Brother James Hubert Price
(1878 – 1943)
James Hubert Price was born on September 7, 1878, near Organ Cave in Greenbrier County, West Virginia to Charles William Price and the former Nancy C. Boone, both of Lewisburg, West Virginia. His parents moved to Staunton, Virginia where he was raised and where his closest relatives lived. He attended and received a business degree from Dunsmore Business College in 1898 after which he taught accounting at the college and established his own accounting practice. He was also an active member of the Virginia National Guard where he reached the rank of Captain. In 1907 he began legal studies at the Washington and Lee Law School and graduated in 1909. Upon admission to the Virginia bar, Price began legal practice in Staunton, but soon moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1910, where he practiced corporate law. In 1916, he won the first of what became seven terms in the Virginia House of Delegates as one of five delegates representing Richmond. On October 2, 1918, about a month after the 37-year-old
registered for the draft, he married Lilian Martin in Washington, D.C. They had two children: James Price and Lillian Price Eberle.
At the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929, James H. Price was elected the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. In the 1937 general election, he won 83% of the vote and became Virginia’s 53rd Governor. When his governorship ended in January of 1942, Price actively sold war bonds as the United States of America had entered World War II following the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack in Hawaii. He was an active Mason his entire adult life, which continued until he suffered a stroke and later died in Richmond on November 22, 1943. He (and four months later his wife Lilian) was buried at Staunton’s Thornrose Cemetery.
James Hubert Price was one of ten Masons in the State of Virginia who presided over the Grand Lodge, Grand Chapter, and Grand Commandery. In chronological order, he was first the Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in Virginia, then the Grand Master of Masons in Virginia, and then the Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar in Virginia.
1918: Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in Virginia
Most Excellent James Hubert Price was a member and Past High Priest of Union Royal Arch Chapter No. 2 which was in the 15th District. He was elected and installed as the Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in Virginia on November 27, 1918. Approximately 18 months earlier on April 6, 1917, Congress declared war on Germany. World War I officially ended on November 11, 1918. During Most Excellent Price’s year as the Grand High Priest, the Grand Chapter of Virginia had the largest increase in membership in the history of Royal Arch Masonry in Virginia at the time. They gained 1101 new members and lost 135 for a net gain of 966 which put overall membership at just under 10,000. Additionally, he made several recommendations during his year. He recommended that the Grand Chapter’s Digest reflect the Grand Lodge Methodical Digest (at the time) to allow that Subordinate Chapters exempt their secretaries (and Treasurers) from dues payment. He also recommended that there be some way to evaluate the proficiency of Royal Arch Masons as they progress through the Degrees as Conferred in the Chapter. This became a concern as the result of discussions to allow Master Masons to petition Commanderies without regard to the Chapter Degrees. He believed this to be due in large part to “the lack of knowledge of the beautiful lessons and the impressive symbolism of the several Capitular Degrees.”
1922-1923: Grand Master of Masons in Virginia
Most Worshipful James H. Price was a member and Past Master of Staunton Masonic Lodge No. 13 which was in the 19th District. He was elected and installed as the Grand Master of Masons in Virginia on February 16, 1922. Most Worshipful Price experienced some situations that he felt were not able to discuss. Here are but a few. He felt strongly against publishing information regarding the status of balloting on membership, the advancement of candidates, and similar information. He also strongly believed that the officers of a Lodge should not only be proficient in ritual, but also a working knowledge of Masonic Law, particularly of the provisions of the Methodical Digest. Finally, he had concerns about the fairness of Masonic Trials, especially as the issues surrounding them are always the source of discord and strife. His issues were specific to Masonic Law (at the time) requiring that no matter how bad the situation and negative emotion that resulted, an offender, except a Past Master, was required to be tried in their own Lodge. He compared it to the vilest criminal having the guarantee of an impartial trial with regard to venue.
He made several notable recommendations to modify the Methodical Digest. One of those was to appoint an Auditing Committee in November which would report its findings in December prior to election and installation of new officers. Another was to include the time of the monthly Stated Communication in addition to the day and location. Another recommendation of the note was to allow Lodges to confer Degrees at Called Communications (but only in emergency situations).
Also of note, on February 13, 1923, during the first day of the proceedings of the 145th Grand Annual Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted of the Commonwealth of Virginia, both Brother E. Lee Trinkle, Governor of Virginia, and Brother William Howard Taft, Chief Justice of the United States of America (later to be the 27th President of the United States of America) were in attendance, introduced, escorted to the East, and saluted.
1931-1932: Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar in Virginia
Sir Knight James Hubert Price, Right Eminent Grand Commander, was a member and Past Commander of Stevenson Commandery No. 8, which was in the 5th District. He was elected and installed as the Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar in Virginia on May 22, 1931. Based upon his experiences, he stated that the greatest need for the Grand Commandery of Virginia is intelligent work and resourceful leadership. He believed that we must sell Knight Templary to ourselves before we can influence and help others. He proposed that Sir Knights who no longer attend because they moved (in this case, within the Commonwealth) to another location, should be found and encouraged to join the local Commandery even at the expense of a demit to the previous Commandery that they no longer attend. Based upon the new highway system, he believed that several of the smaller, less active Commanderies that are within proximity should be consolidated to form larger, stronger Commanderies and they should be spaced apart. Lastly, he proposed some solutions to the continued need for per capita funds (which at the time was $9 per person).
In addition to the York Rite Bodies, it should also be noted that James Hubert Price was also highly active with the Shriners. He served as the Imperial Recorder for the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America (also known as the Shriners of North America and, later, Shriners International) from 1927 until his death.
In summary, the single best word that describes Brother James Hubert Price is “service.” In the conclusion to his address to close out his year as the Grand Master of Masons, he said:
The highest conception of Masonry is service. “Every human being has a claim upon your kind offices; do good unto all but recommend it more especially to the household of the faithful.”
References:
“Price, James H. (1878-1943)”. Encyclopediavirginia.org.
“James H. Price (1878-1943)”. Law2.wlu.edu.
“James Hubert Price”. Nga.org.
1918 and 1919 Proceedings of the Royal Arch Chapter of Virginia
1922 and 1923 Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Virginia
1931 and 1932 Proceedings of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Virginia
By Sir Knight Charles Burke Barbee, District Deputy Grand Commander for District 9
