First Generation  

1. John Thomas Price,^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} son of John Price and Ann, was born in 1812 in Harford Co., Maryland, died on May 22, 1892 in Philadelphia, PA at age 80, and was buried on May 25, 1892 in Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, Chester Co., PA. The cause of his death was ventricular enlarged heart.

General Notes: Father, John Price, not proven.
1850 census of 12 Sept. identifies John T. Price as a farmer, age 37, b. MD, and the entire family living in Election District 3, Census District 2, Harford County, MD. Election District 3 is Bel Air. Precincts are Fallston, Bel Air, Churchville ... so I would assume 3-2 is Bel Air / Bel Air. Also in the household are wife Sarah, 35, b. in MD; son William H., 8, b. in MD; dtr Anna M., 5, b. in MD; son John R., 2; b. in MD; dtr Martha J., 10, b. in MD; sister Julia A. Price, 22, b. in MD; and several others: Andrew Thompson, 34, a white labourer born in Canada (could be indentured); Bill Boyer, 23, mulatto and born in MD; Maria Fields, 45, black; Althea Frisby, 40, black; Rachel King, 5, black; Francis Clark, 7, black male; Wm. Clark, 5, black male; Eliza Clark, 1, black -- all b. MD. John T. Price doesn't appear to be a farmer owning land, as the closest farmers owning land of any value are George Draves ($1000), Thos. Hanway ($6000), Thos. Griffin ($3000), Samuel Patterson ($5000), Wm. Roberts ($10,000).
1860 (23 July) census indicates John as 47 and occupation as dairyman with Wm H., 17, living at home as a saddlery apprentice (harness maker) in the borough of Oxford, Chester Co., PA. Also in the household are dtr Martha J., 19; dtr Anna M., 15; son John R., 11; son Oliver C., 9; and son Thomas W., 7. Census indicates entire family was born in MD. Wife Sarah does not appear in this census, as her tombstone indicates she died in 1858--nor does wife #2 Ann appear at this time.
1867-1881 Records of his being a member of Oxford Circuit Methodist Episcopal Church.
1870 (8 July) Census shows John Price, 57, born in MD and living in nearby East Nottingham, Oxford P.O., Chester Co., PA, as a farm 'labourer' with wife Annie E. ("keeping house"), 52, born PA, and son Whitfield (Thomas W.), 17, born PA. Main property owner was Harvy Groves, 31, paper mfr, and family.
1880 (9 June) census indicates John, 67, occupation as farmer and both of John's parents born in Maryland, and John's family residing in Lower Oxford Twp, Chester Co., PA. This census also indicates Julia A. Dardy [sic], 40, b. MD, father b. MD and mother b. PA, as their widowed dtr and living "at home" with just John and wife #2, Ann E., 64, b. PA as were parents. Although not confirmed, Julia may be Ann's dtr from previous marriage. It may be a coincidence that this Julia A. has same name as his sister, Julia A. Price, listed on the 1850 census. On the other hand, this could be the same Julia, who lied about her age and is actually John's dtr, and not his sister. Sarah may or may not have been the mother. She is same age as John's first child, Martha J.
Per obituary in the Press newspaper, "John Thomas Price, a former citizen of Oxford, died in the 80th year of his age on Sunday at the residence of his son, T. W. Price, No. 2318 Ingersoll St., Phila." Another obituary mentions a prolonged illness. Etched on his tombstone are his first wife, Sarah, his sister Mary Ann (1809-1877), and his mother Ann (1788-1863).
City of Philadelphia death certificate of 22 May 1892 indicates cause of death as ventricular enlargement of the heart, his place of birth as Hartford [sic] County, MD. Parents names are omitted.
6-27-1929 A letter from Oxford, PA, to "My dear Virginia" attempts to answer some questions about "Cousin Chap" and parents. The author, a Rigdon cousin who has his Rigdon family Bible with birth dates back to 1750, affirms Chap's mother as Sarah Rigdon Price, born May 27, 1814, to the Rigdons of Harford County. His stepmother's name was Eliza Price with no record of her death or burial. This cousin states Sarah died and was buried in Harford County [another cousin thinks perhaps Old Kennett Friends Cemetery or old Oxford cmtry] before the Prices moved to Chester County. "The lot in which the Price burials were made was purchased in January 1859 by John Thomas Price. The first burial recorded is Ann Price, 75 Years old, died or buried in Oxford 8-4-1863. Next is Mary Ann Price, 68 years old, died in West Nottingham Twp. Apr. 13, 1877, then John Thomas Price himself, died in Phila, 80 Yrs old...This Price lot is a double one, lots 297 & 299. Ann & Thomas [sic] are buried in one and Mary Ann in the other."

