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At the turn of the 20th century, John Roshon (1874-1955) was a popular portrait
photographer in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was born in 1829 and lived in the
Harrisburg area for the majority of his lifetime. John learned the art of photography
from his father, Christian S. Roshon, who owned his own portrait studio in Harrisburg
and other central Pennsylvania locations from 1860 to 1900. At the age of thirty
six, John owned and operated the Commonwealth Gallery in Harrisburg. Today,
many of his portraits continue to hang in local churches and public buildings.
Many photographs in the collection are of the Roshon family. For example, several photographs are of his wife, Mary E. Roshon, her parents, John and Dorinda Feehrer and his daughter, Dorinda Roshon. The collection also includes information on John and Mary's wedding, Dorinda's school reports, letters written by Dorinda, newspaper articles on John W. Roshon, pension records and Roshon family burial cards.
The photographs were obtained by the Archives in 1988 from a local antique dealer.
| PA State Archives | Hours, Directions, & Fees | Research Topics | Online Catalog | Land Records |