13 minute read
A Musical Interlude at Law: The Divorce of Florence Smith Price
By William Waddell, Jr.
The effects of break-ups and divorce are far-reaching and long-lasting. They are matters of the heart that, in the case of a divorce, pass through the seine of the law— allowing some things to flow through but holding others, such as the connections for the best interests of children, intact.
Music captures the essence of all of these conflicting emotions, particularly when written from the heart of a woman.1 A song entitled “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”2 can hit #1 as well as another song sending perhaps a contrary message performed by the same artist, “Stand By Your Man.”3 The heartaches of lament, regret and child visitations4—even what to hold onto and what keepsakes mean5—all combine into a rush of emotions.
Florence Price undoubtedly had many of these emotions when she paused her musical life for an interlude in the law. Although she did not write a song about her breakup and divorce, as far as we know, we do have a rare glimpse into this time from her divorce file. However, before opening that file and hearing her words, a brief view of her promising past gives perspective on how a divorce freed her for a prominent and celebrated career in music.
Price was born in Little Rock on April 9, 1887.6 Her father was a dentist,7 and her mother worked in various positions, including owning the Flora Cafe on Main Street, and also engaged in buying and selling real estate.8 Price’s mother was also her first music teacher, preparing Price to give her first piano recital at age four.9
Graduating from a segregated high school as valedictorian at age 14,10 she stayed in
Little Rock a year before attending the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.11
After completing her course of study in Boston, she taught music at the Cotton Plant-Arkadelphia Academy in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, and then became the head of the music department at Shorter College.12 In 1910, she became the head of the music department at Clark University in Atlanta at age 23.13
Price had met Thomas J. Price in Little Rock, where he came in 1908 from Washington, D.C., to join Scipio A. Jones’ law firm.14 The couple married in 1912 and established their home in Little Rock.15 They soon had a son, Thomas, Jr., who died as an infant, and then two daughters followed in 1917 and 1921.16
Thomas’ law practice was primarily focused on the same Black businesses and fraternal organizations that Scipio A. Jones represented.17 However, he and Jones apparently were on opposite sides in his first published case.18 And he appeared in some cases without Jones listed as his co-counsel.19
When Price and Thomas married, she essentially suspended her professional teaching career and stayed home to raise their children.20 However, she taught music locally and wrote her own teaching pieces for students.21 She also composed smaller pieces through the 1920s.22
Around 1926, Thomas’ law practice was not going well, and race relations in Little Rock were becoming worse.23 And Price’s request to be a member of the Arkansas Music Teacher’s Association was denied because she was Black.24 The Prices moved to Chicago in the timeframe of 1927-1928, where Price taught piano in her home and published both compositions for children and teaching pieces.25
Thomas’ law practice did not improve in Chicago, and their marriage deteriorated further, resulting in physical and verbal abuse.26 In 1930, Price filed a complaint for divorce in the chancery division of the Superior Court of Cook County, Illinois, alleging the ground of cruelty.27 Thus began her brief interlude in the law.
The complaint was heard on December 17, 1930, with Price and her corroborating witness, Effie Oglesby, testifying:28
Florence B. Price
Complainant, being first duly sworn, was examined and testified in her own behalf as follows:
Q. What is your name?
A. Florence B. Price
Q. Where do you live?
A. 3835 Calumet Avenue
Q. How long have you lived in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, continuously, immediately prior to the filing of this bill for divorce?
A. Four years.
Q. Are you the wife of Thomas J. Price, the defendant to this suit?
A. I am.
Q. When and where were you married?
A. April 4th, 1913.
Q. Where?
A. Little Rock, Arkansas.
Q. Are you living together now?
A. No.
Q. When did you separate?
A. March 10, 1930.
Q. Did he leave you or did you leave him?
A. He left me.
Q. What was the cause for his leaving you?
A. We could not get along, he was cruel to me and did not support me, and when I finally told him he had to get a job he left.
