WILLIAM J. PRICE.

WILLIAM J. PRICE.—The reward for honorable toil follows surely and swiftly the efforts of our citizens and the fruits of legitimate endeavor come to us as a note of encouragement, as a token of appreciation for expended energy, and the ratio of such reward is in proportion to the magnitude of our endeavors. Illustrations occur daily in all lines of industrial activity where men rise from comparative obscurity to affluence and semi-opulence in a decade or a score of years but seldom, does it seem, that we would find, in the field of agriculture, a success so pronounced as is brought to our notice in the sketch of William J. Price, our subject. The life of the farmer, as that of the merchant, is full of successes and failures and when we behold one who is conspicuously an example of thrift and well-doing we at once conclude that his business practices have been along correct principles and that prodigality and extravagance have had no part in his makeup. We present herein the history, in brief, of a self-made man, one born and reared to the farm work and to the experiences found in an humble and respectable country home. Born in the northernmost of the southern states, West Virginia, he was but a boy just entering his 'teens when the war between the states broke out. His native county was Marion and his birthday, September 26, 1849. He is a son of Eli Price and Amanda Troy, the former yet a resident of the state of his birth, West Virginia. He was born in 1822, passed his life as a modest farmer, and was widowered in 1883, his wife dying at the age of fifty-six years.

Six of the seven children of Eli and Amanda Price survive. The first death among the children occurred December 2, 1900, when the youngest was thirty-five years old. William J. Price is the first born. There seems to have been nothing unusual in his career as a boy, except that he appears to have been a trifle more in earnest than the average country lad in ac-

quiring an education. His school days closed with a season in the State Normal School of West Virginia and for twelve years thereafter he was engaged in teaching school. Seven years was he surveyor of his county but notwithstanding these seeming advantages he was slow to prosper. Opportunities in the old state appeared rare and no solution of the question of his ultimate welfare seemed better than a removal to Kansas. Hither he came in 1882 and made settlement in Bourbon county. He was a tenant for seven years and in that time laid the foundation for the prosperity he now enjoys. He purchased a quarter section of land on the east line of Allen county and took possession of it in 1889. He paid for this with the proceeds of his labor and added more land. His farm of four hundred and eighty acres, with a modern dwelling and large barn and yards of stock, and a credit commensurate with his needs tell the story of his achievements on a Kansas farm inside of twenty years.

In the case of nearly every successful Kansas farmer so with Mr. Price. He became interested in the cattle and horse business upon his advent to Kansas and in this he has acquired much of his financial independence. Some of his stock of various kinds is registered and other is eligible to registration. His horse stock is his pride and his stalls contain animals which are a credit to the county and to his taste as a grower of the "prince of animals."

October 19, 1871, Mr. Price was married to Elizabeth Jackson who was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, 1850. Mr. and Mrs. Price are the parents of thirteen children, viz: William H., Aipheus E., Clarence W., Ross L., Amanda Belle, wife of Arthur Stonehocker; Isaac L., Bessie A., Virginia E., Bertha Lee, George E., Maud Agnes, Ruth Cleveland and Florence Olive Price. A family group shows both children and parents, fifteen in number, a fact and circumstance both remarkable and unusual.

Mrs. Price is a daughter of Alfred Jackson and Parthena Showalter. Both were natives of Pennsylvania. The latter died in 1856 and the former is a resident of Boulder, Colorado. He was born in 1823 and is the father of three children.

Mr. Price takes a citizen's interest in public affairs in Allen county and has represented his party as a candidate for public office. He has no special desire for holding office but it was only to obey the commands of his party that he consented to run. He is convinced of two things: That he is on the right side politically and on the wrong side numerically. Although his ancestry answered to the Democratic roll call and were citizens of a semi-southern state their sentiments during the Rebellion were intensely union. Two uncles died in the service and other relatives tendered patriotic and agpreciative[sic] service in the cause of a union of the states.

Mr. Price affiliates with the Masonic fraternity. He was introduced to the mysteries at twenty-two years of age and holds his membership in Uniontown Lodge No. 115.

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