Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890–1920

Biography of Virginia Redditt Price, 1876–1951

By Christina Torbert, Oxford, Mississippi

Woman Suffrage Activist

Virginia Redditt was born on April 20 about 1876, in Vaiden, Carroll County, Mississippi, to Dr. William Joseph Redditt and Emma M. Whitehead Redditt. She married William Hardison Price about 1901, and they spent most of their married life in Carrollton, Mississippi. Price was a public school teacher, and her husband held several jobs including deputy sheriff and mail carrier.

Price was active in several women's clubs throughout her life, and through those clubs she lobbied for several social issues. She was most known for her leadership in the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). She was elected its state historian in 1913, and later was state president from 1915 to 1917.

In April 1916 and April 1917, Price was a delegate to Mississippi Woman Suffrage Association convention held in Meridian and Starkville, respectively. On both occasions, Price spoke to the assembly as the state president of the UDC. Price was elected corresponding secretary of the state association in 1918.

Price also served as state president of the Federation of Women's Clubs during 1918 and 1920. Through her involvement in the Federation, she gave a report on the importance of good roads to the state convention in 1915; and later, while she was president, the Federation published statements supporting the war effort through bond sales in 1918 and advocating public support for women's and children's health in 1920. She used her reputation as a strong leader in the UDC, the Federation, and the Suffrage Association to stump for James Vardaman in 1922, when he was running for governor. She cited his previous support for women's suffrage as the best reason women should vote for him. Virginia was also active in the Order of the Eastern Star. She was a charter member of the chapter in Carrollton, and she was honored as that chapter's first worthy matron.

Price died on December 17, 1951, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in North Carrollton, Mississippi. She was survived by her brother William Whitehead Redditt and by many nieces and nephews.

The photo below was published in the Jackson Daily News on May 28, 1914, p. 3.

 

The photo below is from Confederate VeteranMagazine, October 1915, Vol. 23, p. 441.

 

The photo below is from the Daily Mississippi Clarion and Standard, May 1, 1915, p. 1.

 

SOURCES:

1880 U.S. Census, Mississippi. Carroll County, p. 95D, Enumeration District 22. Digital images. Ancestry.com.

1910 U.S. Census, Mississippi. Carroll County, p. 3A, Enumeration District 33. Digital images. Ancestry.com.

1920 U.S. Census, Mississippi. Carroll County, p. 2B, Enumeration District 35. Digital images. Ancestry.com.

1930 U.S. Census, Mississippi. Carroll County, p. 5B, Enumeration District 6. Digital images. Ancestry.com.

“Delegates Leave for Suffrage Convention.” Jackson Daily News, April 3, 1916, p. 8. Available through Newspapers.com.

“District Meeting of Mississippi Federation Woman's Clubs Held Here Last Week.” The Commonwealth (Greenwood, MS), March 19, 1915, p. 1. Available at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89065008/1915-03-19/ed-1/seq-1/.

“Dr. Shaw Will Speak.” Jackson Daily News, April 10, 1917, p. 5. Available through Newspapers.com.

“Echoes from the Vicksburg Convention.” Our Heritage (West Point, Mississippi), May 1, 1915, p. 1.

“Federated Clubs meet in Grenada.” The Grenada Sentinel, November 5, 1920, p. 1. Available at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85034375/1920-11-05/ed-1/seq-1/.

“Fight rages for U.D.C. president.” The Macon Beacon, May 14, 1915, p. 3. Available at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016943/1915-05-14/ed-1/seq-3/.

Find A Grave, database and images, memorial page for William Whitehead Redditt, Find A Grave Memorial no. 23469195.

Find A Grave, database and images, memorial page for Dr William Joseph Redditt, Find A Grave Memorial no. 23469397.

Find A Grave, database and images, memorial page for Virginia Price Redditt, Find A Grave Memorial no. 23469376.

Find A Grave, database and images, memorial page for William H. Price, Find A Grave Memorial no. 46931774.

Harper, Ida Husted, et al., eds. The History of Woman Suffrage. Vol. VI (1900-1920). N.p.: National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1922, p. 333. [LINK]

“Mrs. Virginia Price Succumbs Today.” The Greenwood Commonwealth (Mississippi), December 17, 1951, p. 1. Available through Newspapers.com.

“Officers Named.” Jackson Daily News, April 2, 1918, p. 7. Available through Newspapers.com.

“Suffrage Meeting.” The Winona Times (Winona, Mississippi), April 5, 1918, p. 8. Available through Newspapers.com.

“Suffragists Elect Officers Today.” Jackson Daily News, May 28, 1914, p. 3. Available through Newspapers.com.

“U.D.C. Convention Opens a Four Day Session Here.”The Daily Commonwealth (Greenwood, MS), May 2, 1917, p.1. Available at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87065132/1917-05-02/ed-1/seq-1/.

“U.D.C. honor H'burg ladies.” Hattiesburg News, May 12, 1913. p.3. Available at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87065167/1913-05-12/ed-1/seq-3/.

U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations., 2015.

“Vardaman Endorsed!” The Port Gibson Reveille, August 31, 1922, p.2. Available at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86090233/1922-08-31/ed-1/seq-2/.

“Women Liberty Loan Workers.”The Grenada Sentinel, April 12, 1918, p.1. Available at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85034375/1918-04-12/ed-1/seq-1/.

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