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Your Rice Family Ezine
Generation by Generation ~ Century by Century
TWICE MONTHLY VOL. 1, NO. 10 MAY 23, 2008
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Rice's One-Hoss Shay
Immortalized by Poet
Picture courtesy of Berkshire Museum
Many recall the "wonderful one-hoss shay" of Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem, but not all Rice family members realize that the original one-hoss shay which gave Holmes the inspiration for his poem, "The Deacon's Masterpiece," was once owned by Amansa Rice.*
Rice's shay, which is pictured above, is now on display in The Berkshire Museum at Pittsfield, MA. According to Bartlett Hendricks, curator of the museum's science department, Amansa Rice had operated a stage between Springfield, MA and Albany, NY, but was put out of business by the construction of the Boston & Albany Railroad.
The original one-hoss shay was presented to the Berkshire Museum in 1914 by Francis W. Rockwell of Pittsfield, a member of the Massachusetts House and Senate who served five terms in the House of Representatives in Washington. Mr. Rockwell, who had purchased the shay from Amansa Rice, died in 1929 at age 85.
Amansa Rice's son, Robert A. Rice, once told Mr. Rockwell of Oliver Wendell Holmes' frequent visits to examine the old chaise during his residence in Pittsfield between 1848 and 1856.
Mr. Hendricks reports that this shay was originally the property of Samuel A. McKay (1793-1834), one of Pittsfield's leading citizens.
This shay made famous by Holmes' poem has been written up in Strange As It Seems, a picture of it once appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, and a card about it was once displayed on New York subway cars. A perfect reproduction of the original one-hoss shay was made by Old Sturbridge Village and is driven about daily there during warmer parts of the year, Mr. Hendricks said.
The poem inspired by Amansa Rice's shay is a delightful one and is reprinted at the bottom of this issue for the poetry lovers among us.
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NOTE: The interview with Mr. Hendricks was in the 1970s.
* This is believed to be Amasa Rice (1809-1896) of Pittsfield, MA, who married Sarah Delano Hubbard and had children Robert, Martha, Henry and Mary. The ancestral line is thought to be [Alvan Rice (b. 1772)-6, Joseph Rice (b. 1745)-5, Ebenezer Rice (b. 1709)-4, Ebenezer Rice (b. 1671)-3, Benjamin Rice (b. 1640)-2, Edmund-1 Rice, the immigrant.] All lines of descent from Edmund-1 Rice should be verified in the database at the website of the Dea. Edmund Rice Association. That database is continually updated and is the authoritative source for data on Edmund's descendants. This Edmund Rice of Sudbury, MA, is not to be confused with an early Edmund Rice who came to Virginia in 1683.
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"My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky."
- Wordsworth
IN THIS ISSUE
Rice's One-Hoss Shay Immortalized by Poet
Jubilee Rice: California Horse Breeder with MO & KY Family Roots
Rice Records from Ralls Co., MO
Editor Seeks Data for These Maryland Rices
Many Rices Lured to California
Southern Rices with Hix Family Connections
Lexington & Concord: These Rices Were There for "Shot Heard 'Round the World"
For Root Diggers & Branch Climbers
Family Research: The Exciting Genographic Project (Some Rices Are Participating)
The Deacon's Masterpiece (Another Name for Famous Oliver Wendell Holmes Poem)
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 earliest 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
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"I do set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth."
- Old Testament, Genesis, IX, 13
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Jubilee D. Rice: California Horse Breeder
(Family Moved from Kentucky to Missouri)
(The following is from Prof. J. M. Guinn's 1906 History of the State of California & Biographical Record of the Sacramento Valley," issued by The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, and copied for us many years ago by reader Mrs. Harold S. Parsons of Salem, Oregon.)
Closely identified with the agricultural interests of Colusa County is Jubilee D. Rice of College City, a well-known and highly respected ranch man. As a general farmer, stock-raiser and a breeder of fine horses, he has met with undisputed success, and as a man of honor and honesty, straight-forward in his business methods and prompt in meeting his obligations, he has won the confidence and esteem of his fellow-men and the good will of the community.
