Alfred Douglas Price, Sr. (1860–1921) also known as A. D. Price, was an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

businessman and community leader in the late 19th-century and early 20th-century in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. He owned a blacksmith shop, funeral home, and a

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

. Price was one of the largest African American real estate owners in his city and the A.D. Price Funeral Home is now a national historic site.

Early life

Price was born on August 9, 1860, in Ashland,

Hanover County Hanover County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover Courthouse. Hanover County is a part of the Greater Richmond Region. History Located in the wester ...

, Virginia.

Historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

SA-58 in Richmond states that he was enslaved at birth, however that claim has not been supported with reliable documentation. Price attended public school for only a few years before leaving home at age seven to work in Richmond. He soon returned to his hometown to work with his mother in their store. He was apprenticed as a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

from 1874 to 1877.

Career

By 1881, Price was able to open his own blacksmith and

wheelwright A wheelwright is a craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright", (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker or shaper of wood) as in shipwright and arkw ...

shop. In 1886, he added the skills of livery and undertaking to his business. During the late 18th-century in the United States, it was not uncommon for businesses to offer multiple services, and undertaking was done by many different types of tradesmen. Many African Americans did not have personal transportation during this time, and Price's livery service was able to fulfill that need with horse carriages. He also had a wagon delivery service for local businesses. In August of 1894, Price became one of the first funeral directors in the state to receive an

embalming Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...

license. In 1898, Price's business had around 40 horses, and the largest amount of funeral carriages and funeral equipment in the city of Richmond. According to '' Richmond Planet,'' the group of African American funeral directors in the city owned more carriages than the white undertakers combined. By the early 1900s, Price was also holding funerals for prominent white people, which enhanced his societal power.

A.D. Price Funeral Home

The A.D. Price Funeral Home was located in

Jackson Ward Jackson Ward is a historically African-American district in Richmond, Virginia with a long tradition of African-American businesses. It is located less than a mile from the Virginia State Capitol, sitting to the west of Court End and north of Broa ...

at 208 East Leigh Street in Richmond. A historical marker outside the building now commemorates its history. The funeral home was featured on a postcard, which is part of the Tichnor Brothers Postcard Collection at the Boston Public Library. A mortician bought the building in 2008. In 2010, the main building was converted into 14 apartments. In March of 2022, a five-story apartment building was approved to be built in the funeral home's parking lot. The new building will have 63 apartments, as well as a clubroom and rooftop deck.

Death and legacy

Price had a growth on his foot and he decided to remove it surgically by himself, which led to an infection and a team of doctors removing his foot in attempts to save his life. He died on April 9, 1921. Price was one of the largest African American real estate holders in Richmond. He was able to place his owned buildings and associated businesses in close proximity to each other as a cost-saving method. This also fostered community, especially in the African American population of Richmond. Price served on the board of directors of a number of organizations; he was a director of banks that served African Americans, and he was president of the Southern Aid and Insurance Company, Southern Aid Society of Virginia insurance company from 1905 until 1921. He was also active in numerous fraternal and business organizations. Price served as a mentor for the younger Robert Crafton Scott, Sr. (1888–1957), another prominent African American businessperson in Richmond. One of A. D. Price's hearses was part of ''The Story of Virginia'' exhibition, which opened in 2015, at the Virginia Historical Society, Virginia Museum of History & Culture. He also owned a 1918 Kline Kar, manufactured in Richmond, which has survived and been restored by White Post Restorations. The Kline Kar is now on display in the center of the VMHC’s new Commonwealth Hall, and was also featured on the official Virginia History Christmas ornament for 2022.

References

{{Authority control 19th-century African-American businesspeople 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century African-American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople American blacksmiths 1860 births 1921 deaths American freedmen People from Ashland, Virginia African-American history of Virginia Businesspeople from Richmond, Virginia American funeral directors