Probably the most voluminous of all the West Virginia county histories is THE MONONGALIA STORY. The first volume (subtitled Prelude) contains a general description of the county, including its geology, flora, fauna, & an account of the aborigines, followed by a record of more than 1,000 early settlers. Volume II (The Pioneers) presents the history from the establishment of the county, in 1776, up to 1826.

Brothers James Goff, John Turton Goff (d. 1803), Thomas Goff (1747-1824) and Salathiel Goff (d. 1791), were probably born in England or Wales. They emigrated and settled in Virginia and Maryland. Descendants and relatives lived mainly in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas and Texas.

Glenn Bowers ancestors came from England, Germany, and Scotland. They included farmers, sailors, teachers, merchants, ministers, poets and politicians. Many of them fought and died in wars. The varied themes of each chapter are common to previous generations of many American families. The storylines include the following persons: Wilhelm Bar (William Bower) came to America in 1833 with his five brothers because his parents were concerned about militarism in their native Wrrtemberg. He joined the 29th Ohio in the Civil War, as did 3 brothers, and he died in prison after being captured in their second battle. Margaret Polk Colburn was the first woman physician in Henry County, Indiana. Her husband had served with her father in Accomac, Virginia, during the Revolutionary War. Her ancestors included members of three notable Scottish clans: Maxwells, Polloks and Sempills; and her distant cousins included Confederate General and Episcopal Bishop Leonidas Polk and President James K. Polk. Margarets son, John R. Colburn, was born in North Carolina and became an abolitionist preacher in Missouri during the Civil War. His son served as an armed guard at the services. Ten year old Georg Trimmers mother and 159 other passengers on the Davy, as well as the captain and both mates, died during the 1738 voyage from Amsterdam to Philadelphia. Georg and his father Hans were among the 121 surviving passengers brought into port by the ships carpenter who had become the senior officer. Charles Wright wrote a book about the service of his regiment, the 81st Ohio, during the Civil War; he later served many years as town clerk for Oxford, Ohio, and briefly as mayor. General Israel Putnam was famous for his leadership and bravery during the French and Indian War as well as the Revolutionary War. In 1767 a pregnant Irish girl named Katie was waiting for Israel with her wedding dress when she heard of his marriage to a wealthy widow; she raised their son John in western Massachusetts. An older sister and brother of Samuel Jones were taken from their farm by Wyandot Indians in 1777; they survived separately for many years in captivity, and were both ultimately reunited with their family. Stephen Hopkins survived the 1609 shipwreck of the Sea Venture on its way to Jamestown, and then brought his family to America in 1620 on the Mayflower. The Royalls were watermen in Norfolk, England. Edmund was crushed to death between a boat and the dock in the late 1800s; several of his children emigrated to Canada and then Washington, D.C. Amos Bassett was 13 when the Civil War started; 2 of his 3 brothers who were old enough to serve died soon after they enlisted. One of his wife Matildas brothers lost his left leg in the war 8 days before it ended, and 6 days after he turned 21. Amoss first Bassett ancestor in America arrived in 1621 on the Fortune, the second ship to land at the Plymouth Colony.

Gone, but not Forgotten refers to the author's maternal lineage: the Ankrom family. She traveled far and wide to courthouses, cemeteries, and libraries, gathering family information. This book goes through the tenth generation of the Ankrom family, going back into the 1700's, when Richard and Elizabeth Ankrom were living in Frederick County, Maryland.

Thomas Sayre came with his family from England to Lynn, Massachusetts, in the early 1630's. Among descendants of Thomas were clergymen, surgeons, attorneys, ambassadors, and representatives of almost every profession. Francis B., cowboy, professor of law, and ambassador, was son-in-law of President Woodrow Wilson. Zelda was the wife of American novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and subject of one of his books. David A. was a silversmith, banker, and founder of Lexington's Sayre School. Many Sayre descendants were taken by wars in service to America and never had the chance to win recognition for their inherent abilities. SAYRE FAMILY, Another 100-years, in a large part, focuses on the early pioneers who came to or passed through the Ohio Valley of West Virginia and Ohio. At least three direct descendants of Thomas had made settlements in that area by the Nineteenth Century. One, David Sayre, came from New Jersey about 1778, and left many descendants who still lived in that area at the beginning of the Twenty-first Century. The bulk of this genealogy covers those, while other Sayre families whose ancestral links were not discovered are also included. The three generations of ancestors above each family block makes tracing easier.

"The West Virginia University Mountaineer isn't just a mascot: it's a symbol of West Virginia history and identity that's embraced throughout the state. Folklorist Rosemary Hathaway explores the figure's early history as a backwoods trickster, its deployment in emerging mass media, and finally its long and sometimes conflicted career-beginning officially in 1937-as the symbol of West Virginia University"--

Morgantown has played a role in nearly every important period in American history. Words and images are combined in Then & Now: Morgantown to depict that legacy and the city's transformation from sleepy agricultural community to industrial workhorse to home of cutting-edge education, medicine, and research.