I will be driving back to Altenburg today, so I will share an old post again. The attached story told of a pair of Bergmann siblings who married a pair of Hoehn siblings on the same day, February 12,1861.
Plenty of other events were taking place at about this time in American history. You likely know that February 12th is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. This double wedding took place on Honest Abe’s 52nd birthday. Also, the Civil War would begin at the Battle of Fort Sumter, which would take place in April of that year, about 2 months after this wedding at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. As it turns out, the two grooms in this wedding would end up serving in the Union Army for a time during that war. They were both part of the 64th Regiment of the Enrolled Missouri Militia. Here is a list of other events that took place around the time of this marriage.
- Jefferson Davis was selected as the president of the Confederacy on February 9, 1861.
- President-Elect Abraham Lincoln left Springfield, Illiinois on February 11, 1861 to head to Washington, D.C. to assume the Presidency.
- On March 4, 1861, President Lincoln was inaugurated.
As you can see, plenty of significant events were taking place at the time of the Hoehn/Bergmann weddings. The brides and grooms must have had many thoughts going through their minds other than the fact that they were getting married. Add to that the fact that one of the grooms was named Valentine.