John Goulding

John Goulding (Golding) is the holder of US Patent #: US000000002.

"JOHN GOLDING

By Mrs. Isadora Bonney WhiTxMore.

Prominently connected with the early manufacturing interests of the town of Dedham, was the name of John Golding, a name which seems to have almost passed into oblivion, although the possessor of it was a man, who, through his force of character, and powers of invention, won a far more than local renown.

He was born in Templeton, rather more than a hundred years ago ; spent a part of his early life in Shrewsbury, and died in Worcester, Mass. When quite a young man, he had a shop for building woolen machinery at Hurd's Factory, Chelmsford, Mass. This factory occupied the site where the Middlesex Mills in Lowell now stand, but that was many years before the City of Lowell came into existence.

From Chelmsford he went to the little town of Halifax, taking his machinists with him ; there he built the machinery and miade satinet, being in the employ of Hobart, Mitchell & Co., who owned the factories, and who paid him well for his work. He moved from there to Dedham in 1822, Mr. Thomas Barrows, afterwards, so well known in Dedham, taking his place as superintendent in Halifax.

Mr. Golding hired of Mr. Benjamin Bussey, the building which has always been known as the Upper Mill, at Mill Village ; this had not been used for some years. Here, in 1823, he put in and ran the first broad looms, driven by power, in the world. For many years after this looms were run by hand in England.

Here, as at Halifax, he was succeeded by Mr. Barrows, who came to Dedham in 1835, the Bos worths, Coburns, Aliens, and other families, at one time well known in Mill Village, moving from Halifax to Dedham at the same time that he did. Mr. Golding made the machinery for the brick mill, which was built by Benjamin Bussey about 1825, and which occupied the site of the first grist mill, built in 1641.

Later, Mr. Golding built at Cart Bridge, Connecticut Corner, a shop for making woolen machinery, a mill for making flannels, and the necessary accompaniment, a boarding house. The fuel used for running this mill was peat from the neighboring meadows. These buildings were all destroyed by fire, but were rebuilt, and later, cottons were printed there. Being burned a second time, they were never replaced, and now, no vestige of them remains. Afterward Mr. Golding invented a carpet loom, and went with it several times to England to secure a patent there. He also made a steam-carriage, which does not seem to have been a great success.

His most famous invention, or what he claimed as such, was a carding machine, by which the roping could be made into yarn, right from the cards ; this was made with the assistance of Calvin Whiting and Edward Winslow; the former is said to have made the machine for the manufacture of the roping; the latter, that for winding it up, they probably worked with Mr. Golding.

The invention was a very valuable one, and out of it came several law-suits. In the first one, Golding retained Daniel Webster for a lawyer. All went smoothly until Winslow testified that Golding, before applying for the patent, offered him $1000. for his share in the invention; at that, Webster said if Golding had tried to buy Winslow's right in the patent before he had himself secured it, it was useless to go on, so, for that time, the case was given up, but 40 years later, when Edmunds and Colby were the owners of the mills at Mill Village, Golding was successful in obtaining his patent. This he sold to Jordan, Marsh & Co. for $75,000. As the manufacturers refused to pay for the use of the patent, another long lawsuit followed, they combining against Jordan, Marsh & Co. ; at last a compromise was made with the combined manufacturers, allowing them to use the carding machine, without paying for it, but a great deal of money has been paid for the use of the invention by those not in the combination."

• Source - https://archive.org/stream/dedhamhistorical0708dedh/dedhamhistorica...