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 towns Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley,
Stoke, Fenton and Longton are 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 to a
thriving industrial conurbation. The living conditions of the urban
poor, health and welfare, the influence of religion and migration,
education, leisure pursuits, and the traumatic experience of war are all
explored, and the many different archives and sources that are open to
family history researchers are explained.