These records are from the late 18th through the early 19th century. Over 6,000 individuals are named in the marriage records. The probate records identify heirs, with relationships, and give the probate date.
This work is essentially a compilation of articles that deal wholly or in part with muster and pay rolls, court order books, pension records, land claims, depositions, petitions, militia lists, orderly books, and service records. The majority of the articles focus on the records of the colonial and Revolutionary War periods, but there also are some that relate to the War of 1812. In the aggregate these comprise data of almost unequaled variety and magnitude. Produced over the years by an army of specialists, they were spread throughout the three periodicals named in the title. This varied and immense body of data is brought together in a handy and well-indexed volume, which will make its use by the researcher very easy.
The militia was organized in 1777 after the county was established in the previous year. All men between the ages of 18 and 50 were required to register, attend muster and perform others with their captain of the militia. Only those who were infirm or not fit were allowed not to attend and this information is often listed on the muster rolls.
The importance of gunsmithing in Virginia during the colonial period is clear. Gunsmiths were found nearly everywhere: in port towns along the coast, in settled inland areas, and - probably the busiest ones - on the frontier. As with most craftsmen, many of these men remain obscure. They left little trace and the records reveal their names only incidentally. With the revolutionary war, gunsmiths of unusual ability appeared.
Grayson County is famous in southwestern Virginia as the cradle of the New River settlements--perhaps the first settlements beyond the Alleghanies. The Nuckolls book is equally famous for its genealogies of the pioneer settlers of the county, which, typically, provide the names of the progenitors of the Grayson County line and their dates and places of migration and settlement, and then, in fluid progression, the names of all offspring in the direct and sometimes collateral lines of descent. Altogether somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000 persons are named in the genealogies and indexed for ready reference.