Sanford Gladden traces the history of the Durst/Darst family and some 40 other related families from their European roots to Philadelphia in Colonial times. They migrated to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, to Delaware and Pickaway Counties in OH and on to Texas. Some of the related surnames are: Beck, Cecil, Chandler, Charlton, Cozad, Craig, Damon, Deam, Dill, Eaton, Ewing, Fry, Glendy, Glotfelter, Grigsby, Guy, Harshman, Haynes, Holman, Huston, Jamison, Keithly, Kennedy, Kent, Lightner, Marshall, Morgan, Orman, page, Perrins, Ramsey, Selling, Stroop, Trolinger, and Weiser among other smaller branches.

This is a highly readable guide to the powerful family constellations method of therapy, which is based on recreating family patterns within the therapeutic context.

Although the search for African American ancestry prior to the Civil War is challenging, the difficulties are not always insurmountable. Finding Your African American Ancestors takes you through your ancestors' transition from slavery to freedom, and helps you find them using the federal census, plantation records, and other helpful sources. The book also considers ways to locate runaway slave advertisements, to identify an ancestor's military regiment, and to access the valuable information from The Freedman's Savings and Trust records.