Abstract

This end-of-project report summarises the aims, delivery, outputs and impact of Making Family History Matter, an extension of the earlier Dating Antique Photographs Project. The report highlights the production of The Handbook of Family History Methods, a practical guide designed to help family historians move beyond genealogical data collection by connecting personal and family histories to wider historical themes such as migration, politics, religion, military experience and social change. It also documents the delivery of two public workshops in Lancashire, which combined lectures, discussion and collaborative activities to build participants’ confidence, skills and sense of the broader historical value of family history research. Drawing on participant testimonials, attendance figures and examples of follow-on research interests, the report presents the project as a successful model of community-engaged public history that fostered historical awareness, widened participation in university-based heritage activity and expanded access to digital family history resources.