Your Rice Family Ezine
 
Generation by Generation    ~     Century by Century
 
TWICE MONTHLY                    VOL. 1, NO. 4                        Feb. 29, 2008
 
          steam train
 
 
IN THIS ISSUE
 
Old Welsh Rices

Genealogy Puzzle
 
For Root Diggers and
Branch Climbers

Research Tips

 Rice Book Project Report:  Spotlight on Pennsylvania

This Issue's Pedigree: Descent from John Rice of Fayette Co., PA
 
Luther Rice Built
the First Ferris Wheel
 
A Reader Writes
 
We're On the Map:
Riceville, Texas

Largest Public
Genealogy Library
 
*****
 
Quick Links for  Curious Rice Ancestor Chasers
 
RICE FAMILY BOOK PROJECT

BOOK ONE INDEX

BOOK TWO INDEX

~~~

EDMUND RICE ASSN 

ITS NEWSLETTER

 RICE DNA PROJECT

~~~

RICE EMAIL LISTS

(Check under all spellings)
 
~~~

ROYCE FAMILY ASSOCIATION, INC.

~~~

REECE/REESE DNA PROJECT

~~~

Website of John Fox, Descendant of Thomas & Marcy Rice of Virginia

(Send us links to your genealogy pages; they must include a Rice line.)

__________________
 

HAS YOUR RICE FAMILY TREE BEEN FROZEN IN TIME FOR SEVERAL YEARS?

      steam train

    WANT NEW BUDS BY SPRING?

TWO THINGS TO TRY:

1) If you are not a male bearing the Rice surname, find a relative who is and have a DNA test done.

2) Send in the name of your eariest known Rice ancestor, giving at least one date and location, and we will try to match it with those families being researched by other readers.  Email: ricebooksreb@yahoo.com

*****

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Our past issues are being archived here.  (Please note: Vol. 1, No. 3 will not be archived until March 6.)

*****

OUR EZINE SIGN-UP FORM IS HERE

If your newsletter looks like it is not properly formatted, or is garbled, please let us know!

Address all newsletter correspondence to:
ricebooksreb@yahoo.com
 
Eglwys Gadeiriol Tyddewi
                                          ancient books                           
 
It's as far back as we can go in present day Wales and find some tangible reminders of the earliest Rices who lived there.
 
 
Eglwys Gadeiriol Tyddewi - St. David's Cathedral
 
St. David's Cathedral
 
THE PRESENT ST. DAVID'S CATHEDRAL dominates the valley of the "Dewi Sant" (St. David) and has the longest continuous cathedral history of any in Britain.  For more than 14 centuries there has been a Christian community in this pastoral village.  St. David's sits on the site of a monastery built about 600.  The present complex was begun about 1180 and at one time housed an entire medieval city. 
 
A sarcophagus containing the body of "The Lord Rhys", a Welsh Prince who died in 1196, is located in the cathedral.  The ancient Rice castle is in ruins nearby.  The old Rice Princes have been traced back as far as Rhys Ap Tewdwr, who died in 1093.  It cannot, however, be assumed that this is an unbroken bloodline. 
 
Many Rice families in the United States have claimed to be of Welsh origin.  DNA testing and other research has shown this to be a faulty assumption.  It is likely that the few Welsh Rices who came to America are most represented by the Welsh immigrants to the Philadelphia region in the 1700s.
 
  St. David's 2
 
ST. DAVID'S CATHEDRAL HAS OFTEN BEEN VISITED THROUGH THE CENTURIES BY BRITISH ROYALTY, INCLUDING THE PRESENT QUEEN ELIZABETH.
 
 
 
Genealogical Puzzle Contest
 
Sharpen your pencils, folks, and give it another try.  We announced prizes for the first five winning answers received, but so far five people haven't submitted the correct answer.  No matter what, we will announce the correct answer in the next issue, thereby closing the contest.  (New readers: for contest details, go to our archive page and check Vol. 1, No. 3.)
 
 
 
  FOR 
FELLOW
  ROOT  DIGGERS
AND BRANCH CLIMBERS
 
 
PLUGGING GENEALOGY
400 YEARS AGO
 
"Knowledge of kindred and the genealogies of ancient families deserves the highest praise. Herein consisteth a part of the knowledge of man's own self.  It is a great spur to virtue to look back on the worth of our line."
                        - Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
 
 
A BROOK WITHOUT A SOURCE:
 
"To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source."
                                              - Chinese Proverb
 
 
OVERHEARD AT THE NURSING HOME
 
"No, dearie, you've got your roots mixed up.  Today you dye your hair.  Tomorrow the genealogy club meets."
 
 
 
 
PENNSYLVANIA
RESEARCH TIPS
 
Genealogical & Historical Organizations - A list of organizations that have something to do with Pennsylvania and genealogy - genealogical societies, historical societies, libraries, museums, newsletters, etc.

PA. Dutch Family History Website - for Pa. Dutch Lists and Sites

Pennsylvania Genealogy Search Engines
 
Pennsylvania Genealogy has a good list of searchable topics
 
Cyndi's List - PA Page gives a detailed list of internet-based research sites
 
 
Special Notice:
 
If your ancestral lines are from southern states, or if your ancestors all spelled their name "RICE", and you aren't interested in the following story on Pennsylvania Rices, PLEASE read the two paragraphs in black near the beginning.
 
 
RICE BOOK PROJECT REPORT:
 

Spotlight on Pennsylvania Rices

Your editor is currently working on Book 4 in the Rice Book Project.  Its title is Pennsylvania and Maryland Rice Lineages.
 
Next week I will email more than 40 researchers of Rice lines in Pennsylvania, setting a May 1 deadline for material.  Ezine readers with Pennsylvania ancestors are also invited to submit lineages, using the same deadline.
 
Many genealogists have already submitted their material and I have been working on some of the material in my files--material collected over a 35-year period and contributed by more than 50 Rice family researchers.
 
So, your Rice ancestors were from Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Kentucky and you are not interested in these Pennsylvania Rices?  Guess again!  Many of these PA Rices moved to those "hot spots" where ancestral dead-ends appear for those southern Rices trying to work their ancestral way back through the 1700s.
 
Your ancestors didn't spell their name Reece, Reese, Rees, Reiss, steam trainetc., so you aren't interested in these "Rices"?   Re-think that!  When they moved into areas where other settlers were predominantly from the British Isles, they translated, or converted, their name into the dominant one: Rice!
 
A few weeks ago I received what to me was a fascinating email.  It was from a descendant of Owen Rice.  I was ecstatic.  I have known about Owen for decades, but this was the first time I had ever heard from anyone descended from him.
 
There were many separate groups of Rices who came to Pennsylvania.  Some were Welsh, some Irish and some English.  The majority were, however, from the area of Europe now named Germany, Austria and Switzerland.  These migrations took place over a period spanning more than two centuries.  There were also Rices who left Pennsylvania at an early date to either head for Ohio or to go south.  Some of the latter filtered down through the Shenandoah Valley to Tennessee and the Carolinas.  Others followed the Ohio River into Kentucky.  There are also some Rices who came to central and western Pennsylvania by way of Maryland.  A very few Rices came into northeastern Pennsylvania from the New England states.
 
