[HayZee518]

Older wires in new(er) panels always had the ground wrapped around the white and stuck into the neutral bar. The neutral bar of main panels are bonded to the enclosure through a screw or bonding jumper. Sub panels which come off the main have the neutral isolated above ground and an auxillary strip grounded to the enclosure. The neutral receives the white wire, the aux connects to the bare ground wire. All branch circuit bare grounds go to this aux bar, while the whites to the neutral strip. The wire you describe is early romex that is without a ground wire. Some had the ground some did not. The romex outer cable is a silver waxy feeling thing. If you scratch the surface the black tarry stuff was underneath it. A paper wrap was wound around each thermoplastic insulated conductor and this whole mess was encased in the tar and silver coating.