I am in the process of writing Our Royall Luck, Buford & Cofer.  I have finished the first draft of parts 1-3 concerning the Luck family, Buford family, and Royall family.  Part 4 will be about the Cofer family and Part 5 will be about the Crenshaw family.  Each part includes all the known descendants of a couple plus at least one chapter on their ancestry.

Part One concerns the family of John B. Luck, a tavern keeper in Botetourt County, Virginia, who was originally from Caroline County, Virginia.  Titles of the chapters in this section are: (1) The Caroline County Challenges: The Ancestry and Kin of John B. Luck, (2) The Black Horse Tavern, (3) Nancy, Mildred, and Matilda [these being his daughters by his first wife], (4) Nathan P. Luck Family, (5) John B. Luck’s Second Wife & Two Children, (6) Rev. George Phillips Luck and Nancy Ann (Buford) Luck, (7) The George P. Luck Family and the Civil War, (8) Edward William & Sarah Elizabeth (Royall) Luck Family, (9) Dr. George Simeon Luck, M.D. Family, (10) Rev. Dr. Julian Marcellus Luck Family, (11) Mary Eliza (Luck) Schenk Family, (12) Nancy Buford (Luck) Barnett Family, (13) John Bumpass Luck Family in Missouri, (14) Rev. James Paschal Luck Family, (15) Cadet Quartermaster Abraham Buford Luck Family, (16) Emma Carlton (Luck) McGhee Family, and (17) Robert Hugh Luck Family.  These chapters are of varying length depending on the number of descendants, but it is a very detailed treatment.  There is still one chapter to write and a portion of another chapter to finish, but already just Part One is 154 pages long, single-spaced, 8.5″ x 11″, including photos.  Bedford County and Roanoke County, Virginia are common places in this section as well as Botetourt and Caroline Counties.

Part Two concerns the family of Captain Abraham Buford of Bedford County, Virginia.  There is a chapter on the Buford Family Ancestry, one exploring some of the descendants of his father Captain Henry Buford and where they moved, then (20) Abraham’s First Wife and Their Children’s Families, (21) Nancy (Eidson) Buford and Her Ancestry, (22) Wellington Buford Family, (23) Frances (Buford) Fizer Family, (24) Mary (Buford) Hatcher Family, (25) William Buford Family, (26) Simeon and Frances Martha (Cofer) Buford Family, (27) Captain James Buford Family.  Part Two is 95 pages long, including photos, in this first draft, though I am expecting more information on some of his descendants by his first wife by next summer.  Of course, I did not repeat from Part One and so chapters 6-17 are also about descendants of Captain Abraham Buford.  Knox and Scotland and surrounding counties in Missouri feature prominently as does Bedford County, Virginia.

Part Three concerns the family of Captain William Edward Royall of Powhatan County, Virginia.  This consists of two longer chapters: (28) A “Royall” Heritage and Famous “Half-Cousins” and (29) William Edward and Mary Susan (Cofer) Royall Family.  Chapter 8 back in Part One also includes more descendants of this couple.  Part Three is 32 pages long, including photos, in this draft.

I am now getting ready to write Part Four concerning the Josias Cofer Family of Bedford County, Virginia.  The plan for these chapters is: (30) The Family of Thomas Cofer and Mrs. Anderson, (31) Josias and Mary Catherine (Lanehart) Cofer, (32) Jesse and Sarah (Crenshaw) Cofer Family, (33) George and Frances (Dawson) Cofer Family, (34) Jacob Cofer Family, (35) Thomas and Lucretia E. (Luck) Cofer Family, (36) Susanna (Cofer) Bunch Family, (37) Jemima (Cofer) Salmons Dawson Family, (38) Elijah and Chaney (Green) Cofer Family.  If you have followed through this post you can see that this family married into the Luck family of Part One, the Buford family of Part Two, and the Royall family of Part Three.  When you read this book you will see this is even more true than these chapter headings suggest.  Cofer family researchers will appreciate the whole book.

We will also include Part Five concerning the David and Elizabeth (Hobson) Crenshaw family and Part Six with at least a chapter for each grandparent of Lucie Frankham (Whitesel) Luck from Rockingham County, Virginia (the Whitesel, Andes, Frankham, and Showalter families).

Just laying out a page for each unwritten chapter the book currently stands at a total of 389 pages including a full index and an appendix of interest and other front and end matter.

There may be some families included that are of less interest to you than others, but the advantage of this particular collection is that all of these families are truly connected.  Additionally, I have written less on those families or parts of the family where there are already existing published genealogies that you can read and concentrated on our own family, which is often not given much time in the existing genealogies.  Please bear with me as it will take some time yet to finish this massive tome and I am a full-time pastor with limited time to do so, the more information you can contribute — the more quickly this will be complete.

Speaking of which, if you descend from any of the aforementioned families and want to submit photos, biographies, etc. that I may include in the book, please post a comment here and I will respond to you shortly via email.  If you are interested in ordering a copy when they are ready to print, please do the same.