What follows is an overview of some Pennsylvania Rice families, using the 1790 census as a jumping off point.  A similar overview of the Maryland Rices will be given sometime in March.
 
The Bedford County Rices came into south central Pennsylvania by way of the Cumberland Valley. Their names indicate they are of German origin and it is also noted that the name Fred(e)rick also appears in more than one Maryland Rice family.  Their location in Bedford Co. was no more than 30 miles north of the Maryland border.  They are not to be confused with a Rice family that settled in north central Bedford Co. a few years later.
 
The earliest Bucks County Rices descend from Edward Rice, who came to America in 1736 from County Tyrone, Ireland.  He settled at Buckingham and the old Rice homestead was in Solebury Twp.  He and his wife, Elizabeth, had eight children. The Presbyterian Church at Churchville in Bucks Co., lists an April 23, 1771 marriage of Edward Rise and Hannah Barcraft.
 
There was more than one Rice family in Chester County at a very early date.  The largest by far is that of Zachariah Rice (or Reiss), a German-born American patriot. He arrived in 1750 and a summary of his earliest descendants appears in Rice Book 2, The Immigrants.    He and most of his 17 children moved westward into Juniata and Perry counties about 1790 and can be found in the 1800 census there.  Descendants were in Ohio and Indiana at an early date.
 
Still in Chester Co.:  The 1730 Charles Town tax list is loaded with Welsh names, including several Reeces (one Welsh spelling of Rice), plus a Lewis Rice.  Tax lists for neighboring towns during this period included several Reeces and also the variant spelling of Rees.  An Edward Rice will--with Judith Rice as administrator--reached probate in early 1765.  Many of these families would have been Quakers.  A George Rice of Vinton is listed as a member of a 1749 militia unit. The 1726/7 will of John Rice of Chester Co. mentions brothers Edward and Henry of Bandon, Ireland.
 
Cumberland and Dauphin Counties were split off from Lancaster Co., which was home to numerous unrelated Rice families.  It will take DNA testing--or a miracle--to untangle these lines.
 
Some Fayette Co. Rices descend from George and Rachel (Hambright) Reese.  Their son George had about 14 children born in Fayette Co. in the early 1800s.  (A cautionary note: dates of parents don't match birth dates for children...nobody has a child when they are 8 years old)  There may be a relationship between these Rices and the John (b. 1720) and Hannah Rice who were living at Winchester, VA.  Their daughter, Hannah, married Thomas Gaddis and moved to Fayette Co.  (See this issue's pedigree outline for another early Rice family in this county.)
 
There are several Rice families in Lancaster Co. The one your editor knows best is that of Revolutionary War soldier Conrad Rice, who married Philipena Dickey.   His father and grandfather were both named Conrad.  He later lived in Indiana Co., where he raised a large family.
 
The Luzerne Co. Rices descend from a John Christopher Rice and Barbara/Barbery Schank/Shunk who were married in 1779 in York Co., PA, then lived at the Moravian settlement of Hope in Warren Co., NJ.  Their son, Jacob, moved to what is now Luzerne Co.  Descendants claim John was the immigrant and was forced to come as a Hessian soldier in the Revolutionary War.  Your editor  questions this as she descends from a Jacob Rice who lived in the neighboring NJ communities of Hardwick and Knowlton.  His will was proven in 1794.  Descent is through his daughter, Margaret Rice, who wed Peter Teeter of Knowlton, NJ ( but from Bucks Co., PA).  Margaret died "in her 91st year" in 1847 at Lansing, NY.  That means she was born about 1757 and was the right age to be a sister of John Christopher Rice. Was the elder Jacob Rice their father?  If so, John C. Rice was born in America many years before the Revolutionary War.  (Your editor also descends from Dea. Edmund Rice, who came from England to settle at Sudbury, MA in 1638.)
 
The Washington Co. Rices are known as the "Rice's Fort" Rices.  
They are generally believed to have been descended from a German-born Jacob Rice (ca. 1726-1801) who about 1770 led a dozen Maryland Rices over the Allegheny Mountains to settle in western Pennsylvania.  The outpost they built to protect them from the Indians was named Rice's Fort and is mentioned in early histories of the region.  Your editor has information on many of their descendants, some of whom went down the Ohio River into Kentucky, whereas others headed west, with many of the earliest settling in Indiana. More than one descendant married into the Boone family and there are descendants in Shelby Co., KY, and Anderson Co, Rhea Co. and McMinn Co., TN.  (Warning:  Erroneous data has been published on this family.) 
 
The Philadelphia Area
 
What a mixture there is here!  This is an unrelated assortment of Rices, Reeces, Reeses, Rees, Reiss and many other spelling variations for these "Rices" of Irish, Welsh, English, Swiss and German origin.  This may be the largest colonial era "melting pot" of Rice families. I highlight only a few:
~ The marriage records for Christ Church, Philadelphia, list 13 Rice marriages which took place between 1725 and 1800; it has 28 marriages for people using variant spellings of the Rice surname.
~ The marriage records of Swede's Church, Philadelphia, list 12 Rice marriages between 1759 and 1798, and several for other spellings of the surname.
~ The German Reformed Church in Philadelphia lists 13  Rees,  Reis, Ries and Rice marriages that took place between 1748 and 1802.
~ First Baptist Church, Philadelphia, has five Rees (Welsh) family marriages between 1770 and 1799.
 ~ Marriages at St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, include three Rees and two Rice couples.  Of special interest to your editor is the marriage there in 1772 of John Rice and Rachel Ball.  They may be ancestors of a large southern branch of the Rice family.  If any of you have descendants from this couple, would you please contact me.
~ The First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, married more than 20 Rice/Rees/Reis persons bwetween 1726 and 1745.
~ There are also Rice marriages in other Philadelphia churches-the Second Presbyterian Church, the Third Presbyterian Church, the Quaker Meeting, etc.
~ A John Rice was born July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia, the son of Irish immigrant James Rice.  This was the date and place of the birth of the United States as a country separate from England.
 
 
Miscellaneous
 
 ~ Henry Rees (1732-1772) was a son of Thomas Rees (b. ca. 1706) and Margaret  Bowen; there are indications that he was born in PA. Many think Thomas and Henry are the people of these names found in Quaker Records in Frederick Co., VA, as early as the 1730s.  They may have lived in Bucks Co., Chester Co., or both before leaving PA for VA.  They were Quakers from Wales and are mentioned in many records.  One says that Thomas was born in PA, son of a Thomas Sr.  If so, this would be one of the very earliest Rice families in PA.
 
