NOTE: Since I wrote this post, the website has been taken down. HOWEVER, thanks to the Wayback Machine, it can still be accessed and the link below will take you to its many pages.

The newest GeneaGem on my growing list is GenWriters: Writing for Future Generations, a website founded by Phyllis Matthews Ziller, whose purpose is to encourage others to take the time to write about their own family history.

GenWriters is chock full of tips, tricks and resources to motivate you to get that family history written before it is too late!

It’s important to take the time to investigate all the resources compiled into this one site. The options are well organized into four categories on the right side of the tab bar.

GenGuides offers ten different “how to find and use” articles about City Directories, Diaries & Letters, House Histories, Maps, Migration, Obituaries, School Records and Timelines.

Within each of those GenGuides is found a wealth of reference information in addition to links to further information.

Social History is a topic that has become near and dear to my heart. After years of fleshing out names, dates places and beginning to learn about my ancestors as real people and the daily lives they led, I understand how much social history makes them come alive.

Found within the Social History tab are articles (and links) about Clothing, Entertainment, Family and Home Life, Food, Housing, Work and Occupations and, last but certainly not least, Bibliography of Social History Books. The bibliography alone is worth its weight in gold.

Next is Writing Resources, which contains exactly what one would expect – Get ready to Write, Writing Resources on the Internet, Why Publish? and a Bibliography of Family History Writing Guides.

Last is Articles, which features a short list of five topics written by GenWriters to extend one’s thinking and approach to family history writing.

It appears that this website was set up in 2014, using WordPress (although it is not a blog, it’s a static site with pages) and has had updates through the summer of 2017.

Much of the material is not time sensitive, so it doesn’t become outdated. Many of the resources in the bibliographies likewise are timeless. My only criticism is that the bibliographies don’t include some more recent titles.

However, whether you are thinking about writing a multi-generational family history or prefer to whet your family’s genealogical appetite with a short article or two, GenWriters is a must-visit website for any beginning writer.