Focused on Family History, too? Join us in the Mission:Genealogy “clubhouse”

Our ancestry spans the globe, and we share both a language and a fascination with Genealogy. Did you know we have a clubhouse to share, too? Here's an update on where I'm headed with this.

After

Robin Stewart

, my Mission: Genealogy co-founder, announced a couple of weeks ago that she’d be stepping back, I realized that I needed to rethink our programs to be sure they would be sustainable. After conversations with nearly a dozen of you, I can see we have a way forward.

Let’s start with a bit of background

Last Summer, Robin and I noticed each other among the relatively few family historians on Substack. We’d both joined nearly a year earlier in search of a platform for discussions, blogging, and newsletters. We had seen Substack deliver on that promise with a recommendation engine that was propelling us forward. Today, each of us focuses on distinct areas:

• Robin’s Genealogy Matters empowers us to build organized research records and preserve our family histories, while also supporting the writing community with her weekly GenStack newsletter.

• My Projectkin Community Forum inspires family historians with ideas and encouragement to turn discoveries into storytelling projects.

Fast-forward nine months, and…

Membership in our Mission: Genealogy clubhouse has surged. Current subscribers recommend us to new subscribers when they first arrive on the Substack platform.

The publication has turned into the “Welcome Wagon” for family historians and genealogists on Substack.

From the beginning, Robin and I realized that while it’s always hard getting started, it’s much easier with friends. By collaborating, we wanted to spotlight the warm and generous genealogy community on Substack and create a gathering place for like-minded family historians to share insights, work together, and inspire each other.

Robin’s guidance got us off to a terrific start after our launch in August 2024. By April 2025, however, she had to pull back from direct involvement. Read her letter, and the outpouring of gratitude that followed, here:

Building a Community Together

The feedback so many of you have shared with me has made it clear that

Mission: Genealogy

has a role to play serving the community. As volunteers, we collectively have the talent and resources to help both experienced genealogists and amateur family historians be successful on the platform in ways the team at Substack can’t address directly. There are two roles our “clubhouse” could play:

1. A means to reach trusted peers to guide newcomers past the impediments of a new platform.

With my background in platforms, I can get this started. We had a wonderful experience last month when we shifted from presentations to an open forum Q&A format. I have a self-interest in this to better support storytellers at my publication, Projectkin. We can also publish posts that show how family historians can use specific Substack features.

Here’s a recent example:

Exploring Substack’s Human-Powered Recommendation Engine

I’ll keep the Office Hours Q&A events going over Zoom. Video posts share recordings with links and other resources.

⮕ Note: The meeting poll for our next Office Hours Q&A session has now closed. The meeting is now scheduled for the Atlantic time window on 6-May. Register here for the Zoom link. Have questions? Drop them in the Subscriber Chat thread here: 👇

2. A safe, welcoming space for a roundtable discussion.

The roundtable format makes it easy to connect with fellow travelers who share our interests. In conversations, members generously share tips and encouragement. These sessions are not recorded.

Several guest co-hosts have stepped up to help me facilitate these meetings¹. I expect to finalize the schedule in the next few days, announce the details, and share the links². Watch for the calendar at MissionGenealogy.org/events

A global English-speaking genealogy community

Since launching Projectkin in 2023, I experimented with various time windows from my home in California. I’ve consistently found that one of two options, “Pacific” or “Atlantic,” will work well for English speakers from East Asia to Eastern Europe. I do my best to plan events for either time window, and ideally for both. You’ll see this term across all events I plan.

Local times for the Pacific are here, and the Atlantic are here. Watch for seasonal “Daylight” time swings based on North American time zones.

Hang on, how come this is free?

With access to Projectkin resources like Zoom, I don’t have additional expenses for our Mission: Genealogy clubhouse beyond my time. That allows me to think of it as my contribution to the community. The co-hosts I invite will similarly volunteer their time and energy.

With these contributions, subscribing to Mission: Genealogy doesn’t cost you anything. If you subscribe, you’ll get the newsletters via email, an invitation to join our Substack chat channel, and updates on upcoming Office Hours and Roundtable events. If you register for the Zoom events, you’ll get a link to join. That’s it.

I want more genealogists to find each other

I’m doing this to help grow the community. Since my Projectkin is all about encouraging families to capture and share their stories, I needed a shared space for family historians and genealogists to gather. Right now, I think Substack is the best platform out there.

To keep Projectkin focused on its own goals, I needed a space to sort through technical impediments and create a gathering place for fellow travelers. That’s motivation enough for me to keep going with

Mission: Genealogy

. With so many newcomers looking for alternatives to Facebook, X, and other platforms, it feels like we’re in the right place at the right time. As the saying goes…

A rising tide lifts all boats.

All it takes to join us is to subscribe.

1. If you’re one of the folks who’ve already signaled your interest, know that I’ll be following up to confirm and select a convenient schedule for you. If you would like to be a guest co-host to help me facilitate the roundtable sessions, drop me a note. We’ll all benefit from a range of voices.

2. If you previously registered for either of the two previously scheduled sessions for Tuesday, May 13th, or, across the International Date Line, Wednesday, May 14th, don’t worry. I’ll email you with the finalized schedule. I expect to go forward with one or both sessions at the previously scheduled Pacific and/or Atlantic times. The links will not change.