road and neither could pull away from the other. Both men agreed to a draw before they exhausted their horses.

Roy Roberts and Elbert Self had rivalries other than horse racing. They were both single young men and attended community socials. One such social was a dinner social. The young women brought a picnic basket, the young men bid on the basket of the girl of their choice and the winner shared lunch with the young lady. Elbert and, perhaps Roy as well, had had a few dates with Edith Bridges. But at this time Elbert was courting Lola Tidwell and had already bought her basket when Edith’s came up for bid. Roy began bidding on Edith’s basket when Elbert decided to bid against him. There was spirited competition between Elbert and Roy. It was soon clear that Edith’s basket would be the most expensive of the day. When the bidding reached $7.00 Roy ran out of money and tried to borrow more. He wasn’t successful so Elbert won the day. He shared lunch with the two young ladies that day. It is not known what they thought about this, but it soon became clear that Elbert had won the heart of Edith Bridges.

Edith and Elbert began to spend more time together. Elbert was still living with his parents when he received two letters, one each from Edith’s parents explaining their objections to him courting Edith. He “prayed over the letters” for several days. Elbert wanted to write as many pages as they had written him and his answer was twice as many pages as they had written him. The letters have been lost and the exact contents are not known. One night many years later when they were living at the Crow place Elbert and Edith were sitting by the fire discussing her parent’s objections to the marriage. Hazel remembers her mother saying, “Elbert, you ought to be proud that I thought enough to marry you any way.” Edith’s parent’s objections to the marriage weighed upon Elbert’s mind all his life. I heard him speak of it many times over the years.

Elbert and Edith were in love, but the letters put doubts in Elbert’s mind about a marriage between them. One day Elbert hitched Dolly to his buggy and rode to Blount County for a social at his brother, Arthur’s house. Elbert spent time with Laura Eater McCay, a girl he already knew. But on his way home after the social Elbert was thinking about Edith. He stopped his buggy on a deserted part of the road. There was no one in sight but he heard a voice “speaking to me as clear as I’m speaking to you now,” he told me. “Edith is the one for you. It’s her you should marry.” Elbert thought it was the voice of God or an angel. The next time he saw Edith he asked her to marry him. She said yes.   

Edith loved to write letters and get them in return. Several of her letters survive and all of them are published here. Hazel said that she had an out of state pen pal for many years, but those letters are now lost. Below are two notes that Edith wrote to Elbert on post cards just before their marriage. The family did not know they existed until they were found among Elbert’s possessions after his death in 1987.

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Mr. Elbert Self

            Route 2

            Hartselle, Ala   

            [post marked Mar 1923]

 

            Dear Elbert,     

            How are you to-day? Just fine I hope. I am all ok at present. I sure was glad to hear from         
you. I sure would love to see you. Why didn’t you go to the singing last night at Earnest
   Brown’s? There is going to be a singing at Mr. Rogers next Sat night, but he said not to
  tell everyone. I hope you will be there. Well I will close with love and best wishes for a happy Easter. Answer soon.

                        Your true friend.

                        Edith

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Mr. Elbert Self

            Hartselle Rt. 2

            Apr 10, 1923

             Danville, Ala. Rt. 2

 

            Dear Elbert,

            How are you tonight? Just fine I trust. How are you enjoying life (without?) me I am lonely tonight. Wish I could see you tonight.
Elbert you missed half your life Sunday night by not being at the singing. You ought to have seen the happy re-union. I would have had a good time
if I had not run into a wire fence. What have you been doing today? Having a good time I hope. I haven’t been doing anything today
but you will have to work (like the white head?) tomorrow. Hope to see you soon. Will close with love to you.

                        Your friend,

                        Edith

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Their wedding occurred September 9, 1923, a Sunday. Elbert hitched Dolly to the buggy and picked Edith up at home. Both were dressed in their Sunday best and may have attended church before driving to Sid Sparkman’s house for the ceremony. Mr. Sparkman was a local Justice of the Peace who lived in the community, and he performed several marriages that day. S. F. Roberts and R. E. Roberts signed the marriage certificate as witnesses. Roberts is a common name in the area and exactly who they were is unknown. Apparently no family or friends attended the ceremony. It was a custom of the time for couples to be married in their buggies. After Edith and Elbert were married a photograph was taken of them sitting in the buggy. The happy couple returned home, changed their clothes and drove to Liberty Community for a picnic with their friends (including Nettie White who told me the story).
          
