He was born in 1842/43, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, perhaps to William Bergin and Ann [unknown family name]. [sources: date: 3 (18 in 1861), 7, 9 (50 in 1892), 14 (67 in 1910), 15 (50 in 1892), 16 (50 in 1892), 17 (50 in 1892), 18 (50 in 1892), 20 (7 in 1850), 21 (16 in 1860), 22 (24 in 1870). place: 3, 7, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22] parents: 20, 21, 22; see also 19 (brother John W)]
In 1850, he was living in South Mulberry Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with his (presumed) parents, William and Ann, and with (presumed) siblings Catharine, William, and Mary Frances, along with two others. He had attended school within the year. [source: 20]
In 1860, he was living in ward 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with his (presumed) parents William and Ann, and (presumed) siblings Catharine, William, Mary F, Ann, John, and Elizabeth. He was a baker [?]. [source: 21]
When he enlisted, he was a baker, and was living in Philadelphia. [sources: 3, 7]
When he enlisted, he was 5 feet 6-1/2 inches tall, had a light complexion, brown eyes, and red hair. [sources: 3, 7]
In 1892, he was 5 feet 9-1/2 inches (or 5 feet 9 inches) tall, and had a light complexion, blue eyes, and grey hair. [sources: 17, 18]
He enlisted and was mustered into service on 20 August 1861, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was enlisted by Captain Lentz, for three years. He was mustered into service by Colonel Reiff. He was a private in company E. [sources: 1, 3, 7, 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24]
He deserted in May 1863, after the Battle of Chancellorsville, and joined the Invalid Corps. He apparently served in company D of the 14th Veterans' Reserve Corps. He was returned to the regiment in September 1864. The War Department ordered him returned and tried for desertion. He was charged with desertion, and tried before a general court martial on 17 September 1864, at the 2nd Brigade 1st Division 5th Corps (Col A L Pearson, 155th PA, President). He was found not guilty of desertion but guilty of absence without leave, and sentenced:
to forfeit all pay and allowances due him to 21 September 1864
to serve three months after the expiration of his original term
However, this was not to affect his bounty. [sources: 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 23]
He mustered out on 25 November 1864, at Pegrem House, Virginia, when his term expired. He had served for thirty-nine months. He had chronic articular rheumatism, chronic bronchitis, and hemorrhoids. He was a private, in company E. [sources: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24]
In 1870, he was living in ward 5, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with his (presumed) parents William and Ann, his (presumed) siblings Kate, Mary, Annie, John, and Elizabeth, in a household apparently headed by James Deyer [?]. He was a laborer. [source: 22]
On 6 October 1892, he applied succesfully from Illinois for a pension, under the Act of 27 June 1890. [sources: 10, 11, 19]
On 26 December 1892, he was admitted to Northwest Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was admitted from Wisconsin; he had lived in Big Bend, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. He had rheumatism, as well as bronchitis, disease of eyes, and an injury [?] to the left knee. He was not receiving a pension. He was widowed. He was a protestant, and was a painter. His nearest relative was his brother John W Bergen, who lived at 815 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [sources: 9, 15, 16, 17, 18]
On 17 June 1893, he was dishonorably discharged from the Northwest Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. [sources: 9, 17, 18]
He again applied for a pension on 15 February 1907, under the Act of 6 February 1907. He received $12 per month, effective 15 February 1907. The certificate was dated 9 April 1907. [sources: 11, 19]
On 6 July 1908, a duplicate pension certificate was issued to him, still for $12 per month, effective 15 February 1907. [source: 19]
On 2 September 1908, he was readmitted to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Mountain Branch (in Tennessee). [sources: 18, 19]
In 1909, he was present in the Mountain Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. He was receiving a pension of $12 per month. [source: 15]
In 1910, he was living in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Mountain Branch, Washington County, Tennessee. He was widowed. He was a cook, in the mess hall. He had not been out of work in the previous year. [source: 14]
He successfully applied for an increase in pension under the Act of 11 May 1912. He received $19 per month, retroactive to 17 May 1912; the certificate was dated 30 July 1912. [source: 19]
On 1 October 1912, he was discharged, from the Mountain Branch, of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, at his own request. He was receiving a pension of $19 per month. [sources: 16, 18, 19]
He died on 16 November 1912, at 6.55 PM, at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, in Tennessee. (The register says he died after having been admitted in 'T.A.P.' in the morning, perhaps 'T.A.P.' stands for something like 'temporarily admitted for processing'.) He had $4.45 in cash, and personal goods valued at $1.94 (and sold for $1.00). He was buried in the Mountain Home National Cemetery, Johnson City, Washington County, Tennessee. [sources: 11, 13, 18, 19]
1 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'Ninety-first regiment', volume 3, pages 186-233. (Michael Burgin) (In the roster)
2 General Order no 56, Head Quarters, 1st Division 5th Corps, 18 October 1864 (Michael Bergin)
3 descriptive roll, company E, entry 17 (Micheal [sic] J Bergin)
4 register of deserters, company E, entry 14 (Michael J Burgen)
5 company E, register of men discharged, number 31 (Micheal [sic] J Bergin)
6 general order 56, headquarters, 1st division, 5th corps, 18 October 1864 (Michael Bergin)
7 Civil War Veterans' Card File, available at the Pennsylvania State Archives, searched 17 May 2004 (Michael J Burgin; rolls have 'Burgen')
8 consolidated morning report, 91st Pennsylvania, 26 November 1864 (Privt Bergin [?])
