BIO: John Jordan BLOOM, Clearfield County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja & Sally Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/ NOTE: Use this web address to access other bios: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/1picts/swoope/swoope.htm _____________________________________________________________ From Twentieth Century History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and Representative Citizens, by Roland D. Swoope, Jr., Chicago: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, 1911, pages 602 - 604. _____________________________________________________________ JOHN JORDAN BLOOM, whose excellent farm of 150 acres is situated in Pike township, Clearfield county, Pa., three and one-half miles southwest of Curwensville, was born on this place, in 1843, and is a son of John and Mary Ann (Jordan) Bloom, old and substantial families of Clearfield county. John Bloom, father of John Jordan Bloom, was a son of Isaac Bloom and a grandson of William Bloom, who founded the family in America. He was born in Germany and when he first came to the United States, settled in New Jersey and from there came to Center county, afterward locating near Pee Wee Nest, in the vicinity of Curwensville. On account of another man laying claim to this land, William Bloom, who was a man of peace, decided to give it up and then moved to a place two miles south of Curwensville, settling on the very farm which is now owned and occupied by his great-grandson, C. Judson Bloom. Isaac Bloom, the eldest son of William Bloom, was born near Bellefonte, in Center county, and came with his parents to Clearfield county, where the rest of his life was spent. After his marriage he bought 150 acres of land one mile north of Curwensville and later cleared it and developed a valuable farm. This land is now owned by Ai and Eli Bloom. He married Sarah Apkter and they became the parents of twelve children, namely: Katherine, who married Fred Shaffer; Elizabeth, who married Mason Garrison; William; John; Mary, who married Isaac Draucher; Benjamin, who married Nancy Arthurs; Caroline, who married Levi Owens; Priscilla, who married John Norris; Nancy, who married John McCracken; James, who married Mary Ann Hile; George, who married twice, first to Mahala Bloom and second to Rebecca Irwin; and Jeniza, who married Samuel B. Taylor. Isaac Bloom and wife both lived into old age, and their burial was in the McClure cemetery. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he was a strong Democrat. John Bloom was born on the Hugh Irwin farm where his father lived for a short time. In early manhood he married and then went to housekeeping on the farm on which C. J. Bloom lives and remained there for three years and then moved to the farm now owned by John J. Bloom, on which he passed the remainder of his life, dying at the age of seventy-four years. He cleared this farm and put it under cultivation and together with farming engaged largely in lumbering. He married Mary Ann Jordan, who was born in Perry county, Pa., and was nine years old when her people came to Clearfield county. Her parents were John and Eve Jordan, natives of New Jersey and on the maternal side, of German parentage. John Jordan was a miller and when he came to Clearfield county he worked where the Bickford fire brick plant stands, going from there to the Rockton mill, which was owned by Jerry Moore, after that accepting the management of a mill at Curwensville, owned by John Irwin. He then operated a mill at Stoneville, in Boggs township for a time, after which he went back to Curwensville to take charge of Mr. Irwin's second mill, the first one having burned down. Afterward he purchased some land which now is partitioned off into town lots, and there he lived until the close of his life, at the age of sixty-nine years, his burial being in Oak Hill cemetery. John and Eve Jordan had a family of twelve children, the eldest of these being Mary Ann, the mother of John Jordan, who was named for his maternal grandfather. David, the second member of the family, is deceased. John Jordan, the third, married Mary Jane McClelland. Margaret Jordan, deceased, was twice married, first to Daniel Sweeney and second to Frederick Haney. Zeniza Jordan was the wife of David Denmark, both of whom are deceased. Rachel Jordan married Frank Sterling and both are deceased. Daniel Jordan went to Nebraska and married Sarah Long of Luthersburg, Clearfield county. Levi Jordan, now deceased, was twice married, first to Sarah Nelis, and second to Ann Cole. Susan Jordan, a resident of Lumber City, is the widow of Robert Young. William Jordan, who is deceased, married Hannah Winn and they lived in Nebraska. Sarah Ann Jordan married Isaac Haney, of Mehaffey, Pa. Samuel