The following story about their honeymoon was written by Elbert’s nephew, Paul Weston. His mother, Nanny, was Elbert’s favorite sister. “That fall (1923) we moved to Fowler Cover (about three miles from Hendrix in Blount County) a much larger house, it also had a small farm house on the place. No one lived in it (we used it to store bailed hay for the animals). When not in use for that I used it for a playhouse…Uncle Elbert and his new wife, they came down to Hendrix to visit us on their honeymoon. When they stopped at Hendrix for directions to get to where we lived, someone gave them directions to use an old logging road that was fine except there hadn’t been any timber to cut for 10 years. As a result the new growth had overgrown the logging road and (Uncle Elbert) got stuck between 2 trees and couldn’t turn around to get out. So he used the local method of communicating with people (get on the highest point and start calling). I was in the empty house and heard him. I went home and told dad. He answered the calls, and was told to bring saw & other tools. I tagged along and there was Aunt Edith sitting in the buggy. She couldn’t get out. Two trees blocked her way.”       

The family rented a house on the White place on Danville Road between Neel and Johnson Chapel. It was there on July 27, 1924 that the first Self child, a girl whom Edith named Edna Idalene, was born. Dr. Burch was in attendance and he would be in attendance for seven of Edith’s eight children. Dr. Burch was apparently well liked by the community and was a familiar sight during his career. He lived on highway 31 between Hartselle and Flint and drove a Model-T. It was about this time that Elijah and Lou Self separated. Elijah moved back to Blount County and Lou moved in with Elbert and Edith. She would remain in the household the rest of her life.

Elbert had certain ideas about marriage. One of them was that he thought he should stir things up a bit from time to time. So one day he picked a fight with Edith. To his surprise she didn’t fight back but rather ran away crying. Elbert realized his mistake and didn’t try that tactic again.

A letter to Edith from her sister, Cleora, was kept by Idalene and was probably written to Edith after they had moved to the Bland Sandlin place. Marvin didn’t name his daughter Hazel as the letter suggests he would. It was left to Edith to name her first and second child after her deceased sister.
           

Danville, Ala.

            April 29, 1925

 

            Dear Sister and all.

How are you all this rainy looking morning. We are all up, the baby (Laurene) was
sick last night. Papa and Buren are planting cotton, they have planted about 25 acres and are
going to plant about 5 more. Me and Geneva are dreading it too. Mamma is over at Marvins
this week, him and Estelle have got a six pound girl. Marvin was over here yesterday he
said they had spoke about naming it Hazel Pauline but didn’t know yet what they
would name it. Me and Geneva have made our dresses for decoration (at Johnson Chapel Cemetery
the second Sunday in May), but haven’t got the trimmings yet. Mamma ordered Ollie
some slippers and they were 4½ when they came, and were girls slippers. I can wear them but don’t
know what we’ll do with them yet. Well if you all don’t get to come before decoration come then.
Don’t know when we will get to come. When we ask Papa or Buren how much they like being done
planting they say about 5 or 10 acres. Don’t recon they will ever get done.
Well I will have to close as news is short. Answer soon and come when you can.

            Your sister

            Cle

 

Cleora developed a brain tumor in 1926 and in another Bridges family tragedy she died December 10, 1926 at age 16 and is buried in Johnson Chapel Cemetery.

Sometime in 1925 the Self family moved to the Bland Sandlin Place in Lebanon Community near Falkville and remained there about six years. Their second child, they named Hazel Louise (Louise for Louise “Lou” Quattlebaum, the mid-wife who delivered her) was born on the Sandlin Place January 4, 1926 on Elbert’s 25th birthday. Dr. Burch did not arrive in time for the birth so a community mid-wife was called upon to deliver the child. Three more of the Self children were born in this house in Lebanon Community: Wilma Adel was born August 28, 1927, Robert Hoyt was born June 29, 1929, and Ethel Inez was born March 1, 1931.We have family photographs taken during their time at the Sandlin place, and the Self children remember some of the things that happened there. Hazel remembers her mother walking the pasture for exercise when she was pregnant with one of her children. Wilma remembers Edith taking Hazel and herself to the school Easter egg hunt after Idalene had started to school.

One of their neighbors was the Hallbrooks family. They had several children that the Self family remembers. One day Idalene, Wilma, and Hazel were invited to eat with them. Mrs. Hallbrooks served a bowl of corn-on-the-cob that didn’t have all the silk removed. Wilma eyed the corn for a moment then said, “Who silked this corn?”

Mrs. Hallbrooks replied that her son, Harvey, had silked the corn.

“Well, he didn’t do a very good job!” Wilma replied.

When the girls got home after eating, Idalene and Hazel ran to tell their mother what Wilma said. Their mother looked sternly at Wilma. “You get under this bed young lady!” She did and had to stay there for an hour.

Robert remembers this story from the Sandlin Place: “I don’t remember how old I was. Josie Mae and Natalie Hallbrooks would draw water from a well in the pasture and Mama would let me go along. But this one day she said, ‘You can’t go today, Robert. So go along and play.’ Then she turned and went back in the house. I was mad because she wouldn’t let me go. There was a dirt road that ran by the front of the house. I lay on my back in the road and cried as I flopped my hands and feet. When I opened my eyes I saw the biggest pair of mules I ever saw looking down at me. They were almost on top of me! The man in the wagon seat called, ‘Hey Mrs.Self! Robert is kinda blocking the road.’ I got up then and never threw a fit again.” 

