As Pittsburgh and its surrounding area grew into an important commercial and industrial center, a group of families emerged who were distinguished by their wealth and social position. Joseph Rishel studies twenty of these families to determine the degree to which they formed a coherent upper class and the extent to which they were able to maintain their status over time. His analysis shows that Pittsburgh's elite upper class succeeded in creating the institutions needed to sustain a local aristocracy and possessed the ability to adapt its accumulated advantages to social and economic changes.

Lists about 2500 books found in major libraries throughout the U. S. containing genealogies of families from Virginia and West Virginia. The books listed deal with families of Virginia origins but often follow their descendants far and wide across the continent. Each book is listed under the surname of the primary Virginia family covered in it. Many of the titles listed deal with several families, not all of which may have Virginia roots. Citations to all these allied families are listed in a cross-reference table, regardless of the geographic focus of the family, making this bibliography of use to researchers with interests outside Virginia also.