A son of Andrew Rice, he was born Feb. 10, 1861 in Ralls County, Missouri, where his grandfather, Isaac Rice, was a pioneer farmer.
Born and brought up in Kentucky, his father Andrew Rice moved with his parents to Ralls County, Missouri at an early day, and there began life for himself as a tiller of the soil, clearing from the wilderness a good homestead.
In 1864, accompanied by his wife and three children, Andrew Rice came across the plains with a long train of mule-teams to the Pacific, making an unusually quick trip.
The following winter he spent at Cache  Creek, Yolo Co., but in the spring of 1865 he went to Eldorado Co. and for four or five years thereafter was engaged in mining at the Spanish Dry Diggings.
Returning to Yolo Co., he was engaged in business at Winters until his death on Dec. 25, 1902.
Andrew's wife was the former Mary Jane Briggs, who was born in Ralls Co., Missouri and died in 1867 in California. Of the three children born of their union, two are now (1906) living, Jubilee D., the subject of this sketch, being the second child in order of birth.
Jubilee Rice was brought up in Winters, California, where he received a practical education in public schools. In 1877, at age 16, he became self-supporting.
Coming to Colusa Co. in search of employment, he located near Williams and for seven years worked for J. B. Griffin, driving a team on the farm.
Starting out for himself, Jubilee Rice rented land for a year at Stony Creek, after which, in partnership with H. V. Traynham, he was engaged in grain raising near Arbuckle, running a team and having charge of 900 acres of land. Three years later, the partnership having been dissolved, Mr. Rice rented the old Whiskey ranch of 1600 acres, and there continued the raising of grain on an extended scale, running four eight-mule teams. Removing to Butte County in 1891, he was for six years similarly employed on the Pratt grant, having charge of 1280 acres.
Returning to Colusa County in 1897, Mr. Rice located in College City, where he has since been prosperously engaged in grain and stock-raising, his valuable ranch of 240 acres lying four miles southwest of the town.
Mr. Rice makes a specialty of raising horses and mules, in this line of industry being very successful. He owns many noted fillies and stallions, among the latter being Dagon, by Sable Wilkes, the dam being by Don, son of Nutwood; and Homer, by Alcantara Jr., dam by Buydell, son of Electioneer.
Mr. Rice takes great pride in local affairs, encouraging the establishment of all beneficial enterprises. He is a stockholder and a director of the College City Rochdale Company, and was interested in the erection of a College City Public Hall as a member of the organizing committee that built it.
In Yolo County, near Winters, Mr. Rice married Amanda B. Griffin, who was born near Knights Landing, a daughter of Joseph Griffin, a pioneer farmer of Winters. Mr. and Mrs. Rice are the parents of three children, namely John Andrew, Joseph Lee and Frederick Griffin Rice.
Politically, Mr. Rice is a loyal Democrat, and religiously Mrs. Rice is a member of the Christian Church.
RICE FAMILY RECORDS FROM
RALLS COUNTY, MISSOURI
Frances Rice & William Adams, Oct. 2, 1828
Sarah Rice & John Dickey, Aug. 6, 1829
Joseph Rice & Euphema Brown, Jan. 31, 1836
Mary Rice & James Ledford, July 31, 1838
George Rice & Mary Gill, Aug. 3, 1840
Elizabeth Rice & John Brice, April 15, 1845
Thomas C. Rice & Elisabeth Gatson, Jan. 18, 1848 David Rice & Margaret Turley, April 2, 1848
Barbary S. Rice & Henry E. McCune, Feb. 1, 1848 David E. Rice & Anna Martin, Nov. 18, 1851
Sarah J. Rice & Nathaniel Williams, May 24, 1852 Absolom Rice & Elizabeth Dooley, July 11, 1852 Charles Rice & Pheby Coffer, May 7, 1854
Lucinda F. Rice & John H. Butler, Sept. 6, 1854 Martha Rice & Hiram Cowden, Dec. 7, 1854
Anderson (Andrew?) R. Rice & Mary Jane Briggs,
March 17, 1858 (Parents of Jubilee D. Rice)
Isaac Rice & Emily Self, Nov. 25, 1858
John Rice & Margaret Small, Sept. 15, 1859
Mary J. Rice & Moses Jewell, Sept. 18, 1860
Jane Rice & Camel T. Cowden, Feb. 22, 1866
1850 Census - Ralls Co., MO
Family of David Rice, 53, farmer, born KY: Catherine, 52, and Absalom, 23, both born KY; Lewis, 21, William S., 17, and Mary, 16, all born in Missouri.