~ Evan Rice is identified with both Delaware and Pennsylvania and that may be because in his era the boundary between the two states could have been unclear. He is believed to have been born about 1740, son of Thomas Rice (b. ca. 1710) and Elizabeth Ball.  It is no surprise that one of his children was named Washington Rice since George Washington's mother was Mary Ball.  It may be this Evan Rice's  son or grandson  Evan Rice who served in Major Lilington's North Carolina militia during the War of 1812. 
 
~ Your editor has an old manuscript listing descendants of a Henry Rice, who was born in Lehigh Co. in 1777 and later moved to Butler Co.
 
~ A James and Mary (Jones) Rice of Philadelphia moved to Allegheny Co., where their son, Thomas, was born.  Thomas wed Mary Hammond and they settled in Crawford Co.
 
~ A Jared Rice alleged to be a Revolutionary War soldier went from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, where he had 12 children.
 
~ A Nicholas Rice born about 1740 in PA and died in 1809 in Breckenridge Co., KY, served in the Revolutionary War.  Question: Is he related to the Nicholas Rice who married Martha Listrim in 1744 at the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia?
 
~ Numerous Rices are on ship passenger lists for the 1700s.  Many of them came as indentured servants.  Due to the Irish potatoe famine and adverse conditions in other portions of Europe, Pennsylvania was flooded with immigrants, including many Rices, in the 1800s.
 
One of the most interesting things about tracing family migrations
both into and out of Pennsylvania is how the state "emptied" during the late 1700s before "filling up" again in the mid 1800s.  As far as Rice family history, the puzzle is:  What happened to all those Rices that were in Pennsylvania before the Revolution, but gone before the War of 1812?  The answer is that they found opportunity to the south and the west.  We just haven't yet caught up with all of them!
 
 
                                                                                  steam train
steam train                 This Issue's Pedigree
 
       <---Where's a pedigree                                   
                          with room for me
                                          on its family tree--->  
 
Descendants of John Rice
 
This ancestral outline was submitted by William A. Coup.  His ancestor John Rice (1757-1815) was from Alsace-Lorraine and settled in Pennsylvania, where he died at Pennsville in Fayette Co.  He is buried in the Rice Cemetery in nearby Bullskin Twp.  For additions, corrections or questions you may reach Bill at bcoup@phoenixquest.com
 
 

1  John Rice (Johannes Reis)   1757 - 1815

....            +Ann   1760 - 1809

                  - m. 2) +Christiana Ellenberger     - 1818

.........2  Joseph Rice1788 - 1835

...............   +Elizabeth (Betsey) Uhlre 1786 - 1865

....................3  John Rice        

....................3  Henry Rice   1816 - 1849

........................+Susan Rathburn              

...............................4   Miles Rice   1837 - 1866

......................................   +Marcella Engle             

..............................  4   Emily Rice   1841 - 1857

...............................4   Lucinda Rice   1841 -

......................................Fred Wood        

...............................4  Justice C. Rice   1846 -

......................................+Hattie E. Cone    1847 -

....................3  Peter J. Rice   1818 - 1889

........................+Elizabeth Townsend      

...............................4  Milo Rice   1848 -

...............................4  Charles Wiltin Rice   856 - 1934

......................................+Frances Fellows                - 1939

....................3  Samuel B. Rice1825 - 1852

....................3  Joseph J. Rice   1828 - 1913

........................+Emily Josephine Cook   1816 - 1894

...............................4  Arthur J. Rice   1862 - 1949

......................................+Mary   1865 -

...............................4  Virgil E. Rice   1865 - 1922

......................................+Lena Merthe      1862 -

...............................4  Tracy Justus Rice1869 -

.........2  John Rice, Jr.    1790 -

.........2  Peter Rice   1796 - 1858

...............   + Christina Frick   1805 - 1841

                                     - he m. 2) +Mary Ann Rose

....................3  John Rice        

.......................+Mary Meserole               

....................3  Lucy Rice        

.......................+John Richardson             

....................3  Ira Rice           

........................+Cordene Higgins            

...............................4  Andrew Rice        

......................................+Caroline Higgins              

....................3  Mary Rice        1827 -

........................+Jonathon Messerole   1824 -

....................3  Fanny/Fannie Rice        1832 -

........................+Joseph T. Wellman      1829 -

...............................4  Frank Wellman   1857 -

......................................+Malona            1858 -

...............................4  Charles Wellman  1860 -

....................3  Elizabeth Rice   1837 -

........................+William Savage

                           - m. 2) + Samuel Strickler             

...............................4  Mary Savage       

......................................+William Bartlett              

...............................4  Will Savage         

......................................+Lydia Sick       

...............................4  Anne Savage   1857 -

......................................+Frederick B. McQueen     1852 -

...............................4  Miles Strickler     

...............................4  Meda Strickler     

......................................+Everett Sandrock            

....................3  Christina Rice  1840 - 1917

........................+Elias G. Currier    1833 - 1887

                          - m. 2) + Samuel S. Haines/Hanes

...............................4  Emma Currier      1857 - 1906

......................................+Grove Gerry Taylor        

...............................4  William M. Currier     1860 - 1936

......................................+Catherine Meidt    1861 - 1925

...............................4  Mary Ella Currier1861 - 1957

......................................+Luther Goodfellow           1859 - 1935

...............................4  Douglas Stephen Currier  1865 - 1915

......................................+Marie              

...............................4  Charles F. Currier1870 - 1945

......................................+Mary Lansker  1866 - 1954

...............................4  Millie Currier       1873 - 1943

