This magnificent little book is characterized by lists of early Davidson County pioneers, taxpayers, militiamen, Revolutionary and War of 1812 soldiers and pensioners, and grantees of land in Tennessee. The vast amount of data in this work is far out of proportion to its size, for no fewer than 5,000 Davidson County inhabitants are identified. Included are Settlers on the Cumberland River, 1780; North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1784; Davidson County Taxpayers, 1787; Davidson County Militia, 1812; Officers in the Tennessee Militia, 1811; Pension List for West Tennessee, 1818; and Davidson County Pension Lists for 1832, 1840, and 1883.

The militia list of 1812, which consists of a list of 2,235 free male inhabitants, is generally considered the only practical alternative to the lost 1810 census of Davidson County, and one might say that the entire work compensates for the absence of a census for the first thirty-five years of the county’s existence.