Passing through the upper end of Luta [Upper Loutre, Montgomery Co, MO] about the year 1828 or '29, I stopped at the house of old Mr. Wm. Rice; he said he was 85 or 86 years of age, and brother of Rev. David Rice, one of the first Presbyterian Ministers of Kentucky. His mind was unimpaired, his memory remarkable and he was esteemed a consistent Christian man. He told me that when a small boy, he saw my ancestor who emigrated from Wales, and was then residing in Hanover Co, Va., remarking that he was one of the oldest and tallest men he ever saw; his name was Thomas Lacy. He told me his history was very peculiar, that when a young man he embarked on board a vessel from Wales with other emigrants, with a view of settling in Virginia; that during the voyage he was captured by a notorious pirate who went under the familiar name of Black Beard, but whose name was Taike; that every passenger on board was made to walk the plank with the exception of Thomas Lacy, who the pirate swore was too fine a looking fellow to be drowned and that he would impress him into his service and make a noble pirate of him.
 

A short time after the pirate put into Ocracoke Sound, and cast anchor on a desolate coast, where he was in the habit of trading with some lawless accomplices.
 

A man of suspicious character, I think by the name of Minnis, applied to the Governor of Virginia, then residing on Jamestown Island, to aid him in fitting out a large Merchant Vessel and collecting a large number of desperate adventurers with a view of capturing the pirate. He was induced to do this, from the fact that a very large reward had been offered by the British Government and several of her colonies for the capture of the pirate. 

It seems that Minnis was acquainted with the habits of Black Beard and knew at what time he would be on the coast. The vessel was fitted and crew collected. Immediately on entering Ocracoke Inlet the vessel was so fitted to appear almost a wreck. Taking advantage of a favorable wind and tide she sailed slowly under ragged sailes and crippled masts to where the piratical vessel lay, only four or five men on deck making signals of distress as they approached the pirate. All the men, completely armed, hid under the hatches of the vessel.

The pirate seemed amused at her slow approach, supposing they had her entirely in their power. The piratical vessel was anchored over a half mile from shore. At this time nearly half the crew were on shore trading, as above mentioned.  

BLACKBEARD

As soon as she reached the pirate she was grappled and drawn up alongside of her. Instantly all the hatches were thrown up and armed men in large numbers rushed on the deck of the pirate. At this instant Thomas Lacy drew his cutlass and shouting with trumpet-voice, "I am a true man. I am a prisoner", began to cut down the pirates on the right and left. This circumstance increased their panic and threw them into some confusion so that they were quickly overcome by superior numbers. Not one would surrender and every one was slain. Black Beard recognized Minnis and cursed him as a traitor and was soon after killed. 

They then proceeded with their prize to Jamestown where the good conduct of Thomas Lacy being reported to the Governor, he gave him a share of the prize money, and a tract of land on the frontier in which is now Hanover Co, saying he would make a fine Indian fighter. In a few years after Thomas Rice sailed from Wales and settled in the same neighborhood of Thomas Lacy. Thomas Lacy married his daughter to whom he had been engaged before leaving Wales.  

This Thomas Rice was the ancestor of this William Rice who gave me the above narrative. [His daughter, Phoebe Rice married Thomas Lacy.] 

(Signed: William S. Lacy)

EDITOR'S NOTES:

This old document would seem to be affirming that Thomas Rice of Hanover Co., Virginia definitely came from Wales.  The family legend, however, states he was on his way home from England where he had gone to receive his inheritance.  That story says he was robbed and killed by pirates on his way back to Virginia. Could this have been confused with Thomas Lacy's story by people who descended from both Thomas Lacy and Thomas Rice?   

The William S. Lacy (1791-1881) who wrote about his interview with the aged William Rice was a son of Rev. Drury Lacey (1758-1815) and grandson of the William Lacy who married Elizabeth Rice. Drury was a grandson of Thomas Rice, the immigrant.  His wife, Elizabeth, was, according to Rev. William Henry Foote's 1850  Sketches of Virginia, "a cousin to Benjamin Rice of Bedford, the father of Rev. Doctors John H. and Benjamin H. Rice." 

