Staffordshire

• Staffordshire County Council's page describing the county's Archives Services

  Staffordshire Record Office
  County Buildings
  Eastgate Street
  Stafford
  ST16 2LZ
  Telephone: U.K. 01785 278379, Overseas (+44) 1785 278379
  Telephone: (Bookings) U.K. 01785 278373, Overseas (+44) 1785 278373
  Fax: U.K. 01785 278384, Overseas (+44) 1785 278384

  William Salt Library
  Eastgate Street
  Stafford
  ST16 2LZ
  Telephone: U.K. 01785 278372, Overseas (+44) 1785 278372

  Burton-upon-Trent  Family & Local History Centre
  Burton-upon-Trent Library
  Riverside
  High Street
  Burton-upon-Trent
  Staffs
  DE14 1AH
  Telephone: U.K. 01283 239556, Overseas (+44) 1283 239556

  Stoke-on-Trent City Archives
  Hanley Library
  Bethesda Street
  Hanley
  Stoke-on-Trent
  Staffs
  ST1 3RS
  Telephone: U.K. 01782 238420, Overseas (+44) 1782 238420

• Dudley Council's page describing the council's Archives & Local History Services
   

  Dudley Archives & Local History Service
  Mount Pleasant Street
  Coseley
  West Midlands
  WV14 9JR
  Telephone / Fax: U.K. 01384 812770, Overseas (+44) 1384 812770

• Sandwell Council's page describing the council's Archives & Local History Services
   

  Sandwell Community History & Archives Service
  Smethwick Library
  High Street
  Smethwick
  Warley
  West Midlands
  B66 1AB
  Telephone: U.K. 0121 558 2561, Overseas (+44) 121 558 2561
  Fax: U.K. 0121 555 6064, Overseas (+44) 121 555 6064

• Walsall Council's page describing the council's Archives & Local History Services
   

  Walsall Local History Centre
  Essex Street
  Walsall
  West Midlands
  WS2 7AS
  Telephone: U.K. 01922 721305, Overseas (+44) 1922 721305

• Wolverhampton Council's page describing the council's Archives & Local History Services
   

  Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies
  Molineux Hotel Building
  Whitmore Hill
  Wolverhampton
  WV1 1SF
  Telephone: U.K. 01902 552480, Overseas (+44) 1902 552480

• Registers of Catholic missions in Staffordshire are held at Birmingham Archdiocesan Archives.
  The Archdiocese of Birmingham's pages include details of their Archives Services
   

  Archdiocesan Archives
  Archdiocese of Birmingham
  St Chad's Queensway
  Birmingham
  West Midlands
  B4 6EU
  Telephone: U.K. 0121 2362251, Overseas (+44) 121 2362251
  (Wednesday - Friday, 11AM - 6PM by appointment only)

• A list of general works on the county of Staffordshire
• Maps, Plans, Manuscripts, Documents, etc., for sale relating to Staffordshire - Lesley Aitchison.

• Staffordshire Archives Service has published "A Summary Guide to Holdings of Business Records" listing business records held by Staffordshire Record Office, the William Salt Library and Lichfield Record Office.

• Midland Ancestors (formerly The Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry) have produced transcripts of the Monumental Inscriptions of many Staffordshire churches and burial grounds.
  References to the transcripts may be found on the individual parish pages.
• Midland Ancestors have also produced a CD of 141 of the above transcripts containing over 144,000 names with a linked surname index.
• Rosemary Lockie's Wishful Thinking pages include many transcripts of Staffordshire Monumental Inscriptions.
• The Church Monuments Society Staffordshire page has photographs of many Staffordshire Church Monuments.
• Staffordshire Record Office have filmed burial registers for the following cemeteries:
  • Burslem 1884 - 1969
  • Cannock 1880 - 2003
  • Carmountside 1947 - 1969
  • Fenton 1887 - 1969
  • Hanley 1860 - 1969
  • Hartshill 1884 -1969
  • Longton 1877 -1969
  • Rugeley 1884 - 2003
  • Smallthorne 1879 - 1969
  • Stile Cop 1984 - 2003
  • Trentham 1960 - 1969
  • Tunstall 1868 - 1969
  • Uttoxeter 1861 - 2004
• Midland Ancestors have transcribed the filmed cemetery registers held by Staffordshire Record Office. The transcripts, which are searchable by surname, year and region, are searchable on line on the Staffordshire Burial Indexes Page on their Website

