Self Seekers Newsletter v.10. no.4

SELF SEEKERS:

THE SELF FAMILY ASSOCIATION QUARTERLY ONLINE NEWSLETTER SUPPLEMENT

Co-Hosts
Tim W. Seawolf Self
Barbara Ann Peck
[email protected]
Volume 10, no. 4 October, 2007
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WELCOME

Welcome to volume 10, 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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REMEMBERING

We very clearly remember the day we began "Self Portraits" eleven years ago. Barbara had never created a Web page before; Tim had never designed one. The graphical Web itSelf was still in its infancy, having escaped the clutches of Archie and Gopher barely two years before. There was a need--and we hope that we filled it--for new Self information and an easier way to communicate and meet long-lost cousins. Hopefully, we still fill that need today. The Web has become more sophisticated. A lot of people have found out a great deal about their ancestors. Interest among older researchers may have waned a bit since knowledge is so easily accessible and quickly disseminated through electronic means. But we see a constant evolution of both genealogy and technology ahead. We hope that you'll rejoin Self Seekers in 2008 and help us grow. Most of all, we hope that you'll continue to visit our sites often and write to us as much as you can. There's always something new, and we're glad to share with all 1600+ of our corresponding cousins. Don't forget to update your e-mail address if it changes. Have a wonderful holiday season and the happiest of New Years!

A Good Idea: Please join us at our VIRTUAL REUNION
It only takes a few minutes to scan a photo and write a short paragraph about your research,
your other interests, your children and grandchildren...whatever
Please do check out this opportunity to share with your distant cousins
We would love to see this endeavor fulfill its promise, but we need your help!

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SELF SEEKERS MEMBERSHIP FEES

Please send us your 2008 contributions if you haven't already done so...
Your support is invaluable to us and keeps our ISP from starvation...

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DNA and YOURSELF
by Barbara Peck
edited by Tim Seawolf-Self

DNA and YOURSELF

Not so long ago I had a fantastic dream. I was in a cemetery. The royal blue night sky--dotted with tiny twinkling stars--was the perfect backdrop for the upright granite tombstones, the pointed iron fence and the wide-open arch of the gates. I stared down at my feet to find an object illuminated by the full moon. It was a large, heavy book. Curious, I managed to pick it up, open it, and look inside. To my surprise, there were all the Self generations, from Olde Robert back into the mists of time to the days of the very first group of human beings. As with so many wonderful dreams, though, I woke up before I could investigate a single entry. I was left without names, dates, or locations--just feelings of excitement and anticipation and a belief--for just a few seconds--that all our family mysteries were about to be solved.

Sadly, there is no such book, and there never will be--unless, of course, we compile it. Even ten years ago, I would have said, "Probably not in our lifetime." Just look how long we were stuck at our "brick wall" of Olde Robert Selfe. Now we're stuck at his grandfather, Walter the Cobbler. Our English source, Douglas Self, had copied so many fragments from various records--and yet there is no further mention of any Walter Self who fits the time period we're working with. Thanks to Doug's research, we could find Walter Self--but what if there are no more records to consult? What if Walter's birth, or perhaps his entire family, was never written down anywhere? And even if we find him listed somewhere eventually, will his father or grandfather be just another "brick wall" to demolish? And how many years will that take? And so on and so on...

Too much work to be done for one lifetime, right? Now I'm not so sure!

THE PROMISE OF DNA

Sometimes people tell me that in the future, we will all be "barcoded"; that is, we'll have chips containing a numbered sequence implanted somewhere in our bodies just as dogs do today. The justification for this is identification validation, perfect for missing or abducted children, missing persons, or catching identity thieves on the spot. I always reply that we don't need chips or randomly assigned barcodes because we're already born with "barcodes" as unique (if not moreso) than any that man can devise. These "barcodes" are the sequences of our DNA.

I could write volumes about DNA. But that's probably because I've read volumes about it. Ever since Tim joined the Self Family Reconstruction Project at Family Tree DNA.com, I've been even more fascinated with this genetic code than I was before. Scientists have made tremendous advances in this area just since we began "Self Portraits" eleven years ago. First there was Mitochondrial DNA which allowed them to trace maternal lines back to a common ancestor. Now there is Y-chromosome DNA which does the same thing for the male line. This is especially important in a paternalistic society, the type which is predominant in the world today.

