Chapter 3 - George Buckner Price and Sarah Lavinia Rountree

George Buckner Price was born on March 22, 1871, in Alden, King George County, Virginia, the second of ten children born to George Washington Price and Elizabeth Brown Coakley. He attended common school, business school, and completed one year at William and Mary College.

After teaching school and working as a clerk, George passed the Civil Service examination in 1900. He worked briefly for the Railway Mail Service but resigned in 1902 due to the dangers of the position. He subsequently held positions as a stenographer and typewriter in Navy Yards in Richmond and Norfolk, though he struggled with technical stenography requirements.

In 1903, George met Sarah Lavinia Rountree (“Vinnie”), whom he married on December 16, 1903. Sarah was from a North Carolina family that had owned slaves and a large estate prior to the Civil War. After persistent efforts and political lobbying, George transferred to the Post Office Department in Washington, D.C., in 1904.

George rose through the ranks of the Post Office Department, eventually becoming Assistant Superintendent of the Division of Railway Adjustments. His work involved supervising mail transportation by steamboat and in Alaska. He and Sarah had three children: Zola, Leonard, and William. George retired in 1941 and died in 1964 at the age of 93.