Vanessa Williams Unlocks Her Ancestry With A Rare Civil War Photo | Who Do You Think You Are?

Summary by Krater

Vanessa Williams investigates her paternal ancestry in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, tracing her great-great-grandfather David Carll and her great-great-grandfather William A. Fields.

From the video

Answers: How did Vanessa Williams discover her ancestors' civil war history?

• paternal ancestry
• civil war soldiers
• african-american history
• genealogical research
• tennessee state legislature

What it concludes

• Vanessa Williams' great-great-grandfather David Carll enlisted as a private in the 26th U.S. Colored Infantry in January 1864.
• David Carll purchased land in Oyster Bay, New York, just days after enlisting in the Union army.
• David Carll survived the Civil War and was discharged in August 1865.
• Vanessa Williams' other great-great-grandfather, William A. Fields, was one of the first African-American members of the Tennessee General Assembly.
• William A. Fields served as a justice of the peace and was a strong advocate for public education and children's school attendance in Tennessee.