Joseph Price, a Quaker farmer, was born in 1753. He was the fourth generation of a prominent Welsh family to live in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County. His ancestors, named "Rees," set sail from Wales on the ship Lyon in 1682. Price owned a farm near Merion Meeting, where he was much involved in public affairs. He was a militia captain and major and member of the Masons. He also operated a sawmill, was an innkeeper, a carpenter, and coffin-maker. He wed Mary Walter in 1797, and they had eight children. Joseph Price died in 1828.
Price's diaries, a compilation of daily notes recorded over a forty-year period, comprise the majority of the collection. His interests as a farmer, Quaker, family man, neighbor, and tradesman are chronicled. Also included in the collection are a harvest book, 1816-1823; account books, 1794-1796 and 1820-1822; the Blockley Township "Return of Taxables," 1783; and minutes of the commissioners who selected the site of the Montgomery Almshouse, 1806-1807.
Joseph Price, a Quaker farmer, was the fourth generation of the Rees family to reside in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. His great-grandparents, Edward and Mabby Rees, set sail from Bala, Merionethshire, Wales, on the ship Lyon, and arrived at the banks of the Schuylkill River near Pencoyd on August 14, 1682. Edward Rees was one of the founders of the Lower Merion Monthly Meeting. The name "Price" derives from the Welsh "Ap-Rees," "Ap" meaning "son of" or "descended from."
Joseph's father was John Price, who died June 20, 1792. His mother, Mary, died March 18, 1808. John Price, his brother, was born March 16, 1772, and died October 30, 1801. A sister, Hannah, died January 15, 1796. Another sister, Elizabeth "Betsy" Price, was born ca. 1776 and died October 21, 1789. On June 1, 1797, Price wed Mary Walter. He was 43, she 27. Their first home was "Locust Hill." They had eight children. Mary died February 27, 1828, after a long illness.
Price was an innkeeper, carpenter, sawmill operator, and coffin builder. He fought as a private in the American Revolution and attained the rank of major, Cavalry division, during the War of 1812. He was an elder in the Merion Friends Meeting. In 1794, Price was also involved in the construction of the Lancaster Turnpike. He cut and set the milestones along the new highway, the first of its kind in the country. In 1806, he served on a committee, appointed by the County Commissioners, to procure a site for the Montgomery Almshouse. Price died several months after his wife Mary, in 1828.
Price began his diary when he was thirty years old. He made his last entry a few days before his death at age seventy-five. With the exception of gaps from July 20, 1810 to December 21, 1816; March 12, 1819 to April 23, 1820; and August 4, 1820 to January 3, 1824; it is a remarkably complete and descriptive chronicle of forty years of life. His diary describes his daily activities, including his work as a farmer and carpenter. Price commented on religion, politics, current events, and local news. He also faithfully recorded the weather each day.
The harvest book records seasonal work done by Price, his sons and neighbors. Entries mention sowing, planting, and harvesting of their crops. Price's penchant for descriptive narratives offers more than a cut-and-dried report on seasonal crop plantings, yields, and prices. Account books chronicle his work on the Lancaster Turnpike.
The "Return of Taxables" was prepared for the year 1783 but does not contain tax figures. Columns contain such headings as property owners or "keepers," occupations, and acreage owned. The name of Edward Heston, a friend of Price's, appears on the cover, but it is unclear who owned the book.
Commissioners' minutes report meetings held over a four-month period in 1807 to select a site for the Montgomery Almshouse. Price and other committee members spent January and February traveling to locations. In March they selected a site in Norristown.
http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/p/price1657.htm
