John Charles Slowey - Wisconsin to South Dakota - Part 9

Do You Ever Feel Like Your Ancestors Are Hiding On Purpose?  Seriously.

When I last posted here about my 2nd great grandfather, John Charles Slowey, I had requested various bios and obits, as well as birth, death, and marriage records from South Dakota.  For the past month, I have been hovering over my mailbox waiting for these things to come.  Everything finally showed up this week!  Here's what I received:

1. Delayed birth certificate for my great grandfather, Thomas Patrick Slowey - he was born in 1896, but his birth certificate wasn't filed until 2 Nov 1944, which is odd because he was issued his SSN in 1941.  Another mystery to figure out.

2.  Death certificate for my great grandmother, Anna Christina Huber (Thomas Patrick Slowey's wife).  She died on 29 Nov 1982.

3.  Death certificate for my great great grandmother, Theresa Burns (John Charles Slowey's wife).  She died 22 Jul 1945, only two days before her 80th birthday.

4.  An obituary for my great great grandmother dated 23 Jul 1945 (unfortunately, they didn't give me the name of the newspaper).

5.  An obituary for my great great grandfather dated 28 Apr 1928 (again, no newspaper name), which incidentally lists his birth year as 1861 - which by now we all know is incorrect!

6.  Pages 1332-1333 of "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson (1904) containing the biographies of Bernard Slowey, my 2nd great grand uncle, and Patrick Slowey, my 3rd great grandfather.

I requested John Charles Slowey and Theresa Burns' marriage certificate, but did not receive it.  I really hoped to find his birth date on the marriage certificate, or at least find out where in Wisconsin he was born so I can try to find a birth certificate.  Instead, I got a refund check for $15.  I know they were married in Yankton, South Dakota, but it was in 1886, before those records were kept by the state.  The church where they were married no longer exists, so I guess I will have to check the nearest diocese to see if they happened to keep those records.

I'm pulling my hair out trying to confirm John Charles' birth date.  If anyone has any other ideas, I'm all ears!  I feel like I can't move on to the next person until I solve this mystery.  Maybe I should call the Mounties or something ... don't they always get their man?

I'll be transcribing the obits shortly.  Maybe that will shake loose a clue or two.