Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1910-05-27
ORGAN NO. s FROM eRArrLEeoRo.
Instrument Made Here In 1916 Is In Good
Condition Today In Home Of Newburgh,
N. ", Physician.

In view of the fact that hundreds of
thousands of organs have been made in
Brattleboro IL is of interest to find that
instrument No. 5 in the list, manufactured
here in 1876 by Jones & Burditt, is in
good condition today and is frequently
used in the home of the owner, DR.. James
r. White of 60 Golden street, Newburgh,
New York DR.. White wrote to the post
master of Brattleboro recently asking for
information regarding the manufacturers.
c. w. Wilcox, assistant postmaster the
past 80 years. who was first employed in
the post office AZ years ago, has PEN
chant for local history, and he was there
fore able to furnish DR. White with the
information he desired A part of Mr..
WilcoX's letter to DR.. White, concerning
early days of the organ industry, is re-
produced herewith:
Replying to your card of May 16, ask
ing if we could inform you when the
Jones & Burditt Organ company started
in business here 1t so happens that many
years ago the writer in course of copying
many local happenings from newspaper
files dating back to 1S47 found in the 1853
volume of The Phoenix or Eagle a series
of writeups of the principal manufactur-
| ing industries of the town up to that
| date, so l today turn to my bookcase
at home and promptly find the book in
| which l entered the matter referred to,
| anu am pledseu 10 give you the DeHeHl Ol
| 1t:
! "Melodeon manufacturing was cem-
| menced in May, 1876, by Jones, Wood
| bury & Burditt, in the building then
| known as Smith & Woodcocks mill, sit
| uated between the two villages. Reed
| instruments were then comparatively new
| things, but few having been made in this
| country, and most of those by ineXperi-
| enced workmen. In the autumn of 1916
the first instruments were taken to Bos-
| ton as samples, giving very general salts
| faction among musical instrument deal
| ers, who manifested the same by send
| ing in their orders quite literally. Up
| to May, 1917, about 40 instruments had
| been made. In that month R. Burdtt
purchased j. WOodbury's interest, the firm
| name being changed to Jones & Bur
| dit. From May to November seven
hands were employed, all the shop could
| accommodates In November, 1S4S, the
supply not being equal to the demand,
they removed to rooms adjoining the pa
per mill, now GS53) occupied as a rule
factory, soon increasing the number of
hands to fourteen. September, 1850, they
had made about 500 instruments of Is
varieties and sizes, from small melo-
deon to a good sized church organ, mean
while many improvements being intro
duced, and the reed instruments brought
from "squeaker" to a beautiful de-
| Sirable parlor ornament In september,
1850, S. H. Jones sold to E. b. Carpenter,
the firm taking the title of Burditt &
Carpenter. The demand still repdly in
creasing they again removed to the new
steam shop just then completed by j.
Estey, where they occupied two stories OF
the building, which was 40 by 65 feet, and
employed IS persons, their annual pro-
duction being $50 instruments, amounting
to between S12, 900 and $4,000 In Feb
ruary, 1852, r. Burditt sold his share 10
]. Estey and the firm assumed the title
of E. b. Carpenter & Co. In February,
1853, an addition of capital was made by
Isaac Hines, and the name changed to J.
Hines & Co, who continued the business
on greatly enlarged scale They added
the manufacture of Carharts patent me-
lodeons TO the former extensive variety,
also a church organ on scale much
larger than had been before attempted by
them. A greater variety is now GS53)
being made by them than by any similar
concern in the country. 49,. The pres
ent capital invested is about 10000, and
il is anticipated that the business OF
1853 will amount to S25 900. Nearly 1906
instruments made since the autumn OF
1876, six and a half years, twenty mer
employed, with probable increase soon
Oh. P. Green, third member of the firm
in 1858, May)"