Special Collections Department
Eli K. Price
Papers
1822--1886
Manuscript Collection Number: 281
Accessioned: Gift, Anna D. Moyerman,
1972.
Extent: 2 linear ft.
Content: Correspondence, legal
doduments, printed materials.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: August 1993, by
Rhonda R. Newton
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
(302) 831-2229
Table of Contents
Biographical Note
Eli Kirk Price (1797-1884) was a noted Philadelphia lawyer and legal reformer. He was born in East Bradford, Chester County, Pennsylvania, to a Quaker family descended from Philip Price, an early Pennsylvania settler.
Price attended Westtown, a Quaker boarding school. He then worked for Thomas P. Cope, a Philadelphia merchant, and studied law in his leisure time. After four years with Cope, Price entered the law offices of John Sergeant. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1822. Price became one of the leading Philadelphia experts on equity and real property law.
In 1845 and 1848, Price was a member of the new Board of Revenue Commissioners and wrote the 1848 report.
Price was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1854 to shepherd a bill consolidating various separate political entities into the city of Philadelphia. The “Consolidation Act” of 1854 became the new city charter and transformed the city from 1200 acres to 122 square miles.
Price was also instrumental in the passage of other important legislation reforming real property law and domestic relations law, before and after his senatorial career. He wrote “An Act Relating to the Sale and Conveyance of Real Estate” (1853), an act broadening the law of descent (1855), “An Act for the Greater Security of Title” (1856), and an act supplementary to the statute of limitations (1859). He also played an important role in the passage of an 1855 act protecting a wife’s property from her husband’s creditors and an 1856 act aiding deserted wives. He served in the State Senate through 1856.
In 1867, Price helped found the Fairmount Park Commission and served as chairman of the organization until 1884. He examined the titles of land purchased for the park and was the force behind the park’s acquisition of a variety of tree species.
Price authored a variety of publications:
Digest of the Acts of Assembly and of the Ordinances of the Inhabitants and Commissioners of the District of Spring Garden, 1833
Institutes of Morality for the Instruction of Youth, 1838
Memoir of Philip and Rachael Price, 1852
Our Unknown City Laws, 1855
Of the Limitations of Actions, and of Liens, Against Real Estate, in Pennsylvania, 1857
Memorial of Our Daughter, for her Child, 1862
Centennial Meeting of the Descendants of Philip and Rachael Price, 1864
The Propietary Title of the Penns, 1871
The History of the Consolidation of the city of Philadelphia, 1874
The Act for the Sale of Real Estate in Philadelphia, 1874
In 1828, Price married Anna Embree. They had three children, Rebecca Embree, John Sergeant, and Sibyl Embree. Rebecca was the subject of Memorial of Our Daughter.
During his lifetime, Price was active in many Philadelphia institutions. He served as president of the University Hospital, Preston Retreat, the Pennsylvania Colonization Society, and the Numismatical and Antiquarian Society. He was a trustee at the University of Pennsylvania, vice president of the American Philosophical Society, and a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Price died in Philadelphia in 1884.
Sources:
Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1888. Vol. V. 117.
Biographical Sketches of James Embree, Philip Price and Eli K. Price. Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1881. 57-67.
Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963. Vol. VIII. 211-212.
National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. New York: James T. White & Co., 1990. Vol. X. 412-413.
Who Was Who in America. Historical Volume 1607-1896. Revised Edition. Chicago: A.N. Marquis Co., 1967. 495.
Scope and Content Note
The Eli K. Price Papers consist of two linear feet of legal material covering the period 1822 to 1886. Price was a leading Philadelphia real estate lawyer, a fact reflected in the collection. The collection is divided into three series. Series I covers Price’s correspondence; series II contains material from his law office; series III consists of materials from Price’s activities outside his legal practice.
Price’s correspondence in series I is arranged chronologically, consisting mainly of incoming letters to Price. The majority of the correspondence relates to cases that Price handled or his legal opinion on different issues. Other topics include impending legislation, Price’s writings, and contributions to various institutions. The most frequent correspondent was Edward Shippen Burd. Price was Burd’s attorney and agent, acting on his behalf in the period 1836 to 1841 while Burd was in Europe. Burd’s letters are primarily instructions for Price. Other correspondents include James Gibson, William Henry Raub, and Arthur W. Austin. There are a wide variety of correspondents beyond the few named here.
Series II contains the papers related to Price’s legal practice and is broken into subseries. Subseries II.1 contains court paper books from cases Price tried. These books contain the arguments used by the defendant and appellant, supporting legislation, and court decisions. These books are arranged chronologically by court date.
Subseries II.2 contains other legal material. Documents covering the period 1821 to 1861 include mortgages, agreements, and bonds. Receipts and ledgers document Price’s work as an agent for his clients and include tax receipts for different properties. The collection contains three wills, those of George B. Wood, Robert Hare, Jr., and Eli K. Price himself. This subseries also contains manuscript drafts of legal briefs, legislation, and speeches.
Subseries II.2 also contains a sampling of checks written by Price from 1821 to 1846, by J.B. Townsend from 1845 to 1851, and by Townsend and Price as executors of the E.S. Burd estate from 1848 to 1861.
Series III contains materials related to Price’s activities outside his legal practice. There is a small group of Pennsylvania Senate bills, many of which were proposed to Price while he was senator.
Price helped found Fairmount Park and served as the chairman of the Park Commission, activities represented by a small group of letters Price wrote to the park gardener. These letters document the Park’s attempt to grow a variety of trees on its grounds and in its nursery. Many letters document the source of acorns or seeds, including trees that were delivered to the nearby railroad station.
The collection also contains printed copies of speeches and articles by Price, arranged chronologically. Topics include upcoming legislation, liquor sales, and papers presented to the American Philosophical Society and the Numismatical and Antiquarian Society. Other printed materials include copies of a poem Price wrote and addresses given by others.
The Price papers are useful for the study of the 19th century Philadelphia legal community, the development of property law, and the growth of Fairmount Park.
Related collections:
Mss 424 N.B. Browne PapersContents List
Box -- Folder -- Contents
Series I.Correspondence, 1822-1884
1 F1 1820s
F2 1830-1838
F3 1839
F4 1840
F5 1841-1844
2 F6 1845-1849
F7 1850-1853
F8 1854-1859
F9 1860-1869
F10 1870-1879
F11 1880-1884
F12 [n.d.]
Series II. Law office papers, 1821-1884
Series II.1. Court paper books, 1837-1887
3 F13 1837-1849
F14 1850-1851
F15 1851-1855
F16 1856-1858
F17 1859
4 F18 1861-1879
F19 1882, [n.d.]
Series II.2. Other legal materials, 1821-1887
Documents
F20 1821-1846
F21 1847-1861, 1886
F22 [n.d.]
F23 Receipts and Ledgers, 1834-1887
F24 Wills
5 F25 Legal Drafts – Briefs
F26 Legal Drafts – Legislation and Speeches
F27 Cancelled Checks
Series III. Activity-related papers
F28 File of the Senate
F29 Fairmount Park Commission
Printed Speeches and Writings
6 F30 1836-1855
F31 1867-1886, [n.d.]
Printed Materials
F32 Lectures
F33 Poetry
F34 Miscellaneous
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Last modified: 01/19/11
