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If you’re looking for the answer to the question, “Where can I find excellent genealogy or family history blogs, newsletters, podcasts, videos or books?” You’ll find them right here on GenStack. With so many content creators dedicated to family history and genealogy curated in weekly posts on GenStack, you are certain to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Genealogy Matters Magazine
launches August 10, 2026
In just 10 days, we’ll launch Genealogy Matters Magazine — Volume 1, Issue 1, a new digital magazine dedicated to narrative genealogy and family history storytelling.
The magazine grew out of the Genealogy Matters and GenStack community and begins with one question: Where do family history stories go to last? It exists to give carefully researched family history writing a lasting home that is edited, designed, citable, archivable, and worth keeping.
Our inaugural issue will bring together narrative genealogy, family history essays, research stories, and practical craft guidance for people who want to move beyond charts and documents into meaningful, well-told family history.
The first issue will publish on August 10, 2026 in digital flipbook form, offering readers an easy, beautiful, magazine-like way to read and share it.
At its heart, Genealogy Matters Magazine is about family history transformed into story and preserved as record.
If you care about genealogy, storytelling, preservation, and the human lives behind the records, I hope you’ll follow along and help us welcome Genealogy Matters Magazine into the world.
If you’re a Paid Subscriber to Genealogy Matters, you’ll receive a copy of the magazine delivered right to your inbox on August 10th.
If you’re not a Genealogy Matter Paid subscriber and want to subscribe to the magazine itself, go to Genealogy Matters Magazine to get an annual subscription for 20% off for the first year. This is a limited time offer, so don’t wait. Use Coupon Code: PRELAUNCH to get 20% off for one year.
Dear Fellow members of the Family History Community,
We are so excited to announce our inaugural Genealogy Storyteller Virtual Summit!.
This Summit started with long conversations between the two of us about how to best serve people who want to transform their research into real family history stories — and how to preserve those stories in a meaningful way for future descendants and researchers.
We kept coming back to the same question: what would someone need to be successful at writing and preserving their family history?
So many of us do the hard work of research — the census records, the ship manifests, the courthouse archives — and the story never leaves the file folder. We wanted to change that.
We wanted to build a place where people learn to keep their family history — turning research into stories that outlast any single record, platform, or lifetime.
So, we reached out to the writers, archivists, and storytellers who could help bring this vision to life and invited them to present alongside us this September.
That is how, and why, the Genealogy Storyteller Virtual Summit came to be — born from a shared belief that this work deserves both the craft and the community to carry it forward.
We built this for you. We hope you’ll be part of it.
With gratitude,
Aryn Youngless & Robin Stewart
The Past is Waiting for You to Give it a Voice.
Somewhere in your family there’s a photograph with no name written on the back, a letter folded into a shoebox, a name fading on a ship’s manifest. You’ve spent years gathering the facts. But facts and dates only tell part of the story. Who will tell the rest?
That’s the question the Genealogy Storyteller Virtual Summit was built to answer.
Join us September 18–19, 2026 for a first-of-its-kind virtual gathering created for family historians who are ready to turn research into narrative — and narrative into something that lasts. Proudly presented by Aryn Youngless’ From Research to Novel and Robin Stewart’s Genealogy Matters, this is where your ancestors’ silent records finally find their voice.
Over two days, you’ll learn from writers, researchers, and preservationists who have devoted their lives to this work:
Chris Freeland, of the Internet Archive, opens the Summit with a keynote on preserving your family’s history in the Internet Archive — showing you how to make your research and stories part of the permanent record, safe from lost files, dead platforms, and time itself.
Rhonda Lauritzen helps you move past the fear of hitting “publish,” reframing the doubt every storyteller feels as proof that you’re exactly the right person to tell this story.
Lisa Maguire shows you how to place your ancestors inside the wider sweep of history, so a name on a census page becomes a person shaped by the world around them.
Aryn Youngless guides you through organizing your timeline and building the habits that carry a story all the way to the page.
Robin Stewart takes you through creating a counter archive and why it matters — building moments in your ancestors’ lives rather than settling for summaries.
You don’t need to be a professional writer. You don’t need a finished manuscript. You just need the willingness to believe that your family’s story — your story to tell — deserves to be more than a folder on a hard drive.
Here’s our promise: you’ll leave this Summit no longer a tenant of your own history, but its rightful owner and protector.
🎟️ Early Bird tickets are on sale now.
