William A. Burke enlisted the services of the author to compile a genealogical account of the Burke and Alvord families. The resulting volume offers a wealth of detailed information to anyone researching either of these family lines, and the related spellings De Burghs, Bourke, Bourck, Alluard, Alluerd, Alvard, Alford, Allord, Alved, Alfort, and Allford.
De Burgh, the original spelling of Burke, "is an ancient name, and of much note in the old world. It may be traced back to the eighteenth century, and has for its head Charles, Duke d'Ingheim, fifth son of the Emperor Charlemagne." The first portion of this book is devoted to the Burke family and opens with a brief history followed by genealogical entries. The Burkes of Bernardston are touched on separately. The second portion opens with a brief history of the Alvord family followed by genealogical entries. Genealogical records are arranged by generation, and contain (whenever available) parents, residence, birth, death, marriage, spouse and progeny information, augmented by brief excerpts from town records and other documents. Burke records follow the male line; Alvord records list male and female lines.
A generous appendix contains numerous wills, deeds, and listings from town records "collected by Mr. Boutelle in the course of his researches in Probate Court and Church Records." The De Burghs coat of arms and the Alford coat of arms are both featured.


(1864, 2000, 2015), 2020, 51/2x81/2, paper, index, 240 pp