Virginia family’s roots trace back 400+ years

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT)—More than 400 years have passed since the first enslaved Africans arrived in America, marking the start of African American history.

One Virginia family has traced its lineage back to 1619. The Tuckers are believed to be America’s first African family.

Their descendants remain in central Virginia today, preserving a powerful legacy of survival.

“To be a descendant of Isabella and Anthony and William in and of itself, I believe this is a miracle,” said Dr. Wanda Tucker.

If you imagine African American history as a storybook with thousands of chapters, the Tuckers are on the very first page.

“The narrative has been passed down through generations from Isabel and Anthony, their son William, who is the first black child born and baptized in the English colony,” Dr. Tucker said.

Dr. Wanda Tucker and her brother, Vincent Tucker, are descendants of Isabel and Anthony, some of the first enslaved Africans to arrive on the shores of what is now Fort Monroe, Virginia.

“They were human trafficked from Angola, across the Atlantic,” Dr. Tucker said.

During the journey, they were captured by another slave ship and sold into bondage in Virginia in 1619.

In 1624, the couple had a baby boy, who is known as the first black child born in North America.

“Looking at past generations, it has given us the strength to persevere and to understand the strength that we have as a people,” Vincent said.

“Sometimes words like resilient are also used for them,” Wanda said. “But those words to me do not quite capture the essence of who they are, who they were and how they survived. I haven’t quite found that word yet.”

Today, the Tucker Family Cemetery in Hampton sits just a quarter mile from the plantation where their ancestors were once enslaved.

“The reason why this story is so important is because we, through oral history, DNA, as well as research from scholars,” Wanda said. “We have been able to locate the homeland of our lineage, which many African Americans cannot do, unfortunately.”

In fact, the Tuckers are one of the few families to do it.

“Our work is continued to build on the backs of our ancestors,” Wanda said.

While resources and records from the ancestry websites and DNA helped trace their roots, oral history is the Tucker family’s North Star.

Thelma Green Williams, their beloved late cousin and longtime family historian, was key in uncovering the past.

“Family reunions, funerals, birthdays. It didn’t matter,” Wanda said. “Anybody who would listen, even if you didn’t want to listen. Thelma was key on making sure that she continued to tell our family’s story.”

Cousin Thelma sat at her grandmother’s feet, hanging onto every last word of the family tales.

“And from there, she began to trace back,” Wanda said.

But the journey back has only propelled this family forward.

“As far as I know...I am the first descendant of 1619 to, after 400 years, to return to the homeland of my ancestors,” Wanda said.

In 2019, Wanda made the trek of a lifetime to Angola with USA today.

“It was difficult for me to make that complete journey the first time because even though I knew that they made it by force, it was just overwhelming to take that sacred walk,” Wanda said.

But now, Wanda and her brother have returned to Angola several times.

Their journey garnered the attention of the White House.

“This is one of my favorite pictures, of course. Me with President Biden,” Wanda said.

In December, Biden became the first sitting president to visit Angola, inviting the Tuckers to join as part of his delegation.

Biden went on to condemn America’s original sin of playing a role in slavery.

“President Biden and I had a moment,” Wanda said. “I remember saying to him that my family would be proud, and he said they would be proud of me. That was about all I can remember of that conversation.”

The former president’s acknowledgment is a key part of the healing process and the Tuckers’ path forward.

“One of the important things that President Biden did in Angola was standing on the soul of our ancestors -- was to acknowledge the atrocities that happened with an opportunity to move forward,” Wanda said.

The Tucker family, whose ancestors endured the unthinkable, fought to keep their legacy alive through timeless narratives and storytelling, leaning on the past to look ahead to the future.

“We use their lives as examples to keep moving forward,” Vincent said.

“Strength, courage, faith, hope...for them to have survived so many years of trauma that was passed from generation to generation,” Wanda said. “Because they survived. We are here today. And so we continue to be faced with challenges in this country, but we continue to persevere.”