This week I taught six sessions in the Intermediate German Course at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) in Athens, Georgia. I very much enjoyed the people and the beautiful setting. Plus, I love to teach, so this is a fun week.
If you are not familiar with the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, it has a long history, dating back to 1962. It is one of the best institutes of its kind. If you are serious about learning best practices in genealogical research, you need to consider this institute. When it first opened its doors, it was hosted on the campus of Howard College, now Samford University, in Birmingham, Alabama. It remained there until this year when it moved to Athens and is now hosted by the Georgia Genealogical Society. Read about its full history here.
IGHR is held for one week, Monday through Friday, each year. It offers several genealogical courses that run concurrently, each lasting a week. Students register for a single course and remain in that course for the week. Beginning, intermediate, and advanced methodology courses are always offered. Other courses focus on specialized areas. This year the remaining offerings were:
- Writing and Publishing for Genealogists
- Intermediate German Genealogy
- Research in the South, Part 2: Cessions and Territories
- Scottish Genealogical Research
- Understanding Land Records
- Genealogy as a Profession
- Virginia: Her Records and Her Laws
- Genetics for Genealogists: Beginning DNA
I left the institute a day early because I am attending the International Germanic Genealogy Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is the first conference of the International German Genealogy Partnership (IGGP) that is only a couple of years old. It’s exciting to see how it has grown. The response to this first conference has been strong, with around 700 participants from around the world. The energy here is palpable. IGGP plans to hold this conference bi-annually with its first one hosted by the Germanic Genealogy Society.
If you are not familiar with IGGP, you will want to keep an eye on this organization. It is a federation of German genealogical societies with the goal of “uniting German genealogy researchers worldwide.” It’s off to a great start. There are over thirty-three member societies from both sides of the ocean. I will be presenting talks about German farm names and Hanover military records. I look forward to the new people I will meet, as well as the old friends that I will see. I am excited about the future of IGGP.
Lind Street Research 