When I first came across this photo (and the others in the set) I could only identify Rose Romano Pantoliano (l) and Mary Pantoliano Fischkelta (c). Since then I’ve learned that it is Anna Pantoliano Branda at right.
This is where it gets dicey. Some have said the girl in Mary’s lap is her daughter Gloria. And others have said that the girl seated on the ground is Anna’s daughter Anna. Nobody knows who is behind the wheel.
Someone is wrong. Gloria (b.1927) is 13 years younger than Anna (b.1914).
Assuming that the seated girl is 4-6 and the girl on the lap is 1-2 AND that the girls are the daughters of the women to whom they are closest, here are the viable scenarios.
1. The girl on the ground IS Anna. That dates the photo to 1919-1920. That would make the girl in the lap either Mary Fischkelta Monaco (b. 1917) or Jean Fischkelta Barone (b. 1918).
2. The girl in the lap IS Gloria. That dates the photo to 1928-1929. The girl on the ground is either Mary Branda (b. 1922) or Florrie Branda (b.1923).
3. The girl in the lap is Anna Fischkelta Mulligan (b. 1921) dating the photo to 1923-1924. The girl on the ground can only be Carmella Branda Whalen (b.1919).
But why would Mary and Anna pose with their children and not Rose? If we factor her in, then….
4. The girl on the ground is Anna and the seated child is Mary Pantoliano Marzocca (b. 1917).
5. The seated child is Anna Pantoliano Girardo (b.1921) and the girl on the ground is Carmella.
But what about the young woman behind the wheel. She is the mystery because she is in several of the group photos and one on her own as if she is part of the family. Like a sister….
We’ve established that it is Rose Giordano (b.1905) in the center. And I’ve been told that it is Angelina Branda (b. 1907) to her left. Mystery woman is on the right.
But what if mystery woman is Angelina instead of the woman on the left? In the above photo both she and Rose appear to be in their early 20s. This fits with the scenario #2 above. Gloria is in the lap, Mary/Florrie is on the ground.
Anna Branda would be about 15-16 at that time — maybe Anna is the sister on the left?