Biography of the Goddard Family
This collection chronicles both the personal and business life of William Warren Goddard, who in 1833, at the age of 21, joined in a copartnership with his father, William Goddard, in the City of Boston. After his father’s death in 1835, he became sole owner of their shipbuilding firm, and soon expanded his interests to the mercantile trade. His ships rarely carried goods other than the copper, copper ore, and other commodities which would be sold under his name. His close control of both ships and goods met with great success. He did not hesitate to claim his ships were built to last fifty years; and some of them, like the beautiful ships CRUSADER and HARRIOT ERVING, exceeded that claim. He never bought goods a second time from any supplier who lowered the quality of a shipment, as he considered that an affront to his good name. While his business interests consumed his time and energy, it afforded his family, especially his children, a life of luxury.
William had been encouraged to learn the shipbuilding business, but there is no indication that either of his sons received that same encouragement. In his pursuit of success, and driven by his dominant nature, he preferred to achieve his goals singlehandedly. For the most part, however, his agents in foreign ports were relatives. His agent in Valparaiso, George J. Foster, was not a family member; but for many years, was his most respected and honored employee.
Before his death in 1874, current events were bringing his career to an end. The age of sail, like his life, was at an ebb, and his business had suffered losses through claims that were so legally entangled, his estate would not be settled until sixteen years after his decease. Historically, we can see the excellence of this man, his skill and astuteness. His contribution to the maritime history of the Ports of Boston, New York, and San Francisco are well defined in this collection; as are the interesting and famous people who were his friends or business and political acquaintances.
Scope and Content
Box 1 contains correspondence, primarily of a business nature, sent and received by William Goddard; arranged chronologically.
Box 2 contains general business and shipping papers, also arranged chronologically. Several ships are mentioned.
Box 3 holds Bills of Lading sorted by vessel and arranged chronologically.
Box 4 is a collection of miscellaneous material including a ship’s photo, testimony and court briefs pertaining to business litigation claims, family papers, genealogy information, a Sprague “Private Telegraphic Code” an Erving family letterbook, Goddard family diary, 2 books of poetry and verse, Erving family letters which extend to English history of the family.
Volumes 1 through 28 contain miscellaneous business books, such as invoices, orders, sales, accounts, bills, ledger, letter copybooks, check stub book, logbooks of four ships, invoice and contract books of the New Haven Copper Works, “Freight Measurements” of Goddard & Thompson; and a Goddard family diary dated 1856.
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division
Restrictions on Use
Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Erving family
Goddard family
Goddard, William W., (William Warren), d. 1874
Goddard, William, d. 1835
Hill, Frances Erving
Irwin family
Sprague family
Sprague, Henry E.
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
Charlotte (Ship)
Crusader (Ship)
Dauntless (Ship)
Gentoo (Ship)
Goddard & Thompson
New Haven Copper Works
Places:
Valparaiso (Chile)–Commerce
Subjects:
Alabama claims
Cipher and telegraph codes
Commercial agents–Chile–Valparaiso
Copper industry and trade
Decedents’ estates–Massachusetts–Boston
Freight and freightage
International trade
Shipping–California–San Francisco
Shipping–Massachusetts–Boston
Shipping–New York (State)–New York
Document Types:
Account books
Bills of lading
Diaries
Family papers
Genealogies
Ledgers
Logbooks
Poems
Occupations:
Merchants–Massachusetts–Boston
Shipowners–Massachusetts–Boston
Administrative Information
Coll. 238, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.
