Thomas W. Price
The reputation of a community rests almost entirely upon the character of its business men, their integrity, enterprise, vim and fidelity to contracts and engagements being, in most instances, a gauge by which the prosperity of the town or city may be measured. Ironton has been especially fortunate in the character and abilities of its business men, and among them none is held in higher general esteem than Thomas W. Price, secretary and treasurer of the Ironton Roofing and Corrugating Company, and a man who has gained success through the medium of his own well-directed efforts. Mr. Price was born at Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio, January 15, 1861, and is a son of W. L. and Mathilda J. (Goodder) Price.
Born at Ellenale, Wales, in 1830, W. L. Price emigrated to the United States in 1848, and not long thereafter came to the Hanging Rock Iron Region and for a number of years was employed in the rolling mills of Ironton. His death occurred in 1869. Mrs. Price, who was born in Gallia County, Ohio, in 1831, still survives in hale and hearty old age and makes her home at Ironton. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Price: Frank W., Thomas W., Martha J. and Harriet G. After attending the public graded and high schools until reaching the age of fifteen years, Thomas W. Price began work in the nail department of the rolling mills at Ironton, and there continued for fifteen years, winning steady promotion through the exercise of fidelity and industry. In the meantime he carefully invested his savings, with the end in view of entering business on his own account, and in 1897 his ambition was realized when he purchased an interest in the Ironton Roofing and Corrugating Company, of which he was made secretary and treasurer, positions which he has continued to retain to the present time. The company has enjoyed a business that is steadily growing to larger proportions, and the plant at this time is valued at $5,000, being fitted with the latest machinery and appurtenances. Among his associates Mr. Price is known as a man of excellent business .judgment, foresight and acumen, and the utmost confidence is placed in him. Although the greater part of his attention is given to this business, he also has other interests, and is a stockholder in the Home Telephone Company, and the owner of ten residences in Ironton, including his own pleasant home, at No. 162 North Fifth Street. He is a prominent Mason, having advanced to the Shriner degree, and belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and in both fraternities has many warm friends. He takes much interest in religious work, being a vestryman and secretary of the Episcopal Church at Ironton, and has also been active in educational matters as a member of the Board of Education. He is a republican of the old type and a member of the Ironton Chandier of Commerce.
Mr. Price was married April 30, 1886, at the home of the bride at Ironton, to Miss Rachel Davies, daughter of Thomas J. and Elizabeth (Thomas) Davies, and to this union there have been born two children: Anna, who married Wilbur Jones and died in 1911, leaving one son, Ralph; Frank W., assistant foreman in the Ironton Rooting and Corrugating Company, who married Elizabeth Boll.
From "A Standing History of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio" by Eugene B. Willard, Daniel W. Williams, George O. Newman and Charles B. Taylor. Published by Lewis Publishing Company, 1916