William Peters was a prominent figure in Philadelphia in the colonial and revolutionary era.

He was born in Liverpool, England, and went to America

United States

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

 in 1739, four years after his younger brother, Reverend Richard Peters

Richard Peters (cleric)

Richard Peters was an American cleric and a civil servant in colonial Pennsylvania. For many years he was the rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia....

. He was a lawyer and served as judge of the courts of common pleas, quarter sessions, and orphans' court. When the revolution was beginning, he sided with the Whigs

Patriot (American Revolution)

Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...

, befriending George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

, von Steuben

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben , also referred to as the Baron von Steuben, was a Prussian-born military officer who served as inspector general and Major General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...

, James Madison

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

 and Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

.

His 1745 home, the Belmont Mansion

Belmont Mansion (Philadelphia)

Belmont Mansion is a historic mansion located in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built in the early 18th century, the mansion is one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in the United States....

, still stands in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park

Fairmount Park

Fairmount Park is the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with , all overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, successor to the Fairmount Park Commission in 2010.-Fairmount Park proper:...

.

His son, Richard Peters, Jr.

Richard Peters (Continental Congress)

Richard Peters sometimes Richard Peters, Jr., to distinguish from his uncle, though this can also mean his son Richard), was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783...

 (the junior to distinguish him from his famous uncle), was also a lawyer and represented Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 in the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

.