Q. Calling your attention to the 15th day of December, 1929, what, if anything, occurred between you?
A. He slapped me and choked me and bruised me up.
Q. He was generally cruel to you?
A. Yes.
Q. Calling your attention to on or about the 17th day of December, 1929, what occurred on that day?
A. He repeated the same thing. He knocked me around.
Q. On the 29th day of February, 1930, what, if anything occurred?
A. He threatened to kill me.
Q. What with?
A. He started after his gun and I had to leave home.
Q. Did he strike you on that occasion?
A. Yes.
Q. Were any children born of this marriage?
A. Yes, Edith, aged nine years, and Florence, aged fourteen.
Q. What does your husband do?
A. He is a lawyer.
Q. A regular practicing attorney in Chicago?
A. Yes.
Q. In the event the court sees fit to grant you a decree for divorce, do you wish the care, custody and control of these children?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. How much do you think ought to be allowed per week for your maintenance and support, what do you think your husband can reasonably pay?
A. I think, well I know he well can afford to pay twenty-five dollars per week.
Q. Are you satisfied with that amount?
A. Yes, I would be satisfied with $25.00 per week.
Q. Are you also asking for the household goods?
A. Yes.
Q. You wish to retain the household furniture?
A. Yes, I bought them myself.
Q. You bought them yourself?
A. Yes.
Q. How did you treat your husband during the time you and he lifed [sic: lived] together?
A. The best I could.
Q. You gave him no reason for abusing you?
A. No.
Q. You are also asking $100 solicitor’s fees?
A. Yes.
THE COURT: Next witness.
Effie Oglesby a witness, called in behalf of the complainant, being first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
Q. What is your name?
A. Effie Oglesby.
Q. Where do you live?
A. 6606 Champlain Ave.
Q. You are a married woman?
A. Yes.
Q. Are you acquainted with the price family?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you visit them during the time they lived together?
A. Yes, quite often.
Q. Are they living together now?
A. No.
"Although perhaps nostalgic in inspiration, reflecting on the slave stories she may have heard growing up, her time teaching in Cotton Plant, or the unusual breadth of her life experiences as a Black woman of her day, this music from the end of her life is uplifting and freeing. Whether her brief interlude at law was a catalyst or a release of her bound creativity, her musical brilliance followed."
Q. How long since they lived together?
A. March 10, 1930.
Q. Do you know how they got along?
A. Not very well.
Q. Do you know what happened between them on the 17th day of December, 1929?
A. Well, I saw him strike her and choke her.
Q. On the 15th of November, 1929, what happened?
A. Yes, I saw him slap her and threaten to kill her.
Q. Do you know what happened between them on the 29th of February, 1930?
A. He struck her and ran her out of the house in fear for her life.
Q. Did you see her?
A. Yes.
Q. Were there any bruises on her face?
A. Yes, her face was red.
Q. Did she tell you he did it?
A. Yes.
Q. How did she treat him during the time they lived together?
A. Very good.
THE COURT: All right, write it up.
As commonplace as divorce is today, the abuse she suffered is still shocking. The Decree for Divorce was filed of record on January 19, 1931.29
Approximately one month after the decree was entered, Price married Pusey Arnett, a man who was 13 years older than her. He gave her the financial security she had not had with Thomas.30
Free from an abusive marriage and secure in a new relationship, Price blossomed as a composer. She wrote her Symphony in E Minor in 1932 and became the first Black woman to have a symphony of that length performed by a major U.S. symphony orchestra when it was debuted by the Chicago Symphony in 1933.31
Was her divorce a catalyst for propelling her latent brilliance or perhaps a release of chains binding her creativity? Other women in music, such as Clara Schumann, who was brilliant in her own right before and during her marriage to Robert Schumann, had to take a backseat to the careers of the men in their lives.32 Robert had to sue Clara’s father to be able to marry her before her 21st birthday, since her father would not consent to the marriage. 33 Following her own interlude with the law, she flourished within a loving marriage, albeit one that kept Robert as the primary one in the public eye until his death when she had a need to support their family.34 Yet, as accomplished and publicly known as Clara Schumann became, her legal victory to marry arguably did not equal Price’s success following her legal victory from her difficult marriage.
