2004-10-30/2019-04-29 - Note from Organ Database Builders editor Stephen Hall, November 27, 2017. - John Baker was born in London, England, in the early 1800s. He apprenticed with Robert Gray while still in England before imigrating to the United States in the 1840s. He first worked with Henry Erben of New York City, New York; but was in Boston, Massachusetts, by 1850. He settled in Charleston, South Carolina, although the dates are uncertain, being given as 1859-1876 (Fox) and as 1867-1878? (Ochse). The later date seems more likely because there would have been little organ building activity in Charleston during the Civil War, however he may have traveled there before the war and been trapped there during the hostilities. He was the father of James S. Baker, who was active as an organ builder in the Charleston area from 1895 to approximately 1900. Sources David H. Fox, A Guide to North American Organbuilders (Richmond, Va.: Organ Historical Society, 1991), Orpha Ochse, The History of the Organ in the United States (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975), 292.
2018-05-07/2019-04-29 - Note from the OHS PC Database, derived from A Guide to North American Organbuilders, by David H. Fox (Richmond, Va.: Organ Historical Society, 1991; rev. ed., 1997, with updated information). - Born in London, England; father of James S. Baker; apprentice with Robert Gray in England; with Henry Erben of New York City, New York; in Boston, Massachusetts by 1850; in Charleston, South Carolina, 1859-1876 (1867-1878?). Sources Orpha Ochse, The History of the Organ in the United States (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1975), 143 Organ Handbook; published yearly by the Organ Historical Society of Richmond, VA, in connection with its annual convention. 1985, 35. Barbara Owen, The Organ in New England (Raleigh: Sunbury Press, 1979), 397.
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