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Subject: [IA-CIVIL-WAR] 1903 Bio of Hiram Price
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 21:32:03 EDT

Hiram Price was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, January 10, 1810.
He worked on his father's farm in boyhood, attending school during the winter
months. He was a great reader, borrowing books of neighbors and thus acquiring
an education. In 1844 he removed to Iowa, locating in Davenport, where he
opened a store. In 1847 he was chosen School Fund Commissioner and a year later
was elected recorder and treasurer of Scott County, holding the position
eight years. mr. Price was a radical advocate of temperance and was one of the
founders of the order of "The Sons of Temperance." He was one if the framers of
the first bill for the prohibition of the liquor traffic in the State, which
was enacted into law by the Fifth General Assembly in 1854. He was the editor
of the Temperance Organ, a State paper devoted to prohibition. He had been a
Democrat in politics up to the time of the attempt to force slavery into
Kansas when he left that party and was one of the organizers and founders of the
Republican party of Iowa. Upon the enactment of the State Bank Law, Mr. Price
was one of the organizers of the Davenport branch and was the second president
of the State Bank officers. When the War of the Rebellion began, he assisted
in raising the money to enable Governor Kirkwood to equip the first two Iowa
regiments. He was the first paymaster of Iowa troops and was untiring in his
support and assistance to the Governor in raising men and money to meet the
calls of the President. In 1862 he was elected by the Republicans of the Second
District to Congress and for six years was one of the ablest members of the
House. He was an earnest advocate of the most energetic war measures and of
legislation to strengthen the credit of the Government. Mr. Price was one of
the founders of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home. In 1876 he was again elected to
Congress and served until 1880. In 1881 Mr. Price was appointed by the
President Commissioner of Indian Affairs, in which position he served with
distinguished ability for four years. He made many reforms where abuses had grown up in
dealing with the Indians. He was one of the pioneers in railroad building in
Iowa. In 1853, when the first railroad was being built from Chicago toward
Iowa, Mr. Price was chosen to traverse the counties on the projected line
through the Stare to the Missouri River to create an interest among the people and
towns. In 1869 when a railroad was projected from Davenport in a northwesterly
direction Hiram Price was elected president of the company which constructed
the road. One of his last public acts before removing to Washington was to
endow a free reading room in the public library of Davenport, his old home. He
was a life-long and prominent member of the Methodist Church. He died in
Washington, D. C., May 30, 1901.



Debbie Clough Gerischer
Iowa Gen Web, Assistant CC, Scott County
http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/
IAGENWEB: Special History Project:
http://iagenweb.org/history/index.htm
Gerischer Family Web Site:
http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/

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