Finding Your Roots

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A research revealed that on his mother's side, Bill actually has deep roots in America. Among his maternal ancestors are a slave owner and two patriots that fought in the American Revolution. But since Bill identifies primarily with his Irish heritage, we set out to uncover his ancestors in Ireland. Bill had heard that his great grandfather John had come from County Cavan. And with that clue, we were able to find a document that revealed Bill's ancestral hometown. First registered in the counties of Cavan and Westmeath. Name John. Name of father, John Reilly. Name of mother, Rose Reilly. Date and place of birth, 23rd of April, 1868, Clonouse. -

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That's your birth certificate, man, or your great grandfather John Reilly. And those are his parents, your great great grandparents. It's amazing. It really is an amazing piece of detective work to go right back there. (piano music) -

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When Bill's ancestors were growing up in the 1830s, Clonouse was a small village made up of hard working potato farmers. But their lives would soon be swept up in one of the greatest tragedies in human history. In 1845, Ireland's potato crop began to fail. Potatoes were the main form of sustenance for the people. What came next was one of the worst famines the world has ever known. Approximately one million people are believed to have died of starvation or disease. We found a first-hand account that described in harrowing detail what the famine did to the residents of Bill's ancestral home. The scene was heart rending in the extreme. Women might be seen worn to skeletons with the clammy dew of death on their emaciated brows. Some ill of fever at the time were taken from their bed of sickness and laid by a ditch. And laid by a ditch. (sad music) -

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The famine lasted for five years, but its impact was felt for decades. Bill's ancestral county was one of the hardest hit. Its population dropped by almost 30%. At the age of 16, Bill's great grandfather, John O'Reilly, and his twin brother left everything they knew to start a new life in America. Your great grandfather John and his brother came by themselves. These two guys, 16, never off the island, in the steerage. Right. I think it would probably be the fear of the unknown rather than the deprivation of the present that would've been the toughest. Because showing up in a brand new world with really nothing. I mean, that's pretty daunting. (quiet music) -

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Bill's great grandfather John was among millions of Irish immigrants in the late 19th century who faced this daunting challenge. A challenge that would involve far more than the shock of the unknown. America didn't greet these new immigrants with open arms. Although they were white, the Irish were viewed as inferior. Most were pushed to the margins of American society. Over time, many of the jobs that they took as policemen, bartenders, long shoremen, firemen and housekeepers would be seen by some as stereotypically Irish. We wanted to see how Bill's great grandfather John fared in his new homeland. So we kept following the paper trail. The New York City census revealed that John settled in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park, a working class Irish enclave, and that he quickly established himself in one of the familiar Irish trades. John O'Reilly, salesman liquors. That's your great grandfather. John O'Reilly worked at a saloon when he came to New York, and he saved enough money to buy his own drinking establishment. He owned a saloon. And that's the place where people come for relief. I always use that word in the Irish. They need relief. Couple of pints here and there. But it's the camaraderie they find and the relief from the hard work that they had to do every single day. Part of the process of my life has been the fact that I am the only one to break out of the middle class in my whole family tree. Now I'm gonna have to think about that. Yep. I'm gonna have to process that. And because I don't want my bloodline to change. I want to keep it where it is, because I'm very proud of it.