Hazel had only been in first grade a few months when the family moved to Rocky Ford Community about 1932. Elbert rented the Howell place on what is now Garrison Road. The house had two large front rooms with an open hallway between. The kitchen and other rooms were in the back, and there was a large front porch that went almost all the way across the house. The Self’s could stand on the front porch and talk to their nearest neighbors, the Rev. Addie Wallace family. Mrs. Emma Wallace was Edith’s special friend, and son Don was Roberts friend.

Hazel remembers several things that happened while they lived at the Howell Place. “One Wednesday night Daddy was gone to prayer meeting and I had a nightmare. When I woke up Mama was sitting on the bed with me. Mr. Gaines McNutt and Mr. Hollis Vest were sitting across the room. Mama couldn’t wake me up so she had gone outside and rung the dinner bell, and these two had come to see what was wrong.” Another night the children were sleeping on quilt pallets. Hazel couldn’t go to sleep so her mother told her to turn on her right side and “don’t crowd your heart and you can go to sleep.”

Hazel remembers preparations to visit their Bridges grandparents. By this time Hickey and Ethel Bridges lived in the Aldridge home place on Iron Man Road just west of Neel. Edith hitched the mules to the hack but when she hollered for them to go, one mule went one way and the other mule went another way. She had forgotten to attach the reins to their heads. After another visit to the Bridges grandparents, Hickey followed Edith to the buggy and told her he wished he had more to give to her family. Her reply was, “You taught us right from wrong and you took us to church. That was enough.”           

James Roy was born June 27, 1933. This day Edith was still in bed, in the bedroom next to the kitchen. Edith’s sister, Geneva, was in the bedroom with her and they were talking about naming the baby. Robert remembers that day. “One of my jobs was to fill up the stove box in the kitchen with wood. I would usually go around back and come into the kitchen that way, but I was a curious boy and wanted to hear what they were saying. So I brought the wood in through the front of the house. I slowed down when I got to the bedroom door and listened. Then I walked in the room and up to the bed. I don’t know where I got it, but I said, ‘Name him Loy, Mama!’

They both looked up at me and Mama asked, “What did you say?”

“I said name him Loy!”

Then Aunt Geneva said, “What are you saying Robert? Loy?”

They began naming names: Floyd, Lloyd, and some others, and I said, “No, Loy!”

“Is he saying Roy?”

“Yes, Loy!” So that was his name and I went about my business.”


One day when Robert was on the front porch Don Wallace called to him to come to his house. “He never would come to my house. I’d always go to his,” Robert remembers. “I asked Mama if I could go. She said, ‘Behave yourself, Robert, and go ahead.’

When I got to Don’s house he whispered, ‘Let’s go around the end of the house. And be quiet!’

So we did and I saw a large limb of an apple tree lying on the ground that had split off from the trunk but was still attached and there were large green apples on it near the ground.

‘Did you ever eat green apples, Robert?’

“I said no.

‘I will if you will,’ he said.

“So we started eating apples. The more we ate the better they tasted. I forgot all about Mrs. Emma, but she saw us and said, ‘Don! Robert! My goodness alive get out of that apple tree limb and spit out those apples! You’ll make yourselves sick.’

“Then she saw all the apple cores on the ground. ‘My goodness alive boys what do you mean?’ Then she went around to the front of the house and called Mama.

“Mama came around and said, ‘Emma, what’s wrong? Are the boys hurt?’ ‘

“They ate a bunch of green apples. I’m giving Don a dose of castor oil and you’d better do the same for Robert!’”

Robert also remembers picking cotton for Mr. Johnny Rodgers who lived on Highway 36. “Mama fixed dinner for us and we went to pick cotton. I was too little to tote a pick sack, but I remember I had fun picking up worms and throwing them on Mr. Rodgers’ daughter.” 

In 1934 Edith dropped a line to Bertha Bryant, her sister-in-law, and discussed a folk medicine remedy. She even explained how it should be applied.

 

                        Hartselle Rt. 2                                                                                                                               Sept 10, 1934

Dear Bertha

Will write you a few lines. We are well as common except the baby has awful cold almost
had croup. We are very busy working in hay. Our cotton is late. Just now opening.  About
the apricot root. You measure the child’s fore finger from the joint at its hand
to the tip of finger. Then put tip of forefinger at first joint of thumb? and all you can
hold in that way. Put in bottle, cover with alcohol or whiskey, and take 3 times a day
before meals if possible 1 drop first dose then one drop added to every dose till you take 20
drips at a dose then give ten drops the next dose and climb? back to 20 again and stip if it don’t stop
the fits. I would repeat the treatment.

