Marion Price Daniel III was born June 8, 1941 in Austin, Texas to Governor Marion Price Daniel (1910 – 1988) and Jean Houston Baldwin Daniel (1916 – 2002). Marion Price Daniel III is commonly referred to as Price Daniel, Jr. after his father, Marian Price Daniel II, who is referred to as Price Daniel, Sr.. His father, Price Daniel, Sr. was born in Liberty County, Texas. He earned a law degree from Baylor University and practiced law in Liberty County. Daniel served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1939 to 1943 and in the United States Army and with the United States Marines during World War II. After the war, he served as Texas Attorney General from 1946 to 1953, the United States Senate from 1953 to 1957 and Governor of Texas from then until 1963. Daniel served in various appointed offices under President Lyndon Johnson and as member of the Texas Supreme Court from 1971 to 1980.
It is well known that Price Daniel, Jr. was a descendant of Sam and Margaret Lea Houston through his mother’s line. In fact, his connection is completely through women in his ancestry. Without getting too deeply into the genealogy, his mother Jean was the daughter of Jean Houston John Baldwin (1891 – 1983). Her mother was Margaret “Maggie” Houston Morrow John (1867 – 1948) and Maggie’s mother was Nancy Elizabeth Houston Morrow (1846 – 1920), the oldest daughter of Sam and Margaret Lea Houston. Both Price Daniel and Jean Baldwin Daniel are buried in the Daniel Family Cemetery in Liberty County, Texas.
Price Daniel, Jr. was the oldest of three sons of Price and Jean Daniel. His younger brothers were Houston Lee Daniel (1945 – 2019) and John Baldwin Daniel (1948 – 2002). There was also at least one sister, Jean. Price Daniel, Jr. graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School. He earned an undergraduate degree in 1964 and law degree in 1966 from Baylor University. At the age of twenty-three, he began his career by practicing law in Liberty, Texas and also began his political career there. After being elected and serving as Justice of the Peace for the County, Price, Jr. was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1968. He held the same seat as his father had been elected to about thirty years earlier.
Price, Jr. had a had an interesting political career before his early death. He first served following the time of the Sharpstown scandal, after which was a lot of turnover in the Texas House. Price, Jr. was in the Legislature when a number of ethics and financial disclosure rules were passed. Other important legislation was also enacted around that time. He also was selected Speaker of the House and presided as President of the 1974 Texas Constitutional Convention. The goal of the latter was to rewrite the state constitution, but the effort fell just a few votes short of being passed. Daniel was mentioned as a possible candidate for Governor, but such a movement never developed. He ran unsuccessfully for Texas Attorney General but lost in the primary election to Mark White, a future Governor of Texas. Price, Jr. then returned to his law practice.
His first wife was Diane Ford Wommack whom he married in 1966. She was also the descendant of a Texas governor, Thomas Mitchell Campbell (1856 – 1923). Campbell was her great grandfather and had been the twenty-fourth governor of Texas, having served from 1907 to 1911. Price Daniel, Jr. and Diane Wommack Daniel had two sons before they were divorced in 1975. He then married Vickie Loretha Carroll Moore in 1976. They were married for about four years and also had two sons. The couple was in the process of divorce but had continued to live in the same home. Daniel was shot and killed by Vickie on January 19, 1981.
Vickie was bound over by the grand jury and stood for trial for the killing of Price, Jr. In the trial months later in 1981, Vickie was represented by defense attorney Richard “Racehorse” Haynes. Vickie maintained that the shooting was accidental. The couple apparently had words and Price, Jr. had gone upstairs. During his absence, she grabbed a .22 rifle. After he returned, during whatever transpired, the gun discharged, fatally wounding Price, Jr.
Emergency medical personnel arrived within minutes of the shooting and found no vital signs on the victim whose body was located in a hallway near a rear entrance of the residence. Witnesses testified that Vickie had said that the couple was arguing after the victim returned but that she had said that she did not intend to shoot him. The trial ended with an acquittal on the charge of murder.
Another legal proceeding had occurred before the murder trial. It was over custody of the children of the marriage of Vickie and Price, Jr. The sister of Price, Jr. had sued to name a managing conservator (someone other than Vickie) for the children. In this case, Vickie was also represented by attorney Haynes. It was a jury trial and after deliberating for an hour and a half, the jury declined to name a conservator. Under Texas law, once the jury declined to name a conservator, custody is retained by the natural parent, Vickie.
Following the murder trial, a freelance journalist wrote a book about the killing. It was later followed by a made for television movie. The names of these projects can be easily found and no comment is made here about the historical accuracy of either work.
Price Daniel, Jr. is buried in the Daniel Family Cemetery on the family property in Liberty County, along with his mother, his father and his two brothers.
© 2023, all rights reserved.
Texas History Notebook 