Dr. Sophie Kay
@scientistsoph.bsky.social
Pro Genealogist & Scientist at www.khronicle.co.uk, #Genealogy Expert for Time Team. Oxford D.Phil.(SysBio), Fiend for #maps & #research methods. Big hair, big heels, weakness for cake.She/her. Blog: www.parchmentrustler.com
Delighted to be part of this week’s Webinar Week at @pharostutors.bsky.social! Tomorrow I’ll be talking Negative Space and how it can help you, including some additions on open-ended #NegativeSpace. Booking via the link in the post below… #FamilyHistory #Genealogy
Pharos Tutors@pharostutors.bsky.social · 4w agoOur July webinar week runs 13th-17th July 2026. See Sophie Kay talking about negative space. Booking now at www.pharostutors.com/webinars
"There's more to STEM than being in a lab..." Fab to see this promo short for #BSW26 Yes, there's awesome lab work going on in #science, but SO much more besides. Taking science of all kinds out into the world & engaging with its relevance to people's lives is a tremendous experience too.
British Science Association@britsciassoc.bsky.social · 5mo agoIt's almost British Science Week (6-15 March) and time for our annual (and biggest yet) #SmashingStereotypes campaign celebrating diverse people and careers in science, tech, engineering, and maths! Meet this year's incredible scientists and get inspired: youtu.be/PRXAMfXecb4 #BSW26 #NCW2026
On hold to Royal Mail for 43 minutes so far, chasing yet MORE apparently undelivered post. Not sure how much more of this I can take (the waiting, the tinny music, or the lost mail) #MondayMorning
kermit the frog is standing in front of a red curtain and screaming .
Alt: kermit the frog is standing in front of a red curtain, screaming and waving his little green arms around. The text AAAARGH is across the image in capitals
media.tenor.com
Great piece from @chrismpaton.bsky.social on Ancestry taking the NRS to court because they don't wish to have their records on the Ancestry platform. I'm backing the NRS all the way on this #genealogy #archives #FamilyHistory #history scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2025/09/ance...
Ancestry and the NRS - when the corporate genealogy world turns ugly
From Scotland, a daily news blog about genealogy, family history and personal heritage.
scottishgenes.blogspot.com
100 years of women's lives and writings. Free online event from @natlibscot.bsky.social 23 Sept 2025, 2.30-3.30pm. #herstory #women 📚🗃️ www.nls.uk/whats-on/wom...
100 years of women's lives and writings | National Library of Scotland
Explore the work of a range of remarkable women through our free-to-use Digital Gallery.
nls.uk
Almost home after our #DNA session in Liverpool yesterday. Thanks to the wonderful audience for their many & varied discussion points - both during and after! HUGE thanks to the organisers & volunteers for #bsf25 who've made the magic happen this past week. I'd love to join you again next year!
Dr. Sophie Kay@scientistsoph.bsky.social · 11mo agoA couple of things about our #bsf25 session, #DNA and Identity... 👉 We've had a venue change from the original listing and are now on at the fab Bluecoat on School Lane 👉 Advance tickets have SOLD OUT but some walk-ins will be permitted on the day, subject to capacity 👉 Expect LOTS of audience Q&A!
Well, folks - my first day back on social media in a while. Combo of a wildly busy year & an emergency medical incident in May (of the ambulance to hospital kind). Recovery is important. Consider this thread your virtual 'water cooler': tell me your news. Surprise me. What did I miss?
Exciting news to share here - I've been appointed as the inaugural Scientist in Residence at The Mixed Museum! My work will centre around the use of #DNA testing to unite #science and #history, in particular through parent & grandparent tracing #scicomm mixedmuseum.org.uk/news/the-mix...
The Mixed Museum Launches Scientist in Residence Programme
F Scientist in Residence programme with Dr Sophie Kay, building on DNA and identity work with Britain’s ‘brown babies’.
mixedmuseum.org.uk
As always, it's been a busy time here on the research front, but today's article is about new horizons - along with the announcement that I've stepped down from the Certificate programmes in #DNA and #GeneticGenealogy at IHGS. #FamilyHistory More below: parchmentrustler.com/genetics/cha...
Change is the Only Constant
In a return to blogging for many months, Dr. Sophie Kay explores new directions in genetic and traditional genealogy at The Parchment Rustler and beyond, and provides an update on her DNA education…
parchmentrustler.com
It's back! Tonight it's Week 1 of my Research Skills Studio for Family Tree Plus: 4 sessions of #FamilyHistory training in #research methods. I'm aiming for fun & informative: each 60 minute webinar is followed by a 'Zoom afterparty' for chat & questions... www.family-tree.co.uk/store/geneal...
Enjoyed this long read. Physical objects really can tether us to parts of our past, people no longer with us, & all sorts of layered memories. One for the material culture and #FamilyHistory researchers methinks... www.theguardian.com/food/2025/ap...
