Gamma Doradus stars (hereafter gamma Dor stars) are gravity-mode pulsators of spectral type A or F. Such modes probe the deep stellar interior, offering a detailed fingerprint of their structure. Four-year high-precision space-based Kepler photometry of gamma Dor stars has become available, allowing us to study these stars with unprecedented detail. We selected, analysed, and characterized a sample of 67 gamma Dor stars for which we have Kepler observations available. For all the targets in the sample we assembled high-resolution spectroscopy to confirm their F-type nature. We found fourteen binaries, among which four single-lined binaries, five double-lined binaries, two triple systems and three binaries with no detected radial velocity variations. We estimated the orbital parameters whenever possible. For the single stars and the single-lined binaries, fundamental parameter values were determined from spectroscopy. We searched for period spacing patterns in the photometric data and identified this diagnostic for 50 of the stars in the sample, 46 of which are single stars or single-lined binaries. We found a strong correlation between the spectroscopic vsini and the period spacing values, confirming the influence of rotation on gamma Dor-type pulsations as predicted by theory. We also found relations between the dominant g-mode frequency, the longest pulsation period detected in series of prograde modes, vsini, and log Teff. ; Comment: 61 pages, 61 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in ApJS