......................................+John Meidt       1867 - 1954

...............................4  Fanny G. Currier  1880 - 1881

....................3  Martha Rice    

........................+Francis Higgins              

....................3  Emma Rice     

........................+Martin Meserole           

...............................4  Myrtle Meserole  1875 -

......................................+George Dyce   

...............................4  Pearle Meserole   1877 -

....................3  Sophronia Rice

...............................4  Stella Meserole     1879 -

...............................4  Elba Meserole      1880 -

...............................4  Wyla Martin Messerole   1883 - 1957

......................................+Fredrika Amelia Koch  1890 - 1964

.........2  Nancy Ann Rice    1798 - 1871

.............+Henry Kendeigh  1796 - 1836

....................3  John J. Kendeigh              1820 - 1876

........................+Cecilia S. Tooze             1839 - 1908

...............................4  Henry B. Kendeigh               1866 -

......................................+Grace Rockwood             

...............................4  Jonas E. Kendeigh   1867 - 1896

...............................4  Mary Emma A. Kendeigh  1873 - 1942

......................................+Edgar J. Steele   1868 - 1906

....................3  Samuel Kendeigh   1823 - 1905

........................+Jane C. Strickler    1832 - 1900

...............................4  Esther Ann Kendeigh   1854 - 1890

......................................+Bruce C. Gibson      1849 - 1906

...............................4  Charles David Kendeigh   1858 - 1921

......................................+Etta May Clark   1860 - 1942

...............................4  Milo Cornelius Kendeigh  1859 - 1944

......................................+Clara King Gilman  1879 - 1959

...............................4  Jennie Lynn Kendeig  1866 - 1950

......................................+Marston Freeman   1862 - 1935

...............................4  Lulu Nancy Kendeigh   1870 - 1926

...............................4  Lottie Ruth Kendeigh   1870 - 1949

......................................+Homer G. Wilford            1862 -

....................3  David Kendeigh   1824 - 1830

....................3  Meriah Katherine Kendeigh   1826 - 1883

........................+Manhattan Z. Gibson     1821 - 1880

...............................4  Daniel Gibson       1844 - 1872

....................3  Jonas Kendeigh                1830 -

....................3  Alonzo Henry Kendeigh   1832 - 1911

........................+Laura Clark Austin         1846 - 1908

...............................4  Benjamin A. Kendeigh  1868 -

......................................+Lizzie Linderman             1868 -

...............................4  George Joseph Kendeigh  1874 -

......................................+Catherine Deustch   1877 -

...............................4  Frank L. Kendeigh        1877 - 1914

....................3  Hyrum Allender Kendeigh       1835 -

........................+Amelia Kane 

...............................4  Lulu Kendeigh     

...............................4  Daisy Kendeigh   

...............................4  Alice C. Kendeigh   1865 - 1936

...............................4  Edgar J. Kendeigh1868 - 1906

.........2  Abraham Rice   1801 - 1876

.............+Margaret Stecher   1806 - 189123 - 1891

..........................                      +Orlando P. Kilmer  1826

....................3  Mary L. Rice   1823 - 1862

....................3  Daniel Rice      1824 - 1889

........................+Mary Smith    - 1850

....................        - m. 2) +Isabel   1831 -

...............................4  Anna Rice   1863 -

...............................4  Mattie Rice  1865 -

...............................4  Charles Rice 1868 -

...............................4  Bertha Rice 1870 -

...............................4  Mary Rice 1875 -

....................3  Samuel A. Rice 1826 - 1855

...............................4  Ella Rice             

....................3  Ann E. Rice 1827 -

.........................+James Wyatt

....................        - m. 2) +Hiram Wilber/Wilbur  1830 - 1878

...............................4  Ann Wilber/Wilbur              

......................................+Unknown Cunningham    

...............................4  Byron E. Wilbur 1852 -

......................................+Pauline A. 1847 -

...................3  John S. Rice      1829 -

.......................+Lucy A. Hale   1837 -

...............................4  Lerue Rice 1856 -

...............................4  William Rice 1858 -

...............................4  Frank A. Rice 1859 -

...............................4  Ida Rice   1861 -

......................................+Unknown Mason             

...............................4  Henry Rice 1865 -

...............................4  Berty Rice 1868 -

...............................4  Fred Rice 1871 -

...............................4  Herbert E. Rice 1872 -

......................................+Anna A.   1866 -

....................3  Melissa Rice 1830 - 1861

........................+Henry P. Strickler 1826 - 1900

...............................4  Lyman D. Strickler             

......................................+Louise Toshay

....................................4  Meda Melissa Strickler    

......................................+Conrad Sandrock             

....................3  Adaline Rice 1832 - 1912

........................+William Pearl 1820 -

...............................4  Corice C. Pearl    

...............................4  Arthur A. Pearl 1862 -

......................................+Musetta M. 1873 -

...............................4  Effie Pearl 1869 - 1873

....................3  Margaret J. Rice 1833 - 1890

........................+Isaac G. Hazel 1831 - 1910

...............................4  Emma L. Hazel  1855 - 1872

...............................4  Alma L. Hazel   1858 - 1863

...............................4  Alpha L. Hazel    1864 - 1940

...............................4  Ruby R. Hazel     1866 - 1947

......................................+Everett E. Walker 1862 - 1909

...............................4  Harry R. Hazel 1876 -

......................................+Edith L.           1876 -

....................3  Nancy O. Rice 1835 - 1869

........................+Royal G. Barney     - 1872

....................3  Susan B. Rice 1837 -

........................+ John K. Hazel 1835 - 1901

...............................4  Minnie Hazel 1859 - 1863

...............................4  Laundon C. Hazel  1862 -

...............................4  Freddie Hazel  1866 - 1873

...............................4  Tadie Hazel  1868 - 1869

...............................4  Percy W. Hazel1874 -

....................3  Abraham G. Rice   1840 - 1862

....................3  Wesley C. Rice1842 -

........................+Rebecca M. Felch1834 -

...............................4  Alma Rice1867 -

....................3  Charles C. Rice1843 - 1886

