This second volume in the series has abstracts of all of the grants from 1742 to 1775, a period that saw the formation and settlement of Frederick, Fairfax, Culpeper, Loudoun, Fauquier, and Dunmore (changed in 1778 to Shenandoah) counties in Virginia, and Hampshire and Berkeley counties now in West Virginia. Altogether, in more than 4,000 abstracts, about 7,500 early Virginia residents are cited, all of them listed in the index.

The "headright" system, widely used for acquiring land in Virginia was never recognized in Virginia's Northern Neck. People wanting to acquire land there had to purchase a warrant and obtain a survey before they were issued a grant. The original Grant Books, now on microfilm, were used in making this collection of abstracts, and they generally provide the following information on some 5,000 Northern Neck residents: the name of the grantee, dates of warrant and survey, date and location of grant, amount of acreage, names of former owners/occupiers, names of adjacent property owners, and often...