It all started with a simple question: When did Anton Washkowiak die? I looked in all the obvious places: the social security death index, the church death records, the church cemetery index. Nothing. Sure he was born in 1863, but I still didn’t think it would be that hard to find out when he died. I had figured out the dates of death for the rest of his family who made the journey to the U.S. including his mother and five of his siblings (his father and three other siblings had passed away in Poland). Why could I not find the date for Anton?…