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Hu Maxwell's History of Randolph County, originally published in 1898, is a representative work of the day, combining political history and the progress of local institutions with sketches of contemporary luminaries and their families. The first third of the book Maxwell devotes to the history of the state of West Virginia, with emphasis on the Indian Wars, the Revolution, and, of course, the formation of the new state from the western portion of Virginia during the War for Secession. Part II focuses on Randolph County itself, in particular on early settlers, organization of the county, court proceedings, lists of officials, religious denominations, newspapers, railroads, etc. It is the third part of the book, however, that holds greatest interest for genealogists since it consists of genealogical/biographical essays of 300 Randolph County citizens and their families (some of them illustrated).