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Midland Ancestors is the public face of the Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry.

We promote, maintain, and encourage the preservation of family history records which are transcribed and publicised. Would you like to know more about us?

About Us

The Midlands

Midland Ancestors is the principal family history society for the counties of: Staffordshire, Warwickshire & Worcestershire which surround the city of Birmingham. This includes the areas of the old counties as they existed before the major boundary changes of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the areas brought into them by those changes.

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The Map

Staffordshire

The county before the 20th century. Staffordshire was close to the seat of the Industrial Revolution in the Ironbridge Gorge. Industry expanded rapidly to the Black Country in the south of the county. Mining was mainly for coal, but also for iron ore and clay. The iron ore was used ....

Warwickshire

In the 18th and 19th centuries there was significant population migration to the areas around the cities of Birmingham and Coventry coinciding with major industrialisation. Birmingham was known as “The City of a Thousand Trades”. Lower levels of industrialisation affected...

Worcestershire

Before the 20th century the county was mainly rural, with agriculture being the most important source of employment. There was significant population migration away from the farming communities to the industrial employment opportunities in the Black Country and Birmingham. Industrial activity remaining in the county was...

Birmingham

In the 18th and 19th centuries there was significant population migration to Birmingham coinciding with major industrialisation. Birmingham was known as “The City of a Thousand Trades”. The centre of the city was a mixture of houses and small (by modern standards) factories. Immediately to the North of the city centre were...