Archivist, Politician, Historian. The son of William and Sarah Ferguson Force, he moved to New York City as a young boy with his family. His father had served in the Revolutionary War in New Jersey and Peter served in the War of 1812 from New York City. He learned the printing trade in NYC and moved to Washington, DC in 1815 and there remained until his death. He married Hannah Evans in 1818 at Alexandria, Virginia. They had ten children, one (Manning) becoming a Gen'l in the Civil War. Peter Force is best known, however, not as a politician or newspaper man, but as a collector and editor, first of statistical, then of historical material. Peter Force collection of Americana (60,000 volumes; 1867) was bought by the Library of Congress. From 1836-1840, he was Mayor of Washington, DC.
Archivist, Politician, Historian. The son of William and Sarah Ferguson Force, he moved to New York City as a young boy with his family. His father had served in the Revolutionary War in New Jersey and Peter served in the War of 1812 from New York City. He learned the printing trade in NYC and moved to Washington, DC in 1815 and there remained until his death. He married Hannah Evans in 1818 at Alexandria, Virginia. They had ten children, one (Manning) becoming a Gen'l in the Civil War. Peter Force is best known, however, not as a politician or newspaper man, but as a collector and editor, first of statistical, then of historical material. Peter Force collection of Americana (60,000 volumes; 1867) was bought by the Library of Congress. From 1836-1840, he was Mayor of Washington, DC.
Bio by: Kenneth J. Gruschow
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