Family of John Rice, 56, farmer, born KY: Mary, A., 67, born KY., and--all born in Missouri-Hebander (?), 20; Charles, 17; Martha J., 15, & Eliza A., 12. Also in this family are David Griffin, 30, born in VA, with Mary E. Griffin, 23, born KY, and Mary J. Griffin, 2, born MO.
Family of Charles Rice, 53, farmer, born KY: Elizabeth, 47, born KY; John, 15, & James, 10, both born MO. Also living here are James Ledford, 30, born KY, with his wife Mary and children Elizabeth, Savilla and John.
Family of Joseph Rice, 63, farmer, born KY: Martha, 30, born KY, and Eliza, 14, Elizabeth, 5, Joseph,4, and Mary, 1, all born in Missouri.
Family of Thomas Rice, 66, farmer, born KY: Elizabeth, 62, Elizabeth, 16, Lucinda, 16, Mary E., 10, and Nancy, 7, all born in Kentucky.
Family of Isaac Rice, 44, farmer, born KY: Jane, 42, born KY; Andrew B., 21, John F., 19, & Jubilee, 18, all born Indiana; Isaac, 15, and Mary J., 11, both born in Illinois.
Family of David D. Rice, 23, farmer, born IN: Margaret, 25, & Isaac, 6 mo., both born MO.
Living with Smelson family: Susan Rice, 17, and Andrew J. Rice, 30, both born KY, and Joseph Rice, 12, born in Missouri.
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YOUR EDITOR SEEKS DATA FOR THESE MARYLAND RICES
GEORGE RICE--also known as George Bully--who was transported from England's Newgate Prison to Maryland as an indentured servant aboard the ship Vernon Dec. 19, 1740.
THOMAS RICE--He was transported from England's Newgate Prison to Maryland as an indentured servant aboard the ship Forward Frigate Oct. 18, 1722.
WILLIAM RICE--Transported from Newgate Prison in England to Maryland as an indentured servant aboard the ship John Dec. 9, 1735.
THOMAS RICE--Thomas emigrated from Worcestershire, England to Maryland aboard the ship Elkridge at age 17 in May of 1775 and was designated as a husbandman and indentured servant.
I am looking for information on names of wives and children, plus identification of present day descendants. This material is for use in Rice Book 4. Is there anyone who can check early records at the Maryland state archives?
~ Rosemary
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Many Rices Lured Westward to California
(Rices from across the United States were lured westward to California. Many were never again heard from by families back East and later generations have had difficulty locating records for them. Some of these men appear in the following data submitted to your editor many years ago by Leona Quigley.)
The first non-Spanish settlers of California were primarily unmarried men attracted by the discovery of gold--men hoping to get rich quick and return home with a fortune. The mining communities were not, however, safe places for a young man alone to live. They were filled with rough living and lawlessness.
Many ended up dead, a fate that befell a Rice whose firat name isn't even mentioned in a story in the Feb. 14, 1855 edition of the California Express and San Joaquin Republican. It simply noted that three men were "shot and killed by a group of men attempting to jump their claim at Sand Hill." The other two men were "Kentuck" Anderson, 35, from Paducah, Kentucky, who left a family there, and a _(?)_ Webster, 23, from Concord, New Hampshire. Rice, age 23, was from Washington Co., Maine.
