Gilbert Bergey

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00004-892.5
• Residence: 1881, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1891, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1901, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Occupation: 1911, New Dundee, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1911, New Dundee, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Bergey, Gilbert (1877-1950)

"Gilbert Bergey, church leader and dairy farmer; b.13 September, 1877 in Waterloo County, Ontario to David and Louisa (Bowman) Bergey . He was the eldest son in a family of four sons and three daughters. On 8 October 1902 he married Angeline (Angie) Martin (19 November 1877-27 February 1942) in Elmira. They were members of the Blenheim Mennonite Church near New Dundee and took up residence on the Bergey dairy farm. They had one son, David. Gilbert Bergey died 16 January 1950 and was buried at the Blenheim Mennonite Church.

Both Gilbert and Angie taught Sunday School classes. As a young man, Gilbert taught the Young Ladies' Class; his next assignment was the Mothers' Class. Angie found her niche in teaching the Beginners' Class. Gilbert led congregational singing using a "tuning fork" to get the pitch; he was never known to falter when the music was written in "shaped notes".

In 1921, Gilbert's father, David Bergey, the aged deacon at Blenheim asked to step back from active service. When the voice of the congregation was sought and the lot was cast, it fell on Gilbert who succeeded his father as deacon on 17 July 1921 . He also followed his father as secretary of the Mennonite Conference of Ontario from 1922-1940. He also served on the conference Welfare Board organized to assist indigent widows and orphans and to counsel persons in financial difficulty within the Ontario conference constituency.
In his vocation as a dairy farmer, Gilbert processed most of his milk supply into cheese which he sold at a nearby Farmers Market. He also sent a small quantity of milk to the local New Dundee Co-Operative Creamery. This led to a call on his counseling skills by non-Mennonite neighbors. In the mid 1930s a sharp controversy arose between the co-operative's directors and its patrons. Due to Gilbert Bergey's reputation in as a skillful mediator, he was elected as a director. It was a demanding request to which he responded with hesitation but served with integrity.

Gilbert Bergey has a quiet and cheerful nature. He was sought by many for his wise counsel; he was a stable voice in the Ontario Mennonite community in the decades prior to World War II."

Bergey, Lorna. "Bergey, Gilbert (1877-1950)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2004. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 12 Nov 2005

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Bergey. --- Gilbert, eldest son of David and Louisa (Bowman) Bergey, was born Sept. 13, 1877; died at the Galt, Ont., General Hospital, Jan. 16, 1950; aged 72 y. 4 m. 3 d. Death followed two years of failing health. On Oct. 8, 1902, he was married to Angeline Martin, who predeceased him Feb. 27, 1942. Surviving are one son (David), 2 grandsons, one adopted son (William), 2 granddaughters, 2 brothers (Milton, Ancaster, Ont.; and Herbert, New Hamburg, Ont.), and one sister (Mrs. Fred Millar, Kitchener, Ont.). At the age of nineteen he united with the Blenheim, Ont., Mennonite Church, where he was called to the office of deacon on July 17, 1921. From 1922 to 1940 he served as secretary of the Ontario Mennonite Conference. He had a quiet and cheerful nature. His timely counsel will be missed. Funeral services were held Jan. 19 at the home by Moses S. Bowman and at the Blenheim Church, where S. F. Coffman, conducted the devotional period and J. B. Martin, Ontario Conference moderator, preached the sermon. Text: I Thess. 1: 9, 10.

Gospel Herald - Volume XLIII, Number 14 - April 4, 1950 ----- page 334, 335

Gilbert — Angeline Martin. Angeline (daughter of Amos S. Martin and Magdaline G. Musselman) was born Nov 1878, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 27 Feb 1942, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Blenheim Mennonite Cemetery, Blenheim Township, Oxford Co., Ontario. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-199790
• Adopted: Bef 1911, , Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1911, New Dundee, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-39994
• Misfortune: 1954; partially disabled in farm accident

Notes:

BERGEY, David D. -- Of Haysville, passed away on Sunday, April 6, 1980, at Wellesley Hospital, Toronto. Born near New Dundee in 1916, he was the son of Gilbert Bergy and Angeline Martin, who predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, Lorna (Shantz) and sons Edward and Robert of Bramalea, Ont., and five grandchildren. Thoughout his lifetime, Mr. Bergey served in various church and community organizations, including the Mennonite Conference of Ontario; Conrad Grebel College Board of Governors; the Wilmot Township Public School Area; Ontario School Trustees and Ratepayers Association; the Pennsylvania-German Folklore Society of Ontario and the Waterloo County Farm Safety Committee. The family will receive friends and relatives may call at the Omand- Jutzi Funeral Home, Huron St., New Hamburg, between 2-5 and 7-9 p.m., on Tuesday. A private burial service will be held on Wednesday afternoon, followed by a memorial service at 7: 30 p.m., at the Nith Valley Mennonite Church on Waterloo County Road 3, south of New Hamburg. Rev. Amzie Brubaher will officiate at both services.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Record 7 Apr 1980

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Bergey, David D., son of Gilbert and Angeline (Martin) Bergey, was born near New Dundee, Ont., Feb. 6, 1916, died at Wellesley Hospital, Toronto, Ont., Feb. 6, 1980; aged 64 y. On May 29, 1940, he was married to Lorna Shantz, who survives. Also surviving are 2 sons (Edward and Robert) and 5 grandchildren. He was a member of the Nith Valley Mennonite Church, where memorial services were held on Apr. 9, in charge of Amzie Brubacher, Vernon Leis, and Osiah Horst; interment in Blenheim Mennonite Church Cemetery.

Gospel Herald Volume 73, Number 20 - May 13, 1980, page 398

David married Lorna Lucille Shantz 20 May 1940. Lorna (daughter of Walter C. Shantz and Selina Shirk) was born 29 May 1921; died 22 Mar 2009, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Edward — Karen Yvonne Rudy. (daughter of Abner R. Rudy and Edith Erma Snyder) [Group Sheet]

Robert — Linda Patricia Penner. (daughter of William W. Penner and Susan Tjart) [Group Sheet]