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Your Rice Family Ezine
Generation by Generation ~ Century by Century
TWICE MONTHLY VOL. 2, NO. 9 May 8, 2009
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A MEMORABLE MOMENT IN THE WAR OF 1812
THE ABOVE CAPTION READS AS FOLLOWS: "A VIEW of the BOMBARDMENT of Fort McHenry, near Baltimore, by the British fleet taken from the Observatory under the Command of Admirals Cochrane & Cockburn on the morning of the 13th of Sept 1814 which lasted 24 hours & thrown from 1500 to 1800 shells in the Night attempted to land by forcing a passage up the ferry branch but were repulsed with great loss."
THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER
It was this battle that served as the inpiration for our National Anthem.
Francis Scott Key, a Washington lawyer who had come to Baltimore to negotiate the release of Dr. William Beanes, a civilian prisoner of war, witnessed the bombardment from a nearby truce ship. An oversized American flag had been sewn by Mary Pickersgill for exactly $405.90[3] in anticipation of the British attack on the fort. When Key saw the flag emerge intact in the dawn of September 14,[2] he was so moved that he began that morning to compose the poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry". It was later renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner" and became America's national anthem.
Featuring the Family of
War of 1812 Soldier Dr. John W. Rice
In this issue, we feature the family of Dr. John W. Rice, a Virginian who became estranged from his family when he married a Catholic girl he met while a medical student in Philadelphia. We also share her declaration for his War of 1812 pension and ask if anyone has yet solved the family mystery.
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IN THIS ISSUE
DR. JOHN W. RICE
OF NEW MARKET, VIRGINIA
The Family Mystery
Pension Application filed by Anna Rice for Husband's
War of 1812 Pension
Capt. William H. Rice's
Civil War Unit
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Quaker Marriages of
Rhode Island
Rice Family Members
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For Root Diggers
and Branch Climbers:
A Prayer
for Genealogists
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Southern Family Trees:
Manney Murdoch Rice
Physician from the Carolinas
&
Two Early Rice Marriages
in Hanover Co., Virginia
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Rev. Jacob Rice
Early Welsh Missionary
in Newfoundland
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Lots of
Ship Passenger Lists
(Links to Articles
by your Editor)
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EDMUND RICE ASSN
RICE DNA PROJECT
~~~
RICE EMAIL LISTS
(Check all spellings)
Note: The Rice Southern list has been having a detailed discussion of all the contradictions around Jeptha Rice and the many Hezekiah Rices of the Carolinas.
~~~
ROYCE FAMILY
ASS0CIATION, INC.
REECE/REESE
DNA PROJECT
WEBSITE OF JOHN FOX
(Desc. of Thomas & Marcy Rice of Virginia)
(Send links to your genealogy pages;
they must include
a Rice line.)
ARE THERE SPRING BUDS ON YOUR FAMILY TREE?
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
FORM IS HERE
If your newsletter looks like it is not properly formatted, or is garbled, please let us know!
Anyone have old family pictures to share?
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The Family of Dr. John W. Rice
of New Market, Virginia
- by Rosemary E. Bachelor
This genealogical saga began 45 years ago with a June 7, 1964 letter from Mrs. Helen (Rice) Bingham of New Market, Virginia, to Ward Beecher Shank Rice (1885-1965). I knew neither of them.
About 10 years later, after Ward Rice died, his daughter sent me several pages of genealogical data he had accumulated while researching his Rice ancestry. Mary Louise (Rice) Taggart had typed up her dad's material in 1971.
This Rice family poked its way up out of my unindexed files again in 1977. I received a letter from Alice (Crabill) Thompson of Sarasota, FL, reporting that her son, Joe Thompson Jr., with his wife, had been in New Market, VA, where they were kindly received by a Mrs. Ralph Bingham, who gave them some Rice family information. Alice understood Mrs. Bingham to be a great-granddaughter of Dr. John Rice (1793-1864).
Alice explained that her grandmother was Mary Susan (Rice) Crabill of Harrisonburg, VA, wife of Joseph W. Crabill, whom she had wed in 1870. Mary Susan was a daughter of John H. Rice and Harriet E. Rice. About the only other thing she knew about her Rices was that her father, Francis Eugene Crabill, was named for a Dr. Francis Eugene Rice who was practicing when her father was born in 1872 near New Market. She did not know if this Dr. Rice was a relative of her grandmother.
