Harry Victor Berg (1918 - 2007)

Born 26 Nov 1918 in Michigan

Ancestors

Died 25 Oct 2007 at age 88 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Deborah Nystrom [send private message]

Biography

Birth
26 November 1918 • Detroit, Michigan

Baptism
8 Dec 1918

Summary
When Harry Victor Berg was born on November 26, 1918, in Detroit, Michigan, his father, Harry, was 26 and his mother, Anna, was 26. Harry Victor Berg lived in Miami, Florida, in 1926. The book, Harry and the Hurricane, is based on a true story about Harry as a young boy and one of the worst storms to hit Southeast Florida --The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926.

Harry married Frances Carlton Ebaugh on October 21, 1942, in his hometown. They had two children during their marriage. Harry wrote poetry after the hurricane experience but never spoke about it to his children. He died on October 25, 2007, in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 88, and was buried in Manistee, Michigan.^[1]

Family 1
Parents
• Harry Martinson Berg, 1892–1984
• Anna Mathilda Swanson Berg, 1892–1975
Sibling
• Russell Edwin Berg, 1921–1987

Event
(1935) Manistee, Michigan, Movie of the Berg / Swanson family, curated by Gordon M. Berg, available to family members. Contact a living Swanson relative for more information. See attached photo of movie notes. ^[2]

Events
Harry was in Florida when he and his family experienced, and survived the 1926 Miami hurricane, "commonly called the "Great Miami" hurricane... that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused extensive damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 1926, accruing a US$100 million damage toll. As a result of the destruction in Florida, the hurricane represented an early start to the Great Depression in the aftermath of the state's 1920s land boom. It has been estimated that a similar hurricane would cause about $235 billion in damage if it were to hit Miami in 2018." ^[3][4]

The experience was so frightening and intense, Harry did not talk about it with his family until near the end of his life. The story of "Harry and the Hurricane" was published in 2019 by his son Gordon Berg in 2019 and illustrates the "destructive fury of a wicked storm [which] leaves a lifelong imprint tempered by time and the strength, generosity and compassion of the human spirit.” ^[5]

Marriage
21 Oct 1942 • Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA Frances Carlton Ebaugh Berg (1916–2012)

Family 2
Spouse: Frances Carlton Ebaugh Berg, 1916–2012
Children
• Douglas Martinson Berg, 1943–
• Gordon Martinson Berg, 1950–

Residence
(1920) Detroit Ward 12, Wayne, Michigan, USA
(1926) Miami, Miami-Dade, Florida, USA; Harry and the Hurricane is based on a true story about the author's father, Harry as a young boy, and one of the worst storms to hit Southeast Florida--The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. ^[6]
(1930) Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA
(1935) Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
(1 Apr 1940) Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA
(1940) Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA
(1942) Detroit, Michigan
(1953) Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA ^[7]

Military
(24 Apr 1943) Harry Victor Berg served in the military on April 24, 1943, when he was 24 years old. ^[8]
(1943) Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA; Harry Victor Berg U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Harry Victor Berg; Harry Victor Berg Male White; 21 Self; 26 Nov 1918, Detroit, Michigan, USA 16 Oct 1940 Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA; Briggs Aircraft Division; Harry M Berg Father Harry M Berg

Death 25 Oct 2007 • Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; Harry Victor Berg died on October 25, 2007, in Detroit, Michigan, when he was 88 years old. ^[9]

Burial Manistee, Manistee County, Michigan, United States of America

Sources

1. ↑ "Public Member Trees", database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/106740411/person/390069850467/facts : accessed 7 June 2020), profile for Harry Victor Berg.
2. ↑ Swanson family group movie preserved for family tree genealogy purposes via Gordon M. Berg and the Swanson family. Movie recorded by by the Harry V. Berg and in the possession of Gordon M. Berg and Deborah Nystrom. All Rights Reserved, Traverse City and Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, July 2020
3. ↑ From Wikipedia: [1]
4. ↑ Personal history of Gordon Berg and the Berg Swanson family recorded by and in the possession of Deborah Nystrom, May 2020
5. ↑ Quote by Sue Bumpus, Hurricane Hugo survivor, 1989, from the book website: [2] Publisher Mission Point Press. “Harry and the Hurricane” is based on a true story about the author’s father as a young boy and one of the worst storms to hit Southeast Florida — The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926.
6. ↑ Book review of the story of Harry V. Berg, "Harry and the Hurricane," Publisher: Mission Point Press, Michigan, 2019, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gordon-berg/harry-and-the-hurricane/
7. ↑ U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995; Title: Albuquerque, New Mexico, City Directory, 1953; Name: Harry V Berg; Male; Residence Year: 1953; Residence Place: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA; Occupation: Teacher; Spouse: Frances C Berg
8. ↑ U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010; Harry Berg; GenderMale; Birth Date: 26 Nov 1918; Death Date: 25 Oct 2007; Branch 1: NAVY; Enlistment Date 124 Apr 1943; Release Date 14 Dec 1945
9. ↑ U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-2017; Detroit News; Publication Place: Detroit, Michigan, USA; URL: http://detroitnewspapers.com/deathnotices/display.cfm?action=today&perpage=30; Name: Berg Harry V; Male; Death Age: 88 ;Birth Date: 1919; Death Date: 28 Oct 2007; Spouse: Frances; Child: Douglas; Gordon