9 Report of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1893. Serial Set volume 3151, session volume 1, 53rd Congress, 1st Session. House Miscellaneous Document 35. Page 717. (Mich'l Bergen)
10 pension index, by name (Michael J [?] Bergen)
11 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infantry, company E (Michael J Bergen)
12 National Archives Archival Research Catalog (accessed 24 July 2010) (Michael Bergin)
13 Find a grave, memorial 358804, imported from US Veteran's Affairs, 25 February 2000, accessed 15 December 2011 (Michael J Bergen)
14 1910 US census, Tennessee, Washington County, National Soldiers Home Mountain Branch, supervisor's district 1, enumeration district 198, microfilm series T624, film 1524, page 104 = 6 B handwritten (Michael J Bergen)
15 Report of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1909. Letter from the President of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, transmitting the report of the Board for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1909. Serial Set volume 5817, Session volume 114, 61st Congress, 2nd Session, House Document 262. Page 305. (M J Bergen)
16 Report of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1913. Serial Set volume 6737, Session volume 140, 63rd Congress, 2nd Session, House Document 459. Page 270 (Michael J Bergen)
17 Historical registers of National homes for disabled volunteer soldiers, 1866-1938, National Archives and Records Administration, microfilm series M1749, film 164, Northwestern Branch, page 342, number 1034 (FamilySearch) (Michael J Bergen)
18 Historical registers of National homes for disabled volunteer soldiers, 1866-1938, National Archives and Records Administration, microfilm series M1749, film 164, Northwestern Branch, page 342, number 1034 (FamilySearch) (Michael J Bergen)
19 Veterans administration pension payment cards, 1907-1933, National Archives and Records Administration, microfilm series M850, film 159 (Michael J Bergen)
20 1850 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, South Mulberry Ward, microfilm series M432, film 815, page 246 verso = 492 handwritten (FamilySearch) (Michael Bergin [?])
21 1860 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ward 1, precinct 5, microfilm series M653, film 1151, page 307 = 209 handwritten (FamilySearch) (Michael Burgin)
22 1870 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ward 5, district 15, microfilm series M593, film 1391, page 11 recto = 21 handwritten FamilySearch) (Michael Burgan)
23 index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Pennsylvania (Michael J Bergin)
24 index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Pennsylvania (Michael Berger)
| line | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | |
| Dwellings visited | 406 | ||||||||
| Families visited | 468 | ||||||||
| Name | William Bergin [?] | Ann Bergin | Catharine [?] Bergin | Michael Bergin | William Bergin | Mary Frances Bergin | Michael Dooley | Catharine Dooley | |
| [the family name is very hard to read (as are many of the personal names); the FamilySearch index has 'Bergin', but the Ancestry index has 'Borgen'; I'm confident some of the surnames have a dot above an 'i', but the first vowel is less clear] | |||||||||
| Age | 40 | 34 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 8/12 | 20 | 24 | |
| Sex | M | F | F | M | M | F | M | F | |
| Color | |||||||||
| Occupation of males over 15 years | Laborer | Blacksmith | |||||||
| Real estate owned | |||||||||
| Birthplace | Ireland | " | Pennsylvania | " | " | " | Ireland | " | |
| Married within year | |||||||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| Over 20 & can't read/write | |||||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. | |||||||||
| line | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Dwelling number | 1487 | ||||||||
| Family number | 1695 | ||||||||
