John Mitchell Chase was born in 1820 in Ohio. He was left fatherless at an early age in boyhood.
At the age of seven years, after his mother and siblings moved to Broome County, New York, he left home to earn his own living due to his mother having no means of income.
As John Chase grew and worked hard to secure a stable financial status, he never lost touch with his mother.
The first piece of land that he secured was a little tract on Little Clearfield Creek. He immediately sent a message to his mother and step-father to move to his land where he cared for them as long as they survived.
In 1845, John Chase married Tabitha Williams and moved to the northwest part of Woodward Township. Together they had 11 children.
This is where he engaged in lumbering after purchasing extensive tracts of some of the finest timber land in the county of Clearfield.
On Aug. 14, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil War, entering Company B, 149th Pa. Vol. Inf., of which he was elected lieutenant, but later, through the intervention of his personal friend, Governor Curtin, he was appointed regimental quartermaster.
Army exposure brought on a disability, which resulted in his honorable discharge after 19 months of service.
After his return from the Civil War, Chase invested in land that was rich in coal deposits in the county. He became an ordained minister in 1870 and was an active member of the Baptist Church.
John M. Chase was a true self-made man. The heavy responsibilities that were placed upon him at such an early age, molded this man into a successful businessman, loving husband, son and father, as well as, a respected citizen of Clearfield County.
He died at his home in Clearfield in 1899 and is buried at Hillcrest Cemetery.
