While "Texas is the focus of the majority of the death notices, there are over 800 references to the states of AL, AR, GA, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, SC, TN, and VA." The authors have abstracted the most pertinent information from 40 different newspapers and assembled it in a clear and concise format. Censuses, mortality schedules and county histories were also consulted as supplemental sources. The glossary defines terms from the past that may be unfamiliar to the reader;it also has information, such as location and origin, on many of the towns and cities mentioned in the abstracts.