Judge E.J."Li" Sutherland (1885 - 1964), a native of Dickenson
County, began his interest in family genealogy at his grandmothers
(Sylvia Counts Sutherland) knee and this quest continued until his
death.

In 1955, he edited Meet Virginia's Baby, a pictorial history of
Dickenson County, now in its third printing. This included many
photographs of  county events from his collection.

He concentrated his meticulous search mainly on the "Counts Clan" 
 and in1936 established the Counts Family Reunion which still

 
E.J."Li" Sutherland
(1885 - 1964)

gathers each year. Over the years these endeavors have
resulted in the publication of Some Descendents of John Counts of Glade Hollow,
Volumes1 & 2 . These also include the families of Sutherland, Rasnick, Kiser,  Edwards,
Grizzle, Colley, and others.

In 1907, he began interviewing older pioneers in the county, including some who were Civil War veterans, and recorded them verbatim. These reminiscences were published as Pioneer Recollections by his wife Hetty Swindall Sutherland. She has also collected and published the Swindall-Austin Families of Virginia and North Carolina.

Over the years many of the descendants of John Counts have settled in counties that surround Dickenson County in Southwest Virginia such as Wise, Russell, Buchanan , Lee, Scott and Washington county.