Indexes
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Correspondence; 1811-1906 | |||||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
1 | 1 | Correspondence; 1811 | |||||||||||
2 | Correspondence; 1815-1816 | ||||||||||||
3 | Correspondence; 1817-1818 | ||||||||||||
4 | Correspondence; 1819-1820 | ||||||||||||
5 | Correspondence; 1821 | ||||||||||||
6 | Correspondence; 1822-1825 | ||||||||||||
7 | Correspondence; 1826 | ||||||||||||
8 | Correspondence; 1827 | ||||||||||||
9 | Correspondence; 1828 | ||||||||||||
10 | Correspondence; 1829 | ||||||||||||
11 | Correspondence; 1830 | ||||||||||||
12 | Correspondence; 1831-1834 | ||||||||||||
13 | Correspondence; 1835-1836 | ||||||||||||
14 | Correspondence; 1837-1839 | ||||||||||||
15 | Correspondence; 1840-1849 | ||||||||||||
16 | Correspondence; 1850-1859 | ||||||||||||
17 | Correspondence; 1860-1867 | ||||||||||||
18 | Correspondence; 1868 | ||||||||||||
19 | Correspondence; 1869 | ||||||||||||
20 | Correspondence; 1870 | ||||||||||||
21 | Correspondence; 1871 | ||||||||||||
22 | Correspondence; 1872-1873 | ||||||||||||
23 | Correspondence; 1874 | ||||||||||||
24 | Correspondence; 1875-1878 | ||||||||||||
25 | Correspondence; 1880-1906 | ||||||||||||
26 | Correspondence (photo copies); ca. 1835-1869 | ||||||||||||
General Business and Shipping Papers; ca. 1772-1876 | |||||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
2 | 1 | Business Accounts re. Thatcher Goddard & others; 1772-1798 | |||||||||||
2 | Business papers re. Thatcher Goddard & others; 1801-1805 | ||||||||||||
3 | Papers re. Thatcher Goddard & Brig TRUXTON; 1806 | ||||||||||||
4 | Papers re. Thatcher Goddard & Brig TRUXTON; 1807 | ||||||||||||
5 | Papers; 1808-1811 | ||||||||||||
6 | Papers re. Thatcher Goddard, Shirley Erving & Brig TRUXTON; 1812 | ||||||||||||
7 | Papers re. Thatcher Goddard & Brig TRUXTON; 1813-1818 | ||||||||||||
8 | Papers; 1830-1835 | ||||||||||||
9 | Papers; 1836-1838 | ||||||||||||
10 | Papers; 1839 | ||||||||||||
11 | Papers; 1840 | ||||||||||||
12 | Papers; 1841-1842 | ||||||||||||
13 | Papers; 1843-1844 | ||||||||||||
14 | Papers; 1845 | ||||||||||||
15 | Papers; 1846-1849 | ||||||||||||
16 | Papers; 1850-1854 | ||||||||||||
17 | Papers; 1855 | ||||||||||||
18 | Papers; 1856 | ||||||||||||
19 | Papers; 1857-1859 | ||||||||||||
20 | Papers; 1860-1864 | ||||||||||||
21 | Papers; 1865-1869 | ||||||||||||
22 | Papers re. sale of Brig COVADONGA; 1868 | ||||||||||||
23 | Papers; 1870-1872 | ||||||||||||
24 | Papers; 1873-1876 | ||||||||||||
25 | Business Accounts; 1834 | ||||||||||||
26 | Business Accounts; 1835 | ||||||||||||
27 | Business Accounts; 1836 | ||||||||||||
28 | Business Accounts; 1837 | ||||||||||||
29 | Business Accounts; 1838 | ||||||||||||
30 | Business Accounts; 1839 | ||||||||||||
31 | Business Accounts; 1841-1842 | ||||||||||||
32 | Papers, Ship CRUSADER; 1850-1871 | ||||||||||||
33 | Papers, Ship GENTOO; 1859-1869 | ||||||||||||
