William Marcellus Goodrich (* 21 July 1777 in Templeton, Worcester County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

; † 15 September 1833) was an

organ builder Organ building is the profession of designing, building, restoring and maintaining pipe organs. The organ builder usually receives a commission to design an organ with a particular disposition of stops, manuals, and actions, creates a d ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Biography

He was the son of Ebenezer and Beulah Goodridge. His father was a farmer. As a young man, William changed his family name to "Goodrich" and added the middle name "Marcellus". At the age of 21, he began working for Benjamin Crehore, a maker of musical instruments. He duplicated Maelzel's panharmonium and traveled the countryside with that to exhibit it. In 1809 he moved to

East Cambridge East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Referred to in modern times as Area 1, East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on the east, the Somerville border on the north, Bro ...

and established a factory. His brother Ebenezer Goodrich worked with him for a time, as did his brother-in-law, cabinet maker Thomas Appleton (1785-1872, not to be confused with writer and artist

Thomas Appleton Thomas Gold Appleton (March 31, 1812April 17, 1884), son of merchant Nathan Appleton and Maria Theresa Gold, was an American writer, an artist, and a patron of the fine arts. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow became his brother-in-law after marrying Ap ...

). His sisters were artists

Sarah Goodridge Sarah Goodridge (February 5, 1788 – December 28, 1853; also referred to as Sarah Goodrich) was an American painter who specialized in portrait miniatures. She was the older sister of Elizabeth Goodridge, also an American miniaturist. Life Goo ...

and Elizabeth Goodridge.

Work

William M. Goodrich of Boston, Massachusetts, was an important American builder of a large number of notable

pipe organs The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

from its inception in 1805 until its closure in 1833. Goodrich had a major part in introducing free reeds.

"In June, 1811, Maelzel's Pan Harmonicon was brought to Boston, from Europe, and Mr. Goodrich was employed in putting it up, and in exhibiting it. In September, 1811, it was taken down, and removed to New-York, where it was put up for exhibition. In doing this, also, Mr. Goodrich was employed. It was afterwards removed to other cities;"

"* ..Most of the dates, contained in this account of his life, were given by Mr. Goodrich to the writer, altogether from memory. It Is possible, therefore, that some portion of them may not be strictly persons, whose inclinations and pursuits corresponded with his own."The New-England Magazine, v. 6 (1834), pp. 25-45.
Online

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodrich, William M 19th-century American people American musical instrument makers American clockmakers People from Boston 1777 births 1833 deaths

Biography

Work

See also

References