After dwelling at some length on the history of Pendleton County from its origins as part of Augusta County, Virginia, this work brings its full weight to bear on hundreds of family histories, with references to more than 15,000 individuals, each meticulously developed from the public records at Richmond and at the county seats of Augusta and Rockingham. As a rule, Morton traces the entire adult posterity of each Pendleton County pioneer and sub-pioneer ancestor in a perfectly fluid progression, and furnishes much in the way of personal accounts and family traditions.