William Cradock Price

WILLIAM CRADOCK PRICE

Born: April 2, 1833, Cwmtwrch, Breconshire, South Wales.

Died:4 Oct 1925 Pleasant Grove,Utah,USA

"The life of my father, William C. Price, was one of colorful settings, high tension activity, and dramatic experiences. In his early boyhood days, he lived on his father's farm and helped operate a small inn." 

He worked in an attorney's office, Marshall & Snelgrove Department Store in London, studied law.  "He was a well educated man, and few were better versed in the language, literature, and history of the Welch people.  He was regarded everywhere as a veritable encyclopedia. With all his knowledge, however, he was extremely modest and unassuming." 

He returned to Wales and established his own business in Blina, Wales. It was of considerable size and included a bank, insurance house, post office, and department store, and employed about 75 people.

On June 12, 1862, he married Rhoda Wynn Parry. They had two daughters, Rhoda and Ellen.  The girls were raised and cared for by their paternal grandparents, Evan and Margaret Price.  

During the depression of the late 1860's, William became interested in expanding his business pursuits in the United States.  In 1868, he came to New York.  He and his daughter, Rhoda, came to Utah that year.  He left his daughter, Ellen, in Wales with his parents.

He became a cattle rancher in Skull Valley (south of Tooele, Utah). After a terrible catastrophe one winter, he lost almost his entire herd.  Instead of giving up, he decided to herd sheep.  He loved the mountain ranges.

He was a poet.  In 1903, he returned to Wales and was given a substantial prize for one of his poems.  Upon return, he started a mercantile business in Tooele, Utah.

He never joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

-This is an excerpt from "A Brief Sketch of the Life of William C. Price" by Rhoda Price Daw.