Francis Crabill was adopted by Major John Newell, who lived near Strasburg, VA, and at age 19 Francis Crabill went to Seneca Co., OH, where he spent the rest of his life.
Could I, Alice wanted to know, help her find out by providing more about her Rice family? Well, maybe. Most of what I had was in Helen (Rice) Bingham's 1964 letter to Ward Rice.
Well, Alice's son hadn't returned from visiting Mrs. Bingham with any written material. It must have been one of those tea-and-cookie visits to an elderly and distant relative.
First, Helen (Rice) Bingham was a granddaughter of the Dr. Francis Eugene Rice Alice knew about. It appeared that Alice's grandmother, Mary (Rice) Crabill, was the daughter of Dr. Francis Rice's brother, John Harper Rice.
Following is a summary of Mrs. Bingham's data (from her 1964 letter to Ward Rice) that I shared with Alice.
"As far as I can determine, we are not descended from the Rushville Rices, but may have a common ancestor prior to the Shenandoah Valley settlement. Our great-grandfather was Dr. John W. Rice, said to be born in Prince William Co., Virginia, in 1793.
"He attended Medical College at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where, on June 18, 1815, he married Anna Marie Gilliam. He became estranged from the family because his bride was a Catholic.
"He never talked about his family, but returned each Christmas to visit relatives in Richmond, Virginia. Whom these relatives were we have never known. When I grew up, Catholics were so suspect in this narrow-minded community that our great-grandmother was referred to as an infidel because of her religion.
"Children born to John W. and Anna M. Rice are as follows:
(NO NAME GIVEN) "Travelling at /Richmond, Va., first child born on March 9, 1816, prematurely at six months, due to fright." (The story was that a team of horses ran away with the young couple, causing the premature birth.)
ELIZABETH G. RICE, born Jan. 27, 1817, at 2 a.m., in Philadelphia.
ANN CAROLINE RICE, born May 23, 1819, at New Market (moved here in 1818).
CHARLES EDWARD RICE, born July 31, 1821.
RICHARD STRATFORD RICE, born Jan. 24, 1824.
LEWIS GILLIAM RICE, born Feb. 10, 1826.
JOHN HARPER RICE, born March 10, 1828.
EMILY CATHERINE RICE, born March 17, 1830.
DR. FRANCIS EUGENE RICE, born May 17, 1833, who practiced medicine all his life at New Market, Virginia.
WILLIAM HAMILTON RICE, born Aug. 8, 1835.*
ROBERT SIDNEY RICE, born March 4, 1839**.
JACOB WALTER RICE, born June 20, 1842.
"Because of my great-grandfather's estrangement from his family, we never knew who his parents were. He was wealthy, even as a young man, for he helped to finance-and was one of the first presidents of-the Valley Turnpike Co., which built the road from Winchester and Staunton, thence to Roanoke. He also owned 3,000 acres of land here at New Market. My husband and I now own 168 acres of his original estate, although the land has passed through other hands to ours..."
* Your editor sent Alice several pages of information about the Civil War service of these two brothers, but can no longer locate it in her unindexed files. It consisted of newspaper clippings and related correspondence.
**There is more information on him below.
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THE FAMILY MYSTERY
Who were the parents, siblings and other relatives of Dr. John W. Rice?
Do any of his children's middle names link to his mother's maiden name or other ancestral families? (They are Stratford, Harper, Hamilton and Sidney.) Son Lewis has as his middle name Gilliam, his mother's maiden name.
Are any readers descendants of Dr. John W. Rice?
Is anyone working with the early Rice families in Prince William County?
(See related stories below)
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PENSION APPLICATION OF ANNA RICE
Widow of War of 1812 Soldier
Dr. John W. Rice of Virginia
INTRODUCTION
Many genealogists work with Revolutionary War pension applications, but overlook the War of 1812 pension records as an equally informative source for family data. This pension application's National Archives identification is: WO 35505 WC 29973.