34 | Journal, Ship INO; 1860 Jul-Oct | ||||||||||||
Bills of Lading; 1834-1866 | |||||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
3 | 1 | Brig CONGRESS; Boston; 1834 Oct | |||||||||||
2 | Ship MOUNT VERNON; Calcutta; 1834 Dec-1835 Jan | ||||||||||||
3 | Ship AMERICA, Calcutta; 1835 Mar | ||||||||||||
4 | Ship MOUNT VERNON, Boston; 1835 May | ||||||||||||
5 | Ship FORTITUDE, Boston; 1835 May | ||||||||||||
6 | Ship MOUNT VERNON, Calcutta; 1835 Oct-Nov | ||||||||||||
7 | Brig CONGRESS; 1835 Jul | ||||||||||||
8 | Schooners HUDSON, MAIL, PEQUOT, REESIDE, ROCHESTER, FANCY, and WM. ROSCOE; Boston; 1835 Jun-Oct | ||||||||||||
9 | Ship FORTITUDE, Calcutta; 1835 Dec | ||||||||||||
10 | Brig CONGRESS, Smyrna; 1836 Aug | ||||||||||||
11 | Schooners HENRY, PHEBE BAXTER, JAMES, and SALEM; Boston; 1836 Mar-Oct | ||||||||||||
12 | Brigs MOHAWK, and FAIRY; Boston; 1836 Apr-May | ||||||||||||
13 | Ships WM. GRAY, and INDIA; Calcutta; 1836 Mar | ||||||||||||
14 | Bark NORFOLK, New Orleans; 1837 Feb-Mar & Jul | ||||||||||||
15 | Bark NORFOLK, Boston; 1837 Sep | ||||||||||||
16 | Bark NORFOLK, Calcutta; 1838 Mar | ||||||||||||
17 | Brig CONGRESS, Smyrna; 1838 Jul-Aug | ||||||||||||
18 | Ship OHIO, Boston; 1838 Dec | ||||||||||||
19 | Ship TRESCOTT, Rio De Janeiro; 1838 Nov | ||||||||||||
20 | Schooner CAMBRIDGE, Boston; 1838 Aug | ||||||||||||
21 | Schooners OSCAR, COMPLIANCE, PERU, and PLANTER; Boston; 1839 Jul-Aug | ||||||||||||
22 | Ships SHAW, CLAUDIUS, and SARAH & CAROLINE; Calcutta; 1839 Mar-Dec | ||||||||||||
23 | Ships CAROLINA, and AREATUS; Boston; 1839 Jul-Aug | ||||||||||||
24 | Brig HOLLANDER, Rotterdam; Oct 183? | ||||||||||||
25 | Schooners HARVEST, ABBOT LAWRENCE, and RUSIDE; Boston; 1840 Apr-Sep | ||||||||||||
26 | Ship NAVIGATOR, St. Petersburg, Russia; 1840 Sep | ||||||||||||
27 | Ship CLAUDIUS, Liverpool; 1840 Sep | ||||||||||||
28 | Ship OSWEGO, Boston; 1840 Oct | ||||||||||||
29 | Ship TENNESSEE, Boston; 1841 Apr | ||||||||||||
30 | Ship ROSCIUS, Boston; 1841 Jan | ||||||||||||
31 | Ship ROSCIUS, Valparaiso; 1841 Aug-Sep | ||||||||||||
32 | Ship ROBIN HOOD, Batavia; 1842 Jan | ||||||||||||
33 | Schooner J COOLEY & CO., New York; 1842 May | ||||||||||||
34 | Ship ROSCI US, Valparaiso; 1842 Dec | ||||||||||||
35 | Ship CHILE, Valparaiso; 1843 Apr | ||||||||||||
36 | Ship INDIA, Batavia; 1843 Dec | ||||||||||||
37 | Schooner GENERAL SCOTT, Boston; 1843 Dec | ||||||||||||
38 | Ship KENTUCKY, New Orleans; 1843 Dec | ||||||||||||
39 | Bark COMO, Boston; 1844 Feb | ||||||||||||
40 | Bark GLOBE, Apalachicola; 1844 Feb | ||||||||||||
41 | Schooners FANCY, and HOMER; 1844 Feb-Mar | ||||||||||||
42 | Ship ROSCIUS, Boston; 1844 Jan | ||||||||||||
43 | Bark LENOX, Valparaiso; 1844 Mar | ||||||||||||
44 | Ship ROBIN HOOD, Boston; 1844 Mar | ||||||||||||
45 | Brigs OAK, ANTARY, and MARY STAUNTON; Boston; 1844 Mar-Oct | ||||||||||||
46 | Schooner MARIETTA, New York; 1844 May | ||||||||||||
47 | Brig UCATAN, Apalachicola; 1844 Dec | ||||||||||||
