Worthington Chauncey Ford helped bridge the gap between the amateur historical editors of the nineteenth century, such as Peter Force and Jared Sparks, and the professional historical editors of the twentieth century, such as Julian Boyd and Lyman Butterfield. Although he wrote several books and many articles, Ford made his mark as an editor of historical documents, especially those of the Adams family. He believed in making original sources available to researchers in a variety of forms, be it original manuscripts, published editions, or facsimile reproductions. Described as a "gentleman of the old school," he nonetheless eagerly adopted new technology when it meant that copies of rare documents could be made widely available. Furthermore, he believed that editors had a responsibility not to tamper with texts and that the federal government ought to support the editing and publishing of historical documents in its custody.

Ford was born into...