Declaration was made in Shenandoah County, Virginia, 1879, March 8th, by Anna M. Rice, 81, a resident of said county, stating she is the widow of John W. Rice, who served in the 10th military district, 6th regiment of Virginia, under Gen. Winscott, Col. Daniel Coleman, in the War of 1812; that her husband enlisted in Prince Edward County, Virginia, about 1814, for 3 months, and was honorably discharged in Washington, D. C., June, 1815. She thinks he resigned as Lieutenant in May or June of 1815.
...That she was married to John W. Rice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 18 June 1815, by Rev. Skinner, a minister; that her name previous to marriage was Anna M. Gilliany*, that her husband never made application for bounty land, to her recollection; that John W. Rice died near New Market, Shenandoah County, Virginia, the 10th of April, 1862; that since his discharge he had resided in Pennsylvania and Shenandoah Co., Va., near New Market.
She appointed A. G. Walker of Woodstock in Shenandoah Co. as her attorney.
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Accompanying Anna Rice's application are affidavits filed by George Philips, aged 80, and Washington Windle, age 76, of Shenandoah Co., Va., in 1879, stating they had been personally acquainted with Dr. John W. Rice, deceased, and his widow, Anna M. Rice, for 60 years, and know they lived together as man and wife. They also testify that John W. Rice died the 10th of April, 1862, and that she remained his widow since his death.
Family records were filed by William H. Rice (see below) of New Market, Va., showing John W. Rice and Anna M. were married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 18, 1815, when John was age 22 years, 4 months and 29 days, and of Virginia, and Anna Gilliams* was age 17 years, 3 months and 7 days, and of Philadelphia. William Rice testified that the Bible in which this information was written was printed in 1814.
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* The correct spelling is believed to be Gilliam.
JOHN AND ANNA'S SON A CIVIL WAR CAPTAIN
The History of Capt. William H. Rice's Unit
Originally enlisted as the 8th Star Artillery, in honor of Virginia being the 8th state to secede, the 8th Star New Market Artillery came into existence under the leadership of Captain William H. Rice, son of Dr. John and Anna (Gilliam) Rice. His brother Robert also served in this unit during the Civil War.
These Virginia soldiers were recruited from the area of New Market in Shenandoah County, and from adjoining Page and Rockingham Counties.
In the Antietam Campaign:
Attached to Jackson's Division of the Army of Northern Virginia, Rice's battery was stationed on the Potomac at one of the fords in the vicinity of Williamsport, and was not engaged at Sharpsburg.
This battery was combined with Wooding's on 26 September 1862, after which it was not referred to as Rice's 8th Artillery.
William Rice was reported as being severely wounded in 1862 and is believed to have lost a leg during the war. In 1877, he built a house at 9329 N. Congress Street in New Market. He is listed in the 1880 cenus as a dry goods merchant. The household includes his wife, Mary, daughters Emily, Amelia and Mary, and a son, Franklin.
References, Sources, and other Notes:
~Johnson, Curt & Anderson, Richard C., Artillery Hell: Employment of Artillery at
Antietam, College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1995
~ Moore, Robert H. III, Danville, Eighth Star New Market and Dixie Artillery,
Appomattox: H. E. Howard, Inc., 1989
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Quaker Marriages of Rhode Island Rice Family Members
NARRAGANSETT FRIENDS RECORDS
Waite Rice and Benjamin Boss, 9th day, 10th month, 1817
ELDER JOHN GORTON'S MARRIAGES
Peleg Rice and Anne Remington, both of Warwick, May 19, 1754
Fones Rice, son of Randall Rice, and Susanna Haven, daughter of
Alexander Haven, deceased, both of Warwick, Feb. 10, 1764
Avice Rice and Jonathan Nillse, Feb. 23, 1764
William Rice, son of Thomas Rice, and Maplet Remington, daughter of
Thomas Remington, both of Warwick, Jan. 29, 1769
Lydia Rice and Stephen Pierce, April 25, 1793 (because these marriages
were listed chronologically, this one may have taken place in 1773).
Randall Rice, son of Nathan Rice, and Rebecca Mendon, both of Warwick,
Oct. 6, 1773.
