William Pierce Price (January 29, 1835 – November 4, 1908) was a politician who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Price was born in

Dahlonega, Georgia The city of Dahlonega () is the county seat of Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,242, and in 2018 the population was estimated to be 6,884. Dahlonega is located at the north end of ...

Early life and education

Price was born to William Pierce Price, Sr., and Sarah Denton Price (née Williams) in

. Price attended the common schools and was apprenticed to the printer's trade. In 1851, he moved to Greenville, South Carolina, around the age of 16. Eventually he attended Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, but left before graduating to take charge of the editorial department of the ''Southern Enterprise'', a Greenville newspaper. While in school he had studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1856 and commenced practice in Greenville, South Carolina around the age of 20. Price Memorial Hall 3

Political career

During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Price served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

as orderly sergeant in Kershaw's Second South Carolina Regiment. He was elected and served as member of the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seati ...

1864–1866. In 1866, he moved back to his birthplace of Dahlonega, Georgia. Two years later in 1868 he served as member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. ...

until 1870. His next appointment as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Forty-first Congress on January 16, 1871, to fill the vacancy caused by failure to elect. He was reelected to the Forty-second Congress and served from March 4, 1871, to March 4, 1873. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1872. He was again a member of the State house of representatives 1877–1879, of the State senate in 1880 and 1881, and of the State house of representatives in 1894 and 1895. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880.

Other work

After serving in politics he resumed the practice of law. He was instrumental in the establishment of what was then North Georgia Agricultural College, now called the

University of North Georgia The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a public senior military college with multiple campuses in Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. The university was established on January 8, 2013 by a merger of North Georgia College ...

, of which he served as president of the board of trustees from 1870 until his death in 1908. He died on November 4, 1908, in Dahlonega and is interred in Mt. Hope Cemetery. The iconic Price Memorial Hall with its gold tipped spear is named in his honor. charter member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

, Georgia Delta chapter, North Georgia Agricultural College, Dahlonega, GA Sept. 29th 1879. In 1879, a fire destroyed the Dahlonega Gold Mint, which was being used by the North Georgia Agricultural College at the time. Shortly thereafter, Price Memorial Hall was built in its place. Today Price Memorial Hall is the oldest surviving structure to be found on the UNG campus.

Family

Price married Martha A. Matilda Martin (1837-1907), daughter of William Martin, a Confederate soldier. He had ten children. Four died in infancy. The oldest surviving child, Caroline Price (1860-1936), was a concert musician before marriage to Walter S. Wilson and children ended her career. The next, Isabella Sterling Price (1864-1931), was considered an excellent actress but as that career was "out of bounds for young girls" at that time, she married William Arthur Charters. Beveline Arcadia Price (1867-1942) married David Sloan Craig. The marriage broke up and she returned to Dahlonega, Georgia, to look after her parents. Sarah Wansley Price (1869-194?) enjoyed art, but gave this up for marriage to John Calhoun West. She also taught domestic science at North Georgia College. William Prescott Price (1873-1945) was a businessman. Frederick Singleton Lucas Price (1878-1931) served in the military from 1898 until his death. He served in the Philippines, China, and the

Mexican Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

. He was promoted to colonel in 1921 and was on the General Staff Corps Eligible List at his death.

References

External links

Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
William Pierce Price papers, 1871-1873
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, William Pierce 1835 births 1908 deaths People from Dahlonega, Georgia American people of Welsh descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Confederate States Army soldiers 19th-century American politicians Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves