Researching your roots in this part of the world has always been tricky. The historic county boundaries of Staffordshire are easy enough to define, but as you move forward in time the story becomes increasingly murky, with parishes passing between neighbouring counties, or being swallowed up by Birmingham's expansion following the Industrial Revolution. This means that there are not only the county collections to think about (see staffordshire.gov.uk/archives) but also numerous museum collections, alongside major city and borough archives.
For those just getting started, Findmypast () remains the most useful single resource.). In-person research, however, is currently on partial hold at both the county archive headquarters on Eastgate Street in Stafford and its partner base in Stoke-on-Trent, until their grand reopenings in 2024.
