George [Geo.] Jardine
1842

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 Duane Mansion was built in 1817 by Solomon Kelly, although it is not known whether James Duane or one of his children built the Federal-style mansion (James lived in New York City). It was likely one of his daughters. The Jardine is in high Empire style and the case is veneered in mahogany and flame mahogany burl. The organ has a foot pumping pedal for the organist as well as a separate pumping handle for servants. The instrument has one octave of permanently coupled stick pedals reminiscent of the short pedals on home electronic spinet organs of the 50s and 60s. The horizontal shutters are operated by a hitchdown pedal. At an unknown date late 19th century, the organ was moved to the Presbyterian church in Worcester, New York, about 35 miles distant. The organ served there until it was replaced by a two-manual Estey in the 1930s, and the organ was moved again to the Presbyterian church in Middlefield Center, about 12 miles west. In the late 1960s, the church closed and the organ was sold to radio station KRAB in Seattle, and after a period of disuse, sold to a private owner in Oregon. It was next briefly at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon until replaced in 1984 by a larger, 2-manual 19th century instrument. The organ was listed for sale with the Organ Clearing House at an overly-inflated price thereafter, and finally in 1990 it was sold for an unspecified amount to an individual who gifted the organ to the Providence Presbyterian Church in Powhaton, Virginia.

Over the years, the organ lost its stop labels and 8' Diapason, which was replaced with a second-hand set of Gamba pipes. For its installation at Powhaton the organ was fitted with a small pancake blower and the pumping handle is no longer visible in photos. The 8' stops are all treble only, with a single Stopt Diapason bass. Repaired but never fully restored, the organ is no longer playable in 2021.