48 | Ship CORSAIR, Bark CHUSAN, and Schooner LYBRAND, Boston; 1845 May-Nov | ||||||||||||
49 | Ship CHARLOTTE, Mobile; 1845 Feb | ||||||||||||
50 | Ship CHARLOTTE, Valparaiso, Coquimbo; 1845 Sep | ||||||||||||
51 | Ships SOPHIA, and SANTIAGO; Valparaiso; 1845 Oct-Nov | ||||||||||||
52 | BrigsELLA, NEW ORLEANS, BOSTON, and SUN; Boston; 1845 Jan-Sep | ||||||||||||
53 | Ship CAROLINA, Rio De Janeiro; 1845 Jun | ||||||||||||
54 | Bark CHUSAN, Rio De Janeiro; 1845Aug | ||||||||||||
55 | Schooner S.A. APPLETON, and Propeller VIRGINIA; New York; 1845 Mar | ||||||||||||
56 | Brig FALCONER, Havana; 1846 Mar | ||||||||||||
57 | Brig STERLING, Boston; 1846 Mar | ||||||||||||
58 | Ship CHARLOTTE, Valparaiso; 1846 Apr | ||||||||||||
59 | Ship CHARLOTTE, Coquimbo; 1846 May | ||||||||||||
60 | Ship CHARLOTTE, Talcahuano; 1846 Jun | ||||||||||||
61 | Sloop CHINA, and Schooner A. LAWRENCE; Boston; 1846 May & Dec | ||||||||||||
62 | Schooners A. LAWRENCE, WOLCOTT, J. COOLEY & CO., FRIEND; New York; 1847 May-Oct | ||||||||||||
63 | Schooners MAIL, A. MARSHALL, and COMPLIANCE; Boston; 1847 Apr-Sep | ||||||||||||
64 | Ships QUINCY, CHUSAN, and NEPTUNE; Cronstadt; 1847 Jun-Oct | ||||||||||||
65 | Schooners IRIS, LOUISA, and LYNCHBURG; New York; 1848 Mar-Jul | ||||||||||||
66 | Ship CRUSADER, Valparaiso; 1848 Mar & Dec | ||||||||||||
67 | Ship CRUSADER, Coquimbo; 1848 Apr | ||||||||||||
68 | Ship RHONE, Callao; 1848 Jun | ||||||||||||
69 | Ship CHARLOTTE, Valparaiso, Coquimbo; 1848 Aug-Sep | ||||||||||||
70 | Schooners VICTOR, and J. P. LOFLAND; Boston; 1848 Aug | ||||||||||||
71 | Brig OSCEOLA, Boston; 1848 Dec | ||||||||||||
72 | Ship CRUSADER, Coquimbo; 1849 Jan & Sep | ||||||||||||
73 | Ship HARRIET ERVING, Valparaiso, Coquimbo; 1849 Apr | ||||||||||||
74 | Bark CHIEF, Boston; 1849 Apr | ||||||||||||
75 | Brig PATAPSCO, New York; 1849 Apr | ||||||||||||
76 | Schooners CAROLINE, C.L. VOSE, AMERICAN BELLE, and CAMBRIDGE; New York; 1849 Apr-Aug | ||||||||||||
77 | Schooners ISIS, M.M. KLOTS, and LOUISA; Boston; 1849 Apr-Dec | ||||||||||||
78 | Ship CRUSADER, Valparaiso; 1849 Aug-Sep | ||||||||||||
79 | Schooners OCTOBER, ISABELLA, AMERICAN BELLE, and C. CHAMBERLAIN; Boston; 1850 Jun-Oct | ||||||||||||
80 | Schooners LYNCHBURG, GRANITE STATE, and ELLEN; New York; 1850 Jul-Aug | ||||||||||||
81 | Schooners FASHION, and HOWARD; Boston; 1851 Nov | ||||||||||||
82 | Schooners KEARNEY, and PLYMOUTH ROCK, New York; 1851 Ju1 | ||||||||||||
83 | Ship CRUSADER, Coquimbo; 1852 Feb | ||||||||||||
83a | Ship CRUSADER, Valparaiso and Coquimbo; 1852 Dec | ||||||||||||
84 | Ship GENTOO, Coquimbo; 1854 | ||||||||||||
85 | Ship CRUSADER, Valparaiso; 1854 Feb | ||||||||||||
86 | Ship CRUSADER, Valparaiso; 1855 May | ||||||||||||
86a | Ship GENTOO, Tongoy; 1858 Jul | ||||||||||||
87 | Ship CRUSADER, Tongoy; 1858 Aug | ||||||||||||
88 | Ship CRUSADER, Caldera; 1858 Oct | ||||||||||||
89 | Ship CRUSADER, Concepcion; 1858 Nov | ||||||||||||
