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Johann Peter “Johnnie” Bergmann

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Johann Peter “Johnnie” Bergmann

Birth	:	30 Jul 1894
Death	:	28 Apr 1903
Burial	:	Saint Johns Lutheran Church Cemetery, Aberdeen, Brown County, USA
Coordinate	:	45.3592600, -98.6183100
Plot	:	Lot 7, Plot 7
Inscription	:	Her Rudt In Gott Johann Peter Bergmann Geb Den 30 Juli 1894 Gest Den 28 Apr. 1903 Triede Seiuer Asgut
Description	:	YOUNG BOY SHOT FOUND DEAD WITH BULLET HOLE IN HIS HEAD SUPPOSED THAT BOYS PLAYING WITH A LOADED REVOLVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENT John Bergman, aged 9 years, son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bergman, living about 10 miles southwest of the city, was instantly killed Tuesday, by a pistol ball of 38 caliber striking him in the head. The manner in which the accident occurred is not known, except to a companion of 11 years who was with John at the time. Mr. and Mrs. Bergman drove to Aberdeen late in the day and... Read More	YOUNG BOY SHOT FOUND DEAD WITH BULLET HOLE IN HIS HEAD SUPPOSED THAT BOYS PLAYING WITH A LOADED REVOLVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENT John Bergman, aged 9 years, son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bergman, living about 10 miles southwest of the city, was instantly killed Tuesday, by a pistol ball of 38 caliber striking him in the head. The manner in which the accident occurred is not known, except to a companion of 11 years who was with John at the time. Mr. and Mrs. Bergman drove to Aberdeen late in the day and left John, with a small child and the 11-year-old boy together at the home of Robert brick, who is Mrs. Bergman's brother. Mr. Brick was in the field at work, when the 11-year-old boy, who is Mrs. Brick's brother, went into the field drawing the small child in a wagon and informed Mr. Brick that on going into the house from the barn, where he had been playing he found Johnnie dead and his face covered with blood, which had come from a wound in the cheek, and that he had seen a man going away from the house across lots. Mr. Brick found the dead boy lying on his back, with his feet doubled back under him, as though his knees had given way under him when the shot struck him and he had then sunk back on the floor dead. There was in the house a 38-caliber revolver which had been loaded for a long time and part of the shells had been fired. An investigation showed that the revolver was in its accustomed place in the drawer, but one shell had the appearance of having been discharged within a short time. The death of Johnnie Bergman had been so sudden that he could not have been playing with the gun and put it away after it had been discharged and the ball entered his head. Though apparent that death had been sudden Dr. Murdy was called to see the remains and the doctor found that the ball entered the cheek bone on the left side and passed upward into the brain. The course was followed by the doctor with a probe. The face was powder burned, showing that the muzzle of the revolver had been close to the cheek when it was fired. Though many questions have been asked Mrs. Brick's brother about the case he denies having had the revolver from the place in which it is usually kept. - Aberdeen (S.D.) Weekly News Thursday, April 30, 1903 Page Five ------------------------- BY HIS OWN HAND REVOLVER HELD BY JOHN BERGMAN KILLED HIM CORONER'S JURY MAKES INVESTIGATION AND RELIEVES JOHNNIE'S COMPANION OF SUSPICION Dr. Geo. E. Countryman, the Brown county coroner, made a full investigation of the death of Johnnie Bergman, empaneling a jury and conducting the inquest in formal manner. The result of the inquest was a verdict that the dead boy came to his death from a shot from a 38-caliber revolver held in his own hand and that death was accidental. The fact that the revolver was found after the death in the drawer of a bureau where it was usually kept did not lead to this idea at first; but the facts which developed convinced the coroner and jury that such was the case. When the body of the dead boy was found, it was resting on the knees and back and against the bureau, the top drawer of which was open as hit had been when the boy took the revolver therefrom. The theory of the jury and the coroner is that he had taken the revolver from the drawer and was examining it. The boy had no right eye and his left eye was crossed. It is believed that he had raised the hammer of the revolver and was holding it so as to look into the barrel and that he somehow touched the trigger and caused the hammer to drop. The course of the bullet indicates the position in which the revolver was held and shows it could not have been in the hands of another person. And here is the explanation of the manner in which the revolver chanced to be in the drawer. When the cartridge exploded, killing the boy instantly, he was standing with his right side to the bureau, as indicated by the position into which the body dropped. As is always the case in a death of that character the hands were thrown upward and backward and it was while the right hand was in this position and as the body was going over backward, that the grasp on the revolver relaxed at the instant the hand was over the drawer and the revolver dropped into almost the exact place from which it had been taken. The older boy who was at the place and who appeared to be under suspicion of having had something to do with the accident, told a straight-forward story of the affair. He was at the barn milking and on entering the house found the dead body of Johnnie Bergman and gave the alarm to his brother-in-law. No amount of questioning or entangling suggestions could mix him up or bring out any indication that he was not telling a straight story, from which he has not varied from the start. The story about seeing a man in the fields going from the house was repeated as at first and he showed the jury where he stood when he saw the man and where the man appeared to be and the jury and coroner found that the object he took to be a man was at least a quarter of a mile away and might easily have been some animal moving about instead of a man. The results of the corner's investigation affords a relief to the people of the neighborhood and removes from the surviving one of the boys a terrible suspicion that otherwise might have followed him for life. There was no idea in the minds of anybody that he might have had any part in the frightful affair beyond an accidental part, but there was suspicion in the minds of not a few that he might have been in the house when the accident occurred and had attempted to cover up that fact out of fear of evil consequences to himself. - Aberdeen(S.D.) Weekly News Monday, May 4, 1903 Page Three

