2004-10-30/2019-12-12 - From the OHS PC Database, derived from A Guide to North American Organbuilders, by David H. Fox (Richmond, Va.: Organ Historical Society, 1991). — William Archibald Corrie was the son of Henry John Corrie, and the brother of George J. and John H. Corrie. He was in Boston, Massachusetts until 1827; and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by 1828. He succeeded his father, 1858; was a partner with his brother-in-law John Wright; and served in the Civil War, 1861; William A. Corrie died in 1896. Sources: Orpha Ochse, The History of the Organ in the United States (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975), 173. Barbara Owen, The Organ in New England (Raleigh: Sunbury Press, 1979), 400.
2019-12-09/2019-12-12 - From Organ Database Builders editor Charles Eberline, December 8, 2019. — William Archibald Corrie, the second of three sons of Henry James Corrie, was born around 1824, probably in Boston.1 W.A. Corrie, a grandson of William A. Corrie, told E.M. McCracken that his grandfather learned the organ trade by pumping the organ for his father on tuning jobs.2 The Philadelphia city directories from 1850 to 1867 carried the following listings for William Corrie: 1850, page 82: Corrie Wm. A., organ manuf. Sch 5th bel High [the first listing of him] 1851: no listing 1852: no listing 1853, page 81: Corrie Wm. dry goods, 8 S Sch 8th 1854, page 103: Corrie Wm., dry goods, 8 S 15th 1855, page 106: CORRIE W. A., organ builder, 322 Market, h Summer bel 22d [According to a note on the title page of the directory, the names of subscribers were printed in capitals.] 1856, page 124: Corrie W. A., organ builder, 322 Market, h 22 Howard 1857, page 131: Corrie W. A., organ builder, 322 Market, h 22 Howard 1858, page 132: Corrie W. A., organ builder, 920 Market, h 22 Howard 1859, page 138: Corrie W. A., organ builder, 920 Market, h 22 Hickey 1860, page 186: Corrie Wm. A., organs, 920 Market, h 14 S 15th 1860, page 1246 (under the heading “Organ Builders.” in the business directory): Curry [sic] & Wright, 926 Market 1861, page 189: Corrie William A., organ build. Barring ab 31st 1861, page 189: Corrie & Wright (William A. Corrie & John Wright), organ manufs. 1533 Filbert 1861, page 1195 (under the heading “Organ Builders.” in the business directory): Corrie & Wright, 1533 Filbert 1862: no listing 1863, page 167: Corrie William A., organ builder, Baring n 32d 1864: no listing 1865, page 156: Corrie William, U. S. A., Baring n 32d 1866, page 163: Corrie William, Baring n 32d 1867, page 200: Corrie William A., manuf, 350 N 31st3 These listings indicate that in 1855, 1856, and 1857 William was working for his father (322 Market was Henry Corrie’s work address), and it seems likely that he was doing so in 1850 as well. Whether he worked for his father between 1850 and 1855 in addition to his dry-goods business in 1853 and 1854 remains a subject for further investigation.4 After Henry Corrie’s death in 1858, William continued the business, working in partnership with his brother-in-law, John Wright. On August 19, 1861, William joined the Union Army, rose to the rank of colonel, and was wounded in the battle of Deep Bottom, Virginia, on August 16, 1864, but he was dishonorably discharged on August 3, 1865, for “Disobedience, Inciting and Encouraging the enlisted men of his command in acts and expressions of a mutinous character, and Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.” After the war, he returned to organbuilding part-time.5 McCracken stated that he was listed in the Philadelphia directories from 1870 to 1895 as an organbuilder, but according to his grandson, his health prevented him from doing much work.6 He died in Philadelphia on December 7 or 8, 1896, and was buried in Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia.7 Stephen L. Pinel, “Late from London: Henry Corrie, Organbuilder, and His Family,” The Tracker 40, no. 4 (1996): 19, gave Corrie’s dates as “(1824?–1896).” At “Col William A. Corrie,” Find a Grave, accessed December 11, 2018, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29997843/william-a_-corrie, his date of birth is stated to have been 1824, but there is no date of birth on Corrie’s gravestone (photograph at the Find a Grave website). Both Corrie’s obituary in the Public Ledger, December 9, 1896, quoted in E.M. McCracken, “The Elusive Corries,” The Tracker 3, no. 2 (January 1959): 4, and his obituary in “Reviewings,” The Music Trade Review 23, no. 21 (December 12, 1896): 6, accessed December 11, 2018, https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1896-23-21/06/, gave his place of birth as Philadelphia, but the Corrie family did not relocate from Boston to Philadelphia until 1828 (Pinel, “Late from London,” 15). McCracken, “Elusive Corries,” 4. The references are to McElroy’s Philadelphia Directory, for [year] (Philadelphia: Edward C. & John Biddle, [year]) (1850 to 1857) and McElroy’s Philadelphia City Directory, for [year] (Philadelphia: Edward C. & John Biddle, [year]) (1858 to 1867; the comma was omitted in the title from 1860 on; in the 1860 and 1861 directories, the publisher was E.C. and J. Biddle & Co.; from 1862 to 1864 the publisher was E.C. & J. Biddle & Co., A. McElroy & Co.; in 1865 and 1866 A. McElroy; and in 1867 A. McElroy & Co.), available at the website of Internet Archive; the links are at https://archive.org/search.php?query=philadelphia%20city%20directory. As of November 18, 2019, the 1867 directory was the latest one available. McCracken, “Elusive Corries,” 4, stated that William “first appeared in the directory in 1855”; Pinel, “Late from London,” 19, stated that William “first appears working for the family firm in 1855 at 322 Market Street.” They seem to have been unaware of the 1850, 1853, and 1854 directory listings. Pinel, “Late from London,” 19. McCracken, “Elusive Corries,” 4. Pinel, “Late from London,” 19, gave his date of death as December 7 and cited “Death Notices,” Public Ledger, December 8, 1896, 8; his obituary appeared as “Colonel William A. Corrie,” Public Ledger, December 9, 1896 (25n100). McCracken, “Elusive Corries,” 4, quoted the December 9 Public Ledger obituary as stating, “"Colonel William A. Corrie, a veteran of the Civil War, died early yesterday morning at his residence on Pine Street, Darby, of paralysis.” His death notice in The Music Trade Review stated, “COLONEL WM. A. CORRIE, a veteran of the civil war, died Dec. 9th, at his residence on Pine street, Darby, of paralysis” (“Reviewings,” 6). His gravestone gives his date of death as December 8, 1896 (“Col William A. Corrie,” Find a Grave; the date is clear on the photograph of the gravestone). Sources: David H. Fox, A Guide to North American Organbuilders, rev. ed. (Richmond, Va.: Organ Historical Society, 1997), 102. E.M. McCracken, “The Elusive Corries,” The Tracker 3, no. 2 (January 1959): 4. Barbara Owen, The Organ in New England (Raleigh: Sunbury Press, 1979), 400. Stephen L. Pinel, “Late from London: Henry Corrie, Organbuilder, and His Family,” The Tracker 40, no. 4 (1996): 19, 25nn98–101. “Reviewings,” The Music Trade Review 23, no. 21 (December 12, 1896): 6, accessed December 11, 2018, https://mtr.arcade-museum.com/MTR-1896-23-21/06/. “Col William A. Corrie,” Find a Grave, accessed December 11, 2018, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29997843/william-a_-corrie.
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