William M. Goodrich
William M. Goodrich (born July 21, 1777 in Templeton , Worcester County , Massachusetts , † September 15, 1833 ) was one of the first organ builders in the USA .
His father Ebenezer Goodrich was a farmer in Templeton. He acquired his knowledge in self-study and first acquired the skills of a goldsmith. Then he dealt with the repair of clocks. He soon got the reputation of being able to repair everything. For a short time he worked for Mr. Pratt, of Winchester, NH , who was also building organs at the time. As early as 1804 he and his brother Ebenezer Goodrich produced a room organ and a pianoforte. In 1806 he finished the first church organ. Around the same time he partnered with Thomas Appleton , who also took his sister in marriage.
From June 1811 Johann Nepomuk Mälzel's Panharmonicon came to Boston from Europe . Goodrich was commissioned to compile and demonstrate this. In September 1811 this was dismantled and again set up in New York , where it was demonstrated again; other cities followed. Goodrich was therefore not in Boston until June 18, 1812. He said he was never paid for these services and reported an outstanding balance of $ 600. He built 38 church organs; the total number of organs, not including the room organs. In 1823 he copied Mälzel's Panharmonikon. Many of the later organ builders in the USA learned with or from him. The beginnings of the "reed organs" ( harmonium ) also go back to him. However, the first instruments were hardly comparable. His brother Ebenezer is only mentioned briefly in the biography, with some citations in more recent publications referring to this biography and using the name Ebenezer Goodrich in place of William M. Goodrich. From 1807 Ebenezer Goodrich had his own business, which mainly produced room organs; It was 107 plus 10 in progress at the time the report was written. His brother-in-law Thomas Appleton worked a little longer with William M. Goodrich, but later also went his own way, with this organ builder also staying. All three together laid an extremely important basis for the subsequent development in organ and harmony remodeling, with William M. Goodrich clearly being the one who was the first to acquire the necessary knowledge and willingly pass it on to others. These pioneers of organ building in America had not achieved great financial gains with it, or had primarily in mind. It is advisable to read through his detailed biography as a whole. An important market stone in his development was a book on music theory and vocal practice that fell into his hands. It is also noteworthy that he also appeared again and again as a singing teacher not only in Boston. Before he ever built an organ, it is mentioned that he retired for a week with his violin and the book on vocal practice. He attached great importance to harmony and euphony, rough sounds, which later came into fashion, were not wanted by him. He himself claimed that the tuning of an organ primarily determines its quality.
Much more information can be found in the biography itself, some things could possibly be a bit inaccurate, as many statements refer directly to statements by William M. Goodrich. "* [...] 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. "
Individual evidence
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Goodrich, William M. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American organ builder |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 21, 1777 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Templeton , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 15, 1833 |