Thomas Rice, son of Thomas Rice, and Rosanna Blanchard, daughter of
John Blanchard, deceased, both of Warwick, April 17, 1777
Phebe Rice and Gorton Jerauld, Feb. 22, 1778
Samuel Rice, son of Peleg Rice, and Eleanor Pearce, daughter of Daniel
Pearce, both of East Greenwich, Sept. 1, 1781
Henry Rice, son of Henry Rice, and Susanna Jerauld, daughter of Dr. Dutee
Jerauld, both of Warwick, Sept. 22, 1782
Dinah Rice and Philip Arnold, Sept. 26, 1784
Mercy Rice and Thomas Hall, March 29, 1785
William Rice, son of Olney Rice, deceased, and Tabitha Budlong, daughter
of John Budlong, both of Warwick, Dec. 8, 1785
Thomas Rice, son of Henry Rice, and Sarah Arnold, daughter of Philip
Arnold, both of Warwick, Dec. 11, 1785
Freelove Rice and Christopher Andrews, Feb. 5, 1786
Barshaby Rice and William Cezer*, Feb. 3, 1788
Anthony Rice, son of Holden Rice, deceased, and Mary Cook, daughter of
Capt. Silas Cook, deceased, both of Warwick, Jan. 3, 1790
Wanton Rice, son of Henry Rice, and Mercy Gardner, both of Warwick, Oct.
2, 1791
ELDER SAMUEL LITTLEFIELD'S MARRIAGES
Dianna Rice and Randall Carder, Dec. 23, 1794
Sarah Rice and James E. Reminton, Sept. 7, 1802
Barbara Rice and John Holden, Feb. 20, 1802
Henrietta Rice and Joseph Burrows, Oct. 27, 1803
Sarah Rice and Rufus Greene, Aug. 16, 1804
Eliza Rice and Jonathan Remington, May 19, 1811
Joseph W. Rice and Elizabeth Wilbur, both of Warwick, June 13, 1811
Mary Rice and William Standish, Dec. 25, 1815
Sarah W. Rice and Joseph F. Arnold, March 24, 1816
Ann Rice and Jabez Burlingame, Sept. 6, 1816
George Rice and Lydia Whitman, Jan. 27, 1820
ELDER JAMES WILSON'S MARRIAGES
Lucy Rice and John Easterbrooks, "about Aug. 9, 1813"
Martha Rice and Phillip Justin, Nov. 25, 1824
Prescott Rice and Eliza Brown, both of Troy, Mass.; pub., by Nathan B. Borden,
Esq.; married Oct. 23, 1825
Julia F. Rice and Benjamin B. Viall, Oct. 25, 1831
(This material was received by your editor in 1978 from Virginia T. Miller of Brea, CA)
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* He was probably black, as the notation after his name is (col.) People who wish to follow up on this might want to start with the Guide to Manuscripts at the Rhode Island Historical Society Relating to People of Color.
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FOR FELLOW ROOT DIGGERS & BRANCH CLIMBERS
A Prayer for Genealogists
Lord, help me dig into the past
And shift the sands of time
That I might find the roots that made
This family tree of mine;
Lord, help me trace the ancient roads
On which my fathers trod
And led them through so many lands
To find our present sod.
Lord, help me find an ancient book
Or dusty manuscript
That's safely hidden now away
In some forgotten crypt;
Lord, let it bridge the gap that haunts
My soul when I can't find
The missing link between some name
That ends the same as mine.
~ by Curtis Woods of the San Mateo (California)
Genealogical Society
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SOUTHERN FAMILY TREES
Manney Murdoch Rice
Physician from the Carolinas
Manney Murdoch Rice was born at Beaver Dam, NC, in 1880, the oldest son of Winfield Jefferson Rice and the former Julia Manney Ide. He was a child when his parents left North Carolina to settle in South Carolina.
After graduating from public schools, Manney attended the University of South Carolina for two years, then in 1902 graduated from the pharmacy program at Charleston Medical College. He completed his medical studies at the University of Maryland, from which he received his doctorate in medicine in 1906. He then interned for a year at University Hospital in Baltimore.
Dr. Rice set up his medical practice in Columbia, SC, in 1907. He was a practicing physician in Columbia for many years. In addition to being a surgeon, he was a staff member of Baptist Hospital and a medical director in charge of Keely Sanitorium.
In addition, Dr. Rice served Columbia citizens as elected city physician, health officer and longtime City Councilman. He and his wife, the former Mabel Smith of Cameron, SC, had no children.
This source says that Dr. Rice came from a family that had been in North Carolina for many generations, most of them being farmers.