There is a more detailed online discussion of the origin of Thomas Lacy, including that he descended from French Huguenots who fled to England.  That discussion includes the document cited above. It claims "This document is the only tangible bit of evidence known of the immigrants Thomas Lacy and Thomas Rice, relation to their old world background and their immigration to Virginia, and of the marriage of Thomas Lacey to the daughter of Thomas Rice."

It would make sense that a third or fourth generation descendant of both Thomas Rice and Thomas Lacy might not know which Thomas was captured by pirates.  More enticing, however, is the belief that Thomas Lacy and Thomas Rice knew each other in Wales.  Perhaps having both surnames would warrant a search in old Welsh records for where they lived. 

I hope, Martha, that you and those who post to your Rice email list will discuss this information.   

 

Some Wilcoxson-Rice Connections

Our featured story on Daniel Boone's Rice relatives had this entry:

DANIEL WILCOXSON/WILCOX (Sarah Boone-3, Squire Boone-2, George Boone-1) married a Miss Faulkner, who first name is unknown. His mother was the sister of Daniel Boone. Daniel Wilcoxson (1755-1837) served in the Revolutionary War from North Carolina and died in Shelby Co., Kentucky. Two of his children married Rices. Martha (Patsy) Rice married a Mr. Rice who lived in Anderson Co., Kentucky. Her brother John married Louvincia Rice.

Reader Alice Ramer (Rice) Bratcher has more information on Daniel Wilcoxson's wife and the Rice spouses of their children Martha and John.

First: Daniel Wilcoxson married Sarah/Sallie/Sally Faulconer (Faulkner) Oct. 7, 1780. 

Different records show Boonesborough, VA (later Madison Co., KY)  and Bryan's Station, Frontier, KY as the location of the marriage.

Second: Daniel and Sarah's daughter, Martha/Patsy/Patsey Wilcoxson, married a John Walker Oct. 6, 1797 in Woodford Co., KY.  Following his death, Martha married Jesse Rice in 1806 in Shelby Co., KY, as his second or third wife.  (Note: Jesse Rice had a daughter, Lavina Rice, born Dec. 2, 1798 in Woodford Co., KY, by his previous wife, Sarah/Sally Mitchell, whom he had wed in 1794 in Mercer Co., KY.)

Third: Daniel and Sarah's son, John Nathan Wilcoxson, married Lavina/Lavinia/Vincey/Louvincia Emaly Rice, on Sept. 13 of either 1821 or 1822 in Shelby Co., KY. This is the Lavina Rice born to Jesse Rice, above.To make it more, or less, complicated: John N. Wilcoxson married his brother-in-law's daughter by a previous wife.

Alice also shares some geography with us:

Bryan Station (also Bryan's Station, and often misspelled Bryant's Station) was an early fortified settlement in present day Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky. It was located on present-day Bryan Station Road, about three miles (5 km) north of New Circle Road, on the southern bank of Elkhorn Creek near Briar Hill Road.

For more information on the Boone family:

 The Boone Society, Inc. is an association of descendants, genealogists and historians who enjoy studying the lives and times of this remarkable family. It was formed as a reference service for researchers, a conduit for genealogists, clearing-house for bibliographical works, and to host the biennial Boone Family Reunion.

AT RIGHT: William Ranney's 1849 painting "Boone's First View of Kentucky"

Rices in

Webster County

Kentucky 

INTRODUCTION

The following information is abstracted from Some Webster County, Kentucky Families, compiled by Minerva Boone Bassett and published in 1983 by Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD.  There are three observations to share:

1) This book is available online, which is why there is only a summary here.

2) The claim that James Rhodes Rice was born to a Massachusetts family descended from Dea. Edmund Rice cannot be substantiated and should not be used unless it is documented. (If anyone can find that documentation, your editor would like to have it.)

