Joseph Downer's Missing Ledger

When Downer's 1788 organ was loaned in 1920 to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, it was accompanied by a ledger in his handwriting; whether it was a solitary ledger or one of many is still unknown. Equally unknown is what happened to it after Dr. W. J. Holland referred to it while writing the article that appeared in the April 1920 issue of The Diapason. Hopefully, it returned to family hands, as no part of what is now the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh (Museums of Natural History and Art, Science Center, and Andy Warhol Museum) either have it or any record of it.

In it was not only the following specific details of the materials, labour and payment of the organ, but useful information for piecing his life in the newly renamed riverbank settlement of Elizabeth Town (now Elizabeth, PA). This included, according to Holland, his business dealings with prominent regional leaders and fellow townfolk, his clothing, and an unusually extensive library. A thumbnail life is presented on the Downer & His Organs page. What could prove nearly as useful as the following was a listing of all of his tools at that time.

 

Organ Information From Downer's Ledger Book
ORGAN.
1787	April 7	Boards	0 P	3 s	0 p
		Boards	0 P	12 s	5 p
1788	Jan. 28	3 lbs Glue	0 P	4 s	6 p
		6 skins	0 P	7 s	4 p
		Brads 2 hundred	0 P	1 s	4 p
		Nails	0 P	2 s	0 p
	Feb. 14	28 feet Board	0 P	2 s	8 p
		Screws	0 P	4 s	6 p
		To Wood Maple Boards, &c pr Woodward	2 P	16 s	0 p
	May	To Organ Irons pr Mr. Brewer	0 P	11 s	9 p
		To lead	0 P	2 s	9 p
		"  Wire for springs	0 P	2 s	0 p
		To False Pipes	0 P	10 s	8 p
		To painting them	0 P	1 s	0 p
		To Hinges	0 P	0 s	9 p
		To Ivory & Ebony	0 P	3 s	4 p
		To My Labour from 28 Jan. to June 23 at 4 s per day	24 P	4 s	0 p
		To tuning	1 P	4 s	0 p
		To my assistance	0 P	8 s	0 p
		To Gilding	0 P	7 s	6 p
			32 P	3 s	0 p
		Ball. gained	7 P	10 s	5 p
			40 P	0 s	0 p
CONTRA.
1790	Jan. 7	By John May note	7 P	1 s	2 p
	Jan. 27	By endorsing E. Batelli's Note to me	2 P	2 s	6 p
		By do. Jonathan Lane's Note	2 P	8 s	0 p
		By an order drawn by John Matthews, signed over by John Matthews, signed by James Mitchell on the company of Messr Brit &c	5 P	12 s	0 p
		By a Horse at Peters Creek	10 P	0 s	0 p
		By a Watch	3 P	0 s	0 p
		By his note payable in eight months	6 P	0 s	0 p
		By Cash	3 P	16 s	4 p
			40 P	0 s	0 p
		Interest on May Notes 13 1/2, 14 months, say 18/	40 P	0 s	0 p

 

This excerpt from Downer's ledger book, along with a brief selection from the RAIMENT AND CLOTHING section, is the extent of Holland's direct quotes from the same. As its whereabouts are still unknown, I have used the uneven capitalization from Holland's manuscript instead of The Diapason's homogenized copy. Joseph Downer built two subsequent organs and one of the unknowns regarding him is whether one or the other or both of them was included in this document as well. Some preliminary conclusions regarding why and for whom this organ was built will be found on the 1788 Chamber Organ pages.

It is unusual to have precise construction dates for even a contemporary organ, much less for one built during the same period the United States Constitution was being ratified. As this information also changes the previously published year of construction, it bears repeating:

 

1788

To My Labour from 28 Jan. to June 23 at 4 s per day

24 P

4 s

0 p

 

At 4 shillings per day, and 20 shillings per pound, we can calculate that Downer worked a total of 121 days on the organ. This is an average of 5 to 6 days a week.