Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Guide to the Henry S. Bloom papers
MC 30  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content Note
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Henry S. Bloom papers
    Dates: 1851-1968
    Collection number: MC 30
    Creator: Bloom, Henry S.
    Collection Size: .1 linear ft. (1 folder)
    Repository: Sacramento Public Library. Sacramento Room
    Sacramento, California 95814
    Abstract: Henry S. Bloom worked in the gold fields in California during the Gold Rush from 1850 to 1851. The collection is comprised of one folder correspondence and printed material, including newpaper clippings and a check (1851-1968, bulk 1851-1899).
    Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please contact the Sacramento Room.
    Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Use of the described materials may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Sacramento Public Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Henry S. Bloom papers, MC 30, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.

    Biography

    Henry S. Bloom (full name: Henry Sterling Bloom) was born on August 5, 1820 in Burlington in Bradford County, Pennsylvania to David and Mary ("Polly") Alma Bloom (maiden name: Rutty). Henry moved to Illinois with his parents in 1834. He married Elizabeth Ann Kearns on December 11, 1844 in Wilmington, Illinois. They had thirteen children together: Guy, Edith, Hilda, Inez, May, Ivan, David, Linda, Victor, Osburga ("Bess"), Thomas, Margaret Belle and Harry Lee.
    Bloom wrote about his time spent searching for gold in California from 1850-1851 in a diary which Burt E. Burroughs described in the Kankakee Republican News in the 1930s. In his diary, Bloom depicted the highs and lows of daily life in a mining camp as he worked in the hotel his father (who had come to California in 1849) owned. He also tended bar, worked in the post office, and mined for gold. Bloom's gold mining efforts were relatively successful, and he returned to Illinois with several thousand dollars' worth of gold.
    Bloom was one of Kankakee County's earliest pioneers. In 1853, he served as one of the commissioners who organized the county. He held a variety of minor offices in Rockville Township. He served as justice of the peace for fourteen years after having been elected at the age of twenty-two. He was also appointed postmaster and served in that position fo some time. Bloom worked as a farmer until he moved to the city of Kankakee. Towards the end of his life, Bloom was known for possessing a wealth of memories about the early days of the county, many of which were listed in the Atlas of Kankakee County. Bloom passed away on February 3, 1899 in Kankakee County at the age of 78.

    Scope and Content Note

    The collection is comprised of one folder consisting of correspondence and printed material, including newspaper clippings and a check (1851-1968, bulk 1851-1899). The correspondence covers such topics as family and friends, life in California, farming, the Post Office and Christmas celebrations. The newspaper clippings are funeral notices for Henry S. Bloom and Thomas Bloom and an article about Henry S. Bloom's diary about life in California during the Gold Rush. Photocopies of the clippings are also included.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    Bloom, Henry S.
    Gold mines and mining--California--Sources