• Staffordshire Census Records - Location, Guides and Indexes

• "The Old Parish Churches of Staffordshire" by Mike Salter, published by Folly Publications, 1996, ISBN 1-871731-25-8 (2nd Ed) contains descriptions, photographs and plans of many of the old parish churches of the county.
• "Staffordshire Incumbents and Parochial Records, 1530-1680" by Walter Landor, was published by William Salt Archaeological Society, in "Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Volume 1915."
• "The Registrations of Dissenting Chapels and Meeting Houses in Staffordshire, 1689-1852" by Barbara Donaldson, was published by The Staffordshire Record Society, in "Collections for a History of Staffordshire, 4th Series, Volume III, 1960."
• Histories of individual churches may be found on the individual parish pages.
  • The Methodist Heritage Page contain a wealth of information on the Methodist movement in the county and include histories and photographs of chapels in the area.
• Staffordshire Archive Services' Staffordshire Past Track pages include a selection of old photographs, plans and drawings of selected churches in the county.
• A Listing of the Church Photographs & Images on GENUKI Staffordshire
• JWB Tomlinson's unpublished PhD Thesis entitled "From Parson to Professional: The Changing Ministry of the Anglican Clergy in Staffordshire, 1830-1960"  examines in great detail the transformation of the parish ministry of the clergy of the Church of England from the gradual abandonment of the parson model to the adoption of the professional model using Staffordshire parishes as a case study.

• Staffordshire Church Records - Location, Guides and Indexes

• Copies of certificates of Birth, Death and Marriage may be obtained from either the General Register Office (GRO), or from the Superintendent Registrar's Office in the District they were first issued. If the District no longer exists, this would be the Office to which its registers have been moved.
• If ordering from a District (Superintendant's) Register Office, please note the following:
  1. the cost of a certificate is £11.00 - send a Sterling cheque payable to the Superintendent Registrar plus return postage or two International Reply Coupons;
  2. the General Register Office (GRO) Index references (available via FreeBMD) are of no value;
  3. for marriage certificates, the precise place of marriage must be given;
  4. Civil Registration in England and Wales began on July 1st 1837.
• Information about which Local Register Office to contact may be found in Brett Langston's list of Staffordshire Registration Districts (1837-1974).
• Alternatively, details about ordering copy certificates is available from Staffordshire Council's website (follow the link to Registration Services).
• If you have a GRO reference, you can order certificates through the General Register Office's own website, via their Certificate Ordering Service, for the same price as locally.
• You can obtain a GRO reference in several ways:-
  1. Searching microfilm or fiche at a Library or LDS Family History Centre.
  2. FreeBMD is an ongoing project to make the General Register Office (GRO) Indexes freely available online. More volunteers are needed and details of how you can help are available on-site.
  3. findmypast.com  - images of the complete BMD indexes from the GRO online. Fee payable
  4. The images are also available on Ancestry.co.uk for which a subscription provides access to a wide range of other records.
• If ordering from a District Office, please note the following: (a) the cost of a certificate is £11.00 (correct at 9th May 2020) - send a Sterling cheque payable to the Superintendent Registrar (unless otherwise indicated in the above references) plus return postage or two International Reply Coupons; (b) the GRO Index references are of no value; (c) for marriage certificates, the precise place of marriage must be given; (d) Civil Registration in England and Wales began on July 1st 1837.
• The Staffordshire BMD project is making the birth, marriage and death indexes for the county freely searchable via the Internet. Although the indexes are not yet complete for all years and districts, the database will eventually cover Staffordshire births, marriages and deaths for the years 1837 to the present date.
• The West Midlands BMD project is making the birth, marriage and death indexes for the register offices in the West Midlands county freely searchable via the Internet. Although the indexes are not yet complete for all years and districts, the database will eventually cover Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton births, marriages and deaths for the years 1837 to the present date..

