Emory Hilliard Price

Emory Hilliard Price (December 3, 1899 – February 11, 1976) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Florida who served three terms in the United States Congress from 1943 to 1949. He was born in Bostwick, Putnam County, Florida, and later moved to Duval County, where he attended the public schools. His early life in northeastern Florida rooted him in the communities he would later represent in local and national office.

Price pursued higher education in law, enrolling at Jacksonville Law College in Jacksonville, Florida. He graduated in 1936 and was admitted to the bar the same year. Upon his admission, he commenced the practice of law in Jacksonville. His legal training and early practice provided the professional foundation for his subsequent career in public service and politics, and he maintained ties to the legal profession throughout his life.

Before entering national politics, Price built a record of local public service in Jacksonville and Duval County. He served as a member of the Jacksonville city council from 1929 to 1932, participating in municipal governance during the early years of the Great Depression. Following his city council service, he was appointed Supervisor of Registration of Duval County, a position he held from 1932 to 1942. In that role he oversaw voter registration and electoral rolls during a decade marked by New Deal reforms and the approach of World War II, gaining administrative experience and public visibility that helped launch his congressional career.

Price was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-eighth Congress and was reelected to the Seventy-ninth and Eightieth Congresses, serving from January 3, 1943, to January 3, 1949. His tenure in the House of Representatives coincided with a significant period in American history, encompassing the final years of World War II and the beginning of the postwar era. As a member of the House of Representatives from Florida, Emory Hilliard Price participated in the legislative process, contributed to national policymaking, and represented the interests of his constituents in Duval County and the surrounding region. A member of the Democratic Party, he took part in debates over wartime mobilization, veterans’ readjustment, and the early contours of Cold War policy, reflecting the concerns of a rapidly changing state and nation.

After three consecutive terms, Price sought renomination in 1948 to the Eighty-first Congress but was unsuccessful. With the conclusion of his congressional service on January 3, 1949, he returned to private life in Jacksonville. He resumed the practice of law and engaged in real estate pursuits, drawing on his legal expertise and familiarity with local affairs. His post-congressional career kept him active in the civic and economic life of Jacksonville while he remained identified publicly with his years in national office.

Emory Hilliard Price died in Jacksonville, Florida, on February 11, 1976. He was interred in Greenlawn Cemetery in Jacksonville. His career reflected a progression from local to national service, beginning in city government and county administration and culminating in three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives during a transformative era in American political and social history.