........................+Thankful Stedman

                3  George W. Rice1846 - 1931

......................+Sophia E. Martin  1867 - 1952

...............                 4  Margaret Florence Rice   1897 -

        2  Mary Rice1803 - 1862

            +John Kendeigh1800 - 1876

....................3  Henry Kendeigh   1820 - 1874

....................3  Betsey E. Kendeigh1821 - 185

........................+Stephen Knickerbocker1808 - 1854

....................3  Catherine E. Kendeigh1826 - 1891

........................+Lott Parsons1821 - 1890

...............................4  Mary Ann Parsons       - 1859

...............................4  William E. Parsons              1858 -

...............................4  Viola Parsons1860 - 1942

...............................4  John Parsons1863 -

...............................4  Clayton Parsons1870 -

.........2  Samuel Rice1804 - 1885

.............+Frances Strickler1802 - 1870

....................3  Nancy Rice1823 - 1868

........................+Francis Andrews   1820 - 1879

...............................4  Christina Andrews1844 - 1844

...............................4  Sarah Andrews1846 - 1878

......................................+Francis Marion Yohe  1844 - 1904

...............................4  Samuel Rice Andrews1848 - 1893

......................................+Jennie Holt  1853 - 1899 

...............................4  William Francis Andrews   1850 - 1921

...............................4  Frances Ann Andrews  1852 - 1934

......................................+James Samuel McCollum   1845 - 1889

...............................4  John Andrews  1855 - 1946

......................................+Emma Cora Best  1858 - 1938k

...............................4  George Washington Andrews  1857 - 1941

......................................+[1] Louise Burch  1860 - 1908

...............................    - m. 2) +Olwin Kimback  1863 - 1942

...............................4  Joseph Henry Andrews   1860 - 1920

......................................+Melissa Belle Best            1863 - 1943

...............................4  Nancy Andrews    1865 - 1937

......................................+William Adam Shannon   1866 - 1947

...............................4  George Washington Andrews   1867 - 1941

......................................+[1] Louise Burch              1860 - 1908

....................3  Christina Rice   1825 - 1901

........................+Samuel Keagy1825 - 1901

...............................4  Nancy Keagy   1845 - 1877

......................................+William L. Camp     843 -

...............................4  Fannie Keagy  1848 -

...............................4  Elizabeth (Lizzie) Keagy   1849 - 1940

......................................+Eli Holmes  1851 - 1910

...............................4  Susan Keagy  1852 -

......................................+ B. Rose    1851 -

...............................4  George W. Keagy1854 -

......................................+Lydia Quimby 

...............................4  Albert Rice Keagy      1856 - 1940

......................................+Mary M. Wilder     1863 -

...............................4  Samuel B. Keagy  1858 -

......................................+Laura Ann Bridewell        

...............................4  Lydia A. Keagy    1861 - 1947

......................................+George J. Sturm               

...............................4  Cyrus Strickler Keagy  1863 -

......................................+Martha A. Trousdale  - 1892

                                         - m. 2) Jennie Crews

...............................4  Alfa May Keagy  1866 -

......................................+Robert R. Gilkerson         

....................3  Henry Rice  1827 - 1909

........................+Elizabeth Stoner    1826 - 1902

...............................4  Fannie Ann Rice  1849 - 1854

...............................4  Jacob Rice   1851 - 1934

...............................4  Samuel Rice  1852 - 1918

...............................4  Mary Elizabeth Rice   1855 - 1935

......................................+James Vandooser Babcook   1849 - 1925

...............................4  Leroy Rice   1857 - 1870

...............................4  Clara Rice   1859 - 1928

......................................+John Smith      

...............................4  Elmina Rice   1862 - 1948

...............................4  Laura Rice   1863 -

...............................4  Jenora Rice   1865 - 1865

...............................4  Clark Rice   1866 - 1916

......................................+Minnie Bradford              

...............................4  Etta Rice   1869 - 1953

....................3  John Rice   1828 - 1903

.......................+Mary Davidson     1836 - 1923

...............................4  Theresa Ann Rice    1856 - 1942

......................................+Samuel James Nevins   1848 - 1917

...............................4  Hannah Frances Rice   1858 - 1918

......................................+John A. Dorch   1852 - 1929

...............................4  Lydia May Rice  1860 - 1918

......................................+William Bruffy   1856 -

...............................4  Cyrus Davidson Rice   1863 - 1948

......................................+Leona Dennis   1867 -

......................................+Maggie C. Hurdle    1865 - 1916

...............................4  Britomarte Harriet Rice  1865 - 1902

......................................+Edgar Ross Strickler   1871 -

...............................4  Alfred Samuel Rice  1868 - 1868

...............................4  Alvin Jacob Rice  1868 - 1868

...............................4  Lawrence Moss Rice   1869 - 1950

...............................4  George Henry Rice      1872 - 1960

......................................+Myrta Sammons   1878 -

...............................4  Arthur Willbur Rice   1875 - 1959

......................................+Rose W. Miller   1879 -

..............................          - m. 2)+Cecile Jacobs   1879 -

...............................    - m. 3) +Helen Sammons  1879 -

....................3  Fannie Rice   1831 - 1894

........................+Henry Davidson             1823 -

...............................4  Albert Davidson  

...............................4  Lydia A. Davidson               1857 -

...............................4  Rebecca J. Davidson   1858 - 1916

......................................+Warren Dohner               

...............................4  Frances Davidson1860 - 1935

...............................4  Emma C. Davidson              1863 -

......................................+Unknown Diehl               

...............................4  Henrietta E. Davidson   1865 -

......................................+Unknown Breckbill         

...............................4  Henry R. Davidson               1865 -

...............................4  George A. Davidson   1869 -

...............................4  Ida A. Davidson  1871 -

......................................+Unknown Hoffman         

