Astonishingly, I’ve now kept this little business going for five years. It’s not always easy, with three kids and a PhD and numerous side projects humming along in the background… but I persist because it’s immensely rewarding. My books are currently open, but the waiting list is fairly long.
This year, I’ve completed six full length family trees, which covered 6675 people, and averaged out at 20k words each. I’ve also done four smaller commissions. I’ve taken part in two conferences, one seminar, given a public lecture at uni (which will be online eventually) and got involved in an exhibition at Peterborough museum on the history of the railway (coming in the summer)
I’ve joined the Crime and Punishment Collections network as their family history expert. I’ve written a whole bunch of murders (you can read them here) and found countless tiny stories (which are usually on twitter). I worked on one of the BBC’s top podcasts and started a women’s history group in my city with some wonderful friends.
And I started writing my thesis.
The next year doesn’t look any less busy… Thank you for your support, your custom, and your delightful enthusaism for my weird little history niche.
Get in touch with your own family research problems and questions using the contact page above.
Sophie Michell 