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Inventory of the Bloom Family Papers, 1905-2010
Inventory of the Bloom Family Papers, 1905-2010
Descriptive Summary
| Abstract: | Photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, clippings, school records, and other materials relating to the Bloom family of Greenville, South Carolina. The majority of records document the education, military service, and community involvement of Jack Bloom, with a smaller quantity of materials pertaining to his parents, Julius and Jennie Shatenstein Bloom, and his wife, Lillian Chernoff Bloom, as well as items relating to the Chernoff, Cohen, and Shatenstein families. |
| Title: | Bloom family papers |
| Creator: | Bloom family |
| Date(s): | 1905-2010 (bulk 1943-1980) |
| Extent: | 4.5 linear feet (5 document boxes, 1 slim document box, 2 flat boxes, 2 oversize folders, 5 compact discs) |
| Repository: | Special Collections, College of Charleston Libraries 66 George Street Charleston, SC 29424 Phone: (843) 953-8016 Fax: (843) 953-6319 URL: http://archives.library.cofc.edu |
| Call Number: | Mss 1118 |
| Language of Material: | Materials in English and Yiddish |
Biographical Note
Julius Harry Bloom (1894-1973) was born in Poland to Amelia and Harris Bloom. The family immigrated to the United States in 1905, and in 1910 settled in Greenville, South Carolina, where Harris opened Bloom's Department Store. In 1917 Julius left to fight in World War I, serving in France with the 118th infantry. He was severely injured and recovered in multiple hospitals in France and Britain before returning home in 1919. Once home, Julius took over Bloom's Department Store and married Jennie Shatenstein. The couple had their first child, Jack, in 1920, followed by a second son, Melvin, and a daughter, Shirley. Julius ran Bloom's Department Store until his retirement in 1966, when he closed the store.
Jack Bloom attended Furman University, and in 1941 began studying law at Duke University. He interrupted his studies to serve in the army during World War II. From 1943 to 1945, he was stationed at Camp Shanks in New York. After the war, Jack completed his law degree at Duke, graduating and passing the bar in 1947. His younger brother, Melvin, received a Ph.D. in chemistry, and his sister, Shirley, married Jack Cohen in 1952 and had two children, Mark and Stacy.
Jack married his wife Lillian Chernoff in 1956, and settled in Greenville, where Jack worked as an attorney. Apart from his career as a lawyer, he dedicated himself to research and writing, and, in 2005, published "A History of the Jewish Community of Greenville, South Carolina" in The Proceedings and Papers of the Greenville County Historical Society. Both Jack and his father were active members of the local Jewish community. Julius served as president of Congregation Beth Israel in Greenville for 21 years and Jack was involved with the South Carolina Association of B'nai B'rith Lodges. Lillian Bloom was an active member of numerous civic associations and organizations, including the American Red Cross and the Mental Health Association of Greenville County. Jack and Lillian Bloom died in 2010.
Collection Overview
The collection consists of photographs, correspondence, school records, certificates, and clippings that document the Bloom family of Greenville, South Carolina, as well as a small number of materials relating to the Chernoff, Cohen, and Shatenstein families. Materials focus mainly on Julius and Jennie Bloom and their son, Jack. The largest portion of the collection consists of photographs, featuring mainly Jennie and Julius Bloom, their son Jack, and daughter, Shirley. Several photograph albums contain images of later generations of the Chernoff family. Paper documents pertain primarily to Jack Bloom's correspondence, education, military career, and involvement in the Jewish community, with a smaller number of items documenting the education and career of his wife, Lillian Chernoff Bloom. The collection also contains research files, drafts, and the final manuscript for A History of the Jewish Community of Greenville, South Carolina by Jack Bloom.
Collection Arrangement
Materials are described at the folder level.
Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person, family, or organization, by topical subject, by place, and by types of material.Names
- Bloom, Jack L., 1920-2010
- Bloom, Jennie Chernoff
- Bloom, Julius H., 1893-1973
- Bloom, Lillian, 1921-2010
- Bloom family
- Chernoff family
- Shatenstein family
Subjects
- World War, 1914-1918--Veterans.
