Family Record

For some of us, our love of history starts close to home. Photographs from generations past, treasured heirlooms passed down from parent to child, stories told so often they become legend—such objects and experiences can often be our first encounter with the past. So why not use that connection with undergraduate students? Teaching historical methods using family history and genealogical research, as Mary Ann Mahony shares in this issue, helps students connect their ancestors’ individual experiences to broader historical contexts and challenges many of the assumptions they bring with them to class.

Image: John R. Staples/Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Download PDF

May 2025 Perspectives Cover

Staff

Laura Ansley, senior managing editor
Lizzy Meggyesy, publications and communications associate
Alexandra F. Levy, director of communications and public affairs
Liz Townsend, manager, data administration and integrity

Other Articles

Colorful mural shows, from left, a man peering into a microscope; in the center background, a man working with industrial equipment; in the center foreground, a man kneeling by a brick wall, looking at blueprints; two male workers walking toward a factory building, one holding a sledgehammer and the other holding a tool box.

April 30, 2025

Viewpoints

The Road Not (Yet) Taken
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

May 1, 2025

In Memoriam

William D. Barnard (1942–2024)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

May 1, 2025

In Memoriam

Roberta Marx Delson (1945–2025)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

May 1, 2025

In Memoriam

Ena Farley (1938–2024)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

May 1, 2025

In Memoriam

Henry L. Feingold (1931–2024)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

May 1, 2025

In Memoriam

Peter Kolchin (1943–2025)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

May 1, 2025

In Memoriam

Donald G. Mathews (1932–2024)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

May 1, 2025

In Memoriam

Albert J. Schmidt (1925–2025)
Light pink circles across pink and blue background

May 21, 2025

In Memoriam, Long Overdue

William D’Arcy McNickle (1904–77)