John Zacheus Goodrich was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts...

. He was born in Sheffield, Massachusetts

Sheffield, Massachusetts

Not to be confused with the city of Sheffield in the UK, or Sheffield, Vermont.Sheffield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,257 at the 2010 census. Sheffield is home to...

 on September 27, 1804. He attended the common schools and Lenox Academy

Lenox Academy

Lenox Academy is a historic school at 75 Main Street in Lenox, Massachusetts.The school was built in 1802 and added to the National Historic Register in 1982....

. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and engaged in manufacturing.

Goodrich served in the Massachusetts State Senate, and was elected as a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 to the Thirty-second and Thirty-third Congresses (March 4, 1851-March 3, 1855). He was a member of the 1861 Peace Conference

Peace conference of 1861

The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of more than 100 of the leading politicians of the antebellum United States held in Washington, D.C., in February 1861 that was meant to prevent what ultimately became the Civil War. The success of President Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party in the...

 held in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. He was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1860 and served from January 1, 1861, until his resignation on March 29, 1861. He also served as the president of the Union Emigration Society, a group dedicated to organizing the North for political action.

Goodrich was appointed collector of customs at Boston on March 13 and served until March 11, 1865. He retired from public life and died in Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...

on April 19, 1885. His interment was in Stockbridge Cemetery.