April 29--Chris Noth's journey to learn about his father's family led him to the Chicago History Museum, where he discovered the toll the Great Chicago Fire took on his ancestors.
"It's like a bomb. I mean, it's like Hiroshima just leveled (the city)," Noth says as he examines a picture of Chicago in the aftermath of the 1871 fire, which killed nearly 300 people and destroyed thousands of buildings.
Noth's Chicago visit is featured on Sunday's episode of the TLC show "Who Do You Think You Are?," scheduled to air at 7 p.m.
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Noth, who plays Illinois' governor on CBS' "The Good Wife," was born in Madison, Wisc. He recalled visiting his father's family in Chicago as a child. Now that he has a son, 8-year-old Orion, he said he wants to know more about his roots.
Noth, 61, met with a genealogist in Chicago and found out his great-grandparents lived on South Homan Avenue in 1900 and his great-great grandparents lived near the Chicago River until the fire. Shortly after the fire, his family lived in scattered homes on the prairie.
"From what you told me, Dennis and Ann and the children lived here in the 20th Ward. LaSalle Street is somewhere in here," Noth says to John Russick, museum vice president for interpretation and education, as he points to the picture of the fire-ravaged city. "It's utterly destroyed."
After visiting Chicago, Noth goes to London and Portugal for more research.
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