Thomas Rice, a mate on the Rover, came to California in 1825; that's all we know from a passing mention.
William Rice arrived in California about 1826. He was a member of the Warren group, which has no description.
George Joseph Rice came to California about 1826. A native of Massachusetts, he came from Honduras aboard the Rover. In 1828, he made a trip to Honduras on the Heros for health reasons, returning via "Lower California" and San Diego. He obtained naturalization and a license to marry in 1829. His wife's maiden name was Lopez and for a time he was associated in business with John Temple, the partnership being dissolved in 1832. Several letters written by this George Rice between 1831 and 1834 are in the Bancroft Library at the University of California in Berkeley. For some years he kept a billiard parlor and saloon, which he sold to Francisco Figueroa about 1835. He is said to have left California for the East about the same time.
John Rice, an American shoemaker from New Mexico, came to California in 1830. In 1836, he was age 25 and living in Los Angeles.
Daniel Rice came to California in 1832. He was an American carpenter from San Blas. Daniel married a woman whose maiden name was Romero about 1835. He was living in Los Angeles in 1840 and then was age 30.
Joseph M. Rice arrived in California about 1846 and is on the list of the Society of California Pioneers.
William H. Rice came to California in 1846 and was said to have been a sailor in the Navy at that time. He died in Alameda Co. in 1867.
NOTE: Most of the above data is from the "Pioneer Register" and Hubert Howe Bancroft's 1885 "History of California," both available at Bancroft Library on the University of California campus at Berkeley.
RICE FAMILY RECORDS FROM
SAN JOAQUIN CO., CALIFORNIA
Marriages recorded at the courthouse in Stockton:
Charles E. Rice and Jennie Bissell, Sept. 10, 1878; Bk. 3, pg. 713
John W. Rice and Rebecca Hold, Sept. 18, 1873; Bk. 3, pg. 310
Joseph H. Rice and Eva C. Holbert, March 18, 1879; Bk. 4, pg. 47
Nancy G. Rice and Wilson Carey, July 19, 1879; Bk. 4, pg. 63
Index to probate records compled by Stockton Genealogical Society
Rice, Estate #685: Minors Joseph H., Annie Lee, Alice F. & John James Rice; filing date, March 26, 1874.
Rice, Estate #1072: Minors Alice and John J.; filed Marh 12, 1881.
Burials in old San Joaquin Co. cemeteries, compiled by genealogical society, 1964
Alice E. Rice, 25, buried April 23, 1871; Charles Eddy Rice, 58, buried April 18, 1907; G. H. Rice, buried Dec. 24, 1895; age 38; Jane M. Rice, 79, buried Oct. 14, 1910; Jennie B. Rice, 45, buried March 19, 1902; John C. Rice, 81, native of Ireland; died Dec. 19, 1903; L. Rice, 34, buried September 15, 1871; Lewis Rice, 65, buried May 31, 1918; Lottie Iola Rice, 30, buried Nov. 14, 1918, wife of John W. Herndon; Ludy(Judy?) Rice, 26, buried Feb. 15, 1918; Mary L. Rice, 44, buried September 12, 1891; William Harvey Rice, 44, buried May 28, 1905
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Southern Rices
with
Hix Family Connections
(The following information is from Supplement to Frost & Related Families of Bedford Co., TN, by Wright W. Frost of Knoxville, TN; published 1972; section titled "The Hix Family." Data forwarded by Mrs. H. L. Noblitt of Tullahoma, TN)
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BACKGROUND--Material below relates to persons named in the will of Sabra (Hix) Morris.
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JUDITH (or Juda) HIX married JESSIE RICE SR., place & date unknown. The fact of their marriage is recorded in three indentures for sale of various interests of Judith's children in her share of the 514 acre tract (Charlotte Co. Deed Book 18, pp. 33, 115 & Bk. 19, p. 156).
By the first of these indentures, "De Marquis Johnston and wife Jane, having bought the interest of David, Zepheniah, Beckey, Zelley, and Massey Alvis five sevenths of one full share in said land, sell same to William Walker for 100." This indenture named the above as children of JESSIE and JUDITH RICE and Judith as a sister of Sabra Morris.
