Rice Family Newsletter

Jerome Dennis Rice was the only son of Dennis and Larrissa (Maxam) Rice. He was born in Rowe, Massachusetts, Sept. 3, 1844. His ancestors on both sides were of sturdy New England stock, having been among the first settlers of Massachusetts.

Dennis Rice 2

His paternal line reached back to Deacon Edmund Rice of Sudbury, Mass. and, through Mary Battle, wife of Jerome's great-grandfather, Ephraim Rice, back to Capt. George Barbour, who came to this country in 1635 and was one of the first settlers of Dedham and Medfield, Mass. On his mother's side, he descended from Godfrey Nims, early settler of Charlemont, Mass., and Revolutionary War soldier Edmund Maxam. It has been written that Mr. Rice treasured with reasonable pride a part of the pocket Bible carried by his Maxam great-grandfather at the Battle of Bunker Hill and through the remainder of the war. (Dennis Rice is shown above, left.)

In 1858, J.D, as he was called, then 14 years of age, went with his father to Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, Iowa. They remained there one year. In the spring of 1859 he, with his father and many others, went to California, crossing the plains with a team of oxen by the Overland Route. They arrived at Placerville in September after six months of weary travel. J.D. worked in the California mines for two years; from there, he went to San Francisco, where he remained nearly four years. In the meantime, his father had returned to their home in Shelburne Falls, Mass.

In the spring of 1866, J.D. also returned home to Massachusetts, where he remained through the summer. Then in October of the same year, accompanied by his cousin, Nathaniel Rice, a teacher by profession, he again started west for California.

Jerome and Nathaniel stopped off in Chillicothe, Missouri to get a shave. J.D. also being in need of a shaving brush, stepped into a local store to buy one. A Captain Leady of Trenton, Missouri was in the store and became interested in J.D.'s conversation. Leady entered the conversation by giving a glowing account of the advantages of locating in Missouri and proposed they visit Trenton the next day.

J.D. and Nathaniel Rice ended up staying in Missouri, settling at what was known as Rocky Hollow, part of Livingston County and located about halfway between Chillicothe and Trenton. Nathaniel taught school a while in Livingston Co., then relocated at Popular Bluff in Butler Co., Mo., where he was a principal and died within a few years.

J.D. remained in Rocky Hollow and began carpentering for his living. In the fall of 1867, he took the contract to build the schoolhouse there. It called for several buildings each 24 x 24 feet and he agreed to build them for $25. each. When he built Shelburne School, he added an extra 4 feet at no extra cost to the people.

At this time, we need to look back to an event at Shelburne Falls, Mass. On Sept. 3, 1867 the U.S. patent office issued patent no. 68459 to Dennis Rice for a fruit drying machine. Also at that time J.D. Rice of Livingston Co., Mo. paid Dennis $1,000 for part interest in the patent, to be used only in Missouri and Kansas. No information has been found concerning the sale of these machines.

It seems appropriate to speculate that J.D. must have done quite well while he was in California. Besides the money he paid on the patent, he also acquired some stock in a mining company; but by 1870, these stocks seem to have had no value.

In the fall of 1867, J.D. suggested to Robert Wynne that they start a class on Sunday to study the Bible and get the people interested in religion and observance of the Sabbath. A few volunteers met in the school house and started an interesting Bible Class. From this effort, the first Sunday School of the area was organized in March of 1868 with Mrs. Parker as the superintendent, J.D. the assistant, and Wynne the librarian.

About this time Baptist preacher Rev. H.H. Turner, who passed through the settlement in the course of his missionary work, was asked by Mr. Rice and Mr. Wynne to preach; he accepted the invitation and preached once a month during the summer. On April 26, 1868, Jerome Dennis Rice presented himself for baptism, even though his conversion dated back to the old red school house in Zoar, Mass. when he was 13. According to its original minutes, the Baptist church was organized on April 24, 1869 with 16 members; since J.D. had been the first to present himself for baptism, he was accorded the privilege of naming the church. He called it Shelburne Baptist Church in memory of his parents and their Massachusetts home.

Jerome D. Rice

On Sept. 24, 1868, J.D. Rice married Amanda Sims. She was the daughter of Daniel C. Sims, born March 18, 1819 in Casey Co., Kentucky. At age 18, Sims had come with a brother to Randolph Co., Mo., where he married Elizabeth Powell. A blacksmith and miller, Daniel Sims was elected captain of Co.4, 1st Bat., 24th Regt., 2nd Brig., 1st Div., Missouri Militia. A son died in infancy and after the death of his wife in 1854, Daniel moved with his daughters Amanda L. and Annie C. and his sister, Mrs. Bennett, to the Grand River Country where he bought 80 acres in the 1860's. (Jerome Dennis Rice is shown above, left.)