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Johann Peter “Johnnie” Bergmann's memorial?
Johann Peter “Johnnie” Bergmann's memorial is located at: Saint Johns Lutheran Church Cemetery, Aberdeen, Brown County, USA.
When did Johann Peter “Johnnie” Bergmann death?
Johann Peter “Johnnie” Bergmann death on 28 Apr 1903 in
Where are the coordinates of the Johann Peter “Johnnie” Bergmann's memorial?
Latitude: 45.3592600
Longitude: -98.6183100

Family Members:

Parent

Peter Bergmann

(1847 - 1929)

Wilhemine “Paulina” Bergmann

(1850 - 1911)

Siblings

Robert Albert Dobrick

(1874 - 1956)

Bernard Dobrick

(1885 - 1938)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Saint Johns Lutheran Church Cemetery
Aberdeen, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.3592600, -98.6183100

2. Warner Cemetery
Warner, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.3272018, -98.5053024

3. Riverside Memorial Park
Aberdeen, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.4453011, -98.5117035

4. Richland Cemetery
Mina, Edmunds County, USA
Coordinate: 45.3563995, -98.7844009

5. Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
Mansfield, Spink County, USA
Coordinate: 45.2305400, -98.6570900

6. Sacred Heart Cemetery
Aberdeen, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.4674988, -98.4627991

7. Scatterwood Lakeside Cemetery
Chelsea, Faulk County, USA
Coordinate: 45.2304660, -98.7403330

8. Saint Marys Cemetery
Aberdeen, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.4858017, -98.4760971

9. Sunset Memorial Gardens
Aberdeen, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.4599991, -98.3930969

10. Cooper Animal Clinic Pet Cemetery
Aberdeen, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.4604063, -98.3883103

11. Pembrook Cemetery
Edmunds County, USA
Coordinate: 45.5127983, -98.7842026

12. United Cemetery
Faulk County, USA
Coordinate: 45.2305984, -98.8339005

13. Fairview Cemetery
Northville, Spink County, USA
Coordinate: 45.1599998, -98.5841980

14. Scandinavia Lutheran Cemetery
Gem Township, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.3569104, -98.3307271

15. Saint Herbert Cemetery
Edmunds County, USA
Coordinate: 45.2780991, -98.8858032

16. Oakwood Cemetery
Stratford, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.2599983, -98.3516998

17. Calvary Cemetery
Mellette, Spink County, USA
Coordinate: 45.1655998, -98.4935989

18. Mellette Cemetery
Mellette, Spink County, USA
Coordinate: 45.1641490, -98.4933220

19. Bethany Cemetery
Mellette, Spink County, USA
Coordinate: 45.2149086, -98.3806381

20. East Gem Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.4007988, -98.2947006

21. New Straasburg Cemetery
Edmunds County, USA
Coordinate: 45.4977989, -98.8824997

22. Bath Memorial Cemetery
Bath, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.4726900, -98.3294900

23. East Rondell Cemetery
Stratford, Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 45.3053017, -98.2675018

24. Plainview Cemetery
Brentford, Spink County, USA
Coordinate: 45.1782990, -98.3486023