Finding Your Roots

We had one more story for Tracy.

Shifting to another line of his mother's family tree, we came to a man named Wiley Wharton.

Wiley is Tracy's third great-grandfather.

He was an African American, born around 1817, likely in Halifax County, Virginia.

But unlike most African Americans of his day, we found Wiley listed by name in the 1860 census, which could only mean one thing.

Anybody listed by name was free.

Your ancestor was in the tiny percentage of Black people who got their freedom before the Civil War.

Wow.

My great-great-great-grandfather was free.

He was free.

Did you ever imagine that somebody in your family line was free before the Civil War?

Before the Emancipation Proclamation?

Good for you, Grandpa.

You know, I could say that I'm so happy for my grandfather.

I'm so happy that he didn't have to do all that suffering.

I hope not.

I'm glad he was free, - 'cause that's how I feel.

- Yeah?

I know where it come from, I'm free when I'm on stage, I feel free when I'm on stage doing my comedy.

I feel free, now I know it came from you.

Though Wiley was free.

His family was not.

We believe that his wife, Judy, Tracy's third great-grandmother, was enslaved by a white man named James Medley.

As we scoured through the documents that Medley left behind, we uncovered the birth record for Judy and Wiley's son John, a baby born into slavery on Medley's tobacco plantation.

I used to smoke cigarettes.

Please forgive me.

What's it like to learn that?

He owned my great- John is your great-great, Judy's your great-great-great.

And there's Judy giving birth to John and the master- - And he owned both of them.

- And he owned both of them.

But he didn't own Wiley.

No, 'cause he was free.

Wow.

It's surreal.

It is.

You watch all these movies on TV and you grew up watching the Alex Haley Roots and all that, and now you're face to face with your roots.

Yep.

And it's, it's bittersweet.

It's sweet to know where I come from, and know who I am.

But it's bitter to know that he had a master, there was a master.

Oh yeah.

Can you imagine owning another human being?

- No.

- And thinking that's right?

No.

I wanna show you a final thing.

Okay.

Please turn the page.

We're looking at the slave schedule in 1860.

And remember the name of the white man who owned your family was James Medley.

Mm-hmm.

So these are all of the enslaved people that he owned in 1860.

And as you can see, the record lists all of them by sex, by age, and by color, but not by name.

Now this guy owned 71 human beings.

Your great-great-grandfather, John, would've been around four years old when that census was recorded.

And Judy, your third great-grandmother, would've been around 28.

Okay?

And her five other children would've been the ages of 12, 7, 5, 3, and two.

- So do you see any people- - Yes.

on that document in front of you?

"Male, Black, age six.

Female, Black, age seven.

Female, Black, age 12.

Male, Black, age three.

Male, Black, age three.

Female, mulatto, age five.

Male, Black, age two."

And they line up exactly with your ancestors.

So you are most probably looking at your enslaved ancestors owned by that white man listed on the slave schedule in 1860.

But remember, their father was free.

It must have been horrible.

Must have been awful.

Can you imagine what that must have been like for him to see his family still held slavery?

Alienated from his kids.

Yep.

Alienated from his kids.

Yep.

You got it.

There is a grace note to this story.

Tracy wondered what happened to Wiley and Judy when freedom came, bringing with it a host of new challenges.

In the 1880 census, we found our answer.

"Wharton, Wiley, age 60, mulatto, occupation farmer, can read, can write.

Judy, age 50, mulatto, can read, can write."

They stayed together and they learned to read and write.

Those are your third great-grandparents.

- Thank the Lord.

- Isn't that cool?

Thank the Lord.

And listed with all their children, man.

All the children stayed with them?

They all stayed with them.

The Wharton family stayed together through slavery and freedom.

What's it like to see that?

This is heavy stuff for me.

I feel fortunate.

I feel found.

I feel different.

It's a sense of pride.

It's me knowing.

It's changed my life.

This book right here has changed my life.