History of Doylestown, old and new : from its settlement to the close of the nineteenth century, 1745-1900 . thefamily circle, in the church and elsewhere. Their music may havebeen of a crude character, but better than none at all, for every culti-vation of the harmony of sweet sounds elevates the social , as an accomplishment, vv^as not cultivated in Doylestown until amuch later period. Prior to 1830, there were not more than twopianos in Doylestown and one of these was in the house of Judge that time there were no organs here in church or dwelling; thisfavorite reed inst
History of Doylestown, old and new : from its settlement to the close of the nineteenth century, 1745-1900 . thefamily circle, in the church and elsewhere. Their music may havebeen of a crude character, but better than none at all, for every culti-vation of the harmony of sweet sounds elevates the social , as an accomplishment, vv^as not cultivated in Doylestown until amuch later period. Prior to 1830, there were not more than twopianos in Doylestown and one of these was in the house of Judge that time there were no organs here in church or dwelling; thisfavorite reed instrument had not yet made its appearance, and pipeorgans were rarely heard in the country. The melodian, which pre-ceded the reed organ, was introduced into this county about 1840,when country singing schools were much in vogue. There may havebeen a spinet here and there, the forerunner of the piano, but theywere very few. At the period of which we write, the DoylestownPresbyterian Church introduced a melodian to assist the choir insinging, and was the first in this section. It was i)lared in the left 254. SAMUEL Dubois, Musician. DOYLESTOWN, OLD AND NEW. 255 hand gallery of the old church building of 1845, a copy of which helpsto illustrate our text. As this was the oldest church organization inthe village, it was meet and proper this congregation should lead offin the introduction of music in their place of worship. Some denomi-nations tabooed musical instruments altogether, believing they gaverise to too much levity. The first musical organization, we have met with, in Doylestown,was a brass band in 1824, though it may have had a predecessor. Itsleader was Charles F. Beckel, and it was still in existence in same year, Charles Gibson was Captain of the Doylestownband, which was ordered to meet in uniform at the Cross Keys,Saturday, August 27, at ten oclock. It is possible they were oneand the same band. On Saturday evening, March 4, 1835, the Doylestown Band held a mee
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