• A transcript of the Criminal Register Indexes held by the Public Record Office (Class HO 27), has been published by Stuart Tamblin. Volume 15, covering Staffordshire and Shropshire, 1805-1816, is available on fiche or disk. Further details are contained on Stuart Tamblin's Family History Indexes Pages or from the Birmingham & Midland SGH or the Society of Genealogists.
• Staffordshire Record Office holds the following prison records:
  • Stafford Bridewell Register, 1792-1806
  • Stafford House of Correction Register, 1806-1815
  • Stafford Register of Debtors, 1793-1807
  • Stafford Register of Felons, 1793-1816
  • HM Prison, Stafford, Registers, Admission and Discharge Books, 1878-1908
  • HM Prison, Stafford, Photograph Album of Prisoners, 1883-1911

• Transcripts of Staffordshire Quarter Sessions Rolls have been published in the following volumes of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
  1581-1589 -- 1929 volume
  1590-1593 -- 1930 volume
  1594-1597 -- 1932 volume
  1598-1603 -- 1935 volume
  1603-1606 -- 1940 volume
  1608-1609 -- 1948-9 volume
• Transcripts of The Star Chamber Proceedings at Stafford have been published in the following volumes of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
  Henry VII & Henry VIII -- 1907 volume
  1516-1549 -- 1910 volume
  1498-1553 -- 1912 volume
• The William Salt Library holds a collection of around 200 Staffordshire Assize Calendars covering the period 1746-1861 with many gaps, and a few volumes from the 1890s, 1920s and 1944.
  A transcripts of four Assize Calendars from 1842-43 has been published in the Fourth Series, Volume XV, 1992 of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire"

• An historical description of the River Trent.
• The Rivers of Staffordshire from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland (1868)
• The Rivers of Staffordshire from The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)
• The Canals of Staffordshire from The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)
• The Railways of Staffordshire from The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)
• Some Railway Stations of Staffordshire from The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)
• The Staffordshire County Council pages include information on local government, industry, leisure and tourism.
• Conservation Area Appraisals for the Trent & Mersey Canal  - interesting accounts of the areas, with excellent historical detail, numerous photographs and maps
• Conservation Area Appraisals for the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal  - interesting accounts of the area, with excellent historical detail, numerous photographs and map
• Conservation Area Appraisals for the Shropshire Union Canal  - interesting accounts of the area, with excellent historical detail, numerous photographs and map

• A list of Trade Directories of Staffordshire.
• A listing of Inns, Taverns & Public Houses in Staffordshire from Parsons & Bradshaw's Staffordshire
  General & Commercial Directory, 1818 Part 3 transcribed by Helen Verrall.
• A listing of Inns, Taverns & Public Houses in Staffordshire from Pigot's 1830 Directory of Staffordshire
  transcribed by Helen Verrall.
• Steve Birks' transcription of The Potteries section of Pigot's 1828/9 Directory of Staffordshire.
• The Archives CD Books Project  has reproduced many trade directories on CD. For Staffordshire these include Parson & Bradshaw's 1818, Pigot's 1822, 1828, 1835 & 1842, White's 1834 & 1851, Harrison & Harrod's 1861 and Kelly's 1868, 1880, 1900, 1912, 1932 & 1940 directories. These are now available  through Genfair.

The British Listed Buildings Listed Buildings in Staffordshire pages have details and photographs of all Grade 1 & 2 listed buildings in the county

The transcription of the section for Staffordshire from the Topographical Dictionary of England (1859)

The transcription of the section for Staffordshire from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

The transcription of the section for Staffordshire from the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)

• Bill Harrison has provided some useful resources for Staffordshire researchers.
• Information on the location of Quaker Records in Staffordshire provided by the Quaker FHS.
• The Midlands Historical Data project produces searchable facsimile copies of old local history books and directories of interest to genealogists. It specialises in the three counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire, working closely with libraries, archives and family history societies in the area. Digital images are made freely available to participating organisations to improve public access, and the project is funded through sales of CD's.
• John Herson's Irish Families in Victorian Stafford is a case study of Irish families from their origins in Ireland to their dispersal in the worldwide diaspora. John is trying to answer the question 'what happened to the emigrant Irish?' by tracing the history of all the Irish families who settled in the town of Stafford. The site offers information about the Irish families in Victorian Stafford and contact details to find out more about your possible Irish ancestors in Stafford.

• A description of the Hundreds of the county of Staffordshire.
• Staffordshire Boundary Changes which may cause problems for researchers.

