Although substantially a collection of family histories, Hill's "History of Henry County, Virginia" observes virtually all the conventions of the standard county history. Chapters are devoted to Henry County in the Revolution and the Civil War, to churches, towns, courts, and schools, and to an appreciation of Henry County's role in the material and spiritual development of the state and nation. Valuable appendices feature sections on abstracts of Henry County legislative petitions, lists of Henry County citizens who took the Oath of Allegiance, and marriage license bonds from 1776 to 1800. The bulk of this instructive work consists largely of biography and family history. A not inconsiderable number of family histories, treating mostly old or prominent Henry County families, bear direct relation to the biographies. Not surprisingly, the family history section touches on many thousands of individuals and occupies itself with the legitimate concerns of genealogy, i.e. the recital of names and the dates of births, marriages, and deaths in successive generations.