Price’s musical story and legacy have become legendary, and in 2023 she continues to be a celebrated and revered composer around the world. No less than the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra performed and recorded her symphonies in 2021,35 and on March 25, 2023, held a special concert event to introduce a new generation to Price, who was described as “the pioneering Black woman composer whose work was tragically overlooked during her lifetime.”36 Arkansas’ own symphony orchestra released a recording of Price’s 1934 orchestration of her Piano Concerto in One Movement in 2022.37 And on February 5, 2023, the New York Youth Symphony, playing a Florence piece, among other works, became the first youth symphony to win a Grammy for best orchestral performance.38
In the year she died following a stroke, Price composed the popular “Dances in the Canebrakes,” a three-movement piece: “Nimble Feet”; “Tropical Noon”; and “Silk Hat and Walking Cane.” Although perhaps nostalgic in inspiration, reflecting on the slave stories she may have heard growing up, her time teaching in Cotton Plant, or the unusual breadth of her life experiences as a Black woman of her day, this music from the end of her life is uplifting and freeing. Whether her brief interlude at law was a catalyst or a release of her bound creativity, her musical brilliance followed.
Endnotes:
1. Background information about Price used in this article is principally derived from Rae Linda Brown, The Heart of a Woman: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price (© University of Illinois Press 2020) (hereinafter “Heart”).
2. “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” recorded by Tammy Wynette on the Epic label in 1968.
3. “Stand by Your Man,” also recorded by Tammy Wynette on the Epic label in 1968.
4. “Every Other Weekend,” recorded by Reba McEntire with Kenny Chesney in 2007.
5. “What to Keep and What to Throw Away,” recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter in 2012.
6. Heart, p. 19. They originally lived at 416 Sixth Street and then moved to 707 Broadway, which was an interracial neighborhood. Heart, pp. 19, 25–26.
7. Heart, pp. 19, 25–26, 32.
8. Heart, pp. 32–33.
9. Heart, p. 34.
10. Heart, p. 39.
11. Heart, p. 40. Price enrolled in a doubledegree program in Boston: soloist program in organ and teacher’s program in piano. Heart, pp. 47–48. See also pp. 49–50 as to the courses in the program.
12. Heart, pp. 60–61.
13. Heart, pp. 64–67.
14. Heart, p. 68.
15. Heart, p. 69.
16 Heart, pp. 71–72.
17. Heart, p. 70. See also Mosaic Templars of America v. Austin, 126 Ark. 327, 190 S.W. 571 (1916); Mosaic Templars of America v. Bean, 147 Ark. 24, 226 S.W. 525 (1921).
18. Knights of Pythias of North America v. Bond, 109 Ark. 543, 160 S.W. 862 (1913). He and Jones were apparently on opposite sides of another case in 1918. Baker v. Mosaic Templars of America, 135 Ark. 65, 204 S.W. 612 (1918).
19. Great Southern Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Harrell, 170 Ark. 1193, 282 S.W. 999 (1926); Knights of Pythias of North America v. Sanders, 174 Ark. 279, 295 S.W. 25 (1927).
20. Heart, p. 72.
21. Heart, pp. 72–73.
22. Heart, p. 74.
23. Heart, pp. 75–76.
24. Heart, p. 76.
25. Heart, pp. 89–90.
26. Heart, pp. 99–100.
27. Complaint for Divorce, Price v. Price, Superior Court of Cook County, Illinois, Case No. 522805 (hereinafter Price). The author thanks Julius Machnikowski, Archives Staff, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, who searched the court’s archives and located the divorce file.
28. Certificate of Evidence & Transcript, Price 29. Price, S151 107.
30. Heart, p. 101.
31. Heart, pp. 1, 8, 105, 113–114.
32. http://www.pianosociety.com/pages/ schumannclara/ (accessed Feb. 19, 2023).
Clara is said to have asked this question of Schumann before they married and before Schumann prevailed in the lawsuit against her father: “Must I bury my art now? Love is all very beautiful, but, but---.” Id.
33. https://interlude.hk/composers-in-thecourt-room-robert-schumann-versus-friedrichwieck/ (accessed Feb. 19, 2023).
34. http://www.pianosociety.com/pages/ schumannclara/.
35. For the recording of Price’s First and Third Symphonies, the orchestra received a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance and gave an encore performance of the symphonies in 2022. See https:// philorch.org/Florence-price-encore (accessed Jan. 30, 2023).
36. See https://www.philorch.org/ performances/our-season/events-andtickets/2022-23-season/family-concerts/whois-florence-price/ (accessed Jan. 30, 2023).