....................3  Samuel D. Rice   1832 - 1915

........................+Hester Ann Atkinson   1840 - 1859

                          - m. 2) +Catherine M. Spear           1844 - 1912

...............................4  (Child) Rice   1857 - 1857

...............................4  Hester Ann Rice   1859 - 1873

...............................4  Alice Rice   1864 - 1936

......................................+Grant Schultz  

...............................4  Nancy Rice    1865 - 1935

......................................+Lewis M. Myers              

...............................4  Charles Rice   1867 - 1935

......................................+Lulu Hull   1870 - 1920

...............................4  Barbara Rice   1869 -

......................................+Unknown Doss

...............................         - m. 2) +Frank Bradfield    

...............................4  Ada/Adah Rice   1876 - 1882

....................3  George Rice  1834 - 1896

....................... +Jestine Leisher   1841 - 1924

...............................4  William A. Rice    1861 - 1946

...............................4  Frank H. Rice   1862 - 1948

......................................+Nettie Jane Smith             1867 - 1948

...............................4  Samuel Rice   1864 - 1942

...............................4  Laura Bell Rice  1866 - 1939

......................................+Albert Sparrow

...............................4  Cyrus L. Rice   1867 - 1953

......................................+Mary Bollinger   1876 -

...............................4  Ottis Rice   1872 - 1928

......................................+Minnie Keeling               

...............................4  Mary E. Rice   1875 - 1958

...............................4  Jenora (Nora) Rice      1878 - 1961

......................................+Robert E. H. Ailes   1872 - 1949

...............................4  Ella Rice   1882 - 1972

......................................+Marion Blythe   1881 - 1941

....................3  Lydia Rice  1836 - 1915

....................... +John Hershey  1834 - 1923

                                4  Emma Alice Hershey   1858 - 1934

......................................+Harry Swan   1857 - 1924

...............................4  Sarah Frances Hershey  1860 - 1942

......................................+Ed Spraukle   1856 - 1943

...............................4  LeRoy Hershey   1862 -

...............................4  George W. Hershey    1863 - 1938

...............................4  Otis Rice Hershey 1868 - 1935

....................3  Rebecca Rice  1837 - 1906

....................... +William Marshall Coup 1839 - 1896

...............................4  Mary Esther Coup 1861 - 1947

...............................4  Cyrus Strickler Coup  1864 - 1948

......................................+Fannie Maude Blair 1865 - 1934

...............................4  Ann Maria Coup  1866 - 1963

...............................4  William Marshall Coup, Jr.   1868 - 1931

......................................+Winnie Patton Baldwin    1872 - 1904

                                        - m. 2) +Mary Kenyon Clark   1882 - 1970

...............................4  Lydia Dell Coup  1871 - 1946

......................................+Harry C. Challingsworth   1869 - 1909

...............................    - m. 2) + Eugene Brinistool  - 1946

...............................4  Samuel Rice Coup1873 - 1947

......................................+Harriet May Gable   1874 - 1930

                                        (grandparents of reader William A. Coup)

...............................4  John Marshall Coup   1876 - 1929

......................................+Nettie Ramsey Grant  1883 - 1916

...............................4  Daisy Frances Coup   1878 - 1958

......................................+Walter M. Pyle   1876 - 1909

....................3  Mary Rice   1839 - 1890

........................ +Jacob E. Stauffer   1834 -

...............................4  Jacob Stauffer   1861 -

...............................4  William Stauffer   1863 -

...............................4  Ellen Stauffer  1864 -

...............................4  George Stauffer   1870 -

...............................4  Cyrus Rice Staffer    1875 - 1946

......................................+Blanche M. Schumacher  1875 - 1957

...............................4  Ida L. Stauffer   1876 - 1892

...............................4  Arthur S. Stauffer  1879 -

......................................+Edith E.    1879 -

...............................4  Laura F. Stauffer  1881 -

....................3  Cyrus Strickler Rice  1847 - 1899

........................+Ida Manifold   1856 - 1929

...............................4  Edison Rice  1880 -

...............................4  Benjamin Rice  1880 - 18

...............................4  Victor Rice   1883 - 1889

...............................4  Vilas E. Rice   1889 - 1968

......................................+Jane1889 -

...............................4  Virgil S. Rice   1890 - 1955

...............................4  Jewel Rice  1894 - 1977

...............................4  Constance Rice  1895 -

.........2  Catherine Rice   1807 - 1843

.............+John Onstine   1795 - 1854

....................3  Amy Onstine   1827 -

........................+Unknown Emerick        

...............................4  George Emerick  

...............................4  Jerry Emerick     

....................3  Daniel Onstine  1828 - 1869

........................+Jane C. Knight  1828 - 1895

...............................4  Charlotte A. Onstine  1848 -

...............................4  Alvira J. Onstine    1851 - 1871

.....................................+Edward Bartow  1829 - 1911

...............................4  Lydia R. Onstine  1853 -

......................................+George Cupps  

...............................   - m. 2)  Courtney A. Herrick

...............................4  Ira Edgar Onstine  1857 - 1933

......................................+Susannah Churchill 1856 - 1934

...............................4  Abraham Jack Onstine   1862 - 1942

......................................+Almira Jane (Millie) Posey 1864-1924

....................3  John B. Onstine   1830 - 1915

........................+Emma Brightman    - 1881

...............................4  Bertha Onstine    

......................................+Harry McWilliams          

...............................4  Mildred A. Onstine     - 1966

......................................+Frank John Lewis  1864 - 1947

...............................4  Frank Alonzo Onstine   1873 -

......................................+Alice Heligas   

....................3  Phebe Onstine   1833 - 1918

........................+Selden M. Fross    1822 - 1908

...............................4  Olin Steffen Fross     1857 - 1927

......................................+Mary Jane Beck  1860 - 1949

...............................4  Amy Jane Fross  1858 - 1941

......................................+William R. McCulley/McCullough  1847 - 1930

