Thomas J. Bergen and Margaret (Carroll) Bergen

Last year I wrote a post about finding the grave of my great Grandfather (Pop Bergen"s) brother: Thomas J Bergen in Holy Name Cemetery in North Arlington.  I posted a picture of the headstone to him and his wife Margaret.  Well, I recently came across some more information on them, while sitting in a cabin in Maine over Christmas vacation.

I know that they marry 14 Jun 1896 in St. Mary's Church in Jersey City, because I had previously found their marriage listed on Familysearch.org.  It gives the date of their marriage and the place, but it also lists the parents of the bride and groom - including maiden names for both mothers.  This will come in handy later when comparing parents on the death certificates to parents listed in the marriage record.

This is the Marriage from Familysearch.org:

The 1900 census has them living at 207 Erie St. Jersey City, his occupation is listed as fireman/cattle dealer (like his brother).  It says that they are married for four years and he is listed as coming to the US in 1871 and she in 1890.  He is a naturalized citizen, she is not.

In 1904 and again in 1905, the city directory (basically a telephone book before telephones were common) lists Margaret Bergen at 207 Erie St, but the strange thing is that she is listed as the widow of Thomas Bergen.  In case you're wondering, he is still alive until 1931.

The next federal census (1910), Margaret still lives at 207 Erie St, with her niece: Margaret Carroll.  Margaret Carroll (the niece) is listed as 18 years old, born in Ireland, arrived in the US in 1908, and she works as a mantle maker in a factory (I really don't know what that means). Margaret Bergen is listed as married once for 13 years, and she is a shop keeper.  It also says that she is the owner of the shop and she arrived in the US in 1890.  On the other hand, Thomas is actually counted twice in the 1910 census.  He is counted as living at the Snake Hill Almshouse in Secaucus employed as a fireman.  This record says he is married for 3 years (instead of 13), and that he was born in NJ.  He is also counted at 182 Pavonia Ave in Jersey City, living with his widowed sister, Kate and her three children.  It says that he is 40, married for 14 years, and employed as a Fireman at an insane institution.  I also just noticed that his sister Catherine (or Kate depending on the record) is a dressmaker working from home.

In 1920, we find Thomas still living with his sister Kate on Pavonia Ave. and two of her children: Edward, who is a boilermaker in a foundry, and Mary, who is a telephone operator.  Thomas is listed as 50 years old and is a Fire Chief for the city. (This could be a misprint, could have meant county).  The strange thing is that now it is his turn to be the widow - although she will live until 1930. I have been unable to locate Margaret in both the 1920 and 1930 censuses.  

You know that all of these changes in marital status -  She has been a widow since 1904 and he has been a widow since 1920, but they both live to see 1930 has made me think - and I'm getting a headache.  I smell a divorce.  Wow, times have changed.   Back then divorce was so unheard of that they carried this whole marriage charade to the grave - literally, to the point of being buried together.  

Both obituaries indicate that they were married.  Thomas' says that he was the beloved husband of Margaret, while Margaret just says that she is survived by her husband Thomas, who is connected with the County Fire Department at Laurel Hill.  It goes on to say that she was born in Ireland and came to this country when a young girl and she was childless.  There are two giant inconsistencies in her obit.  First is that the name listed in the obituary is Mrs. Bridget Bergen (what happened to Margaret???), and the last line says: Interment at Holy Name Cemetery (she is buried in Holy Cross in North Arlington). 

Here are both obits (Thomas on top and Margaret below) in the Jersey Journal:

His obit is a little blurry, it is from a microfilm reel at the State Archives, her obit is from a different reel in the archives and is quite clear and readable.  Just goes to show that the items were microfilmed differently - maybe at a different time, by a different person, or on a different machine.  If I go to the Jersey City Public Library soon (and if I remember) I will check their microfilm to see if his obit is any clearer..  But for now, this is what I have.

This is her Death Certificate:

It says that the informant for the information on the certificate is Hospital Records (not her husband), and St Francis Hospital is her address.  Apparently she had been hospitalized for some time before her death.  It also says that she died from some type of pnuemonia, as best as I can read it.

I also found Thomas' will in the NJ State Archives, which is actually more of an inventory of property and the inventory is found below:

Apparently he had a few bucks, and owned a rental property at 44 Bartholdi Ave, Jersey City.  The inventory says it has no value (?) I don't know what they were thinking - I think he was ahead of his time because it says that he received rent on the premises, and left his sister (this is how I found out his sister was Catherine Cavanagh) a tidy sum.  I went on Google Earth _ I love that web site - and took a picture of present day 44 Bartholdi Ave:

Not bad, may even be an upstairs and a downstairs unit judging by the two doors. So he lived with his sister, but rented out this house as an income property.

So this mystery will take some more investigation, but I think that they were divorced - maybe not a formal divorce, but at least estranged. I have a feeling there is not going to be any formal divorce record - but I will check in Trenton next time I go to the archives.