A Black Virginia man on a house hunt for a place to gather with his extended family uncovered an unbelievable connection with his past. Air Force veteran Fred Miller wanted a place in the southern part of the state to have cookouts and card games with his extended family, which includes over 100 cousins. But with that many relatives, he knew that not just any old house would do.
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After seeing a “For Sale” sign on a home less than a mile from where their mother lived, Miller’s sister, Karen Dixon-Rexroth, convinced him to make an offer on the property they passed almost every day on their way to school as kids. Convinced that the sellers – a white family who had owned the property since 1917 – would never consider a Black man’s offer, Miller was in shock when the deal for the home and 10.5 acres of surrounding land was done.
“The first time I drove up to the place, all I could do was stop at the edge of the road there and just look up in amazement,” he told 60 Minutes in an interview.
Once reality sank in, Miller’s sister says she became obsessed with researching every detail about their new family home, discovering that the estate once known as Sharswood was built in 1850 and sat on land that was once a nearly 2,000-acre tobacco plantation – one of the largest in southern Virginia.
As the family continued to dig into the past, they learned that their connection to Sharswood went back generations and that their ancestors were once slaves there. Miller said establishing his family’s connection to slavery made owning the home even more special.
“Once I realized that it was actually my blood that was here, it took on a whole new meaning for me,” he said.
Other members of the family added that they felt complete after being able to make a connection to the past that many African Americans can’t. Karen Dixon-Rexroth told “60 Minutes” she knows that the ancestors who were enslaved at Sharswood would be proud that they’re family owns such an important piece of their history.
“I would definitely say throughout this property I can feel something within me when I’m walking around, simply doing anything,” she said. “I know that our ancestors are looking down on us with a smile.”
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