Our family came to the United States from England in three groups during the years 1852, 1853, and 1860. Joseph came with his first wife, Jane Burraston, in 1852. Thomas, wife Jane Rowley Colley, George, John, and Jane came in 1853. Ann came in 1860 with her husband, John William Townsend, and several children.
Thomas Walton used his mother's (Sarah Walton) surname, not his father's (Thomas Price), for most of his life. Why the Walton name was used has several possible answers and will have to wait for the history for a complete discussion. Isabelle M. Price Schofield wrote about this in 1934, and many copies of her statement have been circulated.
In the 1860's the appropriateness of this surname was questioned by all the family members following a discussion between Thomas and LDS church leaders. In a separate meeting with church leaders, John had similar discussions. As a result, Thomas adopted his father's surname, Price, for the balance of his life, as did both his wives. John, together with his children, legally changed their surname to Price.
It appears that two other sons, Joseph and George, used the name Price briefly, but returned to the name, Walton. Unfortunately, bitter feelings arose within the family over changing the name, or not doing so. We hope the family is now beyond challenging one another over the "rightness" of the name, and accepting one another as part of a family which elected to use two different surnames. We have elected to use both names, and in the same form as did Thomas "Walton Price."