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.

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.