The Guntersville Democrat was not the first newspaper to be published in Marshall County, but is the one most complete from the 19th Century. It was first published in October of 1880 by a Gadsden newspaperman, William M. Meeks. Over the years, it chronicled much of the early history of Marshall County. This second book in the series attempts to capture mentions of births, marriages, deaths and obituaries It also reproduces items of interest and importance in the development of the county--all with a full name index. In this volume you can find the complete "Sword of Bushwhacker Johnston" by Rev. M.E. Johnston-- a thrilling first person account of the actions of guerrilla fighters operating in the Tennessee Valley during the Civil War. Also O.D. Street's account of the first 100 years of Marshall County's existence-and much more. The early history of Marshall County is written on the pages of its newspapers. This book will be valuable to any student of the history and genealogy of Marshall County.

The Blount County News was established by Lawrence H. Mathews in Blount Springs as the Blount Springs News in March of 1877. Mathews moved his paper to Blountsville the following October after the citizens of Blount County elected that town to remain the county seat. In 1887, Mathews' newspaper merged with the Blount County Dispatch to become the Blount County News-Dispatch. Mathews moved his paper for the last time in 1889 when Oneonta became the new county seat. Mathews died in 1896 but his paper continued until 1903 when it succumbed to the dominance of a new paper called the Southern Democrat. Microfilmed copies of the News and News-Dispatch were studied page by page and within these pages are found every mention of births, marriages, deaths, obituaries, and news important to the genealogy and history of Blount County. Hidden nuggets of information of interest to the descendants of Blount County pioneers are found within the pages of this volume.