DNA can tell us a lot about our recent ancestry, roughly about 500-600 years ago to the present. Most of us have done research on our families. We've found some links that can be easily proven by paper documents, some more tenuous such as those handed down in the oral tradition, and tons of "best evidence" connections that may turn out to be decidedly true or disappointingly false. This is where DNA comes in. If, for instance, we are 99% certain that a person's great grandfather had a child by a suspected first marriage, we can ask the descendants of that child if they would be willing to undergo DNA testing to prove the relationship. For a non-painful swab on the inside of the cheek, and a little more painful check for a few hundred dollars, a man can confirm that those great grandfathers were one and the same. Only men can take the Y-DNA test because the Y-chromosome, found only in males, is passed on intact from generation to generation by fathers to their sons. If that first wife is unknown but you have some clues as to her identity, you and her known descendants can have Mitochondrial DNA testing. In this case, the test can be performed on anyone of either gender since the mother passes the relationship on to all her offspring.

DNA can also tell us many surprising things about our "deep ancestry." While it can't pinpoint individuals by name, it has begun to illustrate the basics of "population genetics" far back in time. Regardless of how they ended up there, our earliest known ancestors are just one couple who lived somewhere in Africa. We don't know how they became dominant--perhaps they fought off competing human-type beings physically or genetically--perhaps they had the largest, healthiest family--but somehow, they became the parents of everyone living on the earth today. Without even going further, this discovery makes us understand how silly we are to group people by skin color, language, or country of origin since we're all cousins when you go back far enough in time. The descendants of this couple spread out, first toward the East and Middle East and then up into the Northern latitudes. The difference in their respective skin colors, hair colors, height, etc. are the result of (1) random mutations and (2) adaptation to the environment. Migrations were spurred on chiefly by the quest for food; and abrupt changes in genetic makeup were often the result of invasions by nearby tribes. Surely none of them could recall that they were once part of the same family!

Deep ancestry is made possible by a number of disciplines, of which genetics is only one. Geology, climatology, linguistics, archaeology, and general history are some of the fields which have provided clues to our earliest lineage. Sometimes they provide theories, and sometimes they confirm them. But all in all, the result is a broad and accurate understanding of who our ancestors were; how they lived; where, when, and why they migrated; and why the world is the way it is today.

DNA AND GENEALOGY

Now that we know what's possible, we need to determine some ways that DNA can help us in our research. I say "some" ways because there are certain to be others very soon. DNA genealogical research has the potential to become far more important than written documents in the years to come. But where are we now? And how can we learn more?

Almost all of us are at stopping points--or "brick walls"--in our research. If your ancestors are not among those listed in our "Family Record," then you're still trying to connect to Olde Robert Selfe or possibly to some later Self who came directly from England. If your ancestors are on that site, you still have to stop at the last known, last confirmed individual, Walter Selfe of London. From that point on, going backwards, we know about the existence of Saewulf the traveler, Saewulf the landowner, and Sewlf the minister in the Court of King Cnut. We also know the legends of a Viking past. If we consider the current findings in the "Deep Ancestral" realm, we also have a good idea of how the earliest "Selfs" (and every other surname) went from hunter-gatherers in Africa to the breadbasket of the Middle East's "Fertile Crescent," and eventually to farm communities in Northwestern Europe. That last step might be in two parts, divided by the ice age which pushed many Europeans back into the Middle East and the Mediterranean Region before receding and allowing a return to the North.

So we're actually stuck in the middle, somewhere between early modern times and the remote past. So much depends on the existence of paper documents which just aren't there. Or if they are, they're inaccessible--locked away in forgotten vaults or buried on the Web somewhere like the proverbial needle in a haystack. Can we go beyond our "brick walls"? It's very possible, but we have to put our quest aside for awhile and concentrate on the "common good."

If you've gleaned information from public sources, put that information on the Web. If you've compiled a gedcom or family tree, put that there as well. There's no excuse NOT to do this. We can do it for you on our sites. Also, the entire MyFamily.com/Ancestry/RootsWeb/Genealogy.com group offers many ways to post your information for free. When you do, include all the data you can: names, dates, locations especially, but also photographs, diary pages, anecdotes and oral histories, migrations (from city to city or country to country), copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates, any scrap of information you can find. If you've taken a great deal of your data from a book or another Website, get permission to reprint or link, or whatever it takes to make sure this stuff is out there in Cyberspace. If you can, subscribe to one of the free indexing services--we use SiteLevel, and it has been 100% timely and accurate in its programmed tasks. Don't hesitate to put up "best evidence" links as well. We know that there's an ongoing debate about inaccuracies on the Web--but as long as you state up front that certain theories are not proven by fact, you're simply providing fodder for future research--and a labeled "best guess" is better than nothing at all.

