2004-10-30/2019-04-29 - From the OHS PC Database, derived from A Guide to North American Organbuilders, by David H. Fox (Richmond, Va.: Organ Historical Society, 1991). - Born March 10, 1800; son of Peter Erben, father of Charles Erben; apprentice with Thomas Hall of New York City, New York, who married Maria Erben, Henry's sister, March 18, 1818; partner with Hall [Hall & Erben] in New York City, 1824-1827; established his own firm by 1827; alderman of New York City; partner with Henry Stiles in New York City, 1845-1848; branch shop in Baltimore, Maryland, 1847-1864; partner with William M. Wilson in Henry Erben & Co. of New York City, 1874-1879; briefly retired; partner with son in Henry Erben & Son, 1879-1884; died May 7, 1884; William M. Wilson continued Henry Erben & Co. while Lewis C. Harrison continued Erben's last business. Staff: John E. Ayers; John Baker; William F. Berry; James Blake; Claus S. Brandrup; Elisha Brotherton; Thomas P. Browne; James Cottier; Joseph Cottier; John H. Einstein; (Alexander Elder?); John Fawcett; Richard M. Ferris; Julius Firmbach; George Gerard; (F. W. Goeller?); Samuel S. Hamill; Lewis C. Harrison; Jabez Horner; James Jackson; William King; Henry A. Leaman; Frederick Miller; Williams Mills; George Osler; (Henry Pilcher, Sr.?); (Arnolph Polster?); Thomas Redstone; Bernard Reilly; William J. Stuart, Jr.; James E. Treat; Louis H. Van Dinter, Sr.; (John Wale, Jr.?). Sources: The Diapason December 1952, 16. Musical and Sewing Machine Gazette February 1880, 5. Orpha Ochse, The History of the Organ in the United States (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975), 147, 151. John Ogasapian, Organ Building in New York City 1700-1900 (Braintree, Mass.: The Organ Literature Foundation 1977), 57. Organ Handbook (Richmond, Va.: Organ Historical Society, 1986), 11. The Tracker, 21:4 (Fall, 1977), 1. The Tracker, 22:1 (Winter, 1978), 3. The Tracker, 34:3 (Summer, 1990), 13.
2015-10-13/2019-04-29 - From the OHS PC Database Builders Listing editor, Mar 26, 2016. - Excerpt from a paper by Robert C. Delvin. "From 1827 until the beginning of the Civil War, the firm of "Henry Erben-Organ Manufacture" continued to expand, enlarge its work force and increase production. During the later 1820s, the firm produced an average of eight instruments annually. [material omitted] The census also indicated that Erben engaged 45 employees,..." "The country's most prestigious churches, as well as most cathedrals built in the United States during the 1840s and 1850s, boasted large Erben organs. Yet Erben also had a significant market among rural congregations, providing small, one manual (i.e., keyboard) instruments built to same, exacting standards as his large organs." Source: Delvin, Robert C., "A Tale of Two Organs: Henry Erben and Apalachicola, Florida" (2000). Scholarly Publications. Paper 3. http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/ames_scholarship/3, Accessed Oct 13, 2015. See the entire text at: "A Tale of Two Organs: Henry Erben and Apalachicola, Florida" by Robert Delvin.
Regrettably, it is not possible to display the information about the sponsor of this pipeorgandatabase entry or if there is a sponsor. Please see About Sponsors on Pipe Organ Database.