Tracing Your Potteries Ancestors

An easy-to-use reference for those looking to trace English ancestry connected to the North Staffordshire pottery industry. Tracing Your Potteries Ancestors introduces readers to the wealth of information available to those wishing to trace their North Staffordshire roots. Michael Sharpe gives a fascinating insight into the history of this part of the Midlands, which was for so long dominated by the pottery industry. The six pottery townsTunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton, and Longtonare at the heart of the story. His handbook is an essential guide for anyone researching the life of an individual or family connected with the area, bringing together all the relevant local and national archives for the first time. In a series of short, information-packed chapters, it describes the lives and experiences of ordinary people in this most extraordinary of landscapes. It charts the transition of the Six Towns from scattered farming communities...

About the Author: Michael Sharpe is a professional genealogist, writer and lecturer who specializes in the local and family history of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. He is a member of the Society of Genealogists, Midland Ancestors, and other family and local history societies. He has authored several books on family history including Family Matters: A History of Genealogy and Tracing Your Birmingham Ancestors, and he is frequently in demand as a lecturer and speaker. Michael was born in the West Midlands and has an enduring fascination for the region’s industrial heritage and how it shaped our ancestors’ lives and stories.