I am amazed at the amount of information in this book -- it's a wonderful reference for anyone whose family settled in Walnut or Symmes Twp, which are the main two townships my family settled in. :-) I generally thought of justices of the peace as marrying people, but they apparently listened to cases ranging from "profanity," to "bastardy," and "assault with intent to kill" complete with names of plaintiff and defendant, names of witnesses, and names of jurors. A lot of really cool stuff! I just purchased it for $20+ tax. When I bought mine it was the fourth book they sold today, so... This is a must have book for anyone whose family comes from these two townships. My husband's not really into my buying books, but he's glad I purchased this one, even he's enjoying reading about all the different kinds of cases. :-) BTW, I hope this doesn't step on any toes, but if anyone's interested I do have an almost like new "Gallia County Birth Records Vol. 1, 1864-1881" that I'm finished with and would be willing to part with for $12.50, that's half off what I paid for it new! Thanks, Linda Trent [email protected]