            We looked for Leola (Bertha’s daughter) Saturday hope she gets to come and you come with her if you can. Mrs. Self
(Elbert’s mother) wants to come but said she was afraid she would have to stay till next summer but I
think we can come before then surely. As news is scarce I will close and go milk. Write as often as you can.

Love to all

Edith


When the Self family left the Howell Place they rented what is known as the Crow Place on Iron Man Road.  It was less than a mile from the Howell place.  The house was wood framed.  It had four rooms with a hallway down the middle and a front and back porch.  The kitchen was the north back room and had a built in brick Dutch oven.  The front room on the same side had a fireplace and served as their living room.  With seven children in the family the hallway became bedrooms at night.  Eleanor Geneva was born in this house August 13, 1935.  That house is still standing but has been abandoned for a number of years.  The well was behind the house and the pasture was beyond that.  There was a large branch of water that flowed through the pasture.  The well didn't have enough water for washing clothes so Edith caught rainwater or washed with a rub board in the branch.  During dry summers the entire Rocky Ford community would wash clothes at the tar gum wells.  The wells were originally drilled many years before, apparently by a company looking for oil.  Now they contained water and never ran dry.  Robert remembers Edith loading the children in the wagon and going to the tar gum wells to wash clothes.

The Frank Garrison family owned an adjacent farm and Robert would later marry their daughter, Bertha. Idalene remembers that in summer Mrs. Garrison and Edith would pick blackberries together. It wasn’t seemly then for women to wear pants, so the women wore their dresses and changed into pants when they arrived at the berry patch. 

The largest cemetery in the area was adjacent to Johnson Chapel Methodist Church. Decoration Day has been on the second Sunday in May as long as anyone can remember. Many families once took picnic lunches and stayed the day. Events included gospel singing and preaching. Family members who had moved out of state would often be found at Johnson Chapel on Decoration Day. Besides planting flowers and shrubs in the cemetery women of the community would make flowers of crape paper for decoration. Although Edith made the crape flowers too, Wilma remembers Edith remarking that she’d rather have one flower on her grave that God made than all the artificial ones. When Edith died the family planted a red peony at her grave.

The Self family enjoyed church services and was faithful in attendance. Although the Self’s were Methodists they sometimes attended the Baptist Church at Neel and sometimes services that were held at Rocky Ford School. When that congregation became large enough, it moved to Rock Springs Community and built a Baptist church there in 1936. Hazel remembers a testimony meeting at the school. “Mama got up and said, ‘Pray for me that I might raise my little children in a way that would be pleasing to the Lord.’” Hazel also remembers going to Johnson Chapel Methodist Church on one of the coldest days of the winter. Elbert had wanted to preach and he was to give the sermon that Sunday. Edith covered the wagon with quilts to protect the children from the cold and the family arrived at the church early. The only person already there was Gurnie Glassgow who was building a fire in the stove. Because of the extreme cold no one else came and Hazel doesn’t remember Elbert attempting to preach again. The family often attended Neel Methodist Church where Edith sometimes played the organ. She often sat with Mabel Aldridge, the wife of her first cousin. The family often attended revivals. Wilma remembers that all the women would take quilts “to lay us little folks on” during service.

Robert especially remembers that Edith had a soft and gentle voice. She punished the children when they needed it, but she never raised her voice, never became angry, and never threatened to call on Elbert for help.

When Wilma was in 2nd grade at Rocky Ford School the teacher was Mrs. McGuire. She passed Wilma to 3rd grade during the middle of the school year, but when Wilma told her mother, Edith made her remain in 2nd grade the rest of the year. Mrs. McGuire liked to wear three-inch high hills and complained to the students of her back hurting. Wilma repeated the story to her mother who wisely said the high hills were probably why her back hurt.

Ethel Barnes was one of Wilma’s school friends. “One time she came home from school with me to spend the night. She said the s-word. Of course I had to run and tell mama who said, ‘If she’s going to talk like that she’ll have to go home.’”  She must have behaved herself after that because she spent the night.

Mary Sue Breedlove was one of Idalene’s friends. Idalene remembers, “One Sunday after church I went home with Mary Sue. I wanted her to cut my hair and talked her into cutting it. When I got home and Mama saw what I had done she told me, ‘I’m not going to whip you now, but I am going to whip you in the morning.’ When I didn’t get the whipping that night I didn’t think Mama would do it, but the next morning when I got up Mama was standing at the door with a switch in her hand.”

Robert remembers a day when he wanted to play with the Jones’ boys, Arnold and Bud. “I asked Mama if I could go down and play.

“No, Robert. You can’t go today. Go on and play.”

I got mad and told her, “You won’t let me do anything!”