Winfield Jefferson Rice went to South Carolina in 1886 as chief clerk of the Southern Railroad, then became chief clerk of the Atlantic and Northwestern Railroad, returning to North Carolina to reside at Newbern.
While a resident of Columbia, SC, he founded St. Timothy's Protestant Episcopal Church and performed the first service there.
In addition to Manney Rice, Winfield and Julia had these children: John Rice, deputy sheriff of Portsmouth, VA; Mary, who wed Owen G. Dunn of Newbern, NC; Sadie, who married Howard D. Reid of Columbia, SC, and W. F. Rice, who served with the American Expeditionary Forces overseas in World War I, became a lieutenant colonel and was in command of a garrison in Manila.
(The Source for this biography is The Biographical History of South Carolina, Vol. IV, published in 1934 by the American Historical Society, Inc., New York.)
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Two Early Rice Marriages in Hanover Co., Virginia
James Garland and Mary Rice were married in 1745. (Only the year is given. Clemens, William M., Virginia Marriage Records: Covering the Period from the First Colonial Settlement Until the Close of the Revolution, 1928)
Nicholas Watters married Sarah Rice 12 November 1777. (Date as reported by clerk; not necessarily marriage date.) |
Rev. Jacob Rice, Early Welsh Missionary in Newfoundland
1775 MAP OF NEWFOUNDLAND
Many American Rices think their ancestors are Welsh, but DNA evidence doesn't support this conclusion. Jacob Rice was, however, a real Welshman. He was born in 1683, a younger son of Thomas Rice of Newcastle, County Cardigan, Wales.
Jacob finished his degree work at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, in 1702. The following year this young clergyman was appointed to a remote curacy in Cardiganshire.
When it was decided to recall John Jackson from Newfoundland in 1705, Rice was appointed in his place by the Bishop of London.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel proposed to sponsor Rice, but he failed to produce the required testimonials before his departure.
In 1709, Rice returned to England, and on 30 May offered his services as a missionary to the society. His offer was refused - once more on the score of the lack of suitable testimonials - and the society declined to admit any responsibility where he was concerned. The society's objection to Rice seems to have been a purely technical one, since, as far as can be judged, his behaviour was irreproachable and his religious commitment unquestioned. Indeed there are in the society's records reports from merchants trading in Newfoundland that Rice lived soberly and peaceably, that he discharged his ministry with care and diligence, and that he set up a school for educating the children of the community.
Rice returned to Newfoundland as a free-lance minister. In 1712, he was having difficulties collecting his allowance of fish. Although he was supposed to get 3 quintals of "dry merchantable fish" from every shallop and a lesser quantity from smaller boats, he received a bare 100 quintals a year. (A quintal is 100 kilograms.) The commodore of the convoy, Sir Nicholas Trevanion, confirmed his salary, and was evidently impressed by Rice's fitness for the post. On 20 June 1727, Rice was appointed chaplain to the garrison at Placentia.
Rice died in September of 1728, and so was probably the same man as a Jacob Rice, "clerk," who died in September of that year at North Cray, Kent, England.
(This is from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography)
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LINKS TO ARTICLES BY YOUR EDITOR
Here are some ship passenger lists for early passengers to New England, Maryland and Virginia. There are no Rices among them, but I know many of you are working on other ancestral lines. Hope you find an ancestor or two!
Passengers on Three Early Ships to New England ~ These were colonists aboard Zouch Phoenix (1624), the Abigail (1628) and the Lyon (1631). Places they lived in England are given for some of the passengers. This list includes a couple of well known colonial era people.
Passengers to Virginia in 1635 ~ Because there were not families on this ship it is believed that passengers were poor people and petty thieves shipped from England to be indentured servants in Virginia.
First Maine Arrivals ~ These are passengers from several small ships that came to Maine. Some were fishermen, who didn't stay, but a few remained and founded families.
Passengers on the Ship Bevis in 1638 ~ Most of these passengers belonged to the flock of the Rev. Stephen Bachiler. They settled first at Lynn, MA, but later many of them founded Hampton, NH.
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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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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.
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BOOK 4: Pennsylvania and Maryland Rice Lineages
This is the book we are now working on.
Order books from the Rice Book Project Website.
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(The RICE FAMILY EZINE is sponsored
by the Rice Family Book Project)
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