S05EP07 - 'The Shoemaker' with Kelly Cornwell

In this final episode of Series Five, host Andrew Martin meets professional genealogist Kelly Cornwell and hears about her love of researching family history, and how that led on to her going professional, as well as her work on an extremely niche One-Place Study.

The Life Story - Rebecca Monksfield
Kelly has chosen to tell the life story of her 5x Great Aunt Rebecca Monksfield of Shoreditch, London, who, like her mother, worked for a shoe factory.

However, a chance search in newspapers followed by a search on the Old Bailey Online site, revealed that Rebecca was seemingly not been the model employee. She was charged with the theft and sale of many stolen pairs of shoes. She was found guilty and her punishment was given as transportation for 7 years. So, as a teenager, she was taken from London and sent to Tasmania, Australia.

Despite still serving her sentence, Rebecca continued to to test, bend, and break rules in her new country - some of which Kelly seems to admire her for!

The Brick Wall - Rebecca Monksfield
Kelly is annoyed that she can't find Rebecca Monksfield in Hobart, Tasmania after 1836, and so it's her later life that she has chosen to ask for your help with. Despite help from the Tasmanian archives, and numerous other sites including Trove, she can't find a death or a marriage.

• What happened to Rebecca Monksfield after 1836?
• Did she die, or did she change her name to start a new life?
• Did she marry?
• Did she travel home or move somewhere else?

If you think you can help Kelly with a clue or a research idea, then you can email her on the address she gives in the episode, or you can contact her via her website, her Twitter, of Facebook page. Alternatively, you can send us a message via our contact form, and we'll pass that on.

In the meantime, Kelly jumps at the chance of some help from Andrew, but something very strange is about to happen... 

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Episode Credits:
Andrew Martin - Host and Producer
Kelly Cornwell - Guest
Daniel Loftus - Guest
  

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