...............................4  Mary Elizabeth Fross   1861 - 1929

......................................+George William Lyons  1856 - 1932

...............................4  Martha Alice Fross   1862 - 1896

......................................+William Fairfield Ghormley   1850 - 1933

...............................4  John A. Fross  1865 - 1940

......................................+[10] Carrie A. Wright   1863 - 1889

                                         - m. 2) +Florence E. Brady Carrier  1861 - 1928

.........2  Jacob Rice  1812 - 1892

.............+Nancy Cyprits  1811 -

....................3  Nancy Rice     

....................... +Daniel Truxel

...............................4  Lizzie Truxel      

......................................+Unknown Detweiler        

...............................4  Katie Truxel       

......................................+Jacob Detweiler               

...............................4  Nathan Truxel    

...............................4  Rice Truxel         

...............................4  Charles Truxel    

...............................4  Abraham Truxel  

...............................4  Cora Truxel        

...............................4  John Truxel        

....................3  Abraham Rice 

........................+Lizzie Sherrick              

...............................4  George Rice         

...............................4  Nannie Rice        

...............................4  Jacob Rice           

...............................4  Edgar Rice           

...............................4  Maggie Rice        

...............................4  Bert Rice             

...............................4  Emma Rice         

...............................4  Nettie Rice          

....................3  Andrew Rice    

........................+Mary             

...............................4  Anna Rice           

...............................4  (Boy) Rice          

....................3  Mary Rice   1830 - 1855

....................3  Sarah Rice   1844 -

........................+Henry (Harry) Myers  1844 -

...............................4  Ed Myers     1871 -

...............................4  Rice Myers  1874 -

...............................4  Nannie Myers  1877 -

....................3  Joseph Rice   1846 -

........................+Mary Rist    1848 -

...............................4  Cora Truxel Rice 

......................................+Unknown Shellanbarger   

...............................4  Harry Rice          

...............................4  Pearl Rice           

...............................4  Alva Rice            

....................3  Nathan Rice  1849 -

.........2  David Rice  1813 -

.............+Elizabeth   1826 -

....................3  Albert Rice      

....................... +Unknown Graham         

....................3  Sarah Rice       

........................+Unknown Strickler        

....................3  Mary Rice       

........................+Unknown Flack             

....................3  John Rice 1843 -

........................+Louise Graham              

....................3  Appolis Rice 1854 -

........................+Mariah   1853 -

...............................4  David H. Rice 1879 -

....................3  Amzi M. Rice  1870 -

 

__________________________________________________________________________

This column's logo art is courtesy of Denise Van Patten,  ©2000; see http://collectdolls.about.com

                      

 
 
Luther Rice Built World's First Ferris Wheel
 
The world's first Ferris Wheel was built for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and what a wonder this Rice-built amusement was.    Indeed, it could carrry more than 1,500 passengers at a time!
 
This extravagant ancestor of the popular Ferris Wheel we see at carnivals, country fairs and amusement parks was built by Luther V. Rice, stood about 265 feet tall and was illuminated by 3,000 electric lights.  The 1,200 ton wheel carried 36 cars, each seating more than 40 passengers.
 
Why was it named a Ferris Wheel if Luther Rice built it?  Because it was invented by George Washington Gale Ferris, a Pittsburgh bridge builder.  Ferris, one of the best engineers of his day, was asked by the Columbian Exposition promoters to come up with something that would rival the Eiffel Tower in Paris. That expedition celebrated--a year late--the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering America.
 
Luther Rice was born Nov. 21, 1861 on the Gill homestead near Ladoga in Scott Twp., Montgomery Co., Indiana.  A Montgomery County history gives this account of how Luther Rice became involved with the Ferris Wheel:
 
"The town of Ladoga lays claim to the engineering feat of constructing the famous World's Fair 'Ferris Wheel' that amused and astonished millions of people at the Chicago and St. Louis World's Fairs. The originator of this scheme could not find an engineer who would undertake to build it, until he finally found Luther Rice of Ladoga, this county, who examined the plans, said he would, and he did. The entire world knows of its history.  After the fair in Chicago, it stood in Ferris Wheel Park for a time, but when the St. Louis fair came on it was taken down and set up there. After that ended it was sold to the Chicago Wrecking Company, who placed many sticks of dynamite beneath it and destroyed its cement moorings and it fell."
 
To give an idea of this huge construction job undertaken by Luther Rice, consider the following:  This ferris wheel consisted of two wheels the same size connected by struts and rods.  An axle 31" in diameter and 45' long was at the center; the spokes were iron rods  nearly 3" in diameter, placed in pairs 13' apart.  This axle was the largest single piece of forged steel ever made up until that time. This immense burden was supported by substantial mechanical devices and a solid concrete foundation. It was powered by two engines of 1,000-horse power each. The construction cost was roughly $300,000.
 
Each person who took a ride was given a souvenir booklet along with the ticket. In the 1950's, an original booklet was auctioned off for $20. They are worth much more than that now.  Various postcards, booklets and paper weights depicting the Ferris Wheel were made. The ride cost fifty cents and made $726,805.50 during the World's Fair.
 
Trivial as it may seem to us today, this first Ferris Wheel was one of the greatest sensations of its era--an engineering triumph, but with a place in history less secure than that of the great Eiffel Tower built for the Paris World's Fair held in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.
 
Mr. Ferris died in 1896. By that time nearly a million and a half people had taken a ride on his super-fantastic creation.  It is probable that Rice directed its second erection for the 1904 exposition in St. Louis.
 
During 1890-1891, Rice helped with the building of a cantilever bridge over the Ohio River from Newport, KY, to Cincinnati.
 
