An Air Force veteran has learned that the Virginia property he and his family purchased two years ago was formerly a farm where his ancestors were held as slaves in the 19th century.
After Bill Thompson’s sister sold it to him in May 2020, 56-year-old Fred Miller bought the 10.5-acre property, known as Sharswood in the 1800s, for more than $220,000.
The house is situated in Gretna, Pittsylvania County, and was once a 1,300-acre estate.
Miller expressed his disbelief at the new, unexpected revelation in an interview with CBS 60 Minutes that was initially broadcast in May, saying, “I was a bit stunned by that, I would say.”
Miller, who splits his time between the historic house and California, also said that because of his upbringing in the neighbourhood, he used to often stroll by the Virginia property as a boy.
He reiterated to 60 Minutes that he had no notion that his generational relatives had previously stepped foot where he does today, saying, “I simply wanted someplace to host family reunions.” y
When Sonya Woman-Miranda, Dexter Miller, and their cousins, Karen Dixon-Rexroth, 49, and Dexter Miller, looked into the history of the house, they made the startling revelation. They were attempting to understand the background of the white colonial house with the green roof at the time.
Soon later, the family discovered historical records, including multiple distinct U.S. Census reports from various years, which showed the household behind Sharswood also had the surname “Miller.”
Miller said to 60 Minutes, “If I had known there was a “Miller Plantation,” I may have made a link between the last name Miller and the plantation.
The Air Force veteran said when Lesley Stahl asked whether he had ever heard of his family name being connected to a plantation before this year, “I’d never heard of a “Miller Plantation” or a “Miller” anything before.”
According to The Washington Post, the extended Miller family collaborated with African-American genealogy researcher Karice Luck-Brimmer and Virginia Humanities to identify their forebears.
According to Dixon-Rexroth, “Something pulled me to learning the history of this site,” she remarked in a 60 Minutes interview. “I began from there, as far as looked at the past owners, as well as any documents that were accessible online,” the author said. “I knew it was an old home from the 1800s.”
The Millers were able to identify Sarah Miller, their great-great-grandmother, as a result of the ancestral tracing, according to The Post.
The U.S. Census data from the late 1800s and early 1900s reveals that Violet and David Miller also resided close to Sharswood. Samuel, the couple’s son, had also joined the plantation.
However, The Post said that another person, named only as “N.C. Miller,” was a known enslaver.
Miller said in the 60 Minutes segment, “Since the disclosure… I know that when the slaves carried food into the main home, they came up via the basement stairs.”
I’m thinking, “Wow, these are my folks,” he said. “And there’s a definite wear on the basement steps from years and years of traffic, of people going up those stairs.”
Although there were no grave markers with their names, Thompson had also told Miller that his relatives were buried in the nearby woods.
I’ll tell you that, Fred remarked of the location of his relatives’ graves, “It was heart-wrenching.” He said that he intended to teach the community and others about slavery and its history by repairing the slave cottage where his ancestors had lived.
He went on to say that he wants to make his great-great-grandmother Sarah and the people who came before him proud by sharing the history of the land.
Miller told The Washington Post, “I just hope that somehow she’s gazing from above, and finally cracking a beautiful grin.”
Miller’s sister, Karen Dixon-Rexroth, told CBS’ 60 Minutes, “I would absolutely say throughout this property I can sense something inside me while I’m strolling around, just doing anything.”
She said, “I know that our forefathers are smiling down on us.”