I'm new at MMDigest.  I was just surfing the Archives in order to get
technical information on Ampico A reproducing pianos, mainly the hose
routings and diagrams, when I stumbled on this article --

http://www.mmdigest.com/archives/Digests/200309/2003.09.04.04.html 

This is an added information about that automata maker/organ builder.

In 1830 Mr. Jacotel was commissioned to build a two manual and full
pedal board organ for the church of Ste-Therese, a village few miles
north from Montreal then.  This was to be his second venture into
church organ making in Canada.  Alas, he died before completing the
instrument.  I searched more than 30 years for information concerning
his first built church organ but found nothing yet.

Jacotel died before finishing the Ste-Therese organ but his demise was
the launch for another great Canadian organ maker and later a world
renowned organ company.

A young blacksmith and former student at the Ste-Therese College or
seminary was asked by that church rector to finish the project.  His
name was Joseph Casavant, the father of the two Casavant brothers,
founders of the well known pipe organ factory Casavant Frères, Ltd.,
of St-Hyacinthe, Quebec.

Adding to the difficulties to find historical information about Jacotel
is that this first Casavant or Jacotel-Casavant organ was destroyed by
fire in 1884.  A new church was built on the same lot in 1886 and was
equipped with a brand new three manual and pedal organ by Eusèbe Brodeur,
who hired the Casavant brothers for a time.  This organ is still in
service nowadays.

Gilles Chouinard
Laval, Quebec, Canada