We will be looking at a special wedding anniversary today. It will detail the story of a couple that was married on October 20, 1870, making today their 150th wedding anniversary. It was the marriage of Adolph Bergt and Magdalena Weber. Let’s begin by looking at the early life of Adolph.

Adolph was a junior. Christian Adolph Bergt was the son of Christian Adolph and Louise (Voelker) Bergt. Adolph was born on January 8, 1845. He was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna, Missouri. The first pastor of Concordia, Rev. Keyl, performed this baptism. Here is the church record.

We find Adolph in his first census at the age of 6 in 1850. His father was a farmer. Living in their household at this time was Rev. Christoph Heinrich Loeber, the second pastor of Concordia, Frohna and son of the first pastor at Trinity, Altenburg, Rev. Gotthold Loeber.

Next, we find Adolph in the 1860 census at the age of 15.

Adolph served in the military during the Civil War. Below are two images showing his military record.

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After the war, Adolph went back to live with his parents in Frohna. He is still found in their household in the year of his marriage. Here is the Bergt household in the 1870 census.

Now, we will turn our attention to the bride, Marie Magdalena Weber. She was the daughter of Friedrich and Regina (Goethe) Weber and born on May 13, 1847. Magdalena was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The first pastor of that church, Rev. Loeber, performed this baptism. Here is the church record.

Magdalena’s father died the year after she was born, and her mother married again in 1849 to George Kaufmann. So, in the 1850 census, we find Magdalena living in a Kaufmann household. The census taker wrote down her surname as Weaver.

Next, we find Magdalena in the 1860 census at the age of 13. The Weber surname is not shown here, making it look like she is Magdalena Kaufmann.

Like her future husband, Magdalena is found as still being a single woman in the year of her marraige. Here we find her in the 1870 census. She is shown as Lena Kaufmann, and she was 23 years old.

As said previously, Adolph Bergt married Magdalena Weber on October 20, 1870. Below is the Perry County marriage record for this couple. It spills over two pages.

You might notice that the pastor performing this marriage was Rev. J.F. Koestering. Because of what we call his “Koestering Hole”, this is the only marriage record we can view. There were no marriage record for this time period in either the Frohna or Altenburg books. Pastor Koestering was serving both Concordia and Trinity congregations at this time, so we cannot be certain in which church this wedding took place. Most weddings took place at the congregation of the bride, so it is more likely that it took place in Altenburg.

Adolph and Magdalena had just two children, both girls, named Emma and Lina. Neither of these two would get married. We find this family in the 1880 census. Adolph’s sister, Christiane, was living in this household as well as an 8 year-old Emanuel Dietrich.

We have to wait until the 1900 census before we can view this household again. I included the household of Adolph, Sr. to display that these two families may have been living on the same farmland. There was also a 14 year-old laborer by the name of Gustav Weinhold in their household.

At this time, I will point out that the Bergt farm was located where you now find the Saxon Lutheran Memorial, another historical site located in Perry County whose mission, like ours at our museum, is to tell the story of the early history of German Lutherans in East Perry County. A log cabin was the first home on that property and a more modern home was attached to it at a later date. Below you will see both the log cabin portion of the home along with the rest of the Bergt house.

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We find the Bergt household again in the 1910 census. Just their daughter, Emma, was living in his household.

The last census in which we find Adolph was the one taken in 1920 when he was 75 years old. Both Emma and Lina were living in the household at that time.

Adolph Bergt died in 1922 at the age of 77. His death certificate states that he died following an operation on his prostate.

Magdalena is still found in the 1930 census. Her daughter, Lina, is listed as the head of the household.

Magdalena Bergt died in 1932 at the age of 85. Her death certificate lists influenza as the cause of death.

Both Adolph and Magdalena Bergt are buried in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna. For some unknown reason, Adolph’s birth date is shown as August 9, 1844 on his gravestone. His baptism record and death certificate clearly state that he was born on January 8, 1845.

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We would like to wish Adolph and Magdalena a very blessed 150th wedding anniversary. I think I can confidently say that these two are now spending an eternity in heaven. Unfortunately, this branch of the Bergt family comes to an end as a result of them having just two daughters. However, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that quite a few descendants with the surname, Bergt, have had their stories told on this site.