| Name | William Burgin | Ann | Catharine " | Michael " | William " | Mary F " | Ann " | John " | Elizabeth " |
| Age | 44 | 42 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| Sex | m | f | f | m | m | f | f | m | f |
| Color | |||||||||
| Occupation | Sugar refiner [?] | Parasol maker | Baker | ||||||
| ['Baker' looks like 'Barker'; I initially read it as 'Barber', but the next-to-last consonant is definitely not closed at the bottom, and looks like the 'k' in 'Parasol maker'] | |||||||||
| Value of real estate owned | |||||||||
| Value of personal estate | 200 | ||||||||
| Place of birth | Ireland | " | Penn | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| Married within year | |||||||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Cannot read & write | |||||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. | |||||||||
| line | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Dwelling-house number | 125 | ||||||||
| Family number | 163 | ||||||||
| Name | Deyer [?] James | Burgan William | Ann | Kate | Michael | Mary | Annie | John | Elizabeth |
| Age | 30 | 58 | 53 | 27 [?] | 24 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 11 |
| Sex | M | M | F | F | M | F | F | M | F |
| Color | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Occupation | Laborer | Wool Packer | Keeping house | Works in store | Laborer | Works in store | At home | Bookbinder | |
| Real estate value | |||||||||
| Personal estate value | 500 | ||||||||
| Birthplace | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna |
| Father foreign born | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Mother foreign born | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Birth month if born within year | |||||||||
| Marriage month if married within year | |||||||||
| ['May' is written in Elizabeth's column, as well as the first entry of the next household, but the next line has nothing in this column, and I'm pretty confident it's simply one line too high] | |||||||||
| Attended school past year | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Can't read | |||||||||
| Can't write | |||||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. | |||||||||
| Male US citizen at least 21 years old | 1 | ||||||||
| Male US citizen at least 21 years old who can't vote ... | |||||||||
| line | 64 |
| street | |
| house nr | |
| dwelling nr | |
| family nr | |
| name | Bergen Michael J |
| relationship | Member |
| sex | M |
| color | W |
| age | 67 |
| marital status | Wd |
| #years present marriage | |
| mother of # children | |
| mother of # living children | |
| birthplace | Pennsylvania |
| father's birthplace | Pennsylvania |
| mother's birthplace | Pennsylvania |
| immigrated | |
| naturalized/alien | |
| speaks English | English |
| occupation | Cook |
| nature of industry etc. | Mess Hall |
| employer etc. | W |
| out of work 15 Apr 1910? | No |
| # weeks out of work 1909 | 0 |
| can read | yes |
| can write | yes |
| school since 1 Sep 09 | |
| owned/rented | |
| owned free or mortagaged | |
| farm/house | |
| nr on farm schedule | |
| civil war vet | UA [?] |
| blind | |
| deaf & dumb |
| Rate of Pension. | Date of Admission, Re-Admission and Transfer. | Conditions of Re-Admission. | Date of Discharge and Transfer. | Cause of Discharge. | Date of Death. | Cause of Death. |
| [crossed out:] $12 | Ad NW Br 26.12 92 | D 17. 3 [sic] 93 | Dis Dis | Unknown | ||
| Disd " " " 17 6. [sic] 93 | Dis Mt Br 1-10-12 | O.R. | ||||
| 19 00 | Read Mt Br 2 9 08 | D | Died Mt. Br while T.A.P. [?] at 6 55 P.M. in Co.E. | Nov. 16, 1912. |
| CLASS. | RATE. | DATE OF COMMENCEMENT. | DATE OF CERTIFICATE. |
| 6 | 28 May 1895 | 29 Oct 1897 | |
| Dup | " | 17 June 1898 | |
| Reis | 12 | 15 Feby 1907 | 9 Apr 1907 |
| Dup | 12 | 15 Feby 1907 | 6 July 1908 |
| Reis | 19 | Act of May 11, 1912 17 May 1912 | 30 July 1912 |
| CLASS. | RATE. | DATE OF COMMENCEMENT. | DATE OF CERTIFICATE. |
| REISSUE | 12 | Feb. 15/07 | Apr. 9/07 |
| Dupl. | 12 | " " | July 6/08 |