Register for the International German Genealogy Conference

Are you one of the millions of Americans who have ancestral roots in Germany? According to The Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, “German-Americans make up the largest self-reported ancestry group within the United States accounting for roughly 49 million people and approximately 17% of the population of the US.”[note]”Famous German-Americans,” Do You Have German Ancestry?

If you haven’t found a paper trail to your German ancestry yet, you may be able to find it in your DNA, depending upon where you test.

• Ancestry has an ethnicity category called “Germanic Europe,” which includes Germany and a few nearby regions.
• 23andMe has a category called “French & German,” which takes into consideration the “migrations of Germanic peoples from the 4th to the 6th centuries” into what is now France and Belgium.
• Family Tree DNA bundles Germany into a category of “Central Europe,” which includes France and nearby regions.
• MyHeritage bundles German ancestry into the broad “North and West European” category.
• Living DNA has recently begun identifying sub-regions in Germany (although, they have yet to find any of mine).

If you are specifically looking for your German ancestry, you may want to consider testing at Ancestry or 23andMe. The other companies will likely catch up as time goes on and their databases grow.

But do keep looking for your German ancestry in documentary evidence. According to Statista, “The greatest German influx occurred during the mid-19th century due to high unemployment and unrest in Europe.”[note]Niall McCarthy, “15% of Americans Have German Ancestry,” Statista.[/note]

My German ancestry actually goes back much farther than that. In fact, my first (known) German ancestor to set foot on American (Colonial) soil was John Stinesyfer. Born in 1695 in Eisenfeld, Germany, he and his wife Elizabeth (Schuster) landed in Virginia in 1738.[note]Underwood, Mary Howe. The Stonecipher Tree. M. H. Underwood, 1984. Available on FamilySearch Books.[/note] I am a descendant of John’s son Henricus “Henry” Stinesyfer (1738-1832) and his wife Katherine (Kaul/Call).[note]Are you a cousin? Let me know![/note]

About The 2021 International German Genealogy Conference

The following is a press release from the IGCC:

Registration for the International German Genealogy Conference is now open! With the theme
of Researching Together Worldwide / weltweit gemeinsam forschen, this much-anticipated
virtual conference will be held from 17 July to 24 July 2021.

Registration can be completed at the following link: https://playbacknow.regfox.com/iggp2021.
A special Early-Bird registration discount is possible until 31 March 2021.

Four different packages are available for the conference. While the IGGP LIVE! Package
includes the eight live lectures by an all-star lineup of genealogy experts (Early Bird $119,
Regular $169), and the IGGP OnDemand package features more than fifty prerecorded sessions
for you to watch at your convenience (Early Bird $179, Regular $229), the IGGP Combo Package
is recommended for the genealogist wanting to get the most out of their virtual conference
experience (Early Bird $229, Regular $279).

This recommended IGGP Combo Package includes access to both the eight LIVE sessions –
featuring popular speakers Ute Brandenburg, Wolfgang Grams, Timo Kracke, Roger Minert,
Judy Russell, Katherine Schober, Diahan Southard, and Michael Strauss – as well as one-year
access to the over fifty OnDemand sessions, which include an extensive variety of German
genealogy topics hand-selected to best aid your research.

If you would like these sessions indefinitely, the top-tier IGGP USB Works Package includes all
of the Combo Package plus a preloaded USB flash drive with all the conference sessions,
meaning that you will have lifetime access to these expert-level lectures (Early Bird $249,
Regular $295).

All packages include access to the online sponsor and exhibit hall, as well as to the
“Connections” breakout sessions that will bring together small groups with similar German
genealogy or cultural affinities.

This virtual conference is a must-attend for anyone researching their German ancestors. With
expected participation from genealogists around the world, researchers will have a unique
opportunity to connect across borders while simultaneously learning from the top experts in
the field.

To stay up-to-date on conference news, be sure to sign-up for the IGGP conference
newsletter here https://bit.ly/IGGPnewsletter. For any additional questions, contact James
Beidler at [email protected], Nancy Myers at [email protected], or Katherine Schober
at [email protected].

More Information

• Register for the Conference
• Conference Program
• IGGC Blog

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