Research Note by Wesley Johnston
Last update 8 Sep 2012
The first indication that I had of Minna (Staack) Bergmann's existence was her 1898 death and burial record at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Chicago. This gives her age, which calculates to a birth date of 28 Apr 1839. Thus far, that is the only solid information that I have on her. So I am attaching this note to her and to everyone who I connect to her as I build a structure of hypothetical information around her. That sturcture is built with real solid pieces of evidence, but the connection of that evidence to her is the place where it is hypothetical. So I am going to build this structure and need to be able to know how I put the pieces together so that if at some point I find solid evidence that supports or refutes one of my hypothetical connections, then I can either solidify or back-out that part of the structure.
My Tree
The first place that I looked was my own tree, where there is no candidate for her. My best guess is that she was a sibling or cousin of one of my Staack ancestors.
Cook County Death Record
Although the church record gives the exact date of death, I could find no civil death record for her in FamilySearch's collection of Cook County death records. This is not unusual for children, but it is a bit unusual for an adult not to be recorded.
Origin at Siedenbollentin and connection to husband Carl Bergmann and son Herman
I began by trying to find any record in Chicago or a passenger list that seemed to fit with her name and birthdate. The best first candidate was the Hamburg passenger list entry for the Bergmann family voyage to New York aboard the "Masala" in May 1888. The age of the wife was correct, and the origin of the family at Siedenbollentin was within 10 miles of both Spantekow and Beseritz. So it appears to be a very good fit and does give a husband and son. The problem with the record is that the New York passenger list shows their destination as New York and not Chicago.
Unfortunately, Ancestry's Mecklenburg-Strelitz Evangelical parish transcripts (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1627) do not include Siedenbollentin. I do not know if that is because it was just on the Pommern side of the border with Mecklenburg-Strelitz or if it just happens to be one of those Mecklenburg-Strelitz parishes that was not included in Ancestry's collection. But the bottom line is that I do not have access to the original images (or any toerh form) of the records of Siedenbollentin.
Where are Carl and Herman in the 1900 Census?
Assuming that her husband and son survived her by the two years until the 1900 census, they should appear in the 1900 census. so I searched there.
A Charles and Minna in New York (http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=7602&path=New+York.New+York.Manhattan.803.9) are clearly not them. Nor are they the Carl and Minna on the ship lists, since this couple arrived in 1871. But it is worth knowning about this same-named couple of about the right ages (although this NY Carl is not 7 years younger than Minna), so that they can be ruled out in further searching.
A tangential search of FamilySearch to see if a Carl Bergmann born about 1846 had married in Chicago in the 1898-1900 period did reveal a likely remarriage for Carl: Mrs. Amelia Gerlach, married 3 Jan 1900 by Fred G. Wrede, clergyman of 506 S Robery St (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-13033-161409-51). So she was most likely a widow. And they were NOT married at Immanuel Lutheran. But this tells me that I should be looking for a wife Amelia in Chicago in the 1900 census.
And sure enough they are living at 749 Carroll Avenue: http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=7602&path=Illinois.Cook.Chicago+Ward+13.414.2 -- Herman, who would be 28 by 1900, had probably married, so that it is no surprise that he is not in the house. There are problems with this record. It shows they had been married for 10 years, which should have been 0. It also shows Amelia 10 years older than Carl, when the marriage record Carl is 7 years older than Amelia. It shows Carl arriving 1886 and not 1888. But census taker error can be significant, so that this record cannot be eliminated.
But based on this I am ADDING the following to the hypothetical structure:
- remarriage of Carl with Amelia based on marriage record
- Carl birth Feb 1847 per 1900 census
Searching on FamilySearch for a marriage of Herman Bergmann in the period 1888 to 1900 in Cook County finds no hits for one born about 1872. The only candidate is a William H. Bergmann who married 1898 with Miss Augusta Knaack (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11580-51704-24). And this is too far of a stretch without further evidence, so that I am not including it in the tree.
Carl Bergmann's Death Record
Carl, as Charles, Bergmann died 22 Nov 1908 at Cook County Hospital, still married, living at 1016 West 13th Street. He was buried 25 Nov 1908 at Concordia, so that Minna may also be buried there. There are two images of his death record, the apparent original at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11686-100353-83 and a transcribed copy at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11676-38917-91
The fact that he is shown as having lived in Illinois for 20 years agrees with the 1888 arrival record. This does seem to be the right Carl Bergmann. So I am adding this to the hypothetical structure.
Conclusion
At this point, I have run out of reliable records to make credible connections. So I am stumped as to who Minna was.