• Staffordshire County Council's Staffordshire Past-Track website has a wealth of historical data and photographs of the county
• The Distinctly Black Country website is "a network for understanding yesterday's landscape today" in the Black Country area of South Staffordshire and North Worcestershire
• Black Country History is a searchable website which allows users to find information about documents, maps, photographs, art works, objects and more held by archives and museums services within the Black Country.
  The partners involved in this website are Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall & Wolverhampton Archives & Museums

The National Archives Manorial Documents Register pages Gives the location of all known surviving manorial records. Select Staffordshire in the search page to give a list ordered by Manor

• A Map of Staffordshire in 1859 from The Topographical Dictionary of England (1859) by Samuel Lewis
• Reproductions of old Ordnance Survey maps for many areas of Staffordshire and the West Midlands are available from Alan Godfrey Maps.
• Old Maps online's Old Maps page provides links to old maps of the county.
• The London Ancestor site includes 1885 Boundary Commision Maps of the UK including a Staffordshire County map and Borough maps of Wolverhampton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Hanley & Stoke.

• The Middlesex University Asylums Index includes details and brief histories of asylums in the county.
• The County Asylums Website pages includes photographs and information on the three county asylums and one private asylum in Staffordshire.
• A view of North Staffordshire Infirmary, c1915.

Andrew Thornton's unpublished MPhil Thesis entitled "The Territorial Force in Staffordshire 1908-1915"  examines in great detail the formation of the Territorial Force in the county from 1908 to the early days of the First World War 

• Transcripts of Staffordshire Military Records have been published in the following volumes of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
  Military Service of Staffordshire Tenants 1377-1399 -- 1893 volume
  Muster Roll of 1640 -- 1894 volume
  Muster Roll of 1539, Offlow Hundred -- 1901 volume
  Muster Roll of 1539, Cuttlestone & Pirehill Hundreds -- 1902 volume
  Muster Roll of 1539, Seisdon & Totmonslow Hundreds -- 1903 volume
  Militia Roll of c1685, Pirehill Hundred -- 1941 volume
• The 1539 Muster Roll of Offlow Hundred Staffordshire Introduction and Glossary of Terms Used - Transcriptions of the Muster Roll can be found on the appropriate parish pages under the topic "Military Records"
• The 1539 Muster Roll of Cuttlestone Hundred Staffordshire Introduction and Glossary of Terms Used - Transcriptions of the Muster Roll can be found on the appropriate parish pages under the topic "Military Records"
• A transcript of the Musters of the Militia, 1781-82, Indexes held by the Public Record Office (Class WO 13), has been published by Stuart Tamblin. The Staffordshire volume is available on fiche or disk. Further details are contained on Stuart Tamblin's Family History Indexes Pages or from the Birmingham & Midland SGH or the Society of Genealogists.
• A list of the In Memoriam notices posted by Staffordshire Rootsweb members in November 2002.
• Meir Central Methodist Church World War 1 Memorial Tablets

• "Notes on Staffordshire Place Names" by W.H. Duignan
  Published London, 1902.
• "The Place Names of Staffordshire, Part One, Cuttlestone Hundred" by J.P. Oakden, published 1984 by The English Place Name Society (ISBN 0-904889-09-2).
  Further volumes covering the other Hundreds of Staffordshire were planned but none have been published to date.
• Chris Phillips' medieval English genealogy web site includes an index to place names mentioned in the titles of topographical articles in the published Staffordshire volumes of the Victoria County History.
• David Horovitz unpublished PhD Thesis entitled "A survey and analysis of the place-names of Staffordshire" includes a gazetteer of all of the main, and many of the minor, place-names of Staffordshire, with early spellings, and observations on the likely or possible derivation of those names.

• Norman Holt's Index of Boat people of the Wolverhampton Canal System
• Staffordshire Archives Service has published "Staffordshire Family Collections" listing family papers held by Staffordshire Record Office and the William Salt Library.

• The major county newspaper for Staffordshire was the weekly Staffordshire Advertiser. The William Salt Library holds a complete run of the newspaper from 1795-1973.
  An index to the Births, Marriages & Deaths 1795-1820 was published by the Staffordshire Record Society in 1968 and a second volume covering 1821-1840 was published in 1986.
• Local newspapers in the area with on-line editions include:
  • The Sentinel published in Stoke-on-Trent.
  • The Express & Star published in Wolverhampton.
  • Your Leek Paper published in Leek.

• Staffordshire Name Indexes Staffordshire Police Force Registers, 1842-1920 has a searchable database of the forces personnel records.
• Midlands Pubs Staffordshire Breweries pages include a brief history of many Staffordshire based breweries.
• An index of Staffordshire Photographers 1868-1940.

