Better Pipe Organ Database

John Brown (1900ca.)

First United Methodist Church
Greensboro, AL

Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)

Consoles

Main

Console position: Keydesk Attached
2 manuals
13 stops
3 divisions
Key action Type: Mechanical (Details Unknown)
Stop action Type: Mechanical
Stop layout Type: Drawknobs in Horizontal Rows on Terraced/Stepped Jambs
Manual compass: 61 notes
Expression Type: Balanced Expression Shoes/Pedals (Details Unknown)
Combination action: Fixed Mechanical

Notes

2013-11-30 - I saw this organ only once, twenty years ago, before it was replaced by a Holtkamp. I have an unattributed note saying the organ was moved to this location in 1907 from a Synagogue in Selma. Could be true, I suppose, but I'd like some evidence supporting that statement. -Database Manager

2015-08-31 - Updated through information from Edgar Torbert: "I am working on an article for the Greensboro, Alabama First United Methodist Church monthly newsletter about the two pipe organs that have served that congregation since the present sanctuary was constructed in 1907. The John Brown mentioned below was in place 1907 to 1990. It was replaced by a Holtkamp, designed under the guidance of Dr. Warren Hutton, professor of music at the University of Alabama for 42 years. Your note on your database entry about the origin of the John Brown has haunted my investigation for the newsletter article. The claim that the John Brown came from a synagogue in Selma, Alabama was perpetuated by a quote in the history of the Greensboro church compiled by the women of the church in 1987. The quote was from my grandfather Edgar Torbert, Sr. via my grandmother Lucille Torbert. My grandfather remembered hauling the parts of the organ from the railroad depot in Greensboro to the church on mule-drawn wagons owned by his father who operated a livery stable in Greensboro. The spur line of the railroad that ran through Greensboro had its south terminus in Selma. He always referred to the John Brown as the organ purchased from the synagogue in Selma. The only synagogue in Selma, Temple Mishkan Israel, was constructed in 1900 after the congregation met for a number of years at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on a rental basis. Your database notes St. Paul's either sold or donated its 10 year old Frank Roosevelt #466 to Temple Mishkan Israel circa 1900, which would coincide with the end of the rental arrangement and opening of the new temple. The Frank Roosevelt of which bits and pieces are reportedly still stored at Temple Mishkan Israel was not replaced until 1941 (Aeolian-Skinner #648, 1927). That leaves no time slot for the John Brown to be used in the Selma synagogue. The only explanation I can conjure without refuting my grandfather's recollection (he was widely regarded as the unofficial town historian until his death in 1972) is that Temple Mishkan Israel bought the John Brown prior to knowing about the donation (or good deal) from St. Paul's Episcopal. In such a case, they may have held the John Brown for resale without ever installing it, and the Greensboro church was the buyer. Whether it is plausible there would have been a 6-7 year holding period or the Greensboro church purchased it a few years prior to actual construction of its new sanctuary, I do not know. All this is to say, your note about the John Brown should probably be revised to say the organ likely came to Greensboro from Selma, but its prior history is unknown. Edgar Torbert Tucker, GA -Database Manager

Stoplist

Stoplist from unattributed notes Source: Source not recorded Date not recorded