The Vault · Unidentified photograph
Is This My Great-Great-Great-Grandfather?
A family photograph with an Illinois connection—and no name.
What we know
- Provenance
- The photograph belonged to my maternal grandmother.
- Family connection
- Her family had connections to Illinois.
- Inscription
- Nothing is written on the photograph.
- Possible identity
- The man may be my great-great-great-grandfather, but that identification has not been proven.
- Visible details
- He appears to be wearing veterans’ reunion badges or medals and is holding a flag.
The question
This photograph may show my great-great-great-grandfather. That is the possibility handed down with it—but not a fact I can yet prove. Who was this man, what gathering was he attending, and why was he photographed holding this flag?