Next, if you're male, please join a DNA group such as the Self Family Reconstruction Project at Family Tree DNA.com hosted on our site by Cousin Kathi. Yes, it's relatively expensive, but you can begin with the standard markers and work up. The cost is cumulative--for example, if you've taken the first part of the test, you don't have to pay for those markers again when you take the second part. The fee is less each time. Your results will be posted on the Web, but your privacy is guaranteed since you're identified by your kit number. As encouragement for others to join the group, your earliest known Self ancestor is also listed. Once you've followed through, you'll receive the URL and password to a special page which gives the names and, if known, the e-mail addresses of all those whose results agree with yours--at least as far as you've gone in the process. These "cousins" may have different surnames, but they all have Self ancestry to some degree. The object here is to contribute to the compilation of as large a database as possible. Even a slight difference in markers can point to a split in the family, perhaps the difference between one of Olde Robert's sons and another due to "genetic shift" (or random mutations) in groups who moved to various parts of the country--or maybe even the difference between the American and English branches of the Self population.

Finally--and I can't emphasize this point enough--be willing to correspond with the cousins who write to you. If you've put up a gedcom and given your name and e-mail address (updated accordingly), reply to other researchers who have benefitted from your work or who have questions to ask or information to give. And please reply in a timely manner. Even if the writer is totally unrelated to you (in the short term, of course), you never know whom he might tell about the site. If you've joined a DNA project, you've basically committed yourSelf to building a database and discovering what you have in common with others. To neglect to answer an e-mail message or a letter sent regarding your relationship is a serious error and defeats both the confidence of the sender and the purpose of the entire endeavor. Sharing just one small tidbit of information may change the scope of someone's research or take them back a generation or two in time. Eventually, this fact may set everyone on the list on the right path.

SUMMARY

Use of DNA results is the next standard tool on the genealogical horizon. Scientists have made steady progress in the study of individuals and populations in the last decade. While we may never know the names of our truly remote ancestors, it's very possible that DNA analysis can shed light on ambiguous documents at least back through written history. Past that, it can tell us when and where our origins began and where and how those nameless people lived. We also have a major part to play in this research. By publishing our own genealogies and taking part in DNA projects, we can contribute to the database that will eventually answer many questions for everyone all over the world. We and our ancestors are entering exciting times!

(NEXT: "The United States Census")
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PLEASE CONTRIBUTE BIOGRAPHIES AND PHOTOS
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MINOR SELF LINES
part 16
by Barbara Peck and Tim Seawolf-Self

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

TEXAS, part I
Counties: Bell - Grayson

TEXAS (I)

JACOB LOVETT SELF: He had a brother named Tom. He was a blacksmith in Bell County and was possibly born in AL. His wife was Mary Margaret Norman. This couple had three children, daughter Callie, and twins, Robert Dylan and George Ward Self.

UNKNOWN SELF: Who was this Bexar County Self? His wife's name was Louise, and his daughters were Mattie and Annie.

S. E. SELPH: If we knew what these initials stood for, we might be able to place him. He and wife, Bettie, lived in Bexar County, TX with their five children: Georgia, Anna, Charles, Joelia, and Bayley.

MARY ANN SELF: Who were the parents of Mary Ann Self, b. 1854 in Bexar County? She died in Mason County, as did her husband William Bee Ellison. Their children were William, George, C. M., and Mary Ann Josephine.

MINERVA JANE SELF: Bosque resident, Minerva Jane Self, married J. T. ("Tom") Sanders and had one known child named Frances Ellafair Sanders.

GEORGE SELF: George Self was born 1852 in AR. His wife's name is unknown. They had at least one child in Callahan County, Mark, b. 1875.

DAVID P. SELF: Another mystery, this time from Cherokee County, TX. He married Mary J. Franklin. He apparently served in the Civil War, but his pension was rejected. His children--probably his sons--had those infernal initials: F. Y., J. L., Sarah, D. S., W. J., and Alice.

I. LAFAYETTE SELF: This Self was born 1869 in Cherokee County, and his wife, Alice Rebecca Grimes, was born the same year. Their two children were David and Thomas.

JAMES F. SELF: Husband of Margaret E. from MO., James F. Self was born 1838 in AL. Their family, all born in the 1870s, consisted of Samuel, John, and Mary. Samuel grew up and lived in Kerr County, but what happened to the other two children is as much a mystery as who their grandparents were.

WILLIAM F. SELF/SELPH: Since he and his family lived in Collin County, TX., it seems as if he should come from the Self branch that formerly lived in De Kalb County, TN. However, his birthplace is given in the Census as Missouri. His wife's name was Mollie. Their children were Claude, Gracie, Clifford, Band, and Axle. Band's middle initial is D, so it's possible that his name was actually Bandy.

WILLIAM SELF: This William Self also lived in Collin County, TX, and he DID come from TN. Born in 1841, he m. a woman named Elizabeth and had three daughters: Belle, Cleo, and Lela. We have been unable to connect him to the De Kalb County Selfs.

WILLIAM RASTUS SELF: Yet another William, this Self was born in 1863, also in TN., and also went to Collin County sometime before 1891. He and his wife, Julia Green, had five children: Vera, Bettie, Lula, Bessie, and Charley.