She slapped me lightly on the face. I barely felt it. I was barefoot and it felt like needles were sticking in my toes. It was a strange feeling and I couldn’t figure out what caused it, but I never sassed my mother again.”

Buren and Annie Bridges had a son, Troy Dean born February 2, 1935 and died January 10, 1936. This was the first time that Wilma had seen a dead person and remembers it vividly. Edith gave the family words of comfort by quoting 2nd Samuel 12:23, “You can’t bring him back but you can go to him.”

Edna Aldridge Brown was Edith’s aunt and they were about the same age. They were such good friends that Edith named her first born in honor of Edna and Edna named her child, born July 16, 1936, Edith Grace in honor of her niece. Adel Terrell, Edna Brown’s daughter, remembers the story of a visit from Edith Self shortly after Edith Grace was born. At that time the Brown family lived on Johnson Chapel Road about half way to Danville. Edith Self rode a mule to the home to make sure that mother and daughter were doing well and see if there was anything she could do for them. 

Edith wrote the letter below to her sister, Geneva.

      Hartselle, Rt 2

August 23, 1936

 

Dear Sister,

After some delay I will try to answer your good letter, sure was glad to get it but gladdest because you were well. We are all
well as common. The baby (Eleanor) had been puny but is doing fine now all except heat. She and Roy both have
it just awful and I have tried every Remedy I know of. Elnor is the sweetest thing has been walking ever since
she was 10 months old has 8 teeth. I want to make her picture soon will send you one if they are good. Have been
going to Forrest Chapel to revival sure did have the best meeting 2½ weeks. Bro Rains & Brother Hogan a
young man from Birmingham sure did some good preaching for a young man. 91 joined the church by letter & otherwise. Buren &
Marvin & wives joined too. Marvin was immersed. Estelle was afraid some of us would think she persuaded him but not I for
I wanted to be when I joined. But didn’t many Methodist be immersed then & Mamma was opposed to it to some extent so I didn’t do it. 

Have been canning lots have most all my cans filled and saving some for fall tomatoes have lots of peas & beans drying
and plenty of drying apples so likely then I have a good store laid by for winter if nothing happens to it. 

Went to Mammas Thursday they were well as common. Papa & Buell were picking dry peas. Ollie & Cecil were washing
& Laurene cooking dinner. Mamma was showing the boys about the washing. Papa says he has a
good crop this time and I am glad for them. 

I came back by Dessies a little bit she was washing. I was so sorry for her. She is still broken hearted cried
most of the time I was there. She mentioned you several times said you was a very close friend and she knew you wondered
why she couldn’t write. Said Louise thought so much of you she couldn’t stand it to write. I think it would do
her good & strengthen her for the daily trial if you could find time and write her a good letter. 

Well news is scarce so I better close. Write when you have time & remember us when you pray. 

Elbert says be listening in next Sunday at 12:00 o’clock at WBRC Birmingham, Ala he is sending in a request for a song to the Friendly Eighty. 

            Good night – sweet dreams


The Dessie mentioned was Dessie Glassgow, whose daughter, Louise, had just died.

Edith’s brother Marvin had been saved in1933, according to a family letter dated August 6. Hickey wrote his daughter, Geneva:

 

“Well Geneva I have good news for you. Marvin came from somewhere Thursday to church and right up in
the stands. He put his arms around my neck and said Dad your prayers are answered. He found Jesus.
He went from me to your mama and did the same and stayed with her during the evening service…”


By the fall of 1937 Edith was expecting her eighth child. Hazel remembers her mother sitting on the front porch one day when Edith’s brother Marvin stopped by with good news. He had been called to preach. Hazel doesn’t remember all of the conversation, but she does remember Edith replying, “Well, you’d better hurry up.”

When Edith was too far along in her pregnancy to do most of her work, the girls pitched in to help. Hazel and Idalene remained home from school to do the washing.They washed with a rub board in a big wash pot in the back yard. Edith would sit on the back porch and tell them what to do. As soon as the washing was finished off to school they went.

On January 13, 1938 Elbert’s brother, Arthur, spent the day. Wilma had pneumonia and was in bed in the living room. The rest of the children went to school as usual. That evening Wilma could hear the family at the supper table when Edith came to her bed and said, “Move over. I’m going to lay with you awhile.” Wilma moved over and she lay down. It was probably obvious to the adults that it was almost Edith’s time for delivery. Elbert asked Arthur to stay the night and he did. Wilma was moved to a bed in another room. Sometime after dark the older girls were sent to the Garrison home. When Mrs. Garrison learned that Edith’s time had come, she retraced the girl’s steps to the Self home.

