“ Goodrich built his first church-organ, there were, in Boston, only three or four instruments, which could be justly termed church-organs, and only one other organ, of any kind, in all the adjoining towns. Since that time, these noble instruments have been multiplying, in a rapidly increasing ratio, throughout the United States, but more particularly in the northern states. In New-England, the prejudice against them has, within a few years, nearly subsided in almost every sect. The taste and the desire for them have become almost universal, and the demand for them is yearly increasing. ”

“ Goodrich was constantly active. He never, through life, slackened his exertions to attain additional information (p41) in his business. He was always awake to new inventions and improvements, and always sedulous to discover and adopt every thing of importance, which had not already been introduced. In the St. Paul's organ, he, for the first time here, added to the usual stops the great double-diapason pedal bass, of open wooden pipes, which he even then, as a first attempt, rendered so perfect and excellent, that they have not, to this time, been surpassed. ”

“ Other builders prefer sameness. It requires less time, trouble, and expense, and is much more favorable to considerations of profit. But of this, Mr. Goodrich thought little ; his mind was intensely fixed on improvement, on something new, on variations from former and common plans ; though, as will sometimes be the case, his variations were, occasionally, not improvements. If, from the peculiar construction of a church, requiring an organ different from the common form and the usual internal arrangement, other builders declined a contract, Mr. Goodrich was always ready to undertake it. ”

“ Regularly educated performers on the piano-forte and organ have appeared here from Europe, some of whom have displayed their skill, in concerto playing, and in the difficulties of unmeaning execution. The full organ has therefore been put in constant requisition ; and the more loud, harsh, and noisy the instrument, the greater, of course, has been its effect. Solo stops, and consequently fine voicing, have thus, for the moment, lost their importance and due estimation. ”

“ Naturally ingenious and inventive, he made himself, while a boy, familiar with the use of tools, particularly those of the goldsmith and the joiner. He even assumed, untaught, the cleaning and repairing of clocks and watches. If any thing was required to be done, of which no one in the vicinity was capable, it was immediately said, that " William Goodrich could do it," and resort was had to him.
There was then, and is still, living in Templeton, a very ingenious mechanic, Mr. Eli Bruce, now nearly seventy years of age. He was bred a cooper ; but he taught himself several other mechanic arts. ”

“ Goodrich, as has been already observed, possessed, naturally, a good musical ear, which was improved by early and constant cultivation, till it was remarkable for its delicacy, with regard both to tune and tone. He had not resided long in Boston, before he acquired the art of tuning keyed instruments in great perfection. This he practised extensively, particularly with respect to piano-fortes, before he made much progress in the art of organ-building. ”

“ But the many actual improvements which he made, his constant stretch of thought and inquiry, and his firmness and unabated perseverance, together with their many happy results, throw all defects of this kind, if they really existed, far into the shade. They are the price, which men of originality and genius must pay, for the extraordinary qualities with which nature has endued them. ”

“ Even the best organists are generally unacquainted with the construction of their instrument. Mr. Goodrich once mentioned to the writer, that he altered the voicing of an excellent church-organ, in the early part of his business, which he had since exceedingly regretted, as he was convinced that it was a disadvantage rather than an improvement. The keys to the interior should always be kept by the committee who have charge of the organ, not by the organist ”

“ An organ, of the same size, containing the same stops, and equally well built in every part, might probably have been obtained here, at the same time, from one of our principal manufacturers, for less than three thousand dollars. There is, consequently, little probability that the number of foreign-built organs will be much increased in this city, or, indeed, in any part of the Union.
When Mr. Goodrich first undertook to construct organs, there were, it is believed, not more than three or four church-organs in Boston, and there were very few, indeed, in all New-England. ”

“ It is therefore seldom played full ; and, when managed by an organist possessing good taste as well as skill, it is probably superior in effect, though not in power, to any organ in New-England. It has a great organ, choir organ, and swell, with three rows of keys. The long keys are black, and the short keys white, contrary to what is usual. The choir organ contains a vox-humana stop, the only one, probably, in North-America ; but it has no open diapason or dulciana. (p38) The stops are by no means numerous, there being only nineteen or twenty in all the three organs. ”

“ For, when the full organ is played, and the loud chorus stops are heard, the beauty or the defects of the solo stops will not be perceived ; and a very badly-voiced organ, when played full, will sometimes appear very well, the combined imperfections of all balancing, in some degree, each other, and concealing the separate defects of each. ”

“ Mr. Ebenezer Goodrich, who left the shop of his brother William, and commenced the business on his own account, in or about the year 1807, says, that he has, since that time, constructed and sold one hundred and seven organs, and that he has ten others now in progress, in his shop. Of those which have been completed, only six had two rows of keys. Twenty others were put up in churches, but had only one row of keys. Eighty-one were chamber-organs, twenty-six of which had a reed-stop; but the greater part of the rest had probably only two or three stops. ”

“ They contribute, in an eminent degree, to the public prosperity, and to the rapid advance of the nation, not only in wealth and power, but in those attributes, which command influence and respect among the nations of Europe. ”

“ The Roman Catholics, it is believed, had no church in New-England, till long after the French revolution, and till the present Catholic church in Boston was built. The feeling of dislike to the church of England had.been carried to such a length by our forefathers, that, in all the Congregational churches, previous to the establishment of the Brattle-street church and society in 1699, " the reading of the scriptures, and the use of the Lord's prayer, were banished from the public services." ”

