Nail, William Reilly, 1927-2006

William Reilly Nail was born in 1927. He grew up in Albany, Texas. He went to Princeton University and later worked for CBS as a producer. Reilly retired back to Albany, Texas. In 1980, Reilly with much help from the community opens the Old Jail Art Center (For more on the history of the OJAC, visit our website, http://www.theoldjailartcenter.org)

In the 1990s, Reilly became interested in his roots. His uncle Robert had began the search for the Nail family's origins in the 1960s and Reilly continued the search. After years of research, Reilly published a history of the family called Per Stirpes: The John M. Nail Family in Texas 1839-1995 .

As the title of Nail's book is an obscure legal term, a definition can be found here: http://www.investorwords.com/3688/per_stirpes.html

Reilly was notorious among his family and friends for collecting art and disposing of all else. Though his papers contain a great deal of information concerning the Nail family, there is very little information about Reilly himself. Intentional or not, the result is that Reilly Nail's memory will forever be linked to The Old Jail Art Center he worked so hard to create. Reilly died July 23, 2006

From the guide to the Reilly Nail Papers AR. 2003. 025; AR. 2005. 015; AR. 2006. 007., 1829-1995, (Robert E. Nail, Jr. Archives)