Sometime in the night Arthur went to the John Edward’s house (they had the nearest telephone) and called Dr. Burch. Edith’s last pregnancy had been difficult and Dr. Burch knew this one would be too. By the next morning Edith’s condition had worsened and she developed blood poisoning. Arthur Self made another trip to the Edwards home to call Edith’s father. Hickey was visiting his brother in Jefferson County who was on his deathbed. He immediately returned Morgan County.

Most of that morning Robert stood at the foot of the bed looking at his mother. Five women were in the room helping the doctor. Lois Wallace and Estelle Vest were on one side of the bed, Emma Wallace and Gladys Edwards were on the other. Mrs. Victoria Wallace, Estelle’s mother, kept towels and water for the other women. Sometimes when she wasn’t busy with that Mrs.Wallace would put her hand on Robert in an act of sympathy. He kept his head down, never looking up.

When the baby was born one of the women took her out of the room. In a weakened voice Edith asked her friend Emma, “Tell Marvin to come in.”

He and his brother Buren were sitting together on the front porch when Emma went to get him. When Marvin entered the room where Edith lay he said, “Edith, it’s me, Marvin.”

She opened her eyes and turned her head toward him. “Preach the gospel, Marvin,” She told him.

“I will, Edith,” he answered.

She repeated several times, “Preach the gospel, Marvin.” Then she closed her eyes. In a last show of affection for his sister, Marvin brought the sheet covering her up to Edith’s neck and left the room.

Edith’s organs began to shut down and everyone knew there was no hope for her recovery. When she died at about 4: 30 p.m. the family was in the room. Roy and Eleanor had been sleeping, but now Roy was in the room. Hazel picked him up and told him, “Mama’s gone.” Big old tears welled in his eyes. Elbert and Arthur were on one side of the bed on their knees praying and Buren was praying on the other side of the bed. Hickey had made it back from Jefferson County. He had been pacing the floor, but then stood beside Roy and Hazel and put one hand on each of them and didn’t say anything. The official cause of death was kidney poisoning. Dr. J. T. Burch signed the death certificate.

Bev Howell from Drinkard and Howell Funeral Home came to pick up the body. He looked at the kids, then asked, “Do all of these little fellers belong to her?” Rosie Roberts answered yes and he sadly shook his head. Wilma was taken across the hall to see her mother one last time. The funeral was held at Johnson Chapel Church on January 16th. Wilma wasn’t able to attend. Lois Wallace and another lady stayed with her. Edith’s mother was an invalid and also couldn’t attend the funeral. The hurse stopped at the Bridges home on the way to the church and six men took the casket to the house so Ethel could see her daughter. Rev. Powell conducted the funeral. Relatives, unnamed in the obituary, were pallbearers. Flower girls included: Louise Brannon, Lydia Garrison, Clare Breedlove, Opal Roberts, Ozel McNutt, Ruby Higdon, and Corraine Singleton. Burial was in Johnson Chapel Cemetery where so many of her relatives already lay. The epitaph on her tombstone, which was her testimony and her life, reads: “She died as she lived a Christian.”

After Edith’s death the first thing the family had to decide was what to do with the new baby, whom they named Edna Pauline. One of the McDonald cousins living in Fairfield, Jefferson County, sent word that she would like to have the baby. Mrs. Long had just delivered her first child and would be able to nurse Edna. However, it was decided that Annie and Buren Bridges would take care of the child, and they did so for a year until she was brought back into the family.

Idalene and Hazel had depended on their mother to show them how to wash clothes. In the spring Hazel told Idalene, “We need to wash.”

“We’ll wash in a few days,” was the reply.

This went on for a several days, then one night their mother came to Hazel in a dream and showed her how to wash clothes. The next day Hazel announced that she was going to the branch to wash.

“But you don’t know how!” Idalene protested.

“Just watch me!” Hazel replied. So just as in her dream Hazel piled dirty clothes in a sheet, took them to the branch behind the house, sorted the clothes, and began to wash just like Edith had shown her in the dream.

Hazel remembers another day that same spring. The children were in the yard playing and Elbert was in the field working. He had stopped plowing and was crying. The children stopped to listen as he prayed to God to help him raise his bunch of little kids.

 

Author’s Note


 My use of given names for my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles is not meant as a sign of disrespect, but merely to make clear whom I’m talking about. The biography of my grandmother—the only one of my grandparents I never knew—was an idea put forth by my aunts Eleanor and Edna who don’t remember their mother. I hope this gives them some idea of who she was.

I’ve been sick during much of the writing and research for this book. I think if I had been whole it would have been better, but I have learned a lot about my grandmother and I can tell I’ve gotten some of my traits from her.

I was lucky to have several of her letters and all of them are published in full here, and many photographs of her throughout her life. The color photo on the cover is courtesy of Wilma Boger. Most of the other photos came from my mother, Donna Pope or aunt Geneva.