“ Benjamin Dearborn, the maker and inventor of the patent balance, who was then engaged in perfecting a new gold balance for the banks. But, except in these cases, his residence was mostly with Captain Witherle, sometimes at work for him or his son, sometimes idle, and sometimes tuning piano-fortes, or otherwise miscellaneously employed. During this period of four or five years, he had no work-shop of his own.*
Mr. Goodrich, when he became afterwards prosperously established, always spoke with gratitude of the kindness which he had experienced from Captain Witherle and his family ”

“ Goodrich, appeared, in his declining to pay the fee, which is sometimes exacted by organists, for recommending an instrument. It is not, perhaps, generally known, that when musical teachers or professors are employed to select a good organ or piano-forte, for a scholar, or some other purchaser, it is customary for the maker and vender of an instrument (p44) to pay a commission to the musical gentleman, provided a sale be made in consequence of his recommendation. Mr. Goodrich, when applied to, refused to purchase the good will of such persons ”

“ The organ was first used in public, on the second of September, 1756, as will appear from the following notice, taken from the Boston Gazette of August 30, 1756, printed by Edes & Gill. " We hear that the organ which lately arrived from London, by Capt. Farr, for King's Chapel in this town, will be opened on Thursday next, in the afternoon ; and that said organ (which contains a variety of curious stops never yet heard in these parts) is esteemed by the most eminent masters in England, to be equal, if not superior, to any of the same size in Europe. ”

“ Afterwards, the construction of organ-pipes and that modification or adaptation of the mouth of a pipe, which gives the proper quality of tone, and which i6 technically called voicing, gave constant exercise both to his mechanical ingenuity and his musical taste. It is upon this art of voicing, that the fine tone of an organ entirely depends ; and it is this which makes the principal difference between a good organ and a bad one. In this important art, Mr. Goodrich acquired, in this country, unrivaled and acknowledged superiority and excellence. ”

“ Goodrich returned to Boston, and, immediately after, formed a connexion with Mr. Benjamin Crehore, of Milton, in the manufacture of piano-fortes in that place. This partnership, however, subsisted only for a few months. At this time, Mr. Goodrich's brother, Ebenezer, then grown to manhood, came to Boston, and was induced to enter into the employment of the concern, and to learn the business in which they wore engaged. ”

“ This led to his being engaged to put in order and tune an organized piano-forte, belonging to Mr. Preble. The result was perfectly satisfactory to Mr. Preble, and he expressed himself highly pleased with the manner in which it was effected. As there was then but little acquaintance with the internal mechanism of musical instruments of this kind in Boston, the successful efforts of Mr. Goodrich, in these cases, attracted some attention, and considerably increased his reputation for ingenuity. He also, as Mr. Mallet says, while residing with him, organized a piano-forte belonging to Mr. Mallet. ”

“ He has also invented and made several useful machines. Mr. Bruce had been employed, on account of his ingenuity, to assist Dr. Josiah Leavitt, of Sterling, in constructing a small organ, with wooden pipes. After his return to Templeton, he constructed a similar instrument for himself. While employed in building it, he was frequently visited by Mr. Goodrich, then a young man, (p26) whose curiosity was naturally excited, as well by the novelty as the nature of the instrument. ”

“ Goodrich commenced two organs nearly like the two last, with the addition of a trumpet. One of them was purchased by Mr. Flint's (formerly Dr. Bentley's) society, in Salem, (p34) and was finished and put up in the church, in Februrary, 1831. The other was sold to the Congregational society (Mr. Swift's) in Nantucket, and was put up in June, 1S31. The price was fourteen hundred dollars. He also, in 1830, built an organ, smaller than the usual size, but with two rows of keys, for the Unitarian church, (Mr. Green's,) at East-Cambridge, where he and his family usually attended public worship. ”

“ Goodrich to the writer, altogether from memory. It Is possible, therefore, that some portion of them may not be strictly accurate. (p27) persons, whose inclinations and pursuits corresponded with his own. Captain Joshua Witherle, residing in Boston, was in possession of a largo chamber-organ, which had been built by Jenneys, an engraver, of Boston, for his own use. Captain Witherle had commanded an artillery company of militia from Boston, in the expedition against Shays, and having then suffered from the inclemency of the weather, was now an invalid, confined principally to his own house. ”

“ The funds were raised by subscription ; but, in consequence of the failure of the person who acted as treasurer, just as the organ was finished and put up, payment was not duly made. After much delay and waste of time, he obtained, as he says, only part of the sum due, and finally suffered a very serious loss. He always expressed a strong (p32) dissatisfaction with the result of this affair. ”

“ It may be well to remark here, en passant, upon the danger of entrusting unskillful persons to tune and repair organs, or, indeed, of admitting any one to the interior, when it can possibly be avoided. ”

“ This organ was put up in Christ Church, in October, 1736.
Besides these four church organs, if that in Christ Church may be considered one, there were two large chamber organs, of English construction, one in Dr. Kirkland's church in Summer-street, and one in the Old Brick, Mr. Emerson's church, which stood where " Joy's Building" now stands. The former was imported by a respectable merchant of Boston, Mr. Nathan Frazier, for his own use. It had two rows of keys, and was, therefore, what we should consider a very large instrument for individual use. The organist was Mr. ”

“ Goodrich. This produced an acquaintance between them ; and Mr. Appleton, being at leisure, was very frequently in Mr. Goodrich's shop. On the restoration of his health, some time in the year 1807, Mr. Appleton became a regular workman and companion with Mr. Goodrich, both in the shop and the family. ”