This compendium of forty-eight family histories was fashioned together from a variety of primary and secondary sources. Among other things, the compilers made a careful study of Botetourt County marriages, wills, deeds, and death records from microfilm available at the Virginia State Library, as well as Botetourt County records housed at the county clerks'offices in Fincastle (Botetourt County), Salem (Roanoke County), and Lexington (Rockbridge County). The end result is an extensively annotated collection of early Botetourt families, many of whose progenitors were born in the 18th century.