37. https://arktimes.com/rockcandy/2022/03/30/arkansas-symphonyorchestra-releases-recording-of-florence-pricespiano-concerto (accessed Jan. 30, 2023).
38. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/ news/new-york-youth-symphony-grammynomination-best-orchestral-performance/ (accessed Feb. 19, 2023).■
Justice W. H. "Dub" Arnold of Hot Springs died February 1, 2023, at the age of 87. Arnold's career began with Southern Farm Bureau in Hazen while he commuted to Little Rock at night to attend law school. Upon graduation he returned to Arkadelphia where he practiced law and began a successful career in politics including: Prosecuting Attorney for the 8th Judicial District; Chairman of the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission; Clark County Municipal Judge; Prosecuting Attorney of the 9th Judicial District Eastt; and Circuit Chancery Judge of the 9th Judicial District East. Arnold ended his career as Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court beginning in 1996 and retired from the position in 2003.
Ralph Marvin Cloar, Jr., of Little Rock died April 5, 2023, at the age of 85. Following a successful career as an accountant, he graduated from the University of Arkansas Law School, Little Rock Division in 1974. He served as the President of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association in 1986-87. The Arkansas Bar Association recognized Ralph with the Outstanding Lawyer Award in 2018. He attended both the University of Arkansas and Ouachita Baptist University, as well as served in the U.S. Army.
Justice Robert H. Dudley died on April 1, 2023, at the age of 89. He was a thirdgeneration lawyer born and raised in Jonesboro. He joined a private practice in Pocahontas which became Bledsoe and Dudley, served as deputy Prosecuting Attorney ,and was then elected Prosecuting Attorney for three terms. He was elected to Circuit Judge (Chancellor) and served in that capacity for 10 years. He tried several high-profile cases while on the circuit bench. He was then elected to the Supreme Court of Arkansas where he served for 16 years.
John Curtis Echols of Little Rock died February 27, 2023, at the age of 88. He attended the University of Arkansas where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Juris Doctorate. He served in the Navy before accepting a position with what is now known as Friday Eldredge & Clark. John practiced for more than 40 years primarily in the area of public finance.
Ernest Haven Harper Jr. of Little Rock died February 3, 2023, at the age of 71. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Hendrix College and his Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University. Ernie began practicing law in 1977 with Wallace, Hilburn, Clayton, Wilson & Hankins, Ltd. and became a partner with the firm in 1983. For many years he also served as a managing partner with the law firm, most recently rebranded as Hilburn Harper, Ltd.
Justice Jack Wilson Holt Jr. of Little Rock died March 5, 2023, at the age of 93. He served his state as chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court for 10 years, retiring in 1995. He received a law degree at the University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville in 1952. Jack joined the Air Force during the Korean War and concluded his career as an Air Force reservist with the rank of colonel. He returned from active duty just as his uncle J. Frank Holt was elected prosecuting attorney for the Sixth Judicial District. Jack later joined the Little Rock firm of trial lawyers Gene Bailey, Walls Trimble and others.
Judge Jack Lee
Lessenberry of Little Rock died March 15, 2023, at the age of 92. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. After college, he attended the University of Mississippi School of Law and passed both the Mississippi and Arkansas bar examinations. He honorably served his country in the U.S. Army. After 28 years in private practice, he successfully ran for circuit judge in Pulaski and Perry Counties, where he served for 10 years.
Herbert Charles Rule III of Little Rock died April 3, 2023, at the age of 85. He graduated from Yale University in 1959. He attended Yale with the support of a Naval ROTC scholarship and that led to his commission as a Lieutenant in the Marine Corps with active duty service from 1959-1961 followed by service in the Arkansas Reserves until 1968. He graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1961 and earned his LLB in 1964. He began his professional career as an attorney with the Rose Law Firm where he ultimately became a partner. He served two terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives.
Samuel Brent Wakefield of Little Rock died January 8, 2023, at the age of 51. After graduating from Arkansas Tech University with a Bachelor's of Arts in History and Political Science, he pursued a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law. Brent served in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps before working at the Barber Law Firm, rounding out his professional career.
The information contained herein is provided from the members' obituaries.
