Abram Bergen
{{Short description|American judge (c. 1836–1906)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Abram Bergen
| image = Abram Bergen (1836–1906).png
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = March {{Birth year|1836}}
| birth_place = Morgan County, Illinois
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1906|2|5|1836|3|}}
| death_place = Topeka, Kansas
| resting_place =
| occupation = Lawyer
| awards =
| spouse =
| children =
| education = Illinois College
| signature =
| party =
| office1 = Justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court
| term_start1 = 1869
| term_end1 = 1870
| office2 = Member of the Minnesota Senate
| term_start2 = 1868
| term_end2 = 1869
}}
Abram Bergen (often misreported with first name Abraham or last name Berger; March 1836 – February 5, 1906)"[https://www.newspapers.com/article/independent-review-judge-abram-bergen-de/136621093/ Judge Abram Bergen Dead]", Garnett Independent Review (February 9, 1906), p. 4."[https://www.newspapers.com/article/coffeyville-daily-record-prominent-juris/136680753/ Prominent Jurist Dead]", Coffeyville Daily Record (February 5, 1906), p. 1. was an American lawyer who served as a justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court from 1869 to 1870.{{cite book |first=George B. |last=Anderson |title=History of New Mexico: its resources and people|volume =1|publisher=Pacific States Pub. Co|location=Los Angeles |date=1907 | oclc = 1692911| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rbM1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA270 }}
Biography
Abram Bergen was born on a farm in Morgan County, Illinois in March 1836. He earned a bachelor's degree from Illinois College, and attended Harvard Law School, but did not graduate.{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/provincestateshi07good/page/516/mode/1up |title=The Province and the States |volume=VII |editor-first=Weston Arthur |editor-last=Goodspeed |publisher=The Western History Association |place=Madison, Wisconsin |page=516 |date=1904 |access-date=2024-08-13 |via=Internet Archive}}
As a young attorney, he witnessed the "Almanac trial", in which Abraham Lincoln, as counsel for criminal defendant Duff Armstrong, won his case by using an almanac to demonstrate that the prosecution witness was lying about there being a full moon enabling him to see clearly on the night of the crime. Later in life, Bergen confirmed in an interview that Lincoln had not modified the almanac, as some stories claimed.George R. Dekle Sr., [https://books.google.com/books?id=hg7IEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT55 Abraham Lincoln's Most Famous Case: The Almanac Trial] (2014), p. 55. As of 1869, Bergen was serving in the Minnesota Senate."[https://www.newspapers.com/article/mower-county-transcript-news-condensatio/136620635/ News Condensations]", Mower County Transcript (February 14, 1906), p. 10."[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-winona-daily-republican-hammer-evan/34643032/ Minnesota Political Notes]", The Winona Daily Republican (September 13, 1869), p. 2.
On April 13, 1869, it was reported that Bergen was among the nominees sent to Congress by the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant,"[https://www.newspapers.com/article/western-home-journal-nominations/136578131/ Nominations]", Western Home Journal (April 15, 1869), p. 2. having been nominated for a seat on the New Mexico territorial supreme court. Bergen was appointed from Fillmore County, Minnesota."[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-st-cloud-journal-minnesota-appointme/136620304/ Minnesota Appointments]", The St. Cloud Journal (April 22, 1869), p. 2.New Mexico Supreme Court, [https://books.google.com/books?id=P00tAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR4 Report of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court and Court of New Mexico, Volume 5] (1896), p. 4.
Bergen served on the New Mexico court for only a year before returning east, moving to Garnett, Kansas, where "Bergen and L. K. Kirk formed a partnership, and together they practiced law for some time". Eventually, the partnership dissolved, and Bergen settled in Topeka, Kansas, in 1882. At the time of his death, Bergen was described as "one of the best-known and most successful lawyers of the state", and "in the front rank in the legal profession", with a practice that "was not confined to Kansas, for his legal ability was known far and wide".
Bergen died at his home in Topeka, after a brief illness. His death was caused by pneumonia and heart trouble, and it was reported that he had been ailing about three weeks, but was seriously sick for only a few days.
References
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{{succession box
|title=Justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court
|before=Joab Houghton
|after=Benjamin J. Waters
|years=1869–1870}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergen, Abram}}
Category:People from Fillmore County, Minnesota
Category:Minnesota state senators
Category:Justices of the New Mexico Supreme Court
Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Kansas