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The German New River Settlement, contiguous to but not technically part of the Middle New River Settlement of Southwest Virginia, occupied an area consisting roughly of the contemporary counties of Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski. It was settled in the mid-18th century by Rhinelanders from the Palatinate in Germany and is identified by the author of this work as the first legitimate settlement beyond the Alleghenies, antedating the famous Draper's Meadows Settlement by several years. This informative book surveys the history of the German New River Settlement and discusses at some length its component pioneer families. It also includes separate chapters on baptisms, marriage records, and court records and succeeds in identifying all, or nearly all, German New River settlers. The final chapter of the work is devoted to a summary of family histories. (It should be pointed out that most of the German New River settlers are cited in the various passenger lists in I. Daniel Rupp's Emigrants in Pennsylvania, 1727-1776 and therefore have the distinction of being identified in different phases of emigration and migration.)