Gordon Seyffert

For those who don’t know him, he is a man of great stature, both in height and in reputation of his contribution to the world of genealogy. He has been the Vice President of the Immigrant Genealogical Society (IGS) in Burbank, California for the past six years. He was the former editor of the IGS Quarterly “German American Genealogy”, and has been the editor of the monthly IGS Newsletter for the past nine years, in the pages of which he shares his insights into current genealogical happenings with the IGS membership.

Who is Gordon Seyffert?

First of all, Gordon is an academic. He is the resident expert at the IGS Library, always ready to impart his vast knowledge of German history and geography as it relates to genealogy to our membership and patrons who visit the library. His skill of reading old German Script approaches the level of the experts in the field, and his abilities are now being augmented by his study of the German language. I believe his goal is to one day attend a Deutsche Genealogentag, and fully understand the complexities of the presentations in the German language. Gordon is always in pursuit of more knowledge.

Gordon is also a mentor. Wanting to help educate as many genealogists as possible, he has been instrumental in coordinating events and lectures with the German Special Interest Group of our Burbank sister society, the Southern California Genealogical Society. He often will share his knowledge and insights with this group by presenting a bit of his own research experience. He will also frequently guide individuals to help them break through their research barriers.

Gordon is a treasure-hunter. His massive undertaking of organizing forgotten resources at the IGS Library has unearthed hidden knowledge. He doesn’t see a filing cabinet full of outdated correspondence; he sees an opportunity to harvest hidden gems of information that can be shared with our membership. He doesn’t see stacks of old telephone books; he sees a snapshot in time where we can track our ancestors’ movements.

Gordon is all about connections. Through his many years of service to IGS, Gordon has built a considerable network of colleagues across the US, and the globe. He was an early supporter of the IGGP, and a member of the partnership’s transition team where he supported the idea of bridging member societies on multiple continents. As IGGP’s structure diverged from its original purpose, Gordon immediately saw the value of enrolling IGS as a member of the DAGV, of which we are honored.

Gordon is a visionary. He is continually dreaming of new ways to support our members, as well as to ensure the vitality of our genealogical societies as institutions. One of his current proposals (co-developed with the venerable Dirk Weissleder) is to connect genealogists from both Germany and the US by inviting them to contribute their research to the “Germans in the Civil War database” project. From that we can gain a broader perspective of our kin - from both an emigrant’s and an immigrant’s perspective, and hopefully forge new connections in the process.

Gordon’s passion for genealogy becomes apparent when you hear him speak of his own personal discoveries. Not satisfied with collecting mere data and statistics, he continues to immerse himself into the histories and cultural conditions his ancestors would have experienced… so much that he has built a personal relationship with his own ancient kin by continuing to reflect on their depths of character. He has made his ancestors come alive.

He once said to me (paraphrasing) “I’ve had an unremarkable career.” Doubtful, but even if that were true, his avocation makes up for any lack of impact made in his former occupation. He has made remarkable strides post-career in promoting and advancing connections between two worlds: present and past, two countries: US and Germany, and multiple generations of genealogists.

To summarize, Gordon’s contributions are very remarkable and worthy of much recognition and praise as an honored genealogist. I sincerely hope that you agree.

(Geehrt als „Verdienter Genealoge“ auf Vorschlag der Immigrant Genealogical Society, IGS, Burbank, California)