Dr. Sophie Kay
LightNews LightNews
banner
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Dr. Sophie Kay
@scientistsoph.bsky.social
6.4K followers 1.4K following 810 posts
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
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
scientistsoph.bsky.social
Dr. Sophie Kay @scientistsoph.bsky.social · Sep 3
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
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
September 29, 2025 at 10:48 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
September 29, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Reposted by Dr. Sophie Kay
pastandotherplaces.bsky.social
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.
www.nls.uk
September 14, 2025 at 3:33 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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!
scientistsoph.bsky.social Dr. Sophie Kay @scientistsoph.bsky.social · Sep 3
A 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!
Find us at venues across Liverpool - British Science Festival, Liverpool, 10 - 14 Sep 2025
September 14, 2025 at 1:28 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
7am start today to head up country for my #DNA session at #bsf25. Hopefully into Liverpool for midday!

May I also remind you that Awesome #Science demands the very best shoes. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise 😉
woman's foot wearing a chunky, high-heeled shoe in a bright turquoise colour
September 13, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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?
Illustration of people standing around a water cooler. Image c/o Getty Images, licensed via Unsplash+
September 3, 2025 at 5:45 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
September 3, 2025 at 12:36 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
June 27, 2025 at 12:23 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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...
Promotional slide showing a magnifying glass over the top of historical photos and documents. The Research Skills Studio from Family Tree Plus, running 29 April to 20 May 2025
April 29, 2025 at 1:30 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
www.theguardian.com
April 29, 2025 at 9:02 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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!
Composite of historical images from various eras and places, each depicting a separate occupation. We have chorus girls, nuremaids, shoemakers, glass blowers, street merchants, washerwomen and pedlars
April 18, 2025 at 11:28 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
sogorg.bsky.social Society of Genealogists @sogorg.bsky.social · Apr 17
🧬 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
April 18, 2025 at 11:23 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
Pen and ink sketch of people labouring at a works, moving coke around in barrows and sacks. In the middle is a man in a bowler hat, possibly a salesman of some kind, in conversation with a waistcoated working man. A young woman in a shawl looks on.
March 28, 2025 at 9:36 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
Oil painting of three women, two men and a boy in 18th century attire. The women wear bonnets and the men have longish hari reaching to their shoulders
March 27, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
Historical engraving of a room in a calico factory. The space is dominated by two huge machines which drawf the workers nearby. Cloth is running through the visible machines and a pattern can be seen along their length. In the background are worktables where other workers are attending to smaller scale tasks, possibly involving printing blocks
March 26, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by Dr. Sophie Kay
gregjenner.bsky.social
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
cathamclarke.bsky.social Catherine Clarke @cathamclarke.bsky.social · Mar 25
👀 "Dr Alan Borthwick, softly spoken in his blazer and tie, looks every bit the typical historian." 👀

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
March 25, 2025 at 12:44 PM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
Heritage photo in black and white. A young man in his twenties. He wears heavy overalls and an overcoat, both of which are discoloured and splashed with moisture from the sewer environment. He wears a hat on his head and one of his bare hands rests on the stopcock of a pipe in front of him. In his other hand he holds a hammer,
March 25, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
www.theguardian.com
March 24, 2025 at 10:29 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
modern photograph of a sabre and a scabbard. The hit of the sword and the entire body of the scabbard are covered with ornamental metalwork and an array of precious stones
March 24, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
Colour sketch of a man at work in three different tasks in turn: house painter, where he is painting a door; glazier, in which he is fitting some glass; and plumber, where he is tending to some pipes
March 23, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
18th century printed trade card, advertising the Hand and Lock Of Hair, Fleet Bridge, London. The wording promotes 'fresh live hair in the sweat or ready curl'd'
March 22, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
Black and white heritage photo of a man in a suit standing in a bicycle workshop. He holds a chisel in his hand and is using it to file down the components of a bike gear system, which is held in a clamp in front of him
March 21, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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)
Colour oil painting of a dodo, with a parrot in the background. Around the animals is a range of plant types
March 20, 2025 at 9:30 AM
scientistsoph.bsky.social
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
Oil painting of an agricultural scene. We can see a field and two workers in profile; an older man and a young boy are standing behind a plough drawn by two horses. The boy receives instruction from the bearded man in how to guide the plough across the field
March 19, 2025 at 9:30 AM