Harry Clinton Goodrich was born on 22 March 1832.
2 He was the son of
Levi Goodrich and
Hortense Barnum.
1 He married
Mrs. Loiusa M. Fowler on 22 March 1855.
3 He resided at
Chicago, Illinois.
3 Transcribed from Case: "went with his parents when five years of age from Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co., N.Y., to St. Charles, Kane Co., Ill., where in less than three years he, with a younger brother, were left orphans. His educational advantages, even for that early day, were limited, but by perseverance he early succeeded in laying a good foundation for the acquirements of his maturer years. From a boy he manifested a fondness for mechanics to such an extent as to indicate the whole bent of his mind for a life-work. The one study uppermost in his mind was to invent, and it was this close application to that one pursuit that distinguished him in later years. At the age of eighteen years he engaged in the manufacture of shingles, that took the first premium at the Mechanics' Institute in 1853. Afterward he went into the employ of the American Car Works; all the while bringing into practical use the test of a close study of mechanics as applied to labor, the ultimatum of which has been his celebrated "tuck-marker," as sewing machine attachment, brought out in 1865, and soon gained for him a world-wide reputation. This, with other sewing-machine attachments of his invention and patent, have gone with the sewing-machine into every part of the world with a still growing popularity.
It was not until 1867 that he really began the manufacture of his patents, and then without adequate capital. Yet his sales for the year were $3000, for the second they were $15,000, the third $30,000, the fourth $75,000, and the fifth $125,000, and now the closing of the year 1886 foots up a large amount, after the general reduction in the price of all kinds of manufacture, for which his celebrated tuck-marker must to a great extent be given the credit. While this has claimed his chief attention, care, and oversight, still other enterprises have claimed their share at the same time. He was one of the projectors of the Chicago, Pekin and Southwestern Railway; also the controlling corporator of the Chicago Screw Company, which has become a thriving industry. He is one of nature's own men, selfmade; began life alone, unaided; has pushed on thus far along life's way by his own persistent efforts; having lived sufficiently long, though now only in middle life, to reap the gratifying fruits of his labors. In no sense a politician, but a staunch Republican; never sought or accepted a civil office, and desires none; eminently social in his nature, as well as genial, readily makes friends and retains them."
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