Jordan, a resident of Clearfield, married Ellen McClelland, who is deceased. To John and Mary Ann (Jordan) Bloom the following children were born: Fred, Mrs. Eliza Long, Matilda, Mrs. Rachel Long, Isaac, John Jordan, Mrs. Mary Jane Bell, Mrs. Sarah Ann Bloom, Mrs. Susan Moore, Mrs. Jehursha Kelly, Mrs. Amanda Spackman, and Alfred L., of Knox township. The parents of the above family were good, Christian people, active in good works theough life and worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Bloomington. In politics the father was a Democrat and he served in all the public offices in the township, with the exception of justice of the peace. John Jordan Bloom obtained his education in the Curry school in Pike township, near his father's farm. When he was thirteen years of age he was able to do a man's work, both on the farm, which he helped to clear, and in the woods at lumbering. He took pride in being able to give such a good account of himself and as an indication of the confidence that was placed in his good judgment, it may be narrated that in the winter of his thirteenth year he was entrusted with the care of four horses and with them hauled lumber. He remained with his father until his marriage in the summer of 1868, when he moved to the opposite end of the farm and cultivated land there for ten years. In 1893 he moved to his present location, the site of the old homestead. He has all his land, with the exception of forty acres in valuable timber, under cultivation, and he owns also some property at Walton, in Pike township, and is a stockholder in the Traders and Farmers Bank of Clearfield, of which he is a charter member. Mr. Bloom is a representative citizen of this section and his sterling character and excellent business capacity have been many times recognized by his fellow citizens when they have cast about for desirable holders of public office. Mr. Bloom is a Democrat and in 1910 was chairman of the township committee of his party. He is a member of the school board and has been overseer of the poor, road supervisor and tax collector. He is a member of Susquehanna Grange, at Curwensville, and formerly was connected with the Bloomington Grange, of which he was a charter member. On June 23, 1868, Mr. Bloom was married first to Miss Mary Ellen Peoples, of Center county, who died in 1880 and was interred in the Bloomington cemetery. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Two daughters were born to this marriage, namely: Ollie, who is deceased; and May, who is the wife of Samuel Askey, of Sharon, Pa. Mr. Bloom was married, secondly, June 19, 1883, to Miss J. Alice Read, who was born in Lawrence township, Clearfield county, Pa., a daughter of William Potter Read. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bloom, namely: Mary Irene, who died at the age of five months; Cecil R., who is employed in a drug store at Clearfield; Ella and Fred, both of whom are at home; and an infant daughter, who is deceased. Mr. Bloom takes considerable interest in the old records of his family, one that has been identified with the settlement and advancement of this section of Clearfield county. Elizabeth Bloom, a sister of his grandfather, was married in 1803 to Mathew Ogden, this being the first marriage ceremony recorded in Clearfield county, and it was performed by Samuel Bell, Esq., who was the first justice of the peace in the neighborhood. Mathew Ogden had many encounters with the Indians and was known as a successful Indian fighter and Mr. Bloom tells several interesting stories of his courage and diplomacy. On one occasion, being hard pressed in a running fight with the savages, he jumped into a ditch and as an Indian attempted to also clear the ditch, the opportunity was afforded Mr. Ogden of killing his pursuer and thereby saving his own life. On another memorable occasion in order to escape capture, he crawled into a hollow log and, strange as it may seem, an industrious spider covered his hiding place with a web and when the Indians caught up with him, he had the satisfaction of overhearing their comments on his escape while they were sitting on the very log in which he was entombed. On still another occasion he was at work near his home when two Indians approached him apparently in a friendly way but very soon they informed him that they had come to slay him. He had no weapon near but had the presence of mind to invite them into his cabin for refreshment and, there, with the quick movement that had often before saved his life, caught up his gun and killed them both. These stories give a true indication of the tragic conditions under which pioneers lived in the early days of 1800, in a section of country that now is noted for its enlightenment and civilization.