Goddard family

Goddard family

New England cabinetmakers. Of English ancestry, the Goddards intermarried with the Townsend family, equally famous cabinetmakers. John Goddard (1723–1785), the son of a carpenter, moved in the 1720s from Massachusetts to Newport, R.I., where he and his brother worked for Job Townsend. By the 1760s Goddard had established his own workshop and become Newport's leading cabinetmaker, producing simple adaptations in the Queen Anne style. He originated the blockfront, a distinctive front for desks, secretaries, and cabinets, decorated with his characteristic carved shell ornaments; pieces were made of mahogany from the West Indies and South America. Some 20 Goddard and Townsend craftsmen of four generations are known. Goddard-Townsend furniture was among the finest made in North America in the 18th century.