Edmund Rice Homestead East Sudbury, MA

Edmund Rice (1638) Association Newsletter 24 Buckman Dr., Chelmsford MA 01824 Vol. 76, No. 4   Fall 2002 return to: [Information page]  [ ERA Main page]

Dear Cousins,

As promised there is a fuller description of the Genetics' Committee activities in this issue. There may be criticism from some quarters that the ERA is using DNA only in a negative way to exclude male Rices who do not descend from Edmund Rice. That is not our purpose and it is not why we are using this new tool of genealogy. Genealogy may not be science but we want to uncover true information about our heritage and this new tool helps us. Neither ERA nor the Mayflower Society evict members whose pedigrees prove incorrect but do correct the genealogical record.

It appears true that Abishai and Matthias Rice are biological descendants of Robert Royce but they were certainly brought up as Rice children and so were their children. We know of name changes both ways: Rice to Royce as well as Royce to Rice.  Some switches are already published in our genealogical books. Many of these changes were apparently done by whim. Y DNA analysis, the tool we are now using is not a whim but a fact of science.

One of the most interesting findings coming from DNA analysis is the sorting out of "Other Rices". At this writing, DNA analysis shows more than a dozen different Rice families in America. Most of them appear to come from Great Britain and most immigrated to southern colonies. However, one was in colonial Rhode Island in the early 1600's. These Rices do not descend from Edmund and there is reason to believe that if a common ancestor existed he lived probably before the beginning of surnames in 1200 to 1300s.

If these discoveries hold up to future research it may well mean that the surname Rice did not arise from a single male in a specific location but was probably derived from a patrilineal surname or an occupation. Rice apparently was quite common in Wales as a first name. Professor Sykes and Dr. George Redmonds may have inspired the greater use of DNA by genealogists but their thesis that many surnames derive from single sources is not holding up. In over 260 surname projects using DNA analysis the great majority have not found the Sykes-Redmond thesis to be true. You can read about other surname studies on the Internet at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~allpoms/genetics1a.html.

Of course most of the studies are using 10 to 30 loci compared to Sykes 4 that makes them much more definitive than Sykes' study.

We are still investigating possibilities of Edmund Rice connections in contemporary Great Britain because so many cousins are interested. Currently there are two different Rice families in England whose genealogy is being checked out before we submit their samples for DNA analysis.

Sincerely,
Robert V. Rice, President

Unfortunately we are losing our Newsletter Editor and need to find another. Keith Capen Allen has resigned as of March 15, 2003. It's going to be hard to find another as capable as Keith but we must try. Please write or phone or e-mail me if you want to volunteer or know someone else who would be able to take over the position.

Editor's Column
 

Tom and I attended our first Rice Reunion weekend - finally. On September 20th, we were on our way home to Tulsa from Maine, so the timing couldn't have been better. We had a great time - Rice cousins are interesting, interested, fun people. We stayed over the night of the 21st that gave us both the opportunity to explore the fascinating Wayside Inn more thoroughly and the chance to have more time enjoying the company of the Wesens, Gary Rices and Hites. Hope to see you next September in Lexington! -Keith Capen Allen

Tom Allen, Gary & Elaine Rice, Bob & Bea Hites, Keith Allen (sitting)

Reunion Reflections

I assume that Bob, John, and George are covering the main meeting, the database, and the DNA, so I didn't write about Saturday.  The food was great but I just like to eat it and not write about it.

Early on Friday morning, September 20, I arrived at Longfellow's Wayside Inn, with ample time before the scheduled events to explore the scenic grounds.  I walked around the duck pond, then near the old schoolhouse made famous by Mary's little lamb. I pondered, which of my ancestors might have traversed the same lands, or visited the old inn belonging to my Howe cousins?

I walked on through the garden and contemplated the bust of Longfellow; then sat for a while in the colorful garden and said a prayer for my first grandson, born September 16, 2002. The little miracle child weighed only one pound nine ounces at birth, but he's over three pounds now and doing fine. Cooper Virta is the child of my stepson Spencer Virta and his wife Julie Wolf, not a descendant of Edmund Rice, but still my first and special grandchild.

I returned to the Inn to visit the exhibit rooms. I was especially fascinated by the portrait of Isaac Idrehi, Jew from Alicante, Spain, "with aspect grand and grave," as written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the Tales of a Wayside Inn. Greater diversity than I previously imagined certainly existed in colonial Massachusetts. Tomer, my daughter's boyfriend, might share common roots with Isaac, if Isaac existed outside the creative imagination of Longfellow.

By then it was almost eleven o'clock, so I went to meet our cousins and join the excursion to Wayland.  The visit to the Wayland Historical Society was fascinating, thanks to the thoughtful planning and enthusiasm of many members of the society, who provided tours of the Heard House. We saw maps, deeds, portraits of family members, several furnished rooms, including a room filled with antique toys. In the hallway, there was an Empire sofa almost identical to the "Brigham" sofa I recently inherited. Next we went on a car tour of Wayland to view various sites of our immigrant ancestors.

Returning to the Wayside Inn, I checked into my room, and invited Jeannette Pollard for a brief rest before the board meeting. The room was decorated with antiques, including a small portrait of a Howe gentleman of the innkeeper's family.

Later I discovered the drawer full of letters in my room addressed to the Secret Drawer Society. There is a quaint tradition at the Inn for guests to write down their private thoughts and secrets and leave them for future guests to discover. When I stay at the Inn again some day, perhaps I will uncover a Rice family secret in one of those drawers.