Luther Rice was the son of Jasper and Sarah Margaret (Gill) Rice. In an effort to learn more about his family Mrs. Neal Rice of Ossian, IN, devoted dozens of hours in the early 1970s to researching a variety of records.  Her search uncovered a Hendricks Co., IN, marriage between a Luther Rice and Leah Phillips on Aug. 7, 1918; the late date suggests a second marriage if indeed this is our Luther Rice, engineer.  Luther died Nov. 19, 1927. 
 
Mrs. Rice said she found census records showing Luther had a sister, Lovila, who wed Jesse Bat(e)man in 1882 in Putnam Co., IN, and that their father, Jasper Rice, born in Kentucky ca. 1832, had a daughter, Catharine, born about two years before he wed Sarah Gill.  The 1850 census shows a Jasper of the right age in Jessamine Co., KY, son of Daniel and Leni Rice, both born in Kentucky.  The hitch: This Jasper, the census says, was born in Indiana.  Your editor thinks there may be some errors in this information.  Jasper (b. ca. 1832) is probably a grandson of the Jasper Rice of Jessamine Co., KY, who was born ca. 1786 in Maryland.  (Editor's Note: This family will be covered in Rice Book 4 and I will try to resolve this problem in that context.) 
______________
 
 
There is a wonderful description of the first passengers and their ride on the original Ferris Wheel here.  There is now in 2008 a great competition to build the world's tallest Ferris Wheel.  Beijing and Berlin are in the lead. ferris wheel again

THE FIRST FERRIS WHEEL DWARFED EVERYTHING IN SIGHT.  ITS INVENTOR WAS CALLED "WILD-EYED WITH WHEELS IN HIS HEAD."  WHEN NO ONE WOULD BUILD IT, LUTHER RICE MET  THE CHALLENGE.
 
steam train
 
A Reader Writes
 
Hi Rosemary - without a male Rice descendant still available for testing....is there any other type of DNA testing that can be done?
 
Thanks,
Kathi Norton - GGdaughter of Nelson Oliver Rice (1868-1916) 
__________________
 
 
Kathi--
 
Yes, a woman can be DNA tested, but such a test will not yield the same type of definitive genealogical data that the male Y-chromosome test does.  The female mitochondrial DNA test goes back in a more general way through female lines and, of course, the surname changes in every generation.  Such a test can, however, determine for your matrilineal line which of seven probable tribes or groups your earliest female ancestor belonged to in pre-historic times.  It cannot, however, determine who specific families were in between.
 
But why give up on your Rice line?  The 1910 census for the Nelson Oliver Rice household at Charlemont in Bedford Co., VA, indicates he had sons.  The 1930 census shows nine Rice males living in Charlemont, some of them children at the time.  You should be able to find a Rice in that area who descends from Nelson, from one of his several brothers or from one of his children. 
 
A starting point might be to put a notice in a local newspaper and to send a letter to the local Historical Society in nearby Bedford, VA.
 
It's rather coincidental, but I live with someone whose grandfather ran the store in Charlemont when your ancestors lived there.  We made a trip to Bedford County to work on her Woodson family ancestry.  We had a hard time finding Charlemont, which no longer exists.  We had to find an old map to determine where this once-thriving crossroads village was.  It is part way across the back road from Sedalia to Lynchburg.
 
If you need names of Nelson's siblings or children, let me know.
 
Best wishes!
 
Rosemary
 
 
WE'RE ALL OVER THE MAPsignpost: 
 
Riceville, Texas, Where Rice Was King Crop
and Four Rice Boys Signed Up  for World War II Draft 
 
We're trying to find out what came first, Rice as the prime crop, or a member of the Rice family.
 
According to the Oct. 31, 1940 edition of The Matagorda County Tribune, the following had registered for the draft: Conrad Barton Rice, Ira Elton Rice, Jason Harvey Rice, Ora Ernest Rice, Raymond Elsworth Rice, William Alvin Rice Jr., Benjamin Reese and Cyrus Wendell Reese.  (This issue of the Tribune is in the archives of the Matagorda County Museum.)
 
The possibility of war prompted a series of draft registrations.  Those in the above cited article are only from the first registration and would have been men born on or after Oct. 17, 1904 and on or before Oct. 16, 1914.  Not all who were required to register were called to serve.
 
Now, here's a quote from the Aug. 4, 1911 edition of The Matagorda County Tribune:  "Mr. 'Rice' was cut just below the knees by Messrs. Mangum and Broughton last Wednesday.  Mr. J. J. LeTulle will be the next to 'swat Capt. Rice'." 
 
These references are to harvesting the rice crop, which was a significant contributor to the area's economy.
 
Your editor checked census records and found no early Rice families in the area when Riceville was formed.
 
So, how did Riceville, Texas get its name?
_________
 
NEXT ISSUE; A Rice settler named his town a strange way!
 
 
The Largest Public
Genealogical Library
 
There are immense genealogical collections in the Boston Public Library, The New York Public Library and the Detroit Public Library, just to mention a few librairies with large genealogy collections.
 
None of them can, however, compare to the genealogical resources in the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN.  In addition, they enjoy their reputation and are extremely helpful.
 
They also have an excellent collection of records pertaining to Quaker families and that includes the early Rice Quakers in Pennsylvania.
 
It's mind boggling.  They have more than 225,000 volumes of genealogical data on American and European families.  These range from typed and bound family histories to meticulously researched multi-volume sets. There are also thousands of items on microfilm and microfiche. Many books are on open shelves and others will be delivered to your work space.  There are four large research rooms.
 
Don't plan to go for a day or two.  You will be too frustrated!  There are, however, several ways to get a head start.  If you contact them, they can tell you how to do a two-part online video tour or access their catalog by computer. When you arrive, you can pick up a facility map and watch a 10-minute video introduction.
 
Start at home with the library's genealogy web page.
 
This library is America's largest public genealogy library.  Even larger is the privately-owned Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
 
 
steam trainThe RICE FAMILY EZINE is sponsored by the Rice Family Book Project.  Pictured are the first three books.  Book 1 is titled Celebrating Our Diversity, Book 2 is called The Immigrants and Book 3 contains Tennessee and Connecticut Rice Lineages. Pictures in the picture are of Riceville, Iowa, Col. David Blair Rice (1817-1887), a Civil War surgeon from Kentucky, and Lydia A. Rice, b. 1840, Indiana, a great-granddaughter of Jacob Rice who, about 1770, established a fort in western Pennsylvania.
 
The Book Project website tells about the book project and includes book ordering information.  Books may be ordered online or by mail.
 
Draw the Family Circle Wide, Then Draw It Wider Still
 
Share both the fruits of your genealogical labors
and the puzzling problems you encounter