This collection consists of the papers of William Alexander and Tabitha Tull Gill covering the period from 1860 to 1903; papers of Willis Preston and Lucie Gill Price; and papers of their children, Ralph L., Dorothy, and Ruth, covering the period from 1885 to 1981. There are letters written by William Alexander Gill when he was courting fourteen-year-old Tabitha Tull in 1860. Included are detailed letters from Gill to his wife, Tabitha, at Bogue Chitto during the Civil War. These letters contain news from home and information on the land office that Gill was managing in the absence of receiver McClendon, including instructions from the land commissioner at Opelousas, Louisiana, and details on land sales, stamp prices, and envelope-making.

Perhaps of greatest interest are Gill's letters concerning the fighting around Greensburg and regimental activities at nearby Camp Moore during the Civil War. He describes the Old Beaver Creek Rifles commanded by Captain O. P. Amacker (July 7, 1862) and the army of General John C. Breckinridge and generals Allen, Clark, and Ruggles passing through Greensburg (July 31, 1862). Gill also mentions that he helped to establish a hospital next to his home in early August of 1862 and that he was wardmaster of the hospital. Meanwhile, Tabitha Tull Gill had been teaching school in Bogue Chitto, and her husband's letters are full of advice on education. Gill also discusses bringing his wife, Tabitha, back to Greensburg (August 8, 1862).

In June of 1877, William Alexander Gill spent time at Brown Wells, Mississippi, in an attempt to restore his health. A number of letters to his wife describe how his days were spent at the resort. The remainder of the correspondence is related to his children; life in Greensburg, Magnolia, and Oak Ridge; and occasional trips to Jackson.

There are relatively few papers relating to Willis Preston Price. Those of interest include letters from his son, Ralph, at the University of Virginia (1917); from training camps in Georgia and Texas and from France where he was an aeronautical supply sergeant major during World War I (1917-1918). The only materials documenting Price's career as a Baptist minister are an 1891 letter from the Chicago Baptist Seminary to Tabitha Tull Gill; an 1893 commencement program; letters of condolence to Price's wife upon his death in 1927; and photographs and newspaper clippings.

The papers of Lucie Gill Price are more extensive. There are letters from her son, Ralph, regarding his education and experiences at the University of Virginia and his military training and service in France during World War I. Lucie Gill Price received a number of letters of condolence following the death of her husband. Letters from niece Inez Gill Carroll contain many details about her marriage to artist John Carroll in New York, Washington, and Paris; as a piano student of Robert Casadeus in Paris, and her career as a pianist at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and with the Maverick concerts. Finally, the correspondence of Lucie Gill Price with editors and publishers of magazines and newspapers reflect her aspirations as a poet and writer. Both published and unpublished works of Price are present, including a history of the Gill family.

Of additional interest are photographs, including images of Gill and Price family members and the first faculty members of Gillsburg Collegiate Institute (1885-1886). There are photograph albums and images of home and family, churches under construction, and views of Jackson. There is also a brief diary kept by Ralph L. Price upon his arrival in France during World War I. A small collection of oils and watercolors and various printed materials reflect the artistic activity of Ruth Gill Price.

Cite as: Z/1758.000: Gill-Price Family Papers.

The Gill family moved from South Carolina to Mississippi in 1811. John Gill settled in Amite County before buying the Cold Springs farm, which was located near Bogue Chitto, Lawrence County. His youngest son, William Thomas Gill (b. 1810) ran the farm from 1857 until 1869, when he moved to Greensburg, Louisiana, where his son, William Alexander Gill, had purchased a farm. William Alexander Gill was employed at the Greensburg land office when he married Tabitha Tull in 1860.

After the Civil War, William Alexander Gill opened a mercantile store in Greensburg and soon opened other branches in Louisiana and Mississippi. He added a coeducational school to one of the stores, which was located in Gillsburg, Amite County. The school was known as the Gillsburg Collegiate Institute, and its first president was Gill's daughter, Ella. William Alexander Gill later moved his family to Gillsburg to better manage the school. He also opened banks in Magnolia in 1895 and in Kentwood in 1903. Gill died in 1905.

William Alexander Gill had several children, including Ella Gill Phillips (d. 1891); Mary Ida Gill Price (1865-1903); and Lucie Abbie Gill Price (b. 1871). Mary Ida Gill Price was the wife of James H. Price, assistant director of the Gillsburg Collegiate Institute, and herself a teacher at the school. James H. Price later attended law school and was an associate justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Lucie Abbie Gill Price was married to Willis Preston Price, brother of James H. Price. Willis Preston Price (b. 1866-1927) was the son of deacon Aaron and Frances Dear Price of Rankin County. He attended the Gillsburg Collegiate Institute, Mississippi College, and the University of Chicago.

The Magnolia Baptist Church ordained Price in 1893. He served as pastor of Baptist churches in Magnolia, Osyka, Brookhaven, Summit, Winona (1898), Jackson (1900), Waycross (Georgia), Bessemer (Alabama), Alexandria (Louisiana), and again at Magnolia (1926). Lucie Abbie Gill Price began writing in 1920. She mainly composed poetry, and many of her poems were published. Price was also a correspondent for the Birmingham Post. Willis Preston and Lucie Gill Price had three children: Dorothy, Ralph L., and Ruth.