There is a bittersweet photo in my grandmother's collection - the bitter part being it is not labelled for names so I can only make educated guesses on who these people were. Many of us have such old photos handed down to us that we might have no idea who the people are within. However, with some bit of genealogical sleuthing, we can sometimes make a reasonable determination of who might be in those photographs.
Things I know for sure about this particular photo are that it is the Wiltbank Family sometime around the turn of the 20th century probably in the Wilmington, DE area at some sort of camp meeting cottage, My great grandfather, Edward Wiltbank (1881-1949) is standing 3rd from the right. This is where a bit of speculation comes in but I am nearly certain that the older woman directly to the left of him in the pic is his mother, Mary (Dolan) Wiltbank (1858-1943), my g-g-grandmother and that this photo was likely taken in mid-1898. She immigrated to the US c1875 from Ireland and married Isaac Newton Wiltbank (1851-1910) in 1877. He is likely the man at the far left but I am less certain of this. From this, the younger people in the pic are likely the siblings of my great grandfather Ed Wiltbank. If so, the boy to his right in the photo would likely be Harry Wiltbank (born 1886) and the younger boy seated would be David Wiltbank (1892-1949) (he has many features matching later known photos of him. The young woman just to the left of Mary (Dolan) Wiltbank is likely Lucy Wiltbank (1880-1944) who would marry George Kolb in 1902.
Finally, the "grand finale" for me are the two old folks in the pic. It is a high probability that the man to the far right and seated is David Simpson Wiltbank (1811-1899), my 3x great grandfather. The woman seated, 2nd from the left, is likely his wife and my 3x great grandmother, Rebecca (Pierce) Wiltbank (c1814-1898). She died in December 1898 and I believe this pic was taken in the summer of that year. They were married about 1840. The final figure in the photo is the man 3rd from the left. He MAY be Jesse Wiltbank (1849-1920), a brother of my 2x great Isaac N. Wiltbank, but this one carries the most uncertainty. This is a FASCINATING PHOTO from just before 1900 and I treasure it as part of my genealogical collection.
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