Click the link below to grab yours before they’re gone, and become the storyteller your family has been waiting for.
I'm excited to share my personal recommendation:
Changing the Ending, the new book from Rhonda Lauritzen and Rachel J. Trotter.
When I attended their class at RootsTech, I was fundamentally changed forever as a family history storyteller. Their expertise and down-to-earth approach to family history storytelling has made all the difference for me. — Robin Stewart
Rhonda and Rachel have spent a decade at Evalogue.Life conducting thousands of oral history interviews, writing client books, and coaching students — and this book distills what they’ve learned into a practical guide for anyone writing a memoir, autobiography, or family history.
Inside, you’ll find:
The power of story — how writing personal and family history can reshape difficult experiences and strengthen family bonds.
Field-tested methods — photo prompts, journaling techniques, and oral history approaches refined from real experience.
Practical writing tools — storyboarding, vignette writing, dialogue, and advice for handling sensitive subjects.
Guidance for family history writing — how to craft engaging, accurate narratives with the right amount of historical context.
Get the book + a free workshop
Changing the Ending releases December 15, 2026 (Post Hill Press, distributed by Simon & Schuster). Preorder now and get access to their publishing/printing workshop as a thank-you:
Preorder their book
Fill out the form.
Confirm your email.
Attend the live workshop on Saturday, August 15, or watch the replay.
Available at Barnes & Noble and wherever books are sold.
If you’ve been meaning to write your family’s story, I’d recommend starting here.
Learn more and preorder
The Storyteller Project (Final Week) is here!
Thank you to all who participated and followed the Storyteller Project!
The Storyteller Project is an 10-week guided experience for family historians who are ready to move their research into lasting story. Rooted in the principles of my book, Stewardship Matters: A Storyteller’s Guide to Preserving Family History, the project walks participants through the same arc of stewardship: shaping family history into credible, meaningful narratives, preparing those stories for publication, and making them findable for future generations. It’s free, community-centered, and designed for anyone who feels called to preserve the human record with care, intention, and purpose.
Welcome to The Storyteller Project
The Storyteller Project: Week 1
The Storyteller Project: Week 2
The Storyteller Project: Week 3
The Storyteller Project: Week 4
The Storyteller Project: Week 5
The Storyteller Project: Week 6
The Storyteller Project: Week 7
The Storyteller Project: Week 8
The Storyteller Project: Week 9
This Week:
Support the Content Creators
How can you support these amazing Family Historian Community Authors and Content Creators? When you find the content that speaks to you…
✔️ReStack
✔️Comment
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How can you get their posts right when they are published?
—Subscribe directly to their Newsletters.
Do you know of a Genealogy-focused newsletter you’d like to see added to GenStack? Do you want your blog, newsletter, podcast or video channel considered to be included on GenStack?
DM me! I’m always looking for new publications to add to GenStack.
Stacked Between the Leaves
Here is what you will find in this week’s GenStack
Stacked this Week (16 Stacked)
Books (6 Stacked)
Videos (14 Stacked)
Podcast (22 Stacked)
Additional This Week (62 Stacked)
💛Special Thanks!
To Randy Seaver, Geneaholic for sharing GenStack on his Best of Genea-Musings blog.
To everyone who restacks, comments, likes, and shares GenStack.
Your support truly makes a difference. Every interaction increases the visibility of genealogy content creators who are doing the careful, dedicated work of preserving and publishing family history. It matters more than you know.
Genealogy Matters Magazine
A grassroots magazine by and for family history storytellers.
Our current Call for Submissions is now OPEN!
What does being part of Genealogy Matters Magazine really mean?
It means your family history story doesn’t disappear.
So much of what we uncover — the late nights tracing ship manifests, the courthouse records, the handwritten letters — lives in notebooks, blog posts, and memory. Here, it gets a permanent home. A citable, archivable, lasting home.
Genealogy Matters Magazine exists because family history deserves more than a footnote. It deserves a place on the shelf.
And it deserves to be written by people like you.
This magazine exists because of this community. Thank you for being part of it.
