Note: Before the Family History Expo in November, The Star asked readers to submit family names to see what could be found on newspapers.com. There were many submissions, so we spent 30 minutes on some of them to see what we could find and will present several in the coming months.
Alex Galvez is part of an Arizona pioneer family. He says his great-grandfather, Philomeno Galvez Sr., was one of the first 400 miners to settle what would become Tombstone.
The following was discovered by reading articles from Tombstone and other Southern Arizona newspapers.
Philomeno was a prominent and respected citizen of Tombstone. His obituary said he died in 1924 at age 69, but it neglects to name is surviving relatives. He bought the Opposition Water Works in 1895 and promised to continue to deliver water at the same price, unlike monopolists. His name was often spelled Filomeno in newspaper accounts. He also had several mine claims and other business interests.
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His wife (Alex Galvez gives her name as Sarah) was lucky to escape death when the family’s home on Bruce Street was struck by lightning in 1911. The electricity from the lightning traveled down the stovepipe and caused her to lose consciousness. She had been near the stove when it happened. Fortunately, according to an article about the incident, she was able to attend to her household duties the following day.
Their son, Filomeno, Alex’s grandfather, was born in Tombstone in 1890.
In 1904, Jose Galvez, named by Alex as a relative, was stabbed in a fight over a bottle of wine, according to a Bisbee Daily Review article. He survived the stabbing.
Another relative, Francisco Galvez, was declared insane in 1915 and sent to the asylum in Phoenix. A deputy sheriff was to take him to Phoenix when he transferred other prisoners to Florence. Alex Galvez says Francisco was lost in Florence, but we were unable to find an article verifying this. However, we found an article from the Bisbee Daily Review in 1920 saying a Francisco Galvez was found dead in a rooming house. We don’t know if this was the same man.
Alex Galvez did not say how Jose and Francisco were related to Filomeno Jr. or Philomeno Sr., and we found no newspaper accounts giving that information.
Sister Mary Philomena Galvez died at age 44 in 1970, in Tucson. In her obituary, her parents are listed as Mr. and Mrs. Filomeno Galvez, so it is possible she is Alex’s aunt. His grandfather, Filomeno, would have been about 36 when she was born. If she is the daughter of Alex’s grandfather, her siblings’ names, which were in the obituary, would be useful in seeking further information.
With more time, we would continue searching and perhaps use other records to see how they were related to Alex.
