Steve,
It has been awhile since I have checked these message boards. Your father and my mother were first cousins. I have been researching the Pelsters for a number of years and had the good luck to correspond with a genealogist from Germany that was able to find some information about our Pelster branch. Johann Heinrich Pelster or American version--John Henry Pelster was born in Germany and married Maria Elizabeth Lange. They were the parents of Joseph Pelster, our g-grandfather. (Joseph was born in the U.S.)
I had long been told that John Henry's father was named Garrot. Even as a youngster, I had my doubts. Garrot is not a German name. It was Gerhardt...which sounds very much like Garrot. Our John Henry had been in the army when he married Maria "Elizabeth" Lange.
I also had been told John H.'s second wife was Catherine and was a sister to Elizabeth. The Catherine part is true. The sister part is not. It always troubled me because Catholics frowned (still need special permission) on marrying a sister-in-law when widowed. Catherine was a neighbor woman. She and John had a set of twin boys that died as infants...they had no other children together.
If you or anyone else in your family is interested in my information...let me know. I live in SW Omaha. There are several corrections from the original family book..Blanche did not have the advantage of computer technology when she was researching.
K