Fritz and Mary Bergmann were married on this day 135 years ago. Their marriage would probably be frowned upon these days. That is because these two shared the same set of grandparents, which would also make them first cousins. I will tell this couple’s story today.

Friedrich John “Fritz” Bergmann was born on September 24, 1861, the son of Johann and Salome (Hoehn) Bergmann. Fritz’s parents were part of the double Bergmann/Hoehn weddings that were described in the post, 2 Bergmanns + 2 Hoehns = Valentine’s Anniversary. Fritz was the firstborn child in his family. He was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. As I have said in several previous posts, a fire in 1942 destroyed the Friedenberg records, so we cannot view Fritz’s original baptism record. Fritz shows up in the 1870 census at the age of 8. His father was a farmer.

Ten years later, we find the 18 year-old Fritz in the 1880 census. This time, his family was found in the Central Township of Perry County. Fritz was working on his father’s farm.

We can find this short bio of Fritz in the book, Friedenberg Remembrances.

Now, we will look at Fritz’s future wife. Her name was Mary Catherine Lintner who was born on April 21, 1865. She was the daughter of Johann and Anna (Bergmann) Lintner. Mary’s mother, Anna, was the sister of Fritz’s father, Johann. Mary was also baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. She is found as a 5 year-old in the 1870 census. She also shares the distinction with Fritz of being the firstborn child in her family.

Like the situation with Fritz, when we find Mary in the 1880 census, the Lintner’s were living in the Central Township. Mary was then a teenager. Her father was a farmer.

Mary’s bio can also be found in Friedenberg Remembrances.

That leads us up to the marriage that took place in 1886. Fritz Bergmann married Mary Lintner on March 8 in that year, making today their 135th anniversary. We can view this couple’s marriage license.

This couple was married by Rev. Demetrio at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. We do not have the images of the original records from that church (yet), so we can only look at a transcription of this event in an Immanuel, Perryville binder that we have.

Our German Family Tree says that 4 children were born to this couple. They were all probably baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. The first census in which we find this couple and their family was the one taken in 1900. By then, they had all 4 of their children.

Next, we find this Bergmann household in the 1910 census. Fritz was a farmer all his life.

The 1915 plat maps show the Fritz Bergmann farm located not far south of Perryville, and thus close to Friedenberg. You can also see a parcel of land attributed to a Lintner right next door.

The Bergmann household is once again found in the 1920 census. The two sons and their daughter, Esther, never married.

The last census in which we find Fritz and Mary was the one taken in 1930. This entry shows the John Lintner couple living nearby. John was a brother of Mary Bergmann.

Fritz Bergmann died in 1934 at the age of 73. We can take a look at his death certificate.

Mary Bergmann died a year later in 1935. Her death certificate says she was 70 years old when she died.

Fritz and Mary Bergmann are buried together in the Peace Lutheran Cemetery in Friedenberg.

Their gravestone is one which has photographs of Fritz and Mary on it. I confess I don’t want to drive up to Perryville today to get more close-up images of this couple. Those are the only photos of these two that I was able to find, although I’m fairly confident that our friend and president of the Perry County Historical Society, Dana Lintner Farrow, would have photos of these members of her family. For now, the best I can do is to enlarge the photo of their gravestone.

I cannot help but imagine this couple meeting for the first time at a Bergmann family reunion held at the home of their grandma and grandpa.