I’ve been researching my family history for a while now, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t forget to look at all the possibilities…

For the last year or so, I was under the impression that my great uncle, Joseph Casey Galkowski, married a woman named Theresa Patek.  I had found a marriage index about a year ago regarding a marriage between the two.  I also an obituary for Theresa that stated that she was married to Joseph Galkowski, had a daughter named Cathy.  Joseph was married to a woman named Norma Peterson and he had a daughter Cathy.  The family became estranged, so there could have been a divorce/remarriage.

Searching the cemetery for Joseph Casey Galkowski, I indeed found that he was buried there in 1999.  Everything seemed to point to this being a connection.

Later research had me working on another great uncle veteran – Roy Wagner.  He is buried  in Arlington National Cemetery.  I went to that website.  I have always wanted to go to DC to have a look around.  I found that the website at the time had a link to a Nationwide Gravesite Locator:  http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/

You can search for all veterans, for all cemeteries.  After typing in Roy Wagner and finding his grave number, I decided to do what came naturally – “Galkowski”.

Doing so came up with TWO Joseph Galkowskis buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (what are THOSE chances?).  One, Joseph Casey, the other Joseph J.  Then I noticed Theresa.  Her grave location did not match Joseph Casey’s, but it did match the other Joseph’s.

Go figure.  Wrong family.

None of the other pieces of information listed birth dates.  I think if I would have had the year, I still would have been off track because the story goes that my great grandmother used to confuse the kids on how old they were – when they pleased her, they were ‘older’ and when they were bad, they were ‘younger’.  My grandfather never really knew how old he really was!

So back to the drawing board for me.  I’ve removed Theresa as a potential mate for Great Uncle Joe and have added “What the heck happened to Uncle Joe’s family” to my 2013 list of things to find out.