Lazar Bloom
Lazar Bloom was the first of his siblings to leave Lithuania for the United States. He left Dorbian, Lithuania for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on the SS Main in April 1903. After a year of peddling and learning to speak some English, he returned to Lithuania to find a wife and married Chia Jacobson in August 1904. He left his wife Chia in Europe, where their first child, Joe, was born. Lazar returned to Harrisburg in November 1904 on the SS Brandenburg, sailing from Bremen, Germany with two of his brothers, Shraga Feivish (Phillip Bloom) and Zeva (Jacob Bloom). It was not until July 1907 that Chia Bloom travelled to Harrisburg to join her husband. Their daughters Mary and Sarah were born in Harrisburg.
Chia Bloom
Chia Jacobson was a daughter of Hirsh and Chana Jacobson. Four of her sisters remained behind in Dorbian with her parents. All of them were murdered by the Nazis as the result a pogrom that destroyed the Jewish community in that town in September 1941. Once in Harrisburg, she was lonely without the company of two of her sisters – Esther (Mrs. Barney Jacobson) and Lena (Mrs. Aaron Cohen) – who had already settled in Saint John with their husbands. Her brother, Joseph settled in Michigan.
The Blooms moved to Saint John in 1911 where their remaining children were born – Rose, Jennie, Bernard, and Betty.
When they came to Saint John, they lived in a house on Main Street in the city’s North End. In 1920 or 1921, they moved to the first floor flat in a building at 41 Simonds Street. Lazar Bloom, like many of the Eastern European immigrants, had horses and a sloven (a type of low wagon) that he drove around the countryside to collect junk to sell to make money for his family. All of his horses were named “Dolly”.
The Blooms had two sons – Joseph and Bernard – and five daughters – Mary (Goodman), Sarah (Contor), Jennie (Jacobson), Rose (Friedman), and Betty (Fineberg).
Joseph Bloom moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Mary Bloom Goodman (1908-1988) married William (Bill) Goodman.
Sarah Bloom Conter (1911-1985) married Harry Conter in 1943. At the time he was a sergeant in the 3rd New Brunswick Coast Regiment stationed in Saint John. She had two sons – David and Alan.
Rose Bloom Friedman (1912-1985) married Jack Friedman of Montreal in 1947.
Jennie Bloom Jacobson (1914-1988) married Myer Jacobson who owned Jacobson and Company, a Saint John furniture store. Jennie was a member of the Congregation Shaarei Zedek, Sisterhood Shaarei Zedek, Hadassah and the Westfield Golf Club. They had one daughter, Gloria (Pink), who now lives in Halifax.
Myer and Jean (Bloom) Jacobson
Berny’s Clothing – Bernie Bloom
Bernard Bloom (1919-1997) married Dolores (Debbie) Tucker and they had two children – Phillip and Bryna. Bernard enlisted in the Canadian Army in December 1941 and was a sergeant at the time of his discharge in 1946. He spent the war as a clerk at the air force base in Pennfield, New Brunswick. In 1947, he established Berny’s Clothing Store on Main Street in the North End. After the business was destroyed in a fire in 1971, he worked at the Ideal Store. Bernie and Debbie Bloom headed the Chevra Kadisha (burial society) for Congregation Shaarei Zedek for more than 25 years.
Betty Bloom Fineberg, 1951
Betty Bloom Fineberg (1929-2024) married Elliot Fineberg in 1951 and they moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
References:
Louis I. Michelson Archives and Research and Exhibition Files, Saint John Jewish Historical Museum
Marcia Koven – Weaving the Past Into the Present (Saint John: 1989 and 2008)
The Evening Times Globe / The Telegraph Journal (Saint John newspapers)
This project is made possible with funding from the Archaeology and Heritage Branch, Province of New Brunswick through their Exhibit Renewal Digital Component program and the unwavering support of the Jewish families who made Saint John their home.
