Fred Miller’s Journey to Discover His Family Roots at Sharswood

Fred Miller, an Air Force veteran, purchased a white, Gothic Revival-style house with a green roof in southern Virginia to host large family gatherings. He did not anticipate uncovering a significant part of his family’s history with this property.

Unknown to him at the time, the house, named Sharswood, was built in the 1850s by a slave-owning uncle and nephew who shared his last name. Miller recalls, “If I had known there was a ‘Miller Plantation,’ I could have connected the name Miller with that plantation.” He had never heard of a ‘Miller Plantation’ before this discovery.

Fred’s sister, Karen Dixon-Rexroth, played a crucial role in convincing him to buy Sharswood. Alongside cousins Dexter Miller and Sonya Womack-Miranda, they researched the property’s past.

“Something drew me to knowing the history of this place,” Dixon-Rexroth explained. She began investigating the 1800s history of the property, starting with any records available online.

With assistance from Karice Luck-Brimmer, a local historian and genealogist, they uncovered documents showing their ancestors were once enslaved at Sharswood. Fred reflected, “When the slaves delivered food into the main house, they came up through the basement stairs, where there’s distinct wear from years of traffic.” Realizing, he added, “These are my people.”

The 60 Minutes team, including Shari Finkelstein and Braden Cleveland Bergan, joined the family to explore Sharswood when first meeting Dexter Miller. During this time, Dexter asked former coworker Bill Thompson about the slave cemetery’s location.

“I said, ‘Bill, where is the slave cemetery?’ He replied, ‘You see those trees over there?'”

This revelation led the family and 60 Minutes team to a cluster of trees beyond Fred’s property, the likely burial site of their enslaved ancestors. Lesley Stahl later visited the site with Fred, who then lived in California, and his sister, Karen. Reflecting on seeing the cemetery for the first time, Fred stated, “It was heart-wrenching to realize it was right here all along.”

Since the 60 Minutes story aired in May 2022, Fred Miller moved back to Virginia. He established a non-profit foundation to maintain the slave quarters and cemetery. The foundation also offers tours of the house.

The video above, initially aired on May 15, 2022, was produced by Keith Zubrow and edited by Sarah Shafer Prediger.