History of the County of Annapolis, Volume I: Including Port Royal and Acadia, with Memoirs of Its Representatives in the Provincial Parliament, and Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of Its Early Englsih Settlers and Their Families

This work contains a wealth of information on the early settlers of Canada gleaned from the Nova Scotia archives and early French writers. "One year before Jamestown in Virginia, the oldest English settlement in [North] America, was founded, and two years before any other building than the wigwam of the savage stood on the site of old Quebec, the inhabitants of the village and fort lying five miles west of us, had successfully cultivated the soil on which Annapolis Royal now stands..."

Chapters detailing the early history of the county are grouped chronologically from 1604 through 1756, beginning with the voyage and explorations of Demonts and ending with the seizure and dispersion of French inhabitants. Individual chapters are devoted to the townships of Annapolis, Granville, Wilmot, Clement and later settlements, religion and churches, later history (1786-1887, including the War of 1812), and listings of public officers.

The second portion of the book is devoted to biographical memoirs of the members of Provincial Parliament (1759-1867), plus biographical and genealogical sketches of the county's early English settlers and grantees. A map of Fort Anne, a map of "General Nicholson's Plan of the Fort in 1710," and numerous illustrations (including portraits) enhance this work.