Bernard Berg
Service records maintained by Dr. Nathaniel Royal Perkins. During World I, Dr. Perkins was employed by the draft registration board to examine young men for the draft. During this job, he befriended many servicemen and kept track of their military service during the war. Dr. Perkins died in 1922, and his widow, Clara, donated the collection to the Dorchester Historical Society in 1924.
The index card for Bernard Berg provided his address as 47 Johnston Road, Dorchester.
Bernard Berg
Bernard Berg was born in London, England, on March 23, 1894 to Isaac and Olga Berg, both born in Russia. Olga was sometimes known as Gusta and as Alice. The family moved to Boston, and the first record we have found is the 1900 census, which shows them living in Charlestown. Isaac became a plumber. The family consisted of Isaac and Olga, Bernard and four younger sisters: Rebecca, Minnie, Rose and Mary. Margaret Cullen, a servant, lived with them.
The 1910 Census gives their address as 73 Elmo Street [now Ellington Street], Dorchester. Isaac reported that he was an electrical engineer with his own shop. Bernard’s sister Mary was then called Marion, and two younger children had been added to the family: Maurice and Charlotte.
Bernard graduated from Tufts Dental School in 1917, and in that year he filled out his draft registration in June. He said that he was a self-employed dentist at 1107 Blue Hill Avenue, and his home address was 27 Johnson Road [i.e., Johnston], Dorchester. He was described as single, of medium height, slender with gray eyes and black hair.
Bernard entered the US Naval Reserve Force on April29, 1918. He was served at the training camp in Hingham, Massachusetts, from May 21st to June 11th; then he was at the Navy Rifle Range in Wakefield, Massachusetts for 2 days before moving to the receiving ship at Boston, where he stayed until August 30th. He was at the Navy Yard in Boston from then until November 11, 1918. His rank was Musician 2nd class. He was discharged on September 30, 1921, due to lack of funds.
Bernard continued has dental career at his office on Blue Hill Avenue, continuing at first to live with his parents and perhaps in the mid 1920s living in the same building as his office. He also became a professor at Tufts Dental School and had an office on Bay State Road, Boston. In the late 1920s he moved to Littell Road in Brookline, and by 1934 he lived with his parents at 28 Babcock Street, Brookline, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
Dr. Bernard Berg was internationally known for his root canal technique, a topic he lectured on throughout the US and in Europe. He was a member of the American, Massachusetts and New England Association and the Greater Boston Dental Society. He published at least one article, with the title “The Endodontic Management of Multirooted Teeth,” which appeared in the March, 1953, issue of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology.
Bernard died on December 2, 1953, at his home in Brookline. He was survived by his mother, his brother Maurice Berg and five sisters: Rebecca Stone, Minnie Glassberg, Rose Berg, Marion Berg and Charlotte Berg. His service was at the Levine Chapel in Brookline, and he was buried at Shara Tefila Cemetery, West Roxbury.
Sources:
Boston Directories on Ancestry.com
Boston Globe on newspapers.com
US Census 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 on Ancestry.com
World War I and World War II draft registrations on Ancestry.com
World War I service record. Military, Compiled Service Records. World War I. Carded Records. Records of the Military Division of the Adjutant General’s Office, Massachusetts National Guard.