3) This book contains a very detailed multi-generation descent from brothers James and Edward, including material on families of the female lines. In some cases the families of spouses, with ancestry

given, is located elsewhere in the book. 

JAMES RHODES RICE was born in 1767 in Virginia and died in 1848 in Kentucky.  He married the former Mary Rachel Taylor/Tayloe, daughter of Richard Tayloe, whose will,  dated in 1786, was probated in 1795 in Bertie Co., North Carolina.  James and his wife, Mary, are believed to have been married ca. 1788 in Virginia. Their children:

1. JAMES RHODES RICE Jr. was born Dec. 1, 1792 in North Carolina and died in December of 1852 in Kentucky. James Rhodes Rice Jr. married, on Nov. 7, 1822, Elizabeth Von Nichols, daughter of Noah Nichols and the former Sarah Godwin Early. Elizabeth was born Aug. 29, 1807 in Wake Co., North Carolina, and died Sept. 5, 1873 in Kentucky.  Their children were:  Mary Elizabeth Rice (1824-1886; m. William Cavanah Lisman),  Thomas E. Rice (m. 1-Mary R. Givens and 2-Maria J. Wilson), Sarah /Sallie F. Rice (1828-1875; m. Joel Henry Tapp), Noah Nichols Rice (1830-1906; m. Mary A. Kevil), James Lawrence Rice (b. ca. 1835; m.1-Martha Givens and 2- Ann B. Gist),  and Laban Marchbanks Rice (b. 1838; m. 1-Ann E. Wilson,  2-Martha Ann Lacy and 3-Goldie Nannie Lacy). See notes below.
2. EDWARD RICE was born Sept. 9, 1798 in North Carolina and died April 15, 1878. He married Macy Nichols Jan. 5, 1825. The daughter of Noah Nichols and Sarah Godwin Early, she was the sister of Elizabeth, wife of Edward's brother James.  Children:  James Monroe Rice (1829-1876; m. Eusebia Givens), Kearney Godwin Rice (1830-1890; m. 1-Sarah M. Barnhill, 2-Ann Mary Wynn and 3-Mary J. Johnson), Henry G. Rice (b. 1831), Rachel Taylor Rice (1832-1924; m. 1-Thomas P. Givens and 2- Nathaniel Smith), Joseph/Josiah N. Rice (1834-1906; m. 1- Elizabeth Karr Givens and 2-Edd Price) and Frank M. Rice (ca.1838-ca.1861; m. Mary/Nettie J. Dobyns). See notes below.

 The book on Webster County families tells this story:

 When James Rhodes Rice Jr. and Edward Rice came to Hopkins Co., Ky., as they were riding along they saw a beautiful girl sitting on a woodpile near a two-story house.  Edward told his brother that he meant for her to be his wife. Two years later, in 1825, Edward returned and married Mary Nichols. He was 27 and she was 14.

(James and Edward had established a trading post at Belleville, on Tradewater River, in 1820 and later moved to what was then Shiloh and is now Lisman, named for one of the families the Rices married into.) 

NOTES: Your editor has written about members of this branch of the family several times.

Dr. Laban Lacy Rice, an amazing scholar who lived past age 100, was the head of both a Tennessee College and of a Military Academy, which at one time he owned.  He is profiled in RICE BOOK 1: Celebrating Our Diversity. He was the grandson of James Rhodes Rice (above) and son of Laban Marchbanks Rice.

Cale Young Rice, also a son of tobacco merchant Laban Marchbanks Rice, was a well known poet and dramatist who was married to author Alice (Hegan) Rice, who wrote under her married name.  Cale, a Harvard graduate, is said to have missed his wife so much that he committed suicide a year after she died. 

                       CALE YOUNG RICE (1872-1943)                                LABAN LACY RICE (1870-1973)

The Dominick Rices 

INTRODUCTION

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