After their marriage, J.D. and Amanda Rice made their first home in Rocky Hollow and became charter members of the Shelburne Church, which called Rev. Turner as its regular pastor.

Their eldest child was Lelah, who married Jethro Davis. The first son, Earl Leon, was born July 4, 1871. About the same time a neighbor woman died after giving birth to a son, Frank Burgess. Amanda nursed the motherless child along with her own new born son, thus giving him a chance for life. There was a close lifelong relationship between these two children. The other sons of J.D. and Amanda were Francis D. (Frank), who later practiced medicine in Lucerne and Ravanna, Mo., and Merritt J., a watchmaker and pharmacist in Lucerne and St. Joseph, Mo.

In 1877, J.D. Rice quit his carpenter and milling business and applied himself to his farm. According to the history of Grundy Co., Mo., his farm contained 525 acres, with 200 head of sheep and other stock, and "In all respects was one of the best farms in Grundy Co." This leaves many years and events unaccounted for. It seems J.D. and Amanda must have moved to her dad's place as the 80 acres D.C. Sims had purchased is within the 525 acres mentioned. As a carpenter needing lumber, and having bought river bottom land which needed clearing, J. D. must have gone into the milling business with his father-in-law.

According to my father's memory, sometime around 1880 Dennis Rice came from Massachusetts to visit his son and family. It seems he set up housekeeping and stayed two or three years. He was accompanied by his daughter, Rhoda, who was hired to teach at Shelburne School. Clifford Goodrich recalls an episode which must have happened about 1887 as his dad, Martie Goodrich, was born in 1883. It seems that when Martie was four he visited school wearing a dress, which was not unusual for a little boy in those days. Miss Rice made him a pallet on the floor so he could take a nap. This dress is still in the possession of one of Martie's sons. After returning to Massachusetts, Rhoda married George Marden. She again visited Missouri about 1918.

Besides the normal operation of his farm, J.D. became interested in breeding a new line of horses. He was successful in developing a dual purpose horse suitable for farm work, riding or as a harness horse. He named the new line "Seafoam" and received $600. for one stallion, a good price for those days. Several horse shows were held on the farm and other owners of Seafoam colts brought them back for review.

Horse breeding was not the only venture along these lines. From a mutation in her flock of chickens, Amanda developed some chickens which had a fluffy covering instead of feathers. These were registered as "Missouri White Fluff." The chicken breeding became quite profitable and they were shown throughout the nation in poultry shows. The white fluffs were shipped to almost every state as each show brought in more orders. There is a booklet concerning this business which names Amanda Rice as originator and breeder, but the business grew to such proportions that a carpenter, Alva Campbell, was employed to build coops and to also care for bees on the farm.

Eventually, J.D, had to take over the business as it grew entirely too large for Amanda to manage. An amusing event is related by my father, Lyman. When a boy, he became very unpopular when he pulled the tail feathers from a show fowl. Lyman also remembers the chickens being brought into the kitchen to be bathed and towelled before a show. As the chickens were white, they were fed no yellow corn as it was feared the pure whiteness might become tinged with yellow.

I mentioned bees. Nothing I can add to this subject, except that as a boy I remember seeing a lot of equipment and grandfather taking care of bees. There also was almost always honey to eat when we wanted it. This is one of the things J.D. started that was continued many years after his death.

I will now back up several years. On Dec. 28, 1892, Jerome and Amanda's oldest son, Earl, married Lillie May Robinson. She was descended from William P. Robinson Sr. of Virginia who, sometime after his wife's death, freed his slaves, sold his Virginia farm and headed for Missouri. The route he travelled was not considered safe for the freed slaves who wished to come along, so he had his son, William P. Jr., bring them by another route. In his boot William carried $1,000 for use in purchasing Missouri land. Although river bottom land was then selling for 50� an acre, he chose to buy hill land at $1. per acre. This tract of land is located near the Grundy-Livingston County line. On July 15, 1858, William Jr. wed Mary Walls, who had been born in 1841. The elder Mr. Robinson died at age 80 in 1867. The children of William Jr. included Lillie May, born Aug. 20, 1871, who became the wife of Earl Rice.

Earl left the home place and with his bride set up housekeeping in Livingston County. They lived there about five years before returning to build a one-story frame house near his father. This house still stands, but since has been changed to a two-story home. My parents lived there during several years of my childhood.

The 1890's included a series of family births and deaths. In 1894, Earl and Lillie's first child, Pearl, was born. Then in 1895 Dennis and Larrissa, the mother and father of Jerome, died; the same year Earl and Lillie had another child, Aubert Marden. In 1898 another death, this time Amanda's father; this same year Earl and Lillie had their daughter Ruby. Another child was born to Earl and Lillie June 4, 1903 and died June 11 of that year; it was named Little Sweetheart.