In the next indenture, JESSIE RICE JR. and wife Nancy, of Campbell Co., sold his one seventh part to William Walker.
By the last indenture, Sarah Walton of Albemarle Co. sold her one seventh interest to William Walker, declaring herself a child of JUDITH HIX and JESSIE RICE. Sabra Morris left a portion of the residue of her estate to "all the children now living of my sister JUDITH RICE except Jessee," he probably being the Jessee Rice who received $1. from her will.
ALICE HIX's marriage to JAMES RICE is confirmed and their children's names revealed by records involving Alice's share of the aforementioned tract of land. On Dec. 5, 1828, from Robertson Co., TN., to which they had moved some 20 years earlier from neighboring Logan Co., KY (Robertson Co. Deed Bk. G, p.146) Nancy Miles, Jacob Miles Sr., Francis Rice, Jonathan Rice, Sabra Bailey, Gabriel Bailey, Martha Bailey, George Bailey, Joshua M. Rice, James Rice & Hiram Rice, "children (and their husbands) of ALICE RICE, formerly Alice Hix, sister and legal heir of Sabra Morris," appointed James Miles their attorney to dispose of their interests in this land (Charlotte Co. Deed Bk. 19, p.78).
On Sept. 8, 1829, James Miles of Caswell Co., NC in an indenture for such disposition for $184. declared "James Rice married Alice, a sister of Sabra Morris, who departed this life previous to said Sabra..." (Charlotte Co. Deed Bk. 19, p. 100). All Alice's children but Jonathan were named for bequests in Sabra Morris' will. Jonathan had wed his first cousin, Rebecca Hix, daughter of Sabra's brother John.
In an application for membership, Mrs. Norma Hutchings Schroeder, DAR National No. 296814, states the JAMES RICE who wed Alice Hix was born in NC. Aug. 6, 1736, and that both he and Alice died in Caswell Co., NC., in 1787. He is credited with having been a Caswell Co. Justice of the Peace in 1777 and to have given material aid to the Revolution.
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Lexington & Concord: They Were There
The seed of our nation's independence was sown in the bloodied fields of Lexington and Concord on an April day 200 years ago. The bountiful harvest of freedom is ours to enjoy. Cherish it we must, ever mindful of the debt we owe our brave ancestors. Here are some who were there for "the shot heard 'round the world":
AMOS RICE (1743-1827) - A member of the Northboro, MA Committee of Correspondence, Amos responded to the Lexington alarm, first of many military battles he participated in. Wife: Sarah Graves. Children: Amos, Asaph, Curtis, Sarah, Elizabeth, John, Jacob, Luther & Hannah. (Ancestry: Jacob-4, Jacob-3, Edward-2, Dea. Edmund Rice-1)
ASA RICE (1742-1823) - A veteran of the French & Indian Wars, Asa lived on the Shrewsbury, MA homestead of his father & grandfather when he grabbed his musket to hasten to Lexington. Later, he was Colonel of the 6th Regt., 7th Div., Mass. Militia. Wife: Miriam Wheeler. Children: Abigail, Hezekiah, Elizabeth, Abner, Sarah, Ashbel, Asa, Dolly, Mary & Martha. (Ancestry: Hezekiah-5, Luke-4, Daniel-3, Edward-2, Dea. Edmund Rice-1)
JOEL RICE (1733-1818) - Called "a patriot in word and deed," Joel was a member of the Northboro Committee of Correspondence. His war service began at Lexington and he died in his 86th year at nearby Concord. Wife: Dinah Farnsworth. Children: Ezra, Molly, Lucy & Phineas. (Ancestry: Josiah-4, Caleb-3, Joseph-2, Dea. Edmund Rice-1)
NATHAN RICE (175l-1836) - Nathan was at Lexington, subsequently served in the army during the Revolutionary War and died at age 84 in his native Northboro, MA. Wife: Lucy Barber. Children: Dorinda, Minot, John, Altamont & Susan. (Ancestry: Abraham-5, Abraham-4, Jonathan-3, Henry-2, Dea. Edmund Rice-1)
PETER RICE (ca.1727-1805) and URIAH RICE (1757-1850) - The Lexington & Concord minutemen included this father-son team from Framingham, MA. Peter, the father, was a French and Indian War veteran; Uriah lived to age 93. Peter's wife: Ruth Trowbridge. His children: Uriah, Peter, Eleazer, Ezra, Mehitabel, Joel & Jonas. Uriah's wife: Mary Eames. His children: Eleanor, Mary and Clarissa. (Ancestry: Hezekiah-4, Jonathan-3, Henry-2, Dea. Edmund Rice-1)
NOTE: A 55-page list of Rice Revolutionary War soldiers from both the northern and southern colonies appears in Rice Book 1. It has birth and death dates, plus name of wife, for many of the soldiers. There is also a list of Rice soldiers awarded pensions and/or bounty land for their service in the Revolutionary War.
