Covers the period of colonial history from the beginning of European colonization in the Western Hemisphere up to the time of the American Revolution.

The book rings with the names of early inhabitants and prominent citizens. For the genealogist there is the important and wholly fortuitous list of tithables of Pittsylvania County for the year 1767, which enumerates the names of nearly 1,000 landowners and property holders, amounting in sum to a rough census of the county in its infancy. Additional lists include the names, some with inclusive dates of service, of sheriffs, justices of the peace, members of the House of Delegates, 1776-1928, members of the Senate of Virginia, 1776-1928, clerks of the court, and judges.

"Pittsylvania County was created in 1767 from Halifax County, VA. Many of her early settlers were from Pennsylvania, including Germans, Quakers, Welch and Scot-Irish. Also many families through out Virginia relocated here from such counties as: Brunswick, Charlotte, Amelia, Prince Edward, and other Tidewater counties."--Publisher website (January 2009)