• The Black Country Bugle is a weekly newspaper specialising in local history of the Black Country area of South Staffordshire and North Worcestershire.
• The Blackcountryman is a quarterly magazine published by the Black Country Society specialising in local history of the Black Country area of South Staffordshire and North Worcestershire.
  • Mick Pearson's Index to the Blackcountryman.
• The Midland Ancestor covering genealogical research in the counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire & Worcestershire is published quarterly by Midland Ancestors (formerly BMSGH).

• Chartist Ancestors Black Country Chartists page includes a history of the movement in the Black Country with names of many men active in the movement.
• A List of Members of Parliament for Staffordshire 1542-1815

• Peter Higginbotham's Workhouse page has details and photographs of the workhouses in the county.
• The Staffordshire Past Track site has prints of the almshouses in the county.

• For pre-1858 wills for Staffordshire the main probate court was the Consistory Court of Lichfield. The probate records are held by the Lichfield Record Office which has manuscript indexes to the wills held.
• Post-1858 wills for the whole of England are indexed at the Principal Probate Registry in London which holds copies of all wills.
  A District Probate Registry was established in Lichfield for the county of Staffordshire and copies of wills proven here for the period 1858-1928 are deposited at Lichfield Record Office.
• Jennifer Davies unpublished MPhil Thesis entitled "Wills and Religious Change in the Archdeaconry of Stafford, 1532-1580" examines in great detail the entire complement of wills from the deanery of Leek probated between 1532 and 1580, to assess response of the testators to religious change through the first fifty years of the Reformation

• The UK Schools History Website Staffordshire Section has historical details and photographs of schools in the county. (This link is in fact to a copy, from about 2003, of the website provided by web.archive.org, since the actual web-site seems to be no longer available.)
• Steve Birks' Potteries Website includes historical information on the Background to Education in The Potteries.

• Aldridge Local History Society.
• Audley and District Family History Society.
• Biddulph & District Genealogical & Historical Society.
• Black Country Society.
• Burntwood Family History Group.
• Colton History Society.
• Midland Ancestors (formerly Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry).
• Midland Catholic History Society.
• Ridware History Society.
• Sedgley Local History Society.
• Smethwick Local History Society.
• Staffordshire Heritage Group.
• Staffordshire Record Society.
• Staffordshire Parish Register Society.
• Tipton & Wednesbury Family History Society.
• Wednesfield History Society
• West Bromwich Local History Society.
• Willenhall History Society.
• Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society.

• Hearth Tax returns for 1666 for the county have been published in the following volumes of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
  Pirehill Hundred -- 1921 volume
  Seisdon & Offlow Hundreds -- 1923 volume
  Totmonslow Hundred -- 1925 volume
  Cuttlestone Hundred -- 1927 volume
  Lichfield -- 1936 volume
• Some Staffordshire Poll Tax returns have been published in the 1970 volume of "Collections for a History of Staffordshire":
• The Staffordshire Plea Rolls and Final Concords for the reign of Henry III (1216-72) from The Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 4, digitised on the British History Online website
• The Staffordshire Plea Rolls for the reigns of Edward I, Henry II & III (1218-38 & 1272-94) from The Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 6, Pt 1, digitised on the British History Online website
• The Staffordshire Plea Rolls for the reign of Edward I (1294-1307) from The Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 7, Pt 1, digitised on the British History Online website
  • The Staffordshire Plea Rolls for the reign of Edward III (1327-41) from The Staffordshire Historical Collections, Vol. 11, digitised on the British History Online website

• Staffordshire Record Office holds electoral registers for the county constituencies for the periods 1832-1908, 1918-1939 & 1945-1974.
• Electoral registers for the borough constituencies are held at the appropriate local library or archive department.
• Details of deposited poll books for Staffordshire towns will be found on the appropriate town pages. Locations of poll books with area coverage are as follows:
  Whole County 1747 (William Salt Library & Staffordshire Record Office)
  North Staffordshire 1832 & 1837 (William Salt Library)
  North Staffordshire 1865 (Stoke on Trent City Archive)
  South Staffordshire 1835 (William Salt Library)
  West Staffordshire 1868 (William Salt Library & Stoke on Trent City Archive)
  Totmonslow North 1832 (Stoke on Trent City Archive)
• The Midlands Historical Data project have produced the 1868 West Staffordshire Poll Book on CD.

The parish listing is now on a separate page