The event that led me to today’s tale was a wedding anniversary. The husband in this story ended up marrying 2 women, and it will be his first wedding that took place on today’s date, August 7th. I will begin with the husband.

Johann Heinrich Bergmann was born on November 1, 1869. I will call him John Henry. He was the son of John and Anna Margaret (Popp) Bergmann. John Henry was baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg, so we are unable to view his baptism record. He is found in the 1870 census at the age of 9 months. His mother had died earlier in 1870, so she is not found in this entry. His father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

John Henry’s father married again. His second wife was Maria Bergmann, so that was a Bergmann/Bergmann wedding. In the 1880 census, John Henry was 10 years old. He had 2 more half-siblings by that time. This time, the Bergmann family is found living in the Central Township.

John Henry would get married prior to the next census we can view in 1900, so we will now take a look at his first wife. Her name was Louise Albertine Hoehn, who was born on March 18, 1872. Louise was the daughter of Ferdinand and Dorothea (Rauh) Hoehn. She likely was also baptized at Peace Lutheran Church in Friedenberg. Louise is found in the 1880 census at the age of 7. Her father was a farmer in the Cinque Hommes Township.

John Henry Bergmann married Louise Hoehn on August 7, 1892. That means today would be this pair’s 133rd wedding anniversary. The marriage license for this couple shown below says that Rev. H. Guemmer was the pastor who performed the wedding. He was the pastor of Peace, Friedenberg at that time.

Here is a wedding photograph of John Henry and Louise. John Henry was wearing one of those suit coats that was buttoned just by the top button. That was the style for a while.

According to our German Family Tree, this couple had 4 children. Their first child was baptized at Peace, Friedenberg, but the rest, beginning in 1895, were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. When the 1900 census was taken, we find the Bergmann’s with 2 children. A boarder named George Ward was living with them and helping John Henry with the farming. They were living in the Central Township at the time.

This photo of the John Henry Bergmann family which includes 3 children must have been taken during the next decade. The youngest child in this photo was born in 1902.

The 1910 census shows the Bergmann family with the 3 children shown in the above photograph.

Louise Bergmann gave birth to another child on November 7, 1910, but then, on November 22nd, Louise died. Although Missouri death certificates began to be recorded in 1910, I was unable to find one for Louise. However, her death record from the books of Immanuel, Perryville is shown below. In the cause of death column, it says Wockenbett. Google Translate says that means postpartum.

John Henry would get married again, so let’s take a look at the woman who would become his second wife. Her name was Louise Catherine Dippold, who was born on May 27, 1880. She would mostly go by the name, Louise, meaning that John Henry married two Louise’s, but I will use the name Catherine so that the two Louise’s will not be confused. She was the daughter of Johann and Marie (Poehner) Dippold. Catherine was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. Her baptism record is shown here.

Catherine is found in the 1880 census at the age of 1 month. I cannot figure out why she was called Mary in this entry.

In the 1900 census, Catherine was 20 years old. She was the oldest of many Dippold children. As you can see, she is called Louise in this entry.

Catherine was still single when the 1910 census was taken. She was still living with her parents at the age of 29.

John Henry Bergmann married Catherine Dippold on March 24, 1913. They were married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville. We can view their church marriage record here.

The Missouri marriage license for this pair is displayed below.

John Henry and Catherine had 3 more children, all of which were baptized at Immanuel, Perryville. In the 1920 census, there are 4 children listed, 2 from John Henry’s first wife, and 2 from his second. This time, John Henry was called an implement dealer.

The last Bergmann child was born later in 1920. Then, in 1921, John Henry Bergmann died at the age of 52. His death certificate below and his death record from Immanuel’s church books say that he died of tuberculosis.

Here is John Henry’s death record from Immanuel. The fact that John Henry died in 1921, means that his youngest child was less than 2 years old when he died.

Catherine is found in the 1930 census as a widow with 4 children. Her step-daughter, another Louise, was a teacher at a rural school.

Next, we find the Bergmann’s in the 1940 census. The 3 Bergmann daughters in this entry were all working at the shoe factory in Perryville.

The last census we can view for Catherine was the one taken in 1950. Her daughter, Lillian, and her mother, Mary Dippold, at the age of 91, were living with her.

Catherine Louise Bergmann died in 1974 at the age of 93. Her death certificate says she died at the Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville.

John Henry Bergmann and his 2 wives named Louise are each buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville. John Henry’s gravestone got photo-bombed by a John Deere lawn tractor.

Now you know the story of John Henry and his two Louise’s. A sad part of this tale is that one of John Henry’s daughters lost her mother as an infant, and one of his daughters lost her father when she was only 1 year old. Not only that, John Henry himself lost his mother when he was just 1 year old.