hundred papers by him. Judge Peters had a high reputation as a wit, and was a great favorite in so- ciety. At both his city home and his country-seat, Belmont, he extended a princely hospitality, and he was visited by the most eminent men of his own country, and by distinguished foreigners. One of his most frequent guests was Gen. Washington, with whom Judge Peters was on terms of the closest intimacy from 1776 till Gen. Washington's death. The French traveller, Chastellux, desig- nates Belmont as a " tasty little box in the most charming spot nature could embellish." This es- tate, containing more than 200 acres, is now in- cluded in Fairmount park, and during 1876 was the site of the Centennial exhibition buildings. He was instrumental in constructing the first per- manent bridge over the Schuylkill river, serving as the first president of the bridge company. Judge Peters published " Admiralty Decisions of the Dis- trict Court of the United States for the Pennsyl- vania Districts, 1780-1807" (Philadelphia, 1807). See " Address on the Death of Hon. Richard Peters," by Samuel Breck (Philadelphia, 1828).— The second Richard's son, Richard, lawyer, b. at Belmont, Philadelphia, in August, 1780; d. there, 2 May, 1848, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1800. He was the solicitor of Philadelphia county in 1822-'5, and was one of the founders of the Philadelphia saving fund society, the oldest in- stitution of that kind in Pennsylvania, if not in this country. He succeeded Henry Wheaton as reporter of the U. S. supreme court, and published " Re- ports of the U. S. Circuit Court, 1803-'18 " (Phila- delphia, 1819) ; " Reports of the U. S. Supreme Court, 1828-'43 " (17 vols., 1828-'43) ; " Condensed Reports of Cases in the U. S. Supreme Court from its Organization till 1827 " (6 vols., 1835) ; and " Full and Arranged Digest of Cases determined in the Supreme, Circuit, and District Courts of the United States from the Organization of the Gov- ernment " (3 vols.. 1838-9 ; new ed., 2 vols., 1848). He edited " Chitty on Bills of Exchange " (3 vols., 1819) and Bushrod Washington's " Circuit Court Reports " (4 vols.. 1826-9).
PETERS, William Cumming, musician, b. in
Woodbury, Devonshire, England, 10 March, 1805;
d. in Cincinnati, Ohio, 20 April, 1866. He studied
music with his father in England and Texas in
1820-'3, but was mainly self-instructed. During
1825-8 he taught music in Pittsburg, Pa., and in
the following year he opened a music-store in
Louisville, Ky., establishing branch houses in Cin-
cinnati in 1839, and in Baltimore in 1849. From
1829 till his death he was constantly engaged as a
leader of concerts and choirs, and in composing
and writing. He composed many vocal and instru-
mental pieces, some of which became very popular,
but his most important work was in connection
with the Roman Catholic church, for which he
wrote some excellent music, notably a mass in D.
He compiled also numerous collections of music,
including " The Catholic Harmonist " (1850) and
" Catholic Harp " (1862), and systems of instruc-
tion for the voice and different instruments, among
them the " Eclectic Piano Instructor " (1855).
PETERSEN, Johan Erik Christian, artist, b. in Copenhagen, Denmark, 3 April, 1839 ; d. in Bos- ton, Mass., 19 March, 1874. He began the studv of art in 1860, under Niels Carl M. F. Dahl, and at the Royal academy. After serving in the war be- tween Prussia and Denmark in 1864, he came to this country in 1865, opened a studio in Boston, and devoted himself principally to marine paint- ing. His later works include numerous strong and effective paintings, among which are " The Start of the Ocean Race of 1866 from Sandy Hook " ; " Phantom Ship " (1869) ; " Making Sail after the Gale " ; and " After the Collision." PETERSILEA, Carlyle, musician, b. in Bos- ton, 14 Jan., 1844. He received his first musical education from his father, and in 1862 went to Germany, where he studied for three years at the Leipsic conservatory. He was graduated with hon- or, and then made a professional tour of Germany, meeting with great success. On his return to this country he settled in Boston, where, in 1871, he founded the Petersilea academy of music, elocution, and languages, which existed until 1886, since which year he has taught in the New England conservatory of music. He has at various times appeared as a soloist in Germany and the United States, and is known for his technique and mem- ory. He is the author of an original piano system. His work as a composer is limited to some tran- scriptions of songs, his technical studies, and a few unpublished string quartettes and sonatas. He has also invented a mute piano for practice.
PETERSON, Charles Jacobs, publisher, b. in
Philadelphia, 20 July, 1819 ; d. there, 4 March, 1887.
He was a descendant of Eriek Pieterson, who came
to the Delaware with a colony from Sweden in
1638, and was the fii;st of the name in this country.
The godfather of Erick was Ijaurenee Peterson,
archbishop of Sweden, who, with his brother Oolof,
translated, in 1552, the Bible into the Swedish lan-
guage, a copy of which is in possession of the fami-
ly. He was the editor, with Mrs. Ann S. Stephens,
of " Peterson's Ladies' National Magazine," and the
author of many contributions to journals and peri-
odicals and " The Military Heroes of the Revolu-
tion, with a Narrative of the War of Independ-
ence " (Philadelphia, 1847) ; " The Military Heroes
of the War of 1812 and of the War with Mexico "
(1848); "Grace Dudley, or Arnold at Saratoga"
(1849) ; " Cruising in the Last War " (1849) ; " The
Naval Heroes of the United States " (1850) ; " Valley
Farm " : " Kate Aylesford, a Story of the Refu-
gees " (1855); "Mabel, or Darkness and Dawn"
(1857) ; " The Old Stone Mansion " (1859) ; and a
continuation from 1840 to 1856 of Charles von
Rotteck's " History of the World " (4 vols., 1856).
— His brother, Theophilus Beasley, publisher,
b. in Philadelphia, 14 Feb., 1821 ; d. 30 Dec, 1890.
At thirteen he entered a dry-goods store as clerk,
and afterward served in the same capacity in a
shipping-house. Next he entered a stereotype-
foundry and learned the business, as well as that of
printing. In 1843 he became foreman in the office
of the " Saturday Evening Post," which was edited
by George R. Graham and Charles J. Peterson.
Two years afterward he withdrew from this work
and began business for himself as a bookseller
and news-agent. His first publication was issued
in 1846, being a reprint of Lady Charlotte Bury's
novel " The Divorced." The price of the London
edition was $7.50 ; that of Peterson's edition was
twenty-five cents. His success in this effort con-
firmed him in his original resolution to stereotype
all the most popular foreign and American books
of fiction of which he could gain possession, and
publish them in economical forms. In 1858 he
admitted his brothers, George W. and Thomas, into
partnership, under the firm-name of T. B. Peterson
and Brothers. His firm had also made a specialty
of publishing cook-books. An original idea of this
house is the issuing of their catalogue with a por-
trait of their principal author's, and a sketch of
their life and writings.
PETERSON, Henry, b. in Philadelphia, 7 Dec., 1818 ; d. 10 Oct., 1891. He was a cousin of Charles
