Henry Erben
1834
St. John's Catholic Church [1839] / St. John's Catholic Cathedral [old]
Sanctuary; rear gallery
Drayton and Perry Streets
Savannah, GA, US
Instrument ID: 69885 ● Builder ID: 1934 ● Location ID: 60405
⬆️ These are database IDs that may change. Don't use as academic reference.EXPLORE IMAGESSomething not quite correct?Suggest an Edit
IMAGES
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STOPLISTS
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CONSOLES
Builder: Henry Erben
Position: Keydesk Attached, Manuals Set Into Case
Design: Traditional With Sliding Doors That Enclose Keyboards
Pedalboard Type: Flat Straight
Features:
1 Manuals (58 Notes)18 Note PedalMechanical (Unknown) Key ActionMechanical Stop ActionStop Layout: Drawknobs in Vertical Rows on Flat Jambs
Expression Type: Trigger/Hitch-Down Expression
Combination Action: Unknown
Control System: Unknown or N/A
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DETAILS
This instrument is: Not Extant and Not Playable in this location
From The Savannah Morning News , 4/13/1881, pg. 2: The "old organ, from St. John's, was reinstalled in St. Peter's Episcopal Rome GA, later moved to St. Mark's Episcopal, Dalton GA."
[Editor JS - 2026-02-17]: The newspaper notice above is errant. According to the Cathedral website, "Henry Erben built the first organ for the former building (St. John Church) in 1834 and installed in 1837. However, when St. John’s Catholic church purchased another organ, the Erben was given to the First African Baptist Church where it still resides, although no longer playable." And indeed, the organ IS still at First African Baptist (See: https://www.pipeorgandatabase.org/instruments/908).
Jim Stettner on May 19th, 2023:
This entry represents the installation of a new organ. Identified from a note on a related OHS Database entry. According to a Wikipedia article, "Bishop John England of the Diocese of Charleston, which encompassed Savannah, consecrated the new church April 1, 1839."
The organ was acquired by First African Baptist Church of Savannah in 1888 and installed in their rear gallery.
Related Instrument Entries: Henry Erben (1888)
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