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AND BRANCH CLIMBERS
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Relatively Speaking
When speaking of our ancestry,
my mother's eyes would shine
and proudly she would tell us all:
"You're of the Tudor line."
But father with a smile would say,
"While bearing that in mind,
keep your eyes on goals ahead,
not those that lie behind.
"You have a noble ancestry,
but all are dead and gone.
'Tis you who have to prove your worth,
not those who've journeyed on."
"And back along that Tudor line,
'tis sorry truth I state,
there may be some you can't approve,
and even some you'd hate.
"The way to prove your ancestry
is what you are yourself,
not by the charted family tree
in books upon the shelf.
"So try to be an ancestor,
within the time allowed,
of whom your children's children
in future can be proud."
~ Anonymous
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What Woman Is to Be
In our last issue we gave 20 ways to find a female ancestor's maiden name. After all, a full family tree would have as many women as men on it. We think this centuries-old quote from a Roman philosopher is a good follow-up to some of these thoughts:
"Woman was not taken from the head of man, for she was not intended to be his ruler; nor from his feet, for she was not intended to be his slave; but from his side, for she was to be his companion and comfort."
- TERTULLIAN (A.D. 155-222)
We wonder: Was Tertullian especially enlightened for his day, or was, perhaps, the influence of the Christian church in its infancy less prejudicial than some of its later leaders were? Biblical references do imply that Christ treated women with great respect and included at least two of them in the inner circle shared by his apostles.
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Family Research News
The Exciting Genographic Project:
Some Rices Are Participating
About three years ago The National Geographic Society, IBM, geneticist Spencer Wells, and the Waitt Family Foundation launched the Genographic Project. It is a five-year effort to understand the human journey-where we came from and how we got to where we live today.
This unprecedented effort will map humanity's genetic journey through the ages.
The Genographic Project will analyze DNA contributed by hundreds of thousands of people-including members of the Rice family! This is a culturally significant, high profile project.
The core of the project is collection of blood samples from indigenous populations, whose DNA contains key genetic markers that have remained relatively unaltered over hundreds of generations, making them reliable indicators of ancient migratory patterns.
The general public is invited to take part in the project by purchasing a Genographic Project Public Participation Kit and submitting their own cheek swab sample, allowing them to track the overall progress of the project as well as learn their own migratory history.
Both women and men can participate in the Genographic Project. Men receive a yDNA test that identifies ancient ancestral geographic origins on the direct paternal line. Women receive an mtDNA test that identifies ancestral migratory origins of the direct maternal line. The cost is roughly the same as the basic 12-marker test offered by the major genealogy-oriented DNA testing companies.
You can order a Participation Kit from National Geographic that includes:
~ A DVD containing an interactive project overview and the excellent PBS film "The Journey of Man"
~ A nice map illustrating human migratory history
~ A buccal swab kit, instructions, and a self-addressed envelope in which to return your cheek swab sample
~ A detailed brochure about the project
~ A confidential project ID to anonymously access your results at the Genographic Project website.