The most vivid memory of anyone was of her death. It was painful to write and I’m sure will be painful to read, but I think it had to be included. Although Edith Self has been gone from us for many years I think her spirit still dwells in everyone who loved her and I know she would be proud of her now very large family.

 

 -------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Bibliography

 

Bridges Times. compiled by Ted Rainey, nephew and Bridges genealogist

Death certificate for Edith Self

Family letters identified in the text

Family photographs identified in the text

Marriage records from the Morgan County Archives

Obituary of Edith Self from the Hartselle Enquirer

 

Interviews with:

Wilma Self Boger, daughter

Hazel Self Brown, daughter

Elbert Self, husband, deceased

Robert Self, son

Idalene Self Singleton, daughter

Adel Terrell, Aldridge cousin

Geneva Bridges Vaughan, sister, deceased

Nettie White, friend, deceased

===================================================================

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE BIOGRAPHIES AND PHOTOS TO US

===================================================================

MINOR SELF LINES
part 8
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 Louisiana.  Please note that the timing of this segment--following the terrible disaster wrought in Louisiana (and Mississippi) by Hurricane Katrina--is purely coincidental.  So many of our modern-day cousins live(d) in the affected areas.  And our ancestors who called those places "home" must be very, very sad as they look down from Heaven on the destruction not only of buildings but of memories and spirits.  We hope to feature more small family lines in the following newsletters.

LOUISIANA

JOHN SELF:  Born 1815 and married Jane Brown in Sabine Parish.  His children were Cordelia Ann Thompkins Lambkin and Dicey L., born 1847 and 1849, respectively.  Which of the many John Selfs was this one?

JOHN SELF:  Another John Self was born 1798 in VA and died 1855 in Sabine Parish.  His wife was Nancy W. Spade (sometimes written "Slade").  They were the parents of James (1818), Tabitha (1822), Hannah (1824), William John (1831), Mahala (1833), Theresa (1835), and Mary Elizabeth (1837)

UNKNOWN SELF:  Here's a real mystery!  There was an Unknown Self who lived in Bossier Parish and died before 1900.  His wife's surname was Dales, and she also died before the turn of the 20th century.  Their children were Mary (1897) and Mattie May (1898).  Mattie May's high school graduation lists her guardian as "T. B. Self."  Who were the people in this family?

SILAS M. SELF:  Silas Self was born 1840 somewhere in TN.  He and his wife, Martha Matthews, lived in Caddo Parish.  Known children are Thomas (1862) and Mary (1869), and we don't know what happened to them.

UNKNOWN SELF:  His wife was named Mary, and he lived in Calcasieu Parish.  Of his children, only Bessie (1895) has some real follow-up.  She married a man named Mitchell when she was 15 or, perhaps, younger.  The others--Della (1885), Loula P. (1888), and Willie (1893)--are "Dead Ends."  Another brother, John (1890) died in 1981 at the age of 90, but what happened in the meantime is a mystery.

JOHN SAMUEL SELF:  In Natchitoches Parish, John Samuel Self married first, Mary Tanner and second Martha (maiden name unknown).  Six children were born to John and Mary:  Theodocia (1861), John Walker (1864), Eli Lemuel (1866 twin), Elijah Samuel (1866 twin), Callie (1870), and Mary (1873).  Wife Martha gave him three children:  Elizabeth (1880), Luella (1883), and Alva (1885).  Who was John Samuel Self?

C. M. SELF:  Initials are always difficult.  We'd like to know more about C. M. Self, born in LA and died in Natchitoches Parish before 1900.  His wife was Allie Honeycutt, and his son was Edward (1898)

W. A. SELF:  He may be related to C. M. Self.  He lived in the same area and also died before 1900.  He and Josephine Weathers had three children:  Lucy J. (1893), Lula P. (1896), and Edna B. (1898)

WILLIAM SELF:  Who is William Self, a transplant to Natchitoches Parish sometime before 1887.  He was born 1847 in Texas, and supposedly his parents came from Alabama.  His wife was named Louisa.  His children were: William (1887), Lula A. (1896), and James (1898)

MARTIN SELPH:  The Census records Martin Selph, resident of Orleans Parish, as a black man, born 1835 in Virginia of Virginia parents.  His wife, Clara, nine years younger, was a Mulatto, born in Alabama.  Son, Martin, was also born in Alabama, in 1870.

JOHN SELF:  Settling in Rapides Parish, John Self died before 1900, possibly in Natchitoches Parish.  His parents were from Alabama.  His wife was Sarah Cobb.  His seven children were:  Charles M. (1872), Martha A. (1875), Mary M. (1877), David Edward (1879), John L. (1881), Silas (1883), and Alice (1887)

JOHN JEFFERSON SELF:  John was a popular name!  This John (1858-1939) lived in both Sabine and Natchitoches Parish and married Mary Wardlack Honeycutt.  They were the parents of:  Jonathan (1877), Sarah Ann Elizabeth (1879), Nancy M. (1880), Amanda Liza (1882), Lucy M. (1885), Minnie Addline (1887), Rebecca (1889), Della Mae (1892), and William Robert (1895)  We have lots of information on the children, but we'd like to know where John came from.

