SPEAKERS: Cynthia Spurgat Jacobson & Owen M. McCafferty

Cynthia Spurgat Jacobson, a founding member of the International Association of Germans from Lithuania (IAGL), has always been intrigued by the surnames that end in "-at". Her extensive research resulted in a 600-page fully cited book, The Three Spurgat Families from Wylkowiszki, in 2010, a 200-page Addendum in 2015, and a 2022 addendum, mostly focused on family members who did not emigrate. She maintained the blog, G-GLISP, German Lutherans in Suwalki Province from 2012 to 2021. As editor in chief of the "Die Weite," the IAGL semi-annual publication, she writes and edits articles.

Owen M. McCafferty started his genealogical research as a teen-ager, searching his maternal grandfather. What began as a simple search turned into a passionate search and lead him to become an accomplished researcher with a specialized interest and expertise in the ethnic Germans from southwestern Lithuania. In addition to founding the IAGL, Owen is also an active transcriber and translator for the IAGL’s online index of Lutheran church records from Lithuania, helping to index tens of thousands of records in an effort to help others learn more about their ancestor’s history.

"How Germans Came to East Prussia and Lithuania"
 
Migration patterns are important to family researchers. The variety of people who settled in East Prussia and Lithuania will be included. This presentation will also review a history of the duchy of Prussia, the Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth, the Kingdom of Prussia, New East Prussia, (later southwestern Lithuania) Congress Poland, and the Russian Empire. A demonstration of the free online database www.germansfromlithuania.org from the International Association of Germans from Lithuania will explain how to find your family on the website, locate an inventory of the records, introduce non-church records, review a translation guide, and provide a free issue of "Die Weite," the semi-annual journal.