What does this have to do with genealogy? To be clear-these tests are not conventional genealogy. Your results will not provide names for your personal family tree nor tell you where your great-grandparents lived. Rather, they will indicate the maternal or paternal genetic markers your ancestors passed on to you and the story that goes with those markers. This history goes back not just centuries, but thousands of years, making this a very exciting project.
Participants from the general public will be processed at the Arizona Research Labs at the University of Arizona, via Family Tree DNA.
The connection between Family Tree DNA and the Genographic Project is important. Those who participate in the Genographic Project will have the opportunity to join FTDNA surname projects and upgrade to higher resolution tests (if desired). In this way, you can take the further steps of tracing ancestors in recent centuries. This process could match you up with a specific immigrant ancestor to America. (In a reverse process, those who already have had FTDNA tests can participate in the Genographic Project for a nominal fee.)
The result? Hundreds of thousands of Genographic Project participants will have the opportunity to get involved in genealogical studies. A few--but not a relatively large number--of Rice descendants are taking part. Why not make the Rice family contribution greater and have more family history to share?
A Rice descendant has volunteered to coordinate the results for those who wish to reveal their test results (which are confidential and can ONLY be made known by the person tested.) This can be very important--and rewarding--networking which will help many enhance their Rice ancestral knowledge. Please consider sharing this information with friends and relatives in the Rice family.
The Project is anonymous, non-medical, non-political, non-profit and non-commercial. All scientific results--plus a cultural history of the migrations of ancient civilizations--will be placed in the public domain following scientific peer publication. For more info, visit the Genographic Project website. __________
My thanks to Ron Rice for tipping me off about the Genographic Project when it first began and for providing such a good summary of it. - Rosemary
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The Deacon's Masterpiece
or, The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay
~ by Oliver Wendell Holmes
Have you heard of the wonderful one-hoss-shay that was built in such a logical way
It ran a hundred years to a day,
And then, of a sudden, it--ah, but stay
I'll tell you what happened without delay,
Scaring the parson into fits,
Frightening people out of their wits,--
Have you ever heard of that, I say?
Seventeen hundred and fifty-five,
Georgius Secundus was then alive,--
Snuffy old drone from the German hive;
That was the year when Lisbon-town
Saw the earth open and gulp her down,
And Braddock's army was done so brown,
Left without a scalp to its crown.
It was on the terrible earthquake-day
That the Deacon finished the one-hoss-shay.
Now in building of chaises, I tell you what,
There is always somewhere a weakest spot,--
In hub, tire, felloe, in spring or thill,
In panel, or crossbar, or floor, or sill,
In screw, bolt, thoroughbrace,--lurking still,
Find it somewhere you must and will,--
Above or below, or within or without,--
And that's the reason, beyond a doubt,
A chaise breaks down, but doesn't wear out.
But the Deacon swore (as Deacons do,
With an "I dew vum," or an "I tell yeou,"
He would build one shay to beat the taown
'n' the keounty 'n' all the kentry raoun';
It should be so built that it couldn' break daown!
--"Fur," said the Deacon, "t 's mighty plain
Thut the weakes' place mus' stan' the strain;
'n' the way t' fix it, uz I maintain,
Is only jest
T' make that place uz strong uz the rest."
So the Deacon inquired of the village folk
Where he could find the strongest oak,
That couldn't be split nor bent nor broke,--
That was for spokes and floor and sills;
He sent for lancewood to make the thills;
The crossbars were ash, from the straightest trees,
The panels of whitewood, that cuts like cheese,
But lasts like iron for things like these;
The hubs of logs from the "Settler's ellum,"
Last of its timber,--they couldn't sell 'em,
Never an axe had seen their chips,
And the wedges flew from between their lips
Their blunt ends frizzled like celery-tips;
Step and prop-iron, bolt and screw,
Spring, tire, axle, and linchpin too,
Steel of the finest, bright and blue;
Thoroughbrace bison-skin, thick and wide;
Boot, top, dasher, from tough old hide
Found in the pit when the tanner died.
