Unfortunately, like many of the photographs in the Sullivan family archives, the image above bears no identification other than the notation of “Sullivan Family” and the year “1908.” However, using data from the US Census of 1910, we can fairly assume by the date and likely ages of the children at the time, that they are ... BACK ROW left to right: Arthur, Earl, Frances, Genevive; FRONT SEATED left to right: Ellen (A.K.A. "Nellie," mother of children pictured and wife to Thos. J), Stella (standing beside mother), and Mildred (toddler also standing). We'll also assume that Thomas J. Sullivan is behind the camera. If not, he was likely busy working at his modest grocery market in Galesburg.

The house in the background was the Sullivan home, located at 331 E. Third Street, Galesburg, Ill. It stands to this day, preserved only because it was also the birthplace of the writer Carl Sandburg (born Jan. 6, 1878). A commemorative picture postcard of the home [see image below] was also included in the family archives. It was distributed by Illinois Camera Shop of Galesburg, Ill. It is an Ektachrome by Chas. A. Fach & J.D. Gillette, and bears this quote from Stephen Vincent Benet on the back: “CARL SANDBURG . . . . . He came to us from the people Lincoln loved because there were so many of them, and through all his life, in verse and prose, he has spoken of and for the people. A great American, we have just reason to be proud that he has lived and written in our time.”

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