Price Family Papers, 1873-1918

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Summary

Title:
Price Family Papers
Dates:
1873-1918
Creators:
Price family
Abstract:
This collection pertains to the Price family, with particular focus on Jacob Price’s personal and business affairs as well as his Civil War pension.
Extent:
0.5 Linear feet (1 box)
Language:
Preferred citation:

Price Family Papers, MS 59, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains documents that detail the history of the Price family and particularly the activities of Jacob Price. Contents include genealogical records and a family register of births and deaths as well as government forms and correspondence regarding Jacob Price’s U.S. military pension. The collection also includes a diary presented to Jacob Price by Anzelmo Moraga containing text of the 17th degree of the Scottish Rite, Knight of the East and West, transcribed by Moraga. The diary also includes Jacob’s account of his journey on the Pacific Mail Steamship “Kansas City” via Panama to visit two of his children, Maria and Ricardo, in Colombia. Additionally, there is a Price & Price account book tracking Jacob Price’s financial accounts for family members and business ventures such as Price & Price, Price & Speyer, and real estate investments.

Biographical / historical:

Samuel and Deborah Brockman Price emigrated with their nine children from Wislica, Poland to the United States in the early 1800s to escape Russian rule over Poland and the fear of their sons being drafted into the Russian army. Upon arrival in the U.S., the Price family settled in New York.

Jacob Price (May 5, 1839-May 18, 1915), son of Samuel and Deborah Price, enlisted in the U.S. military as a private in Company D of the 5th Regiment and fought in the Civil War. Jacob was discharged from the military on June 27, 1864 after sustaining a gunshot wound and soon after traveled to work for his brother, Adolphus, in Colombia, South America where he ran clothing stores. Jacob returned to the U.S. in the early 1870s and operated a men’s furnishings store in New Jersey. Jacob married his second wife Celia Lindenborn of New York in 1873. By the late 1880s, Jacob transitioned to operating his business in San Diego, purchasing the Reed Block at the corner of Sixth and H Streets. He renamed it the Price Block and opened a men’s clothing store at this location. The store was later taken over by his children, Samuel, Walter, and Alice and renamed Price & Price. Price Block also later housed Price & Speyer, a boot and shoe store run by Jacob’s son, Charles, and Albert Speyer. Following Jacob’s death in 1915, a conflict arose for his widow Celia Price with her claim to Jacob’s Civil War pension due to his previous, unresolved marriage. As a result, Celia was denied claim to the pension.

Acquisition information:
Accession numbers 750304, 800423, 840214A.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Sean Flores on June 6, 2011.

Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

Arrangement:

Items in this collection are arranged by subject.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Sean Flores
Sponsor:
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Date Prepared:
June 6, 2011
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-02-07T16:51-0800

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

Preferred citation:

Price Family Papers, MS 59, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Location of this collection:
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA 92101, US
Contact:
(619) 232-6203
Website