That was the way he "put her through."
"There!" said the Deacon, "naow she'll dew."
Do! I tell you, I rather guess
She was a wonder, and nothing less!
Colts grew horses, beards turned gray,
Deacon and deaconess dropped away,
Children and grandchildren--where were they?
But there stood the stout old one-hoss-shay
As fresh as on Lisbon-earthquake-day!
EIGHTEEN HUNDRED;--it came and found
The Deacon's Masterpiece strong and sound.
Eighteen hundred increased by ten;--
"Hahnsum kerridge" they called it then.
Eighteen hundred and twenty came;--
Running as usual; much the same.
Thirty and forty at last arrive,
And then come fifty, and FIFTY-FIVE.
Little of all we value here
Wakes on the morn of its hundredth year
Without both feeling and looking queer.
Little of all we value here
Wakes on the morn of its hundredth year
Without both feeling and looking queer.
In fact, there's nothing that keeps its youth
So far as I know, but a tree and truth.
(This is a moral that runs at large;
Take it.--You 're welcome.--No extra charge.)
FIRST OF NOVEMBER,--the Earthquake-day.--
There are traces of age in the one-hoss-shay--
A general flavor of mild decay,
But nothing local, as one may say.
There couldn't be,--for the Deacon's art
Had made it so like in every part
That there wasn't a chance for one to start.
For the wheels were just as strong as the thills,
And the floor was just as strong as the sills,
And the panels just as strong as the floor,
And the whippletree neither less nor more,
And the back-crossbar as strong as the fore,
And spring and axle and hub encore,
And yet, as a whole, it is past a doubt
In another hour it will be worn out!
First of November, 'Fifty-five!
This morning the parson takes a drive.
Now, small boys, get out of the way!
Here comes the wonderful one-hoss-shay,
Drawn by a rat-tailed, ewe-necked bay.
"Huddup!" said the parson. --Off went they.
The parson was working his Sunday's text,--
Had got to fifthly, and stopped perplexed
At what the--Moses--was coming next.
All at once the horse stood still,
Close by the meet'n'-house on the hill
--First a shiver, and then a thrill,
Then something decidedly like a spill,--
And the parson was sitting upon a rock,
At half-past nine by the meet'n'-house clock,--
Just the hour of the Earthquake shock!
--What do you think the parson found,
When he got up and stared around?
The poor old chaise in a heap or mound,
As if it had been to the mill and ground!
You see, of course, if you 're not a dunce,
How it went to pieces all at once,--
All at once, and nothing first,--
Just as bubbles do when they burst.
End of the wonderful one-hoss-shay.
Logic is logic. That's all I say.
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FIRST THREE VOLUMES AVAILABLE:
The Rice Book Project
BOOK 1: Celebrating Our Diversity
Biographies of dozens of Rice family members from different backgrounds, different decades and different branches of the family; also a directory of Rice Revolutionary War soldiers; 248 pages
BOOK 2: The Immigrants
Lists of immigrants for three centuries; early generations of the Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut branches of the family; chapters on English, Irish, Scottish and German Rice families; 258 pages.
BOOK 3: Connecticut & Tennessee Rice Lineages
This covers several branches of the Rice family and chronicles in detail descendants of Henry Rice, the pioneer gristmiller in Tennessee; 512 pages.
BOOK 4: Pennsylvania and Maryland Rice Lineages
This is the book we are now working on.
Order from the Rice Book Project Website.
(The RICE FAMILY EZINE is sponsored by the Rice Family Book Project)
Special Notice: If you think a book you ordered should have been received by now, it probably is because the person who handled book orders has moved and they are temporarily being handled by someone who does not have all the books close at hand. If, however, it has been six weeks or more, and you have not received what you ordered, please email me at ricebooksreb@yahoo.com
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Draw the Family Circle Wide, Then Draw It Wider Still
Share both the fruits of your genealogical labors
and the puzzling problems you encounter
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