- World War, 1939-1945--Veterans.
- Jewish businesspeople
- Jews--Social life and customs
- Jews--Intellectual life
Places
- Greenville (S.C.)
Types of Material
- Black-and-white photographs
- Color photographs
- Photograph albums
- Correspondence
- Certificates
- Manuscripts for publication
- Notebooks
- Diplomas
- Membership cards
- Color patches (military patches)
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Digital images
Related Resources
Related Material
Julius H. Bloom papers (Mss 1034-012), an oral history interview with Jack L. Bloom (Mss 1035-126), and the South Carolina Association of B'nai B'rith Lodges records (Mss 1037).
Inventory
Correspondence, 1920-2006, undated
The majority of correspondence is from Jennie and Julius Bloom to their son Jack, written while he was finishing his law degree at Duke University. It also includes a smaller number of letters from Jack while stationed at Camp Shanks in New York during World War II.
Photographs, circa 1905-2010, undated
The majority of photographs document the daily life of multiple generations of the Bloom family, including images taken in their home and at casual events and functions. Of note are images of Julius Bloom in uniform during World War I, Jack Bloom stationed at Camp Shanks during World War II, and Julius and Jack Bloom attending Congregation Beth Israel events. A significant number of subjects are unidentified.
Images of Shirley Cohen, her two children, and friends.
Images of Jack and Lillian Bloom, the Chernoff family, Jack's high school reunion, and Jack and Shirley.
Images of Stacy Cohen's wedding, Jennie Bloom, and Jack and Shirley Bloom.
Images of Jack and Lillian Bloom, and unidentified family members.
Images of Jack and Lillian Bloom, Miriam Chernoff, and unidentified family members.
Images of Jack and Lillian Bloom, and the Stewart family.
Materials mostly document Lillian Bloom's youth and the Chernoff family, as well as a smaller number of items pertaining to Lillian and her husband, Jack Bloom. Includes photographs, marriage certificates, wedding invitations, clippings, letters, and anniversary cards.
Materials document the Chernoff family-mainly Lillian Chernoff Bloom, and Jack and Lillian Bloom's courtship and marriage. Also includes a small number of items documenting Shirley Cohen and her son, Mark. Includes clippings, letters from Jack to Lillian, programs, photographs, business cards, and genealogical documents, such as a family tree.
Images of Lillian Chernoff as a young woman, and with her husband, Jack Bloom, in the 1960s.
School records, 1933-1947
Records pertaining to the education of Jack and Lillian Bloom, from high school through post-graduate degrees.
Graduation ceremony programs, letters of achievement, such as honor roll and scholarship awards, and report cards.
Jack Bloom's high school year book and photocopied pages from Lillian Bloom's college year book.
Genealogical research files, 1998-2010
Audiovisual, 2006, 2008
Family photographs compiled and scanned at the Shatenstein family reunion in 2006.
Also includes family trees and name indexes.
Service and events programs, copies of the Beth Israel Bulletin, yearly sheets noting leadership and special events, and correspondence regarding redecoration fundraising efforts.
Birth announcements, bar mitzvah invitations, wedding invitations, funeral memorial book for Harris Bloom, and a certificate honoring the wedding anniversary of Jack and Lillian Bloom.
From the United States Court of Appeals, the Grand Council of the Order of DeMolay, the Judge Advocate General's School, and the United States Court of Military Appeals.
From the American Bar Association, Zionist Organization of America, Order of DeMolay, and Greenville County of Economic Opportunity Commission.
Includes certificates of appreciation from the American Red Cross and a plaque recognizing her contributions to the Mental Health Association of Greenville County.
News clippings describing Jack Bloom's community involvement, Julius H. Bloom, Bloom's Department Store, Congregation Beth Israel, and Shirley Bloom's marriage announcement. Also includes obituaries for several Bloom family members.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Bloom family papers, College of Charleston Libraries, Charleston, SC, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Materials were donated in 2010 by Miriam Chernoff.
Processing Information
Processed by Amy Lazarus, April 2015.
Encoded by Amy Lazarus, June 2015.
Reviewed and uploaded by Joshua Minor, November 2015.
