That part of Texas settled in the early 1820s known as the Austin Colony was comprised largely of the five present-day counties of Bastrop, Fayette, Grimes, Montgomery, and Washington. This book consists mainly of biographical and genealogical sketches of the pioneers and early settlers of those counties. Washington County, and in particular the town of Washington, gets the lion's share of attention here, as Washington was actually the "port of entry" to the Austin Colony. Laid out in the manner of a biographical dictionary, the paragraph-length sketches variously contain references to the subject's arrival in Texas, his place of settlement, military experience, career highlights, wife, children, place of residence, place and date of death, and, sometimes, references to the subject's place of origin and his participation in famous battles such as San Jacinto and the Alamo.