Metadata
Title
St. Peter's Church organ correspondence and other records, 1813
Date
1813
Digital Identifier
ChristChurch.CorporationCorrespondence_4-2-0-29
Call Number
4.2.0.29; F517
Description
Correspondence details the decision to purchase a new organ for Saint Peter's Church. The folder also contains a list of desired specifications for the organ.
Additional records document a dispute with New York organ builders John Geib & Son over travel expenses, and a draft contract with local builder John Lowe for $4,000, which the Vestry ultimately rejected due to lack of funds. The folder also includes a petition from organist Rayner Taylor requesting a salary increase due to the high cost of living, his subsequent resignation to take a better position at St. Paul's Church, and a petition signed by parishioners protesting a 25% increase in pew rents during 'times of Calamity.'
Additional records document a dispute with New York organ builders John Geib & Son over travel expenses, and a draft contract with local builder John Lowe for $4,000, which the Vestry ultimately rejected due to lack of funds. The folder also includes a petition from organist Rayner Taylor requesting a salary increase due to the high cost of living, his subsequent resignation to take a better position at St. Paul's Church, and a petition signed by parishioners protesting a 25% increase in pew rents during 'times of Calamity.'
Subject
Place
Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
New York (N.Y.)
Congregation
Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA
Extent
12 documents
Format (Digital)
tiff
Rights
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
Language
eng
Type
Text
Abstract
The records chiefly concern efforts in 1813 to procure a new organ for St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia. Thomas Cumpston, church warden, informed William Meredith and Horace Binney that the vestry had authorized them to dispose of materials from the old organ, apply the proceeds to a new organ, and lower the back portion of the organ loft floor to make room for the instrument [p. 1r]. A committee report notes that Meredith and Binney had conferred with the committee, that the committee had examined the organ at St. Paul's Church, and that the St. Peter's organ loft could accommodate an organ of sufficient power [p. 2]. The report estimated that, since the St. Paul's organ had cost more than $5,000, a somewhat smaller organ for St. Peter's would likely cost at least $4,000, exclusive of any allowance for the old organ materials [p. 3-4].
John Geib & Son of New York submitted a detailed plan and estimate for an organ modeled on the Grace Church organ case, listing stops for the great organ, choir, and swell, along with pedals and coupling mechanisms [p. 6]. Their estimate totaled $4,865, including $4,500 for the organ, packing, transportation, cartage, travel expenses, and board for two people to install it [p. 7-8]. They compared the number of pipes in the Grace Church and proposed St. Peter's organs, and proposed completion within a year, with payment by installments [p. 7-8]. They also advised selling the old organ to the highest bidder, stating that only the metal would be of use to them and that even that might not justify the expense of removal and transportation [p. 7-8].
Subsequent letters from John Geib & Son show that negotiations with Meredith did not lead to a contract. The firm billed Meredith $100 for William Geib's trip to Philadelphia, including stage hire, travel expenses, and time spent on the road and in Philadelphia [p. 10r-p. 10v]. In later correspondence, the firm objected to Meredith's refusal to pay the full amount, argued that its time and plans should be compensated, and acknowledged receipt of $50 as the only sum it was willing to accept [p. 11r-p. 11v]. A September letter again asserted that Meredith's promise to defray expenses should include compensation for loss of time, not merely travel costs [p. 16r-p. 16v].
The folder includes a July 29, 1813 letter from Cumpston stating that the vestry would not be a party to a proposed agreement between Meredith, Binney, and organ builder John Lowe because church funds would not permit it [p. 12]. A draft agreement with Lowe proposed that he build and install a mahogany-cased organ in St. Peter's Church for $4,000 plus the old organ, with installment payments and satisfactory security [p. 13-p. 14]. The attached schedule specifies the compass of the keys, stops for the great organ, choir, and swell, pedal pipes, coupling movement, ivory keys with ebony sharps, and two bellows [p. 14-15].
Additional records concern church music and finances. Rayner Taylor, organist of St. Peter's, petitioned the rector, church wardens, and vestry on September 14, 1813, for a salary increase from $93.32 per year, citing inadequate compensation, high prices for necessities and rent, and the demands of performing through summer heat and winter cold [p. 17]. In October 1813, members of the United Episcopal Churches petitioned for reconsideration of a vestry resolution adding 25 percent to pew rents, citing the "distresses and privations" of the period and requesting that the increase be repealed or suspended until congregants were better able to bear it [p. 19r-p. 19v]. A later letter from Taylor, dated November 15, 1818, states that he had accepted the position of organist at St. Paul's, with an adequate salary and an excellent instrument, and would discontinue playing at St. James's after the following Sunday [p. 20].
John Geib & Son of New York submitted a detailed plan and estimate for an organ modeled on the Grace Church organ case, listing stops for the great organ, choir, and swell, along with pedals and coupling mechanisms [p. 6]. Their estimate totaled $4,865, including $4,500 for the organ, packing, transportation, cartage, travel expenses, and board for two people to install it [p. 7-8]. They compared the number of pipes in the Grace Church and proposed St. Peter's organs, and proposed completion within a year, with payment by installments [p. 7-8]. They also advised selling the old organ to the highest bidder, stating that only the metal would be of use to them and that even that might not justify the expense of removal and transportation [p. 7-8].
Subsequent letters from John Geib & Son show that negotiations with Meredith did not lead to a contract. The firm billed Meredith $100 for William Geib's trip to Philadelphia, including stage hire, travel expenses, and time spent on the road and in Philadelphia [p. 10r-p. 10v]. In later correspondence, the firm objected to Meredith's refusal to pay the full amount, argued that its time and plans should be compensated, and acknowledged receipt of $50 as the only sum it was willing to accept [p. 11r-p. 11v]. A September letter again asserted that Meredith's promise to defray expenses should include compensation for loss of time, not merely travel costs [p. 16r-p. 16v].
The folder includes a July 29, 1813 letter from Cumpston stating that the vestry would not be a party to a proposed agreement between Meredith, Binney, and organ builder John Lowe because church funds would not permit it [p. 12]. A draft agreement with Lowe proposed that he build and install a mahogany-cased organ in St. Peter's Church for $4,000 plus the old organ, with installment payments and satisfactory security [p. 13-p. 14]. The attached schedule specifies the compass of the keys, stops for the great organ, choir, and swell, pedal pipes, coupling movement, ivory keys with ebony sharps, and two bellows [p. 14-15].
Additional records concern church music and finances. Rayner Taylor, organist of St. Peter's, petitioned the rector, church wardens, and vestry on September 14, 1813, for a salary increase from $93.32 per year, citing inadequate compensation, high prices for necessities and rent, and the demands of performing through summer heat and winter cold [p. 17]. In October 1813, members of the United Episcopal Churches petitioned for reconsideration of a vestry resolution adding 25 percent to pew rents, citing the "distresses and privations" of the period and requesting that the increase be repealed or suspended until congregants were better able to bear it [p. 19r-p. 19v]. A later letter from Taylor, dated November 15, 1818, states that he had accepted the position of organist at St. Paul's, with an adequate salary and an excellent instrument, and would discontinue playing at St. James's after the following Sunday [p. 20].
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