Marion Price Daniel III (June 8, 1941 – January 19, 1981) was an American politician from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

who served as

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the House. The current s ...

from 1973 to 1975. He was a member of the house from 1969 to 1975. He is also known for his death during his marriage to his second wife in 1981, after he had written her out of his will and her third time filing for divorce.

Early life

Daniel was a Texas state politician, born in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

on June 8, 1941, into a political dynasty that dated back to his great-great-great grandparents

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

and

Margaret Lea Houston Margaret Lea Houston (April 11, 1819 – December 3, 1867) was First Lady of the Republic of Texas during her husband Sam Houston's second term as President of the Republic of Texas. They met following the first of his two non-consecutive terms ...

. At the time of his birth, his father Marion Price Daniel Sr. was a state representative who eventually rose to the office of

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

. Daniel Sr. also served as

, as

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

and

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...

of the

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the supreme court, court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the ...

. His mother Jean Houston Baldwin, a member of both the

Daughters of the Republic of Texas The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) is a lineal association dedicated to perpetuating the memory of the founding families and soldiers of the Republic of Texas. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas is best known for its former role as ...

and the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

, was a direct descendant of Sam and Margaret Lea Houston. Daniel Sr.'s brother William Partlow Daniel, also served in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

and had been appointed Governor of the U.S. Territory of Guam by

President John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until assassination of Joh ...

. He was raised in Austin and followed the political career of his father. By age twelve, he was making speeches on his father's behalf. He graduated from Austin High School in 1959,

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

in 1964, and

Baylor Law School Baylor Law School is the oldest law school in Texas. Baylor Law School is affiliated with Baylor University and located in Waco, Texas. The school has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1931 and has been a member of the Associat ...

in 1966. While still enrolled in the university, Daniel started a mail-order book business Texas State Historical Association that specialized in rare books of Texas history.

Political career

After receiving his law degree, Daniel moved to

Liberty, Texas Liberty is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Liberty County. The population was 8,279 at the 2020 census. It serves as the seat of Liberty County. Liberty is the third oldest city in the state—established in 1831 on the banks of ...

, and began his legal practice there, where he was also elected Justice of the Peace for Liberty County. In 1968, at age 27, he was elected to the

from the same seat his father had held from 1939 to 1945. After the fallout from the

Sharpstown scandal The Sharpstown scandal was a stock fraud scandal in the state of Texas in 1971 and 1972 involving the highest levels of the state government. The name came from the involvement of the Sharpstown area of Houston. Background The scandal revolved a ...

, with those connected being voted out of office, there was a 50% turnover in both houses of the Texas Legislature. On January 9, 1973, Price Jr. was unanimously elected Speaker of the House by his fellow Democratic Party state representatives, who had a 133 to 17 majority over the Republican Party in the House. Under Daniel's leadership, the reform-minded

Sixty-third Texas Legislature The 63rd Texas Legislature met from January 9, 1973, to May 28, 1973, in regular session, and again in a special called session from December 18, 1973, to December 20, 1973. All members present during this session were elected in the 1972 general el ...

passed new ethics, financial disclosure, and open-records laws. The Legislature also updated and strengthened open-meetings, and lobbying laws. He believed that it should be illegal for the speaker to offer favors or make threats in order to get votes. Because of the great power of the office, Daniel believed that no speaker should be elected for more than one term, and consequently he did not seek reelection in 1974. There had been talk of Price Jr. running for Governor in 1974, but he was apparently not interested. Price Jr. served as president of the 1974 Texas Constitutional Convention, the first since the Constitution was established in 1876. He relented on a right-to-work compromise to appease the conservatives, and in doing so, lost his base of the liberal labor force. The 1974 convention to revise the state constitution was not a success. Further alienating his support base, Price Jr held a press conference blaming organized labor, and specifically what he saw as its manipulation of racial minority delegates, for the convention's failure. In 1978, Daniel unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for

Texas Attorney General The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer
of the

, losing to eventual general election winner Mark White.

Personal life and death

Daniel was married twice. He married politically connected Diane Ford Wommack on April 4, 1966. Diane was a descendant of Texas Governor (1907–1911)

Thomas Mitchell Campbell Thomas Mitchell Campbell (April 22, 1856April 1, 1923) was the 24th Governor of Texas, serving two terms from 1907 to 1911. He was an attorney and businessman, working as a manager for the International-Great Northern Railroad before entering ...

. They had one son, Thomas Houston Campbell Daniel. Their divorce was final November 26, 1975. His second wife was

Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and G ...

waitress Vickie Loretha Carroll Moore. Vickie and husband Larry Dale Moore were divorced on August 16, 1976. Price and Vickie were married November 1, 1976. They had two sons, Franklin Baldwin Daniel and Marion Price Daniel IV. One month after Price declared his candidacy for Texas Attorney General, Vickie filed for divorce on October 22, 1977, but apparently withdrew the petition. In May 1980, Price re-wrote his will, cutting Vickie out. December 31 of that year, Vickie once again filed for divorce, even though she and Price continued to share a house with separate quarters. Price was served with divorce papers on January 15, 1981. On January 19, Price returned home where he was shot and killed. After a 10-hour session involving 22 people, the Liberty County grand jury returned an indictment of murder against Mrs. Daniel. At the time of her indictment, she had not yet been questioned by authorities about the events leading up to her husband's death, nor had she testified before the grand jury. Vickie was represented by flamboyant legal legend Richard "Racehorse" Haynes and was acquitted on October 30, 1981. The shooting and Vickie Daniel's murder trial were the subject of a 1987 book, ''Deadly Blessings'' and a 1992 made-for-television film, ''

Bed of Lies "Bed of Lies" is a song by Trinidadian-American rapper and singer Nicki Minaj, taken from her third studio album, ''The Pinkprint'' (2014). The song was first premiered at the 2014 MTV EMAs in Glasgow, Scotland and was later released on November ...

''.

Houston family tree

Marion Price Daniel Jr. was a direct descendant of

and his wife

through his mother Jean Houston Baldwin Daniel, as noted by the family tree below.

Bibliography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Price Jr. 1941 births 1981 deaths 1981 murders in the United States Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Baylor University alumni Deaths by firearm in Texas People murdered in Texas Politicians from Austin, Texas People from Liberty, Texas Sam Houston 20th-century American politicians Candidates in the 1978 United States elections