In 1793 in the rolling hills of SW Virginia, a child was born. A son of slaves. His name was Dan. His feet were deformed, and he would never walk. The Walnut Grove Plantation’s most tenured slave, Rube, now too old to work the fields was caretaker to the young children and he would grieve their 10th birthday when they would be put to work in the fields. Twice a day he would carry little Dan over his shoulder, followed by the other children to meet the workers in the shade of a huge old white oak for a break from the hard labor and the hot sun. On a cold and windy day in March of 1798, the crippled boy died and Rube asked permission to bury the child there beneath the tree, and he carried him there one last time. Five years later, Rube was laid to rest beside him. A cemetery of slaves, some 100 in total here. It was known to them as the resting tree.