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Virgil Simpson was a runaway slave of Colonel Burns that young Eliza Simpson unsuccessfully attempted to help escape through the underground railroad.

When Lisa was researching the history of the Simpson family for a school project, she found the diary of Eliza Simpson. Reading the diary, Lisa saw that Eliza went to rescue a slave from Colonel Burns, who turned out to be Virgil Simpson. Eliza told Virgil that she was there to rescue him and take him north, pointing in the direction she thought was north. Virgil told her, "I don't think so," and when Eliza complained, asking if it was because she was young and a woman, Virgil told her it was because she was pointing south. Virgil and Eliza then ran off in the correct direction while being chased by two patrollers.

Unfortunately for Lisa, the diary crumbled to dust after this part of the story. After going to the Springfield Library, Lisa and Marge were given a cookbook by Mabel Simpson, the mother of Eliza, called Mabel's Table: A Cookbook. In the footnotes of one of the recipes, Mabel continued the story, which Eliza had told her. Eliza and Virgil couldn't outrun the patrollers, who were on horses, so they went to a traveling circus where they joined as temporary acts. Virgil became a clown, and Eliza became a bearded lady. Eventually, they managed to make it back to Eliza's house. Eliza's father, Hiram, was initially against the idea of having an escaped slave stay with them but agreed when Virgil baked him "wheel cakes." In the present, Lisa was happy that it turned out Eliza had successfully rescued Virgil...