Ruth,
a new member gets this initial email(below) & then my personalized
one. can this first one(text below) be deleted from my new subscriber
requests?
No, I don't believe you can.
This one is sent by the system regardless of your group settings. It serves as an email address confirmation. If the member does not reply to this mail I think they do not receive your group's welcome or pending message.
Shal
Shal Farley