THE PRICE ORPHANS

Kinfolks
by Evelyn Flood

In working on my Newton County marriage books,ran across several
of the Price childrens' marriages, which prompted me to write a story
about them.

This story is about the PRICE Family who lived in Johnson County,
Arkansas but who had Newton County ties.

Benjamin Franklin PRICE and his wife MARTHA JONES PRICE had a family
of five children:
Cordelia, Mary Melvina"Viney," Custer, Martha and Tennessee Price.
This family once lived in the Limestone section of upper Big Piney.

The family made a journey to Russellville by wagon in March of 1888.
They stayed the night at the John Phillips place below Ft.Douglas.
They left word at the Phillips house that they would stop by on their
way back from town.
They came back in a day or two and Mrs. PRICE was ill. She loved her
little children so much but was gravely ill. Her condition worsened
and she died that day at the PHILLIPS home.

Martha was buried in the Treat Cemetery.
Her tombstone has the dates 1856 and 1888 inscribed, "Wife of Frank
PRICE".

The father Benjamin Franklin"Frank" PRICE was then left with five
little children whose mother had just died.
How would he care for these little ones and work in the fields?
He took them home and cared for them as best he could.
Now he must find a new mother for his little ones.

About two months had passed since his wife's death.
One night Mr. PRICE went to a neighbor's house which stood near the
banks of Piney about half way between Farmer's Branch and where the
Beech Grove Schoolhouse was later built.

The neighbor told him not to come in and to "get away from here".
When Price persisted at the door, the neighbor opened the door a
crack and hit Frank on the head with an ax, mortally wounding him.
Frank was carried to his home and was laid on his porch.
He died not long after-wards.

What a frightening thing for his little children to witness. These
poor little children were left alone, dependent upon the care of
kindly friends and neighbors.
Why in the world would that neighbor man do a thing like that?
He had to have a good reason.

My imagination began to work.

I believe that Mr. PRICE wanted to marry Miss Elizabeth SELF.
Did she live at the cabin that Frank had visited that night?
Did her father not want Frank to marry his daughter?
The marriage license was applied for in Johnson County Courthouse in
1888. Mr. PRICE was 37 and Miss SELF was only 17.
Had Frank PRICE gone to the SELF house and insisted on seeing
Elizabeth?
The marriage license application had a notation" not executed, lady
married another man." Had Mr. Price been desperate to marry Elizabeth??
so that his motherless children would be taken care of?
Had Elizabeth spurned him for someone else?
This may be a likely reason for Frank PRICE to persist in being let
into that house that night. He wanted to see Elizabeth and she had
found someone else. She did not want to marry Frank or her father did
not want her to marry him

The neighbor who had killed Frank PRICE supposedly left that night
and walked through the dark to Clarksville and gave himself up to the
sheriff.

Frank was buried at Treat Cemetery, May 1888 near his wife Martha's
grave.

Arrangements had to be made for these orphaned children to have
different families or kinfolk take one or more of the children to
raise. In just two short months, these children had lost both their
Mama and Daddy.Kindly neighbors usually took in orphans to raise
with their own brood if there were no kin.

Enoch JONES was made guardian of these PRICE children in 1889, as
shown in Johnson County Probate Court Records, page 75.

Cordelia Price was reared by the John Phillips family.
She married J. FRANK PHILLIPS in Johnson County on 3 Jan 1892.

Mary Melvina "Viney"PRICE married GEORGE ALLEN on 21 June 1896 in
Newton County. George and Viney were living in Newton County in
Jackson Township in 1900 with son Johnie C Allen, age 3. Living nearby are William and Lula SMITH ALLEN.
Near neighbors were George ALLEN's parents,John Allen and his wife,
Margaret PHILLIPS ALLEN.

Custer PRICE married ELLA GRAVESE on 26 June 1906 in Johnson County.

Martha Price was raised by a family at Hagarville,Pope County,
Arkansas. Martha PRICE married GOLDEN RAINWATER on 10 August 1902
in Johnson County.

Tennessee PRICE, age 21 married THOMAS BARNES, age 26, on 3 July 1901
at Jasper, Newton County, Arkansas.

I often wonder how their lives turned out?
Were they loving people?
Did they have happy lives? What were their trials and tribulations?
What were their joys and sorrows? I wonder, I wonder........

Evelyn Flood
Rkinfolks@yahoo.com
Published in the Newton County Times Newspaper 28 February 2002

22 July 2004