Name/Title
Letter, Brief History of Philip Odenbrett Organ BusinessScope and Content
Letter of Request/Brief History Of Philip Odenbrett Organ Business
16 March 1992
Mr. James Laird
314 Beaver Dam St.
Waupun, WI 53963
Dear Mr. Laird:
Please find enclosed copies of Waupun newspapers with pertinant data about Phillip Odenbrett. The first evidence of his being in Waupun is in 1863. I rather doubt if there were City Directories for that early period, so there is no way of yet establishing when he arrived there. He did belong to the Catholic Church there, and you will note that in my article his wife, Sophia, was sponsor for a baptism at St. Joseph. ( Page 29 Note 74)
His shop was apparently on Main street from the info in the Waupun papers. It would be of great interest to me if the photography shop might have pictures of it, or perhaps even a photo of a new organ is his manufactory. So you might look or have them do so to see if there are any photos of organs, even in churches. I would appreciate anything that you can find out from the photography store. If need be, I will come up to Waupun to see what they have.
Since the article was published , I have found that Sophia Abler Odenbrett, and her bother Frank Abler, who worked with Odenbrett, were from Mt. Calvary, WI., which is not far from your city.
Although I doubt that it still exists, the Methodist Church there may possibly still have the reed organ built by Odenbrett ???
The Catholic Church there got an organ during the Pastorate of a Father Smith in the 1870's which could conceivably have been built by Odenbrett. Are there any histories of that church extant?
I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely Yours,
Richard Weber
P. S. The part of the article pertaining to Oderbrett and the other firm in Waupun, Brooks and Nudd, begins on Page 27.Acquisition
Accession
2010.0010Source or Donor
Richard WeberAcquisition Method
Gift
