Relocated byBond Pipe Organs Inc.
1980

Some time around 1880 the congregation sent a group to Duanesburg, about 40 miles distant, for the purpose of attending the auction of the contents of the Catherine Duane Livingston mansion (Featherstonehaugh) by her descendants, which included a fine chamber organ. Catherine died in 1852 with her property passing through her children and grandchildren. The church's intention was to bid on the organ with the purpose of purchasing it and bringing it home. We don't know what the final bid was, nor how many parties may have been bidding against them. It is believed that the organ may have originally been in a NYC residence, or it may have been original to this grand home, built ca. 1812. There is a photo of the organ, likely from the 1880s, showing the organ in-situ in the church, with its top pediment and carved decorations intact, making an already tall organ, grandly tall. The Worcester church was town down and replaced with a modern and less imposing Akron-style church in 1892. An early postcard of the organ in the new church without its top decorations is dated either 1903, 1908, or 1909. The postmark was incomplete making the exact date unclear. The pleated center screen was redone for the new location under a large window, apparently in a different color, and not nearly as nicely pleated. The organ remained in the Worcester church until it was replaced with an Estey two-manual electro-pneumatic organ, and the Jardine was either sold or given to the Presbyterian Church in Middlefield Center, about 12 miles northwest as the crow flies. The organ remained in Middlefield until that church closed in the late 1960s to become a residence, and Sidney Chase of Worcester rescued the organ and brought it to its shop. It remained there for several years before it was sold through the Organ Clearing House to a low-power classical music station in Seattle. It was on the market again by 1982 for an inflated price. It has moved four times since, most recently in 2022 when it was acquired by S.L. Huntington & Co. for relocation to another church in upstate New York, yet to be restored and installed as of this writing in 2026. Except for replacement of the Op. Diap. with a second-hand Gamba, either when it was moved to Middlefield or Seattle, the installation of an electric blower, slide tuners, and minor repairs, the organ is otherwise original. It is very likely George Jardine's oldest extant organ. With its moving history across nine homes, it is a miracle survival, and could have perished at any time.

The organ was listed for sale through the Organ Clearing House beginning ca. 1982-83 with the unusually high asking price of $7,000, at a time when organs of this size were generally selling between $500 and $1,500. This price likely represented the investment by the owners in the restorative repairs made by the Bond company. I tried to purchase the organ through the Clearing House, but received no response in spite of several attempts at contact. The acquisition date of the organ from the Seattle radio station still needs confirmation as does the date of sale or transfer from private owners to the Holy Cross Lutheran Church, also in Portland, Oregon. The subsequent sale of the organ to a private individual who gifted it to the Providence Presbyterian Church in Powhatan, Virginia, (1990) was also handled through the Organ Clearing House.

After the organ was acquired from the Seattle radio station, the Bond organ company was contracted by the new owners to make restorative repairs, which included replacing several missing wood Stopped Diapason pipes. Also providing repairs while the organ was in Oregon, was Michael O'Dea, previously an associate of Ronald Sharp, builder of the organ in the Sydney Opera House.

Updated through on-line information from James R. Stettner.

From Duane mansion, Duanesburg, NY; via Middlefield Center, NY; via Radio station KRAB, Seattle, WA. Relocated to Holy Cross Lutheran, Portland, OR.