A wedding date led me to the story you are about to read. However, that marriage lasted for only a short time before the death of the wife. Subsequently, a second marriage involved a pair that had the same surname. I will begin by looking at a man by the name of Michael Bergmann.

Michael Bergmann was born on September 10, 1843, the son of Ferdinand and Barbara (Billhorn) Bergmann. I cannot display a photograph of his father, but I do have one of his mother. A person has to be a little careful when discussing the name, Barbara Bergmann because two early Bergmann men married Barbara’s. There is this Barbara Billhorn Bergmann, but there is another one, Barbara Adler Bergmann. Ferdinand Bergmann is sometimes credited as being the patriarch of Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. That congregation built its first church in 1846.

Michael’s baptism record is found in the books of Grace Lutheran Church in Uniontown, Missouri. In fact, there are 3 consecutive Bergmann baptism records, all which took place on the same day, found in that church’s records. If I read them correctly, these baptisms took place in the Fath home, and the 3rd record is a Fath child with a mother whose maiden name was Bergmann. I have to display these records in two images.

I would eventually find 8 different census records that include Michael Bergmann. The first one is the census taken in 1850 where we find him at the age of 7. His father was a farmer.

The 1860 census shows Michael as a teenager. His father had died in 1853, so Michael and his older brother, John, were helping to operate the Bergmann farm.

When the Civil War broke out in America, Michael went to serve in the Union Army. A military record of his service is shown here.

Michael’s first bride would be Anna Margaret Popp who was born on January 11, 1847. She was the daughter of Phillip and Katherine (Kodisch) Popp. An entry in the Friedenberg Remembrances book says this Popp family arrived in America in 1851. So, the first census in which we find Margaret’s family was the on taken in 1860. Margaret was 13 years old.

I was unable to find Margaret in the 1870 census, so that leads us up to the marriage of Michael Bergmann and Anna Margaret Popp. This marriage was part of a double wedding. On June 11, 1867, two members of the Popp family were married. In addition to Margaret, her brother, John Popp, married Margaret Gerstacker on that day. We find both of those marriage records on the same page in some Perry County civil records. Both of these couple would have been celebrating their 154th wedding anniversaries if they were still alive.

Our German Family Tree lists 2 children born to this couple, both boys. The firstborn son died before his 3rd birthday. Then, on May 8, 1870, Anna Margaret died at the age of 23. She is said to be buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville, but there is no gravestone photo on Findagrave. That left Michael as a widower with 2 very young boys. We find this entry for him in the 1870 census. It appears that Michael’s mother and his younger sister, Barbara, were helping him raise the two boys.

Michael would marry again in 1871. His second wife shared his surname. Her name was Maria Bergmann, who was born on January 24, 1848. Her father was the George Bergmann who was called “Siding” George” as opposed to another George Bergmann who was called “Creek” George”. Maria’s mother was the other Barbara Bergmann, Barbara Adler Bergmann. Below is a photo of Maria’s parents.

Mary was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. She is found in her first census in 1850 at the age of 2. You can see that Mary had a sister named Barbara. So, we’re now up to 4 different Barbara Bergmann’s.

The 1860 census shows this Bergmann family in the Cinque Hommes Township.

The last census in which Mary is still single is the one taken in 1870.

Although I could not find an actual image of a Perry County marriage record for Michael’s second wedding to Mary Bergmann, that marriage is found in an index of such Perry County marriages that we have in our research library. His second marriage took place on May 30, 1871.

The German Family Tree lists 8 children born to this Bergmann/Bergmann pair. All of them were baptized at the Friedenberg church. We find their family in the 1880 census for the Central Township of Perry County. The Barbara Bergmann living in this household was likely Michael’s mother. The oldest son, John H., was Michael’s son by his first marriage.

Michael shows up in the first 4 censuses taken in the 20th century. First, here is the one from 1900. This is the first census that shows that Michael was an implement dealer.

Next, we find the Bergmann’s in the 1910 census.

The last census in which Mary appears is the one taken in 1920. This census is back to calling Michael a retired farmer.

Mary Bergmann died in 1921 at the age of 72. I find it interesting that her mother’s maiden name on this form is Adler Bergmann.

Michael is still found in the 1930 census. He was living with his daughter, Adeline, who had married Michael Hacker.

Michael Bergmann died in 1931 at the age of 87. His death certificate simply says he died of “infirmities of old age”.

Michael and Mary Bergmann were buried together in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville.

This is not the first blog post that has included a Bergmann/Bergmann marriage. I did not check, but I am not sure if it’s even just the second one. And it may not be the last.