UNKNOWN SELF:  Here's another of the Great Unknowns!  He lived in Sabine Parish and died before 1863.  His wife, Mary, was born 1834 in Alabama.  His children were Thomas (1857), William W. (1860), and Julia A. (1862)

JAMES W. SELF:  Ellis C. (1875) and Jane J. (1878) were the two children of James W. Self and his wife, Mary.  James was born 1842 in Louisiana and Mary was born 1832 in Alabama.

DUDLEY SELF:  Dudley was probably a middle name.  He was born 1847 in Mississippi and was in St. Tammany Parish before 1888.  Wife Julia was two years younger and also born in Mississippi.  Five children were in this family:  Stella L. (1877), Walter L. (1879), Julia D. (1884), James L. (1885), and Dudley (1888)

JOHN MARTIN SELF:  This John Self lived in Union Parish.  He married his wife, Martha Jane Risinger, in 1875.  The dates of their two children (Mary Lee and Frankie Lee) are not known at this time.

SARAH SELF:  Sarah Self was born 1833 in Alabama.  Her husband, J. K. Faris, was born 1818 in Virginia.  They lived and raised their family of six children in Vernon Parish.  The children were:  Thomas J. (1859), Fletcher (1862), Archibald (1864), William (1868), David (1873), and Alice E. (1876)

JOHN SELF:  Born 1850 somewhere in Louisiana, he lived in Vernon Parish.  He married Ophelia Graham of Mississippi.  Three children were born to them:  Maggie C. (1895), Essie B. (1898), and Mary W. (1899).

UNKNOWN SELF:  Yet another unknown member of the Self family married Margaret Evans of Washington Parish and had at least one child, James, in 1844.

MARY JANE SELF:  We know she was born Aug. 8, 1853 in Louisiana and died June 24, 1939 in Rapides Parish.  We know that she married James K. Polk Gill (1847-1926).  We also know something about their children who were Allie E. (1873), Herbert H. (1874), Rufus West (1876), James K. Polk (1879), Thomas Jefferson (1881), John J. (1883), Arlie (1884), Annie Cornelia (1886), and Floyd (1891).  What we don't know is where Mary Jane Self fits into the descendants of "Olde" Robert.

SOPHRONIA SELF:  Born Aug. 1859 in Louisiana, she m. Isaac E. Alford of Washington Parish, LA.  They had six children:  Newie Cilman (1870), Eliza Jane (1871), Pascal Elwell (1880), Ethel E. (1883), Genetta I. (1887), and Nettie (1888).  Who were Sophronia's parents?

MORRIS SELF:  Although his parents came from Louisiana, Morris Self was born in Mississippi in 1868 and moved back to Louisiana, marrying Sarah (maiden name unknown).  They also had six children:  Bettie (1890), Pearlie (1892), Edward (1893), Millie (1895), Mamie (1897), and Esther (1899)

WILLIAM SELF:  Born in April 1865 in Louisiana, he married wife Eva, born 1870.  Their children:  Peter (1892), Joe (1896), and Ada (1899)

HENRY W. SELF:  Who was Henry W. Self, born 1866 or 1868 in Louisiana?  Hettie (1887), Agnes (1889), Eugene (1892), Roy (1894), and Floyd (1897) were his children.  Their mother was Mary Ellen Latimer (1872 - 1899).

SUMMARY

If you know about any of these Selfs from Louisiana, please send us a chart or gedcom showing their ancestry.  In the issues to follow, we'll be listing other "Loose Ends" from other states.  You'll find these people listed on the "Loose Ends" section of "SelfSite" as well.  We'd just love to put them in their place!

(NEXT: Minor Self Lines, part 9)

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.

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Some parts of this newsletter contain information contributed by individuals. The editors may not monitor or censor the information placed on these Pages. We do not invite reliance upon, nor accept responsibility for, the information posted here.

Each individual contributor is solely responsible for the content of their information, including any and all legal consequences of the postings. We are in no way, in whole or in part, responsible for any damages caused by the content in this newsletter or by the content contributed by any person.

We do not warrant, or guarantee any of the services, products, or information used for these pages. We do not make any warranty, expressed or implied, and do not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any of the information disclosed in this publication, or represent in any way that the use would not infringe privately owned rights.

NOTICE: The information in this newsletter is Copyrighted, and must not be used for any commercial purposes or republished in any form without prior permission. This newsletter is copyrighted, except where previous copyright applies.

Copyright 1998-2005 Tim Seawolf-Self and Barbara A. Peck, All Rights Reserved

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