STAFFORDSHIRE
"A county of England, bounded by, Shropshire
Cheshire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. It is in length
about 54 miles, and varies in breadth from 18 to 36. It is divided into 5
hundreds, which contain 1 city, 21 towns, 181 parishes, and 670 villages.
The principal rivers are the Trent, Dove, Sow,
Churnet, Stour, Penk, and Manifold. The air is reckoned pleasant, mild, and
wholesome. The middle and southern parts are level and plain, and the soil
is good and rich; the north is hilly, and full of heaths and moors.
Staffordshire is famous for its potteries, its inland navigations, and its
founderies, blast furnaces, slitting mills, and various other branches
of the iron trade. The mines of coals, copper, lead, and iron ore are rich
and extensive; and there are also numerous quarries of stone, alabaster,
and limestone. Stafford is the county town.
Population, 510,504. It sends 17 members to parliament."
[Barclays Complete & Universal English Dictionary, 1842-1852]
- 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
Lichfield Record Office (formerly Lichfield Joint Record Office)
The Friary
Lichfield
Staffs
WS13 6QG
Telephone: U.K. 01543 510720, Overseas (+44) 1543 510720
Burton-upon-Trent Archives
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)
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- The Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry 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.
- 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
- The Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry are transcribing the above filmed cemetery registers held by Staffordshire Record Office. The transcripts, which will be searchable by surname, year and grave number, are being made available at the Stoke-on-Trent City Archives as they are completed.
- "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 North Staffordshire Methodist Heritage Pages contain a wealth of information on the Methodist movement in the north of the county and include histories and photographs of chapels in the area.
- Staffordshire Archive Services' A Thousand Years of Staffordshire's Churches 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
- Certificates of birth, death and marriage relating to the pre-1974
county of Staffordshire can be obtained from the Superintendent
Registrars at the following District Register Offices:
If ordering from a District Office, please note the following:
(a) the cost of a certificate is £10.00 (from 1st April 2012) - 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 St Catherine's
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.
- For full details of earlier District Register Offices, the areas
they covered and where the registers are now located, see
Registration Districts in Staffordshire.
- 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 1950.
- 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 1950.
- 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"
- 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
is reproducing 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.
- On behalf of GENUKI, Graham Jaunay is now providing country-level surname lists, organised by county - here is his On-line English Names Research Directory.
- John Fuller has provided full details of
MIDMARCH, STAFFORDSHIRE and ENG-BLACK-COUNTRY the Genealogy Mailing Lists covering this county. This is but a small part of the data available on the
"Genealogy Resources on
the Internet" pages maintained by John and Chris Gaunt.
- 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
Staffordshire Look-up Exchange. Volunteers are offering look-ups
in various research references.
- 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 Diaspora Connections: Irish Families in Stafford, 1830-1919 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.
- Reproductions of old Ordnance Survey maps for many areas of Staffordshire and the West Midlands are available from Alan Godfrey Maps.
- Genmaps Old Maps of Staffordshire page provides links to several 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- The Newsplan Site lists around 1100 newspaper titles published in the West Midlands region (including Staffordshire) since the eighteenth century with locations holding copies of the relevant titles.
- Local newspapers in the area with on-line editions include:
- 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.
- 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.
- Chris Emms probate pages
include a full transcript of the Wills and Inventories of Wolstanton Parish 1600-1650
- 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":
- 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
This county is maintained by
Mike Harbach with help
and information provided by a number of assistants.
[Last updated:- 5th December 2012 © 1997 - 2012]