D. A. SELF: More infernal initials! This family came from somewhere in AL. D. A. married W. H. Bradley, born 1845 in IL. Children C. E. and S. E. were male, and M. E. was a daughter.

UNKNOWN SELF: Who was this person who married a woman named Emma and lived in Collin County? Their large family was made up of daughters Dora, Cora, and Lora and sons Robert, Felix, Clarence, Lawrence, and Edward.

LEROY SELF: Moving on into Cooke County, we find Leroy Self there at the turn of the 20th century. Wife Alice Elvina Welch was the daughter of Peter Welch. Leroy, Jr. was one son; the other known child was named John.

JOHN N. SELPH: Speaking of John, this John Selph was born 1839 in TN, lived in Coryell County, TX and d. 1900 in Hamilton County, TX. He had three children by wife Elizabeth: Nancy, William, and James.

SARAH E. SELF: She was supposedly the daughter of Rebecca Self, but her father's name is unknown. She m. James M. Patterson and lived in Dallas County, TX. We're not sure if the following children belong to Sarah or to her mother: Ann, Harvin, and Chonac (possibly Charnock)

JANE SELF: Jane Self lived in Denton County with her husband, William H. Graham and son, Allen. Where was Jane born, and who were her parents?

UNKNOWN SELF: Another unidentified Self came from KY and settled, with wife, Susan, in Eastland County, TX before 1885. Both children--Albert and William--were born in TX.

GEORGE SELF: He came from Alabama, whether or not he played the banjo. He, wife Belle Allen, and children Pat, Claude, and John, were in Ellis County in 1900.

HARRIS J. SELF: Who was Harris J. Self, born 1853 in AL., married to Mary E. ???, and a later resident of Ellis County? He had 9 children in 20 years: Pluma, Nona Jane, Lenna, Jesse, Frank, Alma, William, Sada, and Val Verda. What happened to those children?

J. D. SELF: He was also born in AL--in 1825--and son of NC/TN parents. He and wife Avaline (1840, MS., probably a Caraway) had seven children: David, J.A., J.P. W.E., N.J., Samuel T., and Louisa, listed in Falls County. We have no further record of them...

THOMAS SELF: Fannin County was home to many Selfs from the Melchezedec line. We can't place Thomas, b. 1858 of TN parents, his wife, Maggie, and their two children, Lizzie and Katie.

JAMES H. SELF: James Self lived in Foard County. He was born in Missouri in 1859 and married Lulu Thompson in Denton County, TX in 1880. His sons were Bert, Rollie, James, and George; his daughters were Maggie, Grace, Maud, and Euna.

WILLIAM SELF: Talk about a "needle in a haystack." William Self was born in 1870. His wife, Mary ???, was born in 1875. They lived in Fort Bend County where they had at least two children, Maggie (1898) and an unknown child (1899)

J. M. SELF: Husband of Telitha B. ???, he was born 1846 in AL. His children were Marion, Blaine, Stephen, and Laura. The family lived in Freestone County, TX.

LIZZIE PHERIBE SELF: It should be easy to place Selfs in Freestone County, but Lizzie is another mystery person. She m. 1884, William Rufus Boyd of LA. Their children, William Rufus, Lofton Forest, Mary Elizabeth, Lillian, and Clio. Lofton and Clio died young.

MARTHA SELF: She may have come from Georgia since she m. John M. Lewis who was born in Cobb County, GA in 1936. They settled in Freestone County and had seven children: John Wilson, Winnie, Virgil, Loma, Jenny, Alice Gertrude, and Mollie.

MAMIE SELF: Mamie Self (1873-BEF 1900) had a very short life, yet she managed to marry twice. Born in Galveston, she first married a man whose name is unknown. We have no children from this union. Her second husband, John Stuart Cannon, fathered a boy and a girl with Mamie. Their names were Mamie and Leander.

N. L. SELF: More initials! We don't know his full name--but we do know that his wife was Alice Mae Thurman (1887-1973) and his daughter's name was Lilly. Their home was in Garza County.

MONROE SELF: Can you identify which Monroe Self this is? All we know is that he lived in Granbury County, TX and had a son named Silas Monroe Self (1880-1964)

UNKNOWN SELF: For this individual, we have absolutely nothing except that he had at least 3 children: Marian, Henry, and Ary and that he lived in Grayson County.

RICHARD W. SELF: Another Grayson County Self was Richard W. Self, b. 1851 in AL. His wife, Sabina A. ???, was eleven years his senior. His children were: Richard F., John N., Robert L. (who may have lived in OK later in life), James B., and Charley P.

(NEXT: Minor Self Lines, part 17)

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

LOOSE ENDS

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

DEAD ENDS

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

SELFS IN SPACE

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

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