— Robin, Founder & Editor, Genealogy Matters Magazine
Books on Genealogy & Family History
Genealogy and Family History Videos Published this Week
Genealogy and Family History Podcasts Published This Week
Case File Two: Finding George Hill – Part Two Emma (Deep Roots Genealogy)
Why There’s a Poem? Homefront Archives
Tracing my 3rd great grandfather Wilhelm Bamberg Anne’s Family History
A Trunk for the Transatlantic Life Annette Gendler
The Poor School Laws of Appalachia Misty Hamilton Smith
Value What You Have To Hand Barry Rees
Summertime Blues Bryan Demchinsky
Mary “Lou” Louisa (nee) Lashbrook Rideout, Sept. 16, 1910 - March 13, 1981 Carol
The Missing Husband: Carole McCulloch
Sometimes just a small note can build a connection. Catherine Metzger
“My Ancestor Isn’t in the Records” — Why You’re Almost Certainly Wrong Chris | Scottish Genealogist
Buried Threads Season 2 Episode 13: Hanging Threads - Florence CShiels Angie Hansen
The Worralls and the Sweeneys Cyn Harris
She saw the camera (86-88 Avenue B, Manhattan) Daniel Winkler
Same Name Resolution Deborah Carl
A View From the Kitchen Deborah Sweeney
Enrollment closes tonight, and a change to this newsletter Denyse Allen
The “First” Great Depression Diane Wahn Shotton
The Man From London Wanted a Quiet Word Dominus Owen Markham
Private detection in the 1890s Dr Nell Darby
The Secret Life of the “Quarter Sessions” Dr. Claire Brisson-Banks, AG
Royal College of Surgeons of England Emma - Journeys into Genealogy
Projects, Pausing, Persisting Erin E. Moulton
“You’ll Spoil the Boat”: Elmer Nelson, the Torch, and the Evidence Natalie Zett
The Thinking Is Mine Fran Davis
Pioneers of Hunting Creek—Unraveling the Mitchell Family Legacy Garry E Moore
Death Impact, Revolutionary Ancestors, Fictional Cow Story, First Time Name Giving, Pond Conenctions Genealogy Tip of the Day
The Soldier from Edgecombe: Robert Julius Lane Janet Goodman Lane
Working for Kin Jason Ferenczi
The Family Story Doesn’t Align With the Truth Jennifer Holik
The book club that buoyed my Lake of the Woods book tour Jill Swenson
Class in Cookery: 27 August 1965 Kaye Prince-Hollenberg
A family affair Lesley Lawson
Stay Focused: Creating Aims & Objectives for Genealogy Lex Knowlton
Make that Call Part Three - Making the Ask Lisa E Oakley
A Heritage of Gardening Lisa Wiitala
1949: Dreambrosia Fudge Cake Lorinda Brandon
Bringing an Ancestor’s Story to Life with AI Marcia Philbrick
On The Photo Detective Podcast--The Wreck of the Mentor: Maureen Taylor
Research Both Sides of the Journey Melanie Kowal
Finding Your Ancestral Town: Your Go-To Resource Michelle Chubenko, AG, AGL
A Day in the Life Michelle Rees
Kinship Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland MoCo MD Genealogical Society
Access Some Articles Directly from PERSI for Free Nancy Gilbride Casey
The Trauma of Missing Origins Nate Douglas
The Jondaryan Affair Nolene
Barn Sour Paige
Ask AI: “Describe the Life of the David Auble Family in 1867 in Terre Haute, Indiana” Randy Seaver, Geneaholic
An Underground Railroad Route: John D. Zimmerman from Union City to Marshall, Michigan Genealogy Just Ask - Robin
Live with Kyla Bayang and author Durrone Schuler Kyla Bayang
On a bus to Brooklyn, landed in West Virginia Ruschelle Khanna, LCSW
The Rear Admiral and the West Africa Squadron: A Wright Family Story Ruth Imeson's Fragile Archive
But “AI says [insert claim here]” Tanner P. Sousley
Per Mundum : The Newsletter of The Clay of England Society The Clay of England Society
Chasing Charles – Part II The Family Archives
Genealogian’s Notes for June 2026 The Genealogian
December 17, 1893 — Ethel Before the Fire Molly Kimball
The State of Iowa Vs Matthew Baldes The Meridian
Returning to the Scene of My Death Tim Grover
TreeScope v4.0.5: Combined Search, Segment Sorting, and an Audit Trail Tracie Boyle
Generations Newsletter Washington D.C. FamilySearch
How AI Helps Decipher the Handwriting Shannon Thomas
What a goldmine of genealogy stuff!! Now to dig in to it all. Thanks Robin. You rock!
Thanks for the mention ❤️