Bergers in a Flash
Gideon's father,
John W. Berger, was also a minister. He preached for the Evangelical
Association in German and was the son of Rhineland-Palatinate immigrants.[2, 3] Gideon was born in Wabash County,
Indiana on 11 Oct 1885 and came to Oakland, Alameda, California in 1891.[2, 4, 5] He was one of nine children.[3] Gideon lived in California throughout his life and died in 1965.[2, 6]
Gideon's father, John, was born in Marshall County, Indiana on 17 August 1841.[3] His father, Heinrich Michael Berger, was a farmer who had arrived in the US around 1832.[6] When the Civil War broke out, John enlisted in Company K of the 29th Indiana Infantry Regiment. He fought at Shiloh before becoming ill and being discharged.[3] In 1866 John married the daughter of Swiss immigrants, Susanna vonAllmen in Evansville, Vanderburgh, Indiana.[7, 8] John, through his church work, lived in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and lastly California in addition to the several years he spent doing missionary work in Germany.[3] He died in Oakland, Alameda, California in 1891.[9]
Gideon's father, John, was born in Marshall County, Indiana on 17 August 1841.[3] His father, Heinrich Michael Berger, was a farmer who had arrived in the US around 1832.[6] When the Civil War broke out, John enlisted in Company K of the 29th Indiana Infantry Regiment. He fought at Shiloh before becoming ill and being discharged.[3] In 1866 John married the daughter of Swiss immigrants, Susanna vonAllmen in Evansville, Vanderburgh, Indiana.[7, 8] John, through his church work, lived in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and lastly California in addition to the several years he spent doing missionary work in Germany.[3] He died in Oakland, Alameda, California in 1891.[9]
John’s father, (Heinrich) Michael Berger, was born in 1788 in
Annweiler, Germany.[10] He and his wife,
Friederika Matz, had their first known child in 1814 in this same area.[11]
Coats of Arms of the Südwestpfalz and Südliche Weinstraße, present-day districts in the
Rhineland-Palatinate which encompass the Berger family's ancestral homeland.
Sources:Rhineland-Palatinate which encompass the Berger family's ancestral homeland.
Total word count (excluding sources): 267; written for the 115th Carnival of Genealogy.
Associated Berger surnames: Wellons, vonAllmen, Matz, Kupperin, Ringgenberg, Beyler, Zimmer, Walmer, Parker, Lawrence, Jory, Tretheway, Fisher, Nemitz, Grimshaw, Miller.
1. Siskiyou County, California, marriage license and certificate, Siskiyou County Marriage Register book 13, page 75, Gideon Berger to Georgiana Wellons, 26 September 1919; Siskiyou County Recorder's Office, Yreka.
2. "Pastor of Grace Methodist Church Retires," undated clipping, circa 1957, from unidentified newspaper; Berger family papers; likely from the Stockton [California] Record newspaper; privately held by Leah Allen, [address for private use].
3.S. H. Baumgartner, compiler, Historical Data and Life Sketches of the Deceased Ministers of the Indiana Conference of the Evangelical Association, 1835-1915, E. W. Praetorius, editor, volume 1 (Cleveland, Ohio: Publishing House of the Evangelical Association, 1915), pgs. 116-119.
4. "World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital image, Ancestry.com (ancestry.com : accessed 28 February 2012), card for Gideon Berger, Oakland Draft Board #4, Draft Card B, database image 192; citing World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, NARA microfilm publication M1509. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm roll 1531211.
5. "U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," index and images, FamilySearch (familysearch.com : accessed 28 February 2012), card for Gideon Gotlieb Berger, born 1885; citing Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Fourth Registration., Family History Library film number 1784583, image number 02312; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., United States.
6. Social Security Administration, "U.S. Social Security Death Index," database, Ancestry.com (ancestry.com : accessed 28 February 2012), Gideon Berger, 556-48-9940, California (1953).
7. 1880 US Census, Saint Joseph County, Indiana, population schedule, South Bend, enumeration district (ED) 163, p. 470D, dwelling 746, family 867, John Berger (Head); digital images, Ancestry.com (ancestry.com : accessed 13 August 2011); NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 309.
8. Vanderburgh County, Indiana, Book 5: page 481, Berger-vonAllmen, 9 December 1866; Index to Marriage Records 1846-1920 Inclusive Volume VIII, WPA, Original record located in County Clerk's Office.
9. "Berger," obituary, The San Francisco (California) Daily Call, 14 December 1891; online images, The Library of Congress (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 15 January 2012), Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.
10. Germany Births and Baptisms, 1559-1898." index, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed January 15, 2012). entry for Henrich Michael Berger, born 15 May 1788; citing Church Records, FHL microfilm 193772 ; Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.
11. Germany Births and Baptisms, 1559-1898." index, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed January 15, 2012). entry for Heinrich Berger, baptized 5 July 1814; citing Church Records, FHL microfilm 193230; Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.
Wow, nicely done, Leah! Great writing and sourcing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating in the COG!
Beautiful sourcing, and a very interesting flash history.
ReplyDeleteComplete with footnotes! Wonderfully done.
ReplyDeleteYour post was interesting to me on a number of levels -- the conciseness of writing, the great sourcing --- and most of all the fact that Gideon and Georgianna were married in Yreka --- which is just a hop, skip and a jump over (45 miles) the Siskiyou Pass from where I live.
ReplyDeleteLeah,
ReplyDeleteGreat overview of your Berger family, with some tantalizing glimpses into their lives. And footnotes too!