Paul Leicester Ford | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Paul Leicester Ford (1902) | |
| Born | (1865-03-23)March 23, 1865 |
| Died | May 8, 1902(1902-05-08) (aged 37) New York City, US |
| Occupations | Novelist and biographer |
| Spouse | Grace Kidder |
| Children | 1 |
Paul Leicester Ford (March 23, 1865 – May 8, 1902) was an American novelist and biographer, born inBrooklyn, the son of Gordon Lester Ford and Emily Fowler Ford (a granddaughter ofNoah Webster and lifelong friend ofEmily Dickinson).
Ford was the great-grandson ofNoah Webster and the brother of historianWorthington C. Ford. He wrote of the lives ofGeorge Washington,Benjamin Franklin, and others, edited the works ofThomas Jefferson, and wrote a number of novels which had considerable success, includingThe Honorable Peter Stirling,Story of an Untold Love,Janice Meredith,Wanted a Matchmaker, andWanted a Chaperon.
Ford's edition ofThe Writings of Thomas Jefferson is still regarded as one of the monuments of American historical scholarship, setting the standard for documentary editing for half a century until the appearance of the first volume ofThe Papers of Thomas Jefferson, edited byJulian P. Boyd. Ford's edition remains valuable for its accuracy of transcription from original manuscripts and its careful annotation of the documents chosen for publication. The Ford edition appeared in two versions, a 10 volume edition published between 1892 and 1896 and a 12 volume limited numbered edition issued in 1904, known as the "Federal" edition.
Ford was an elected member of theAmerican Philosophical Society.[1]
Ford was a close personal friend ofGeorge Washington Vanderbilt II. He often visited Vanderbilt atBiltmore Estate where they read, played chess and enjoyed the outdoors. Vanderbilt dedicated a stained glass window to Ford at the church Vanderbilt had built at Biltomre, theCathedral of All Souls (Asheville, North Carolina).
Ford was murdered in his Manhattan home by his brotherMalcolm Webster Ford, at one time the most famous amateur athlete in the United States, who then committed suicide.[2] The brothers were buried atSleepy Hollow Cemetery inSleepy Hollow, New York, in the same grave; the decision for the same grave was made by the families to signal the end of their familial feud.[3]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Cousin, John William (1910).A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons – viaWikisource.
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