If other facts and dates are correct, then J.D. and Amanda must have lived 25 years in the house built 60 years earlier by her father. About 1899 or 1900, they decided to build a new one. They first moved the old house about 50 feet east because they wanted the same location. This old house was later moved north and turned a quarter turn. It was used as housing for hired hands, poultry supplies and other uses. Eventually, it was moved about a half mile south, remodeled and lived in by Jethro and Lelah (Rice) Davis and their family.

Although J.D. had been a skilled carpenter, he did not undertake the task of building the new house himself, but instead employed a carpenter named Thompson. The house planned by Amanda is a two-story, 10-room frame dwelling completed sometime in 1903. At present, it is the home of my father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Rice.

By the early 1900's J.D., being close to 60, acted mostly as manager of the farm, supervising the overall operation which still included the clearing of new land to be put into cultivation. His main interests seemed to be his Seafoam horses and the Fluff chickens. Some of Amanda's spare time was spent taking many pictures of the people and various activities around the farm. Several boxes of these pictures and one of her cameras still exist.

On Aug. 13, 1908 the last son of Earl and Lillie was born. His name was Lyman D. and later I became his son. Some of Earl and Lillie's furniture included a buffet, oak table, love seat or settee, and two chairs, then called a parlor suite, plus a dress form. These were acquired through the Larkin Company. Dad thinks this furniture was given as premiums when other items such as spices, extracts, or perhaps cosmetics and liniments, were purchased. This furniture was not cheap, as we think of give-away things today. The oak table has been in almost continual use since it was new.

In July, 1909 a flood struck the Grand River bottoms. It has been used to date events ever since. My father tells these stories. A fellow plowing by the river turned at the end of a row and noticed the river running bank full; at the other end of the row, he turned and saw water covering the field behind him and fled to higher ground. The other story concerns my grandfather, Earl Leon, known as L.E. While eating the noon meal, the men saw water rising in a field east of the house. L.E, started for the creek where his boat was tied, but the water was too swift. Returning home, he got a heavy piece of iron and went back; the added weight enabled him to walk in the current and he got the boat.

On December 12, 1912 Jerome registered the farm under the name of Shelburne Valley. I suppose this can still be found in the records at the county court house; the original document is still available. The remaining six years of J. D.'s life are blank as far as my information is concerned, except the following: On Dec. 12, 1918, great-grandfather took his family, one by one, gave them his blessing, bade them goodbye, then turned his face and went to sleep. At his death, there were four children, four granddaughters, four grandsons and three great-grandsons surviving him. Funeral services were held at the Shelburne Church he had helped found half a century before and he was buried in the Shelburne Cemetery. Pastor E. Riddle, who conducted the services, said of him: "Brother Rice was known throughout Grundy County and the state as a citizen, a Christian and a friend."

L. E. (Earl Leon) then became manager of the farm. Dad thinks the first automobile used by the family was a Reed bought by grandfather in 1915 and the second a Saxton bought in 1919 or 1920. I remember an old Samson tractor which set in a shed until the early 40's when it and worn out machinery were sold for scrap iron.

On Aug. 12, 1929 Lyman Rice, my father, was walking to the field to tell his father he would not work that day because he was getting married. Along the way he found a three pound blacksmith hammer. This hammer made by his great-grandfather, Daniel C. Sims, had been lost for many years. Since dad found it, it was his to keep and he still has it on the farm today.

Later that day Lyman was wed to Bertha I. Eckert. She was a granddaughter of Henry Eckert, born Aug. 17, 1844 at Scharledm, Germany and his wife, Charlotte Behrendt, born at Australabem, Germany Dec. 17, 1844. They came by ship with their four oldest children, landing at New York in the spring of 1876, then coming by train to Chillicothe, Mo. There they were met by Judge Iberg, who took them by wagon to his Livingston Co. farm where Mr. Eckert worked as a laborer until he bought his own farm in 1886.

The Eckerts lived in a log cabin on the Iberg place, then built one on their own farm and lived in it until their own home was built in 1899. The Eckerts planted many flowers, a large garden and vineyard and apple and pear orchards. Their son Christopher Gustave, born in Germany May 11, 1873, married Elizabeth Mary Hinnen, born Sept. 26, 1886 to Louis & Bertha Hinnen. My mother, Bertha, born May 3, 1909, was their daughter.

Great-grandmother Amanda (Sims) Rice died Aug. 5, 1930. Six years later while on a business trip to St. Charles to refinance a loan for the Grand River Drainage Project, her son L.E., 65, suffered severe tongue and mouth lacerations in a car wreck in which two men died. His wife Lillie died July 23, 1938.

Most of this story is possible because of Amanda's early interest in preserving our family heritage. I will depend upon the rest of the family to help fill in the blanks and collect the material necessary to tell grandfather's story. Those who find mistakes in names, dates or facts should feel welcome to point them out.