This book deals with the northern half of Montgomery, Robertson, and Sumner counties, Tennessee, which was incorporated from the Mero District of North Carolina in 1796. It consists of a collection of county, state, church, and family records, and also contains genealogies of Red River families developed from a wide variety of sources, including cemetery records, Bible records, military records and private papers, as well as from records of deeds, wills and marriages. A substantial portion of the book derives from private family records, many of which were subsequently lost or destroyed, and as a result Red River Settlers comprises a collection of genealogical materials that is largely unique.

The genealogies, covering some ninety-five families, comprise the largest section of the work and provide an enumeration of births, marriages, and deaths in successive generations, with a good measure of biographical data. Besides the genealogies this work contains valuable lists of militia officers, pensioners and overseers of roads, as well as a lengthy chapter featuring numerous sketches of early Methodist pioneers and pioneer families of Middle Tennessee. The full-name index contains references to some 6,500 persons.