Santa
Clara County
Biographies
CLEMENT
E. JORDAN
Noteworthy among the most thriving,
able and progressive business men of Palo Alto is Clement E. Jordan, a
well-known grocer. Inheriting the industrious and energetic spirit and the
sterling virtues of a long line of sturdy New England ancestors, he has met
with success in his active career, and has won the confidence and good-will of
the community in which he resides. A native of Maine, he was born April 17,
1873, in Portland, Cumberland county, which was also the birthplace of his
father, James Henry Jordan.
Born and reared in Maine, James
Henry Jordan spent his early life as a vegetable gardener at Cape Elizabeth. In
1876 he came to California, but did not locate here at that time. Going,
instead, to Arizona, he engaged in the manufacture of flour in the Rio Verde
valley. In March, 1889, he removed to Tacoma, Wash., where he was engaged in
the grocery business for a few months. Coming to California in the fall of that
year, he took up his residence in Napa, where he has since built up an
extensive and lucrative trade as a dealer in hay, grain and feed. He married
Emma Jordan, who was born in Maine, and, although bearing the same surname, was
not a relative. They are the parents of six children, five sons and one
daughter.
With the love of learning
characteristic of the sons and daughters of old New England, Clement E. Jordan
was a close student from his boyhood days. After leaving the public schools, he
attended Napa College, from which he was graduated with the degree of Ph. B. in
1896, and in 1897 was graduated from the Leland Stanford Jr. University with
the degree of A. M. He was subsequently engaged in teaching in Sacramento,
Cal., for a time, but on account of failing eyesight was forced to relinquish
the profession. Locating in Palo Alto in 1899, Mr. Jordan established himself
as a grocer, and has since built up a very large and remunerative business, and
has acquired a substantial property, becoming owner of residence and business
lots on University avenue.
In 1902, at Napa City, Cal., Mr.
Jordan married Mildred E. Hitchcock, a native of Minnesota. Mrs. Jordan is a
highly accomplished woman, much esteemed, and holds a position of prominence in
social circles. Reared an educated in California, she was graduated from Napa
College, and from the Napa Conservatory of Music. Previous to her marriage she
followed the profession of a teacher for awhile, from 1895 until 1898 teaching
in Kamehameha School for Boys and Girls in Honolulu,
Hawaiian Islands. In politics Mr. Jordan is a steadfast Republican. He served
as chief of the Palo Alto Fire Department for one year, resigning his position
on account of illness, and in 1893 was president of the Merchants’
Association. He is a consistent and
active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for three years served as
president of the Epworth League, and is now superintendent of the Sunday
school.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages
415-416. The Chapman Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Cecelia M. Setty.