Benjamin Moore talks about his research of a Hungarian immigrant in St. Louis that led to his book.
St. Louis author Benjamin Moore came to the State Historical Society of Missouri on April 11 to discuss his book that earned him his 2022 Missouri History Book Award, “The Names of John Gergen: Immigrant Identities in early 20th Century St. Louis.”
Beth Pike, Assistant Director and Overseer of Communications and Educational Outreach at the State Historical Society of Missouri, holds a microphone for an audience member to ask a question during the Q&A portion of Benjamin Moore’s book talk in Columbia, MO, on March 11, 2023.
His talk, which was part of the History on Elm series at SHSMO, took a deeper dive into the story behind John Gergen, a Hungarian immigrant from the early 20th century. It all began when Moore, who has a strong interest in immigration studies, found some of Gergen’s schoolwork behind a St. Louis dumpster in 2004. Intrigued, he wanted to learn more.
“I was jogging, going down an alley and saw interesting things on the top of this dumpster that were visible from the ground,” Moore said. “I didn’t realize immediately that they would lead to the kind of research project that I ended up pursuing.”
Gergen’s life story fostered a 15-year research project focusing on the history of American immigrants’ experience in the early 20th century. He took this information to write specifically on the account of Gergen.
Gergen’s family, like many other immigrant families then, sought factory work upon moving to St. Louis. This came at a time, though, where many regulations were not in place, making for dangerous working conditions.
Gergen became an orphan soon after as the result of his father’s passing — the name “John Gergen” is actually his adopted name. He was born as Johan Albeck, but following his adoption, the Americanization of his name and more, Gergen would go by a total of seven different names in his lifetime that was cut short at 26 due to tuberculosis. He was buried under the name John Albeck Gergen.
Benjamin Moore, author of “The Names of John Gergen: Immigrant Identities in Early 20th Century St. Louis” and the winner of the 2022 Missouri History Book Award from the State Historical Society of Missouri, signs books for attendants of his book talk at the State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia, MO, on April 11, 2023.
“Names aren’t the only indicator of identity,” Moore said. “But, the [multiple] names of John Gergen show that his identity was malleable.”
Further pursuing his interests in immigration studies, Moore is now the founder of the Bosnia Memory Project at Fontbonne University. Founded in 2006, the project works to bring light to the experiences from survivors of the Bosnian Genocide currently living in St. Louis. With his passion for immigrant studies, Moore seems to enjoy this just as much as the work he did when creating his award-winning novel.
“I didn’t want to happen to the Bosnians what had happened to John Gergen … I didn’t want them to be forgotten,” Moore said.
The studies around Gergen, Moore explained, were actually what got him interested in immigration in the first place.
The story of John Gergen may never have been discovered and shared if it was not for Moore stumbling upon the papers behind that dumpster and taking the initiative to research more about them. This likely means that there are many other stories out there similar to Gergen’s waiting to be resurfaced.
“We have to remember that history happened to real people that in many ways are not that different from you and me,” Moore said. “Work like this is important to understand history from the point of view of compassion and human interest.”
Edited by Zoe Homan | zhoman@themaneater.comCopy edited by Grace Knight