Containing the names and residences of all judges and clerks of courts, prosecuting attorneys, recorders, auditors, treasurers, shefiffs, jailers, commissioners, assessors, school commissioners, justices of the peace, notaries public, attorneys at law, ministers, physicians, principal merchants, post-offices, postmasters, terms of circuit courts.

How to find your missing ancestor? Even thou this book is mainly about the search for a single individual, Jonathan Watson, it provides guidelines for other researchers who are searching for their missing ancestors. These guidelines include: a^(tm) Not depending upon family sources, early census records, and public family trees as a reliable source of information. . Starting with known clues that lead to other clues, such as religion, migration pattern, military, and DNA clues. a^(tm) Analyzing middle names and the same given name that is passed down through generations. . Using chronological list of events to determine accuracy of data. a^(tm) Formulating theories from facts and not hearsay. For historical purposes, the author has included facts and theories about additional Watson families who lived in Washington and Sullivan County during the late 1700s and early 1800s. He has also included theories about lifestyles and hardships during this period.

Vols. 1-3, 5-8 contain the political and literary portions; v. 4 the historical register department, of the numbers published from Oct. 1837 to Dec. 1840.