90 | Ship GENTOO, Calcutta; 1859 Aug | ||||||||||||
91 | Ship CRUSADER, Valparaiso; 1859 Apr | ||||||||||||
92 | Ship CRUSADER, Swansea; 1866 Oct | ||||||||||||
Miscellaneous material; 1803-1900 | |||||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
4 | 1 | Photo of Ship GENTOO at Chincha Is.; 1866 Apr | |||||||||||
2 | Testimony & briefs, Foster vs. W. W. Goddard, U. S. Circuit Court; 1858 | ||||||||||||
3 | Court briefs, Estate of Wm. W. Goddard vs. U. S. (Alabama Claims Court); 1882 | ||||||||||||
4 | Goddard, Sprague, and Erving family papers & documents; ca. 1870-1900 | ||||||||||||
5 | Genealogy and related information; 1900 | ||||||||||||
6 | Miscellaneous undated material | ||||||||||||
7 | Henry E. Sprague, “Private Telegraphic Code”; undated | ||||||||||||
8 | Henry Erving, Letterbook; 1828 Jun-Sep | ||||||||||||
9 | Harriet M. Goddard, Diary; 1840 Aug-Sep | ||||||||||||
10 | Edward & Harriet (Erving) Miller, Poems & Verse; 1814 | ||||||||||||
11 | Erving Family Letters; 1803-1819 | ||||||||||||
12 | Erving Family Letters; 1820-1839 | ||||||||||||
13 | Erving Family Letters re. History of Family, written by Frances Erving Hill in England to Relatives in the U.S.; 1841-1843 | ||||||||||||
Volumes; ca. 1802-1856 | |||||||||||||
Volume | |||||||||||||
1 | Invoice book; ca. 1802-1811 | ||||||||||||
2 | Order Book; ca. 1802-1810 and 1819 | ||||||||||||
3 | Sales book; 1802-1826 | ||||||||||||
4 | Account book; 1802-1804; 1808-1810; 1814-1817; 1824 | ||||||||||||
5 | Waste book; 1809 Oct-1813 Jan | ||||||||||||
6 | Waste book; 1813 Feb-1819 Jan | ||||||||||||
7 | Account book; 1809-1829 | ||||||||||||
8 | Bill book; 1817-1831 | ||||||||||||
9 | Ledger E; 1828-1835 | ||||||||||||
10 | Blotter; 1832-1835 | ||||||||||||
11 | Account book “Cash”; 1835-1838 | ||||||||||||
12 | Account book; 1836-1839 | ||||||||||||
13 | Waste book A; 1834 Jan-1835 Oct | ||||||||||||
14 | Waste book H; 1834 Mar-1835 Jul | ||||||||||||
15 | Invoices & Sales; 1834-1836 | ||||||||||||
16 | Letter Copybook A; 1836-1847 | ||||||||||||
17 | Letter Copybook; 1847-1853 | ||||||||||||
18 | Invoices (Waste) book; 1843-1847 | ||||||||||||
19 | Invoices book; 1847-1848 | ||||||||||||
20 | Check stub book; 1842-1845 | ||||||||||||
21 | Logbook, Ship SANTIAGO; 1846 Mar-Oct | ||||||||||||
22 | Logbook, Ship CHARLOTTE; 1847 Sep-1848 Mar | ||||||||||||
23 | Logbook, Ship DAUNTLESS; 1852 Feb-Aug | ||||||||||||
24 | Logbook, Ship GENTOO; 1854 Jun-Oct & 1855 Sep-1856 May | ||||||||||||
25 | Invoice book, New Haven Copper Works; 1860-1865 | ||||||||||||
26 | Contracts book, New Haven Copper Works; 1862-1865 | ||||||||||||
27 | “Freight measurements”, Goddard & Thompson; ca. 1860 | ||||||||||||
28 | Diary; 1856 | ||||||||||||
29 | Logbook, Ship CHARLOTTE; 1846 Sep 2-1847 Sep 25 | ||||||||||||
30 | Logbook, Ship CHARLOTTE; 1848 Apr 22-Dec 7 | ||||||||||||
31 | Letter Copybook; 1827 Sep 15-1833 Sep 3 | ||||||||||||
32 | Account book; 1834-1838 |