Research Notes: The name Price is of Welsh origin and derived from 'ap' meaning 'son of' and Rhys, which stems from the Welsh personal name 'Rhys' denoting 'hero or strong man.' ApRhys later became Price when the 'a' was dropped. Also in the Welsh language 'ab' means 'son of' and thus the surname Brice and Bryce have the same derivation as Price. A Thomas Price (b. 1610) arrived at St. Mary's City, MD, on 3-25-1634 aboard the Ark or the Dove. He could have been the originator of the Price line in America.

John married Sarah Rigdon before Dec 1839 in Harford County, Maryland. Sarah was born on May 27, 1814 in Harford Co., Maryland, died in 1858 at age 44, and was buried in Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, Chester Co., PA.

General Notes: Harford Co., MD, was the ancestral home of the Rigdons. By 1820 there were 7 Rigdon families in Maryland, followed by Ohio (6), Kentucky (3); PA, SC and VA each had 1 family or head.
1820 Census: There were only 7 Rigdon families in MD--all in Harford County. Six of seven Rigdon families had one or more daughters under 10: Baker, Baker Jr., Benjamin, Samuel, Stephen, and William. Another, Stephen Rigdon, was head of household, over 45, and lived alone on land with 20 slaves and 1 free colored. One researcher has Sarah Rigdon born 6-23-1813 in Harford County, dtr of Benjamin Rigdon (1753-1828) and Elizabeth Forwood (1769-1857) -- this Sarah married Wm Smithson and died 1876. Some family researchers attribute Sarah to Baker Rigdon, Jr. (1784-1850) and Mary E. Brown (1785-1863)--however, their Sarah appears in brother Eli's household of 1880 census, whereas my Sarah died in 1858.
1860 Census for Oxford, Chester Co., PA: George Rigdon, 49, bread baker (shoemaker in 1870 census), b. MD, with wife Jane and children b. PA. Could this be Sarah's cousin or brother and one of the reasons John & Sarah moved here from Harford Co.?

Research Notes: See Rowe, Ella H., Genealogy of the Clark, Rigdon, Wilson and Durham Families of Harford County, Maryland, (Baltimore: the author, 1987), pp.17ff

Children from this marriage were:

+ 2 F    i. Martha Jane Price was born on Aug 21, 1840 in Harford Co., Maryland, died on Dec 23, 1889 in East Nottingham, Chester Co., PA at age 49, and was buried in Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, Chester Co., PA.

+ 3 M    ii. William H. Price was born on Oct 17, 1841 in Harford County, Maryland, died on Nov 27, 1911 at age 70, and was buried on Nov 29, 1911 in Seaford Odd Fellows Cmtry.

+ 4 F    iii. Anna Mary Price was born on Apr 19, 1845 in Harford County, Maryland, died on Jan 8, 1920 in Philadelphia Ward 32, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at age 74, and was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Roslyn, Montgomery, PA.

+ 5 M    iv. John R. Price was born in 1848 in Harford County, Maryland, died on Sep 28, 1926 in West Bradford, Chester, PA at age 78, and was buried on Oct 1, 1926 in Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, Chester Co., PA.

+ 6 M    v. Oliver Chapman "Chap" Price was born on Oct 6, 1850 in Harford County, Maryland, died on Apr 13, 1929 in Burlington, NJ at age 78, and was buried on Apr 16, 1929 in Westminster Cmtry, Bala Cynwyd, Montgomery, PA.

+ 7 M    vi. Thomas Whitfield Price was born in Jul 1853 in Harford County, Maryland and died before 1930.

John next married Annie Eliza Martin on Feb 21, 1863 in Harford County, Maryland. Annie was born in 1815 in Pennsylvania and died before 1892. They had no children.

General Notes: Marriage license for John Thomas Price & Annie Eliza Martin discovered in "Harford County MD Marriage Licenses 1777-1865" by Livezey & Davis.
Per 1880 census, Annie and both parents were born in Pennsylvania. There is no indication in these censuses that John and Annie together had children, i.e., the only children were by John and Sarah (dec'd) in this household. Annie does not appear in subsequent censuses. She was a member of the Oxford Circuit Methodist Episcopal Church as Eliza Price.