In German, the word, Tante, means “aunt”, but from what I have been told, it often means more than that. It can refer to a single woman who takes on the role of caregiver for older or younger family members. It might be the case of a single woman assisting in the care of young children, or it might involve caring for an aged family member. Perhaps it might even mean being a housekeeper for a family member who has lost his wife. You will read the story of such a woman today. Yes, that means that I have once again run across the story of a person who never got married. I have written several such stories lately.

It is a special birthday that led me to the main character in this post. Marie Christiane Bergt was born on June 28, 1848, so today would be her 175th birthday. Christiane was the daughter of Adolph and Louisa Caroline (Voelker) Bergt. That means Christiane was born into the family that is known for owning the property that is now the location of the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna. Christiane was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. Before I display an image of that record, let me say a few things about the early pastors. The first pastor at Concordia, Frohna was Rev. E.G. Keyl, however, by the time of Christiane’s birth, he had taken a call to Wisconsin. Prior to getting their second pastor, Rev. G.H. Loeber from Altenburg filled in as the pastor at Frohna. He would have been the one who baptized Christiane. Here is Christiane’s baptism record.

Christiane was very young when she appeared in her first census in 1850. She was 2 years old, and her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township. Now, I will get back to the pastor situation at that time. Rev. G.H. Loeber died in 1849, and it was about that time that his son was going to graduate from Concordia Seminary in Altenburg. By that time, the Log Cabin College had been moved to a place near the Loeber parsonage. Christoph Heinrich Loeber then became the 2nd pastor to serve at Concordia, Frohna. He is found living with the Bergt’s when the 1850 census was taken.

In 1850, the Bergt family would have been living in the log cabin shown here, which is now part of the Saxon Lutheran Memorial site.

Let me also point out that Rev. C.H. Loeber had some experience with a Tante. The Loeber family came to this country with 3 children and Pastor Loeber’s unmarried sister. Her name was also Christiane. The Loeber family had a cabin built for Christiane, and it, too, has survived the test of time. In 2007, her cabin was moved to a place right next to where the Log Cabin College is found. You can visit it if you come to our museum. Tante Christiane Loeber could be described as a nanny for Pastor Loeber’s children, one of which was Christoph Heinrich. Sadly, she died already in 1840.

Next, we find the Bergt family in the 1860 census. The census taker really butchered the spelling off the name, Bergt. Christiane was 12 years old by then.

In 1862, Christiane was confirmed at Concordia, Frohna. For some reason, I was not able to view an actual image of her confirmation record, but a list of her confirmation class is found in another publication that we have in our research library. Perhaps there were some issues with getting the confirmation records in the books because Rev. C.H. Loeber left Frohna in 1862, and Rev. Beyer from Trinity, Altenburg filled in for a while.

In the 1870 census, we find Christiane in her 20’s and still living with her parents.

The 1880 census shows Christiane living in her brother’s household. Adolph Bergt, Jr. had married Magdalena Weber in 1870. Right above that household, you will see Christiane’s parents. They were all likely living on Saxon Lutheran Memorial property. There was an 8 year-old boy named Emanuel Dietrich living with Adolph, Jr. I was not able to determine who he was. This census entry seems to indicate that Christiane was involved in helping with the upbringing of children.

Christiane’s mother died in 1895, so when the 1900 census was taken, she was listed in the household with her widowed father, who at that time was 85 years old. Adolph, Jr.’s household is listed right below Adolph, Sr.’s entry. At that time, the 57 year-old Christiane looks as if she was caring for her elderly father.

Several events took place in the next decade that impacted Christiane’s life. First, in early 1908, her father died. Meanwhile, she had a nephew, Adolph Kramer, who had married Emma Lueders. Adolph was a Lutheran pastor in Thorndale, Texas. Later in 1908, when Emma was sickly, a nurse mistakenly gave her poison which resulted in her death. Emma’s story was told in the post, Emma’s Heartbreaking End. That meant Adolph was a widower with a houseful of children who had no mother. Christiane, who no longer had an elderly father to care for, went to Texas to help her nephew with his dilemma. We find Christiane living in the Kramer household in Thorndale, Texas when the 1910 census was taken. The entry says she had no occupation, but she must have been doing plenty for this Kramer household full of 10 children. Christiane was this family’s Tante in more ways than one. She was an aunt, and she provided many needed services for the family.

In 1916, Rev. Kramer married again. The remaining children in the Kramer family then had a new mother to assist with their upbringing. It appears that Christiane then returned home to Frohna. It was there that she died in 1917 at the age of 69. Her death record from the Concordia, Frohna books says that she died as a result of a fall.

Christiane is buried in the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in Frohna.

Tante Bergt, as I choose to call her, lived her adult life in service to her family in many ways. She helped with the raising of children and cared for her elderly father. Her services were even needed in Texas, and she spent part of her later life helping a widowed nephew. I have known several unmarried people in my life, both men and women, who have been great servants in their families and in their churches. Marriage is a wonderful thing, but those who never marry can also have very fulfilling lives, as we see in the life of Tante Bergt.