This massive compilation contains genealogies of the early families of eastern and southeastern Kentucky, the section originally encompassing the counties of Floyd, Knox, Greenup, and Clay. The genealogies refer to approximately 12,000 individuals, many of them worked through seven generations. The main families, a number of them of Scotch-Irish descent, are listed alphabetically starting with the progenitor of the Kentucky line and continue chronologically thereafter according to the succession of children. Data furnished on each of the descendants generally includes name, date of birth, marriage and death, place of residence, incidental facts pertaining to military and public service, references to public records, and so on.

The following families are representative of some of the main lines found in this book: Adams, Auxier, Bailey, Ballinger, Bennett, Biggs, Black, Blair, Boone, Borders, Brack, Brown, Burgess, Burns, Campbell, Carter, Cecil, Chandler, Childers, Conley, Connelly, Davis, Dils, Dixon, Dupuy, Dysart, Elliott, Everman, Fairchild, Fields, Fitzpatrick, Flaugher, Fuson, Fuqua, Garrard, Gerred, Gee, Gilbert, Graham, Grayson, Green, Hackworth, Hager, Hampton, Hannah, Harkins, Harris, Hatcher, Hockaday, Hood, Hord, Horton, Howe, Howes, Hylton, Jacobs, Jayne, Johns, Keesee, Kibbey, Kirk, Kouns, Lackey, Lane, Leslie, Lewis, Lyttle, Martin, May, Mayo, Mays, Meade, Meek, Mobley, Moore, Morris, Osenton, Parsons, Patrick, Pogue, Porter, Preston, Price,Pritchard, Ratliff, Redwine, Reeves, Rice, Richards, Robinson, Rupert, Salyer, Seaton, Scott, Siler, Sparks, Stafford, Stewart, Stratton, Strother, Stuart, Swetnam, Theobold, Turner, Van Hoose, Vaughan, Vincent-Peay, Vinson, Virgin, Ward, Walter, Waring, Warnock, Weddington, Wells, Wheeler, White, Wilhoit, Williams, Witten, Womack, Worthington.