Death, divorce and the magic of kitchen objects: how to find hope in loss
The long read: As they pass through different hands, cooking utensils can magically connect us to loved ones who are no longer with us
theguardian.com
About time for a little heads-up from me. I've been navigating some medical bumps in the road here, so social media has taken a back seat...and the #OccupationOfTheDay is taking a break too. Looking forward to some awesome #science & #history conversations with you once I'm back in action!
Genetic genealogy: science & the arts combined! I'm back on Zoom for more live #DNA teaching next week - and looking forward to returning to the Society of Genealogists @sogorg.bsky.social to share this session with you. Bookings link in the post below: I'll see you there! #FamilyHistory #Genealogy
Society of Genealogists@sogorg.bsky.social · last yr.🧬 What Can My DNA Do For Me? with @scientistsoph.bsky.social 📅 Fri 25 Apr | 10:30AM (Zoom) Feeling overwhelmed by DNA in genealogy? This beginner-friendly talk focuses on how genetic testing can help validate, extend & connect your family tree. 🎟️ Book: members.sog.org.uk/e... #GenHour
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…COKE INSPECTOR: At a gas works, a worker who "investigates complaints from customers as to quantity and quality of coke supplied." Dict Occup'l Terms (1927) 📷 Selling Coke at the Gas Works (Tidmarsh, 1893-4) c/o M'cr Art Gallery
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…SERVANT: "A person engaged to attend or wait upon, or to obey the directions & meet the needs of, a particular person, or to perform specified tasks in a particular household or establishment..." OED (2025), buff.ly/4RC18mz 📷 Hogarth's Servants (c.1750-5) c/o Tate
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…CALICO PLAITER: A textile worker who "folds calico backwards and forwards, in folds of a given length, for convenience in passing it through calico printing machines." Dict Occup'l Terms (1927) 📷 Calico printing process (1835) c/o Wellcome Coll'n
One of the things I wanted to achieve with BBC You're Dead To Me was to change the public perception of 'typical historians', to show that expertise isn't just a man in a tweed jacket and bow tie
Catherine Clarke@cathamclarke.bsky.social · last yr.👀 "Dr Alan Borthwick, softly spoken in his blazer and tie, looks every bit the typical historian." 👀 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…FLAP KEEPER: "greases and clears obstructions daily from iron flaps, fitted to sewer outlets to prevent entry of tidal wave." Dict Occup'l Terms (1927) 📷 Sewer worker (1958) c/o Seattle Municpal Archives, CC-BY 4.0
Big news in the #DNA testing world this morning: genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection 'to facilitate a sale process' and CEO Ann Wojcicki has resigned... #GeneticGenealogy #FamilyHistory #Genealogy www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
DNA testing firm 23andMe files for bankruptcy as CEO steps down
Co-founder Anne Wojcicki to pursue independent bid as California attorney general tells users to delete data
theguardian.com
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…CHAPE FILER: A skilled metalworker who made mountings for scabbards and/or small fixings such as buckles. 📷 Sabre with highly ornamented scabbard, c/o Met Museum
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…THREE BRANCH HAND: Term given to a workman who offers multiple skills, typically combining the work of a plumber, glazier and house painter. 📷 Jobs of a three branch hand, c.early 19thC
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…HAIR BLEACHER: "bleaches hair for wig making by immersion in solution of hydrogen peroxide, etc., to produce artificial white hair, or to reduce intensity of existing colour." Dict Occup'l Terms (1927) 📷 Trade card (c.1765) c/o British Museum, CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is...ODD WORKER or ODD FILER (cycles): A worker who "finishes parts of cycles, with file, etc., at a bench." Dict Occup'l Terms (1927) 📷 Inventor in bicycle workshop, Netherlands (1945) c/o Wiki Commons
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…FLOWER MODELLER & PLANT MOUNTER: Skilled worker (usu. temp) employed by the British Museum's Natural History dept. to mount & arrange displays of flora for models of animals shown in natural habitats. Dict of Employments Open to Women (1898) 📷 'Edward's Dodo'(c.1620)
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…PUNCHCLOD: "A low peasant, a ploughman, one engaged in agriculture." Dialect term, chiefly Yorks. English Dialect Dictionary (1898-1905) 📷 The Ploughing Lesson (c.1890) c/o North Lincs Museums, CC-BY-NC 4.0
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is…GAITNER: A skilled agricultural worker whose job it was to reshape bound sheaves into a configuration which allowed for ease of carrying and good drainage and drying. 📷 'Summer' (c.1644), Teniers the Younger, c/o National Gallery
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is...ROTARY KILN BURNER: "in charge of rotary kiln [for cement manufacture]; regulates supply of slurry (mixture of limestone/chalk & clay with water) to kiln...regulates heat from furnace." Dict Occup'l Terms (1927) 📷 Rotary kiln burners (1926) c/o Wiki Commons
Today's #OccupationOfTheDay is...LORRY MAN or LURRY MAN (or woman!): "drives a heavy four-wheeled vehicle known as a lorry, or, in the North of England, a lurry." Dict of Occup'l Terms (1927) 📷 17 yr old lorry driver (1958) c/o Nat'l Library of Wales, CC-BY-SA 4.0
