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Occupation: photographer, teacher
Religion: Presbyterian
http://www.winthrop.edu/dacus/About/Archives/JohnShorb.htm
John R. Schorb was born in Neiderweiler, Germany, in what was then the Grand Duchy of Baden. His German name was Johann Schorb, but later in the United States, probably when he came South he changed it to John Schorb.
In 1834, young Schorb came to America, spending his first two years in Buffalo, New York. From Buffalo he went to Canton, Ohio, then walked 400 miles to Michigan City, Indiana. He moved back to Buffalo about 1839.
Friends sent him to the Rochester Collegiate Institute in Rochester, New York, to prepare him for college. The school must have been an excellent preparation for him because he entered Hamilton College as a senior. Here he came under the tutelage of Dr. Charles Avery, professor of natural philosophy.
Avery had a very strong interest in chemistry. He went to Paris to visit Louis Daguerre who perfected the method of making permanent pictures known as the daguerreotype process. Avery taught Schorb what he had learned from Daguerre. And so, by about 1843 or 1844, Schorb was working with a camera and taking photographs. This would make him one of America’s first photographers.
In 1844, he graduated from Hamilton College. Schorb did not go into teaching, which is what his college education prepared him to do. Instead, he took his camera and traveled. Evidence indicated that, in addition to traveling through New York, he must have gone through New Jersey, Virginia and possibly Indiana and Connecticut. Connecticut seems a strong possibility since he married Miss Mary Stillman from that state.
Around 1848 he made his way to South Carolina, apparently staying in Charleston in 1849 and then moving to Columbia in 1850.
All the while Schorb took pictures. Today photographs litter the attics, closets, and antique boxes throughout the state. South Carolina has a strong claim to being the adopted state of the country’s first traveling photographer.
In John Schorb’s time it was very difficult to make a living as a photographer. Between 1850 and 1853, he moved to Winnsboro and got a position at Mount Zion Institute. Here he taught astronomy, chemistry, and "belle-lettres." Schorb had time to get involved in community affairs and was a member of a drama troupe known as the Winnsboro Thespian Corps.
In 1853, he moved to Yorkville, now York, and began teaching at the Yorkville Female Academy. He also had a part-time position teaching at the Kings Mountain Military Academy. During this period Schorb continued to take photographs.
About 1869 he became a full-time photographer opening up a studio on his property on West Liberty Street. Schorb practiced photography until he was almost 90. He was also interested in art and designed and made the scenery and backdrops that he used for his photography.
Schorb became very active in the affairs of the Yorkville community, serving for example, on the town council for two years and as the city’s clerk and treasurer for eight. He was ordained as a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church and played the organ at church services on Sunday.
He was well-educated with Greek, Latin, and mathematics his favorite subjects. When he had time he used his knowledge and learning to tutor the neighborhood children.
On November 5, 1908, at the age of 90, John R. Schorb died. He is buried in Rose Hill cemetery in York, his grave marked by one of the largest monuments there.
At his death, he left one son, George, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The photographs used in this exhibit were made from photographs contained in the John R. Schorb Papers which are housed in the Winthrop University Archives and Special Collections. The papers were deposited by Mrs. Mary Kell Wade, great-granddaughter of John R. Schorb.
The John R. Schorb papers, extending from 1841 to 1960, include biographical and genealogical notes, letters, newspaper clippings, positive print photographs, and approximately 190 glass plate negatives, daguerreotypes, and tintypes.
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