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Morton's Monroe County comprises both a sourcebook of genealogical data and a group-family record , with slightly greater detail marshaled in the sourcebook section. A significant portion of the work, nevertheless, is devoted to the general history of the county, explaining, in the customary manner, when, how, and why the county was settled and tracing the various phases of its development. The group-family portion of the book, occupying a full third of the text, carries the lines of descent far enough down to enable the present generation to recognize relationships. An abundance of available data, coupled with the desire to set forth the family histories of as many county residents as possible, compelled the author to employ a compact form of narrative. This "skeletal" history, embracing all vital and ascertainable facts, has the virtue of precluding biographical embellishments, and at once puts before the researcher all that he needs to know of several hundred families and many thousands of related individuals. All families discussed in this section are indexed alphabetically for easy reference. The remainder of the book is comprised of genealogical source materials. As chapter headings give a fair indication of the contents, we might list here some of the most important: Records of Greenbrier County; Surveys and Patents; Early Land Conveyances; Chronological Abstracts from the County Records; Monroe County Baptists; Presbyterians; Methodists; Military Officers; Soldiers in Dunmore's War, the Revolution, War of 1812, and the Civil War; County Officials; Monroe County Voter's List; and the Censuses (i.e. tax lists) of 1782 and 1789.