- Beth McAleer

Attendees Rice Reunion 2002
 

Tom & Keith Allen  Tulsa, OK Doris & Myron Austin  Aurora, IN Adeline Beier   Park Ridge, IL Earl & Kathy Bond  No. Stonington, CT Nancy Boulter   Berea, OH Joe & Ruth Brown  Sudbury, MA Barbara Carlson   W. Warwick, RI Virginia Carothers  Centerville, MA John Chandler   Harvard, MA Amy Chapman   Weston, MA Dick & Jill Cochrane  Jackson, TN Anita Cooper   Texas City, TX Charles Sterling   Houston, TX Bill & Jane Drury   Chelmsford, MA Glenda Duclos   Fall River, MA Robert Estabrook   Dorchester, NH Rebecca Fairbank   Sudbury, MA Natalie Eaton   Sudbury, MA Lynda Fisher   Littleton, MA Laurie Gaddis   Johnston, RI Dana & Barbara Hastings  Dover, MA Bob & Beatrice Hites  Douglasville, GA George & Anne King  Williamsburg, VA Lawrence & Ann Marie LaChance Fort Smith, AR Beth McAleer   Brookline, MA Nancy Murphy   Tewksbury, MA Alice Pierce   Lexington, MA Edward & Janet Poe  Titusville, FL Jeanette Pollard   Marlboro, MA Doug & Nancy Pope  Centerville, MA Gary & Elaine Rice  Carlton Place, ONT George L. Rice   Wayland, MA Joanne Rice   Windsor, ONT Conrad Reitz   Windsor, ONT John Rice   Marlboro, MA Bob Rice   Falmouth, MA Tim Sanford   Scarborough, ONT Robert Spofford   Granby, MA Richard Spofford   Summerville, SC Russ & Pat Vickery  Princeton, MA Diana Warren   Wayland, MA Bob & Wendy Wesen  Grosse Point Woods, MI Marian Wheeler   Concord, MA Linda Wilson   Hudson, MA Abbott & Annie Rice  Hudson, NH Winston & Carol Rice  Norwell, MA John & Hope Pobst  Barre, MA Mathew Pollard   Dedham, MA Martha Wood   Lexington, MA

Bob Rice and George Rice   George King & Bill Drury discussing database with other cousins. Dana Hastings and Beth McAleer (2nd from left) visiting with other couisns

Doris Rice Barb - A Poem
El Dorado KS
August 27, 2002

Attn. Keith Capen Allen
8911 S Florence Pl
Tulsa OK

I will try to introduce myself as another "oldie" of the cousins. I had hoped in my younger years that some of my family and I could attend one of the yearly reunions but time was the problem. I can still imagine what a great experience it must be.

I hope to celebrate my 94th birthday on September 29, 2002. For three years I have been in a care home in my local community. Due to falls I've had, I can no longer live entirely independently, so I sold my 3 bedroom house and moved to this small place where I receive good care and still live near my church, doctors, friends and some family members. I get around quite well on a "3-wheeler".

My husband, Arlington (who died in 1962), and I moved to El Dorado in 1947. I was a classroom teacher for 42 years until I had to retire at age 65 in 1974. I write a lot of history and poetry, and enjoy a wealth of memories like winning around 400 awards at the state fair over the years and the special time each October when we had our Rice Reunion.

The Rice Family Annual Reunion

The second Sunday in October is special we know,
When off to the Rice Reunion we go.
Grandpas, grandmas, uncles, aunts, cousins, kids, and all
Come together and have a ball.

More families have joined us through the years,
So our branch of the family tree is growing it appears.
Each family arrives with food galore,
Making a feast for all and much, much more.

How blessed we are in our society today,
For the freedom to assemble and enjoy the day,
If we could but join our cousins from far and near
At the Edmund Rice Reunion in Massachusetts some year,

The Rice name would become real to you and me,
But each year we appreciate a reunion with our branch of the tree.

- Doris Rice Barb

Y-DNA Studies of the Edmund Rice Haplotype and Rice/Royce Families in Colonial New England;

Interim Report of the Genetics Committee (Y-DNA)

Background
Originally, most Rices in New England were thought to be descendants of Edmund Rice who immigrated to Sudbury, Massachusetts from Berkhamsted and Stanstead, England about 1638[1]. However, a possible connection between Robert Royce, who appeared in Stratford, Connecticut in 1647, and Robert Rice, a passenger in the Winthrop Fleet of 1630 to Boston, was refuted[2] and neither appear to have any relationship to Edmund Rice's family. Yet some Rices have changed their surnames to Royce[3] and quite a few Royces have changed theirs to Rice, and some historians of colonial Connecticut have considered the two surnames interchangeable[4]

When John Chandler and I sent in our research paper, "DNA Analyses of Y-Chromosomes Show Only One of Three Sons of Gershom3 Rice to be a Descendant of Edmund1 Rice", to New England Ancestors[5] we did not know that descendants of two of three sons of Gershom would turn out to have genetic markers belonging to the Royce family.

It was obvious from the first results of DNA analysis that the two did not have Edmund's Haplotype but that they completely agreed one with the other. Luckily, we did get indications of the Royce ancestry in time to include one sentence alerting readers of the journal to the discovery but since space in printed journals is at a premium, we were unable to include many of our references to genealogical research on Gershom Rice in and about Groton, New London, Norwich and Stonington, Conn. and Marlborough, Sudbury, Charlestown, and Worcester, Mass. Here is a fuller report.

Dennis Rice started transcribing ERA published genealogical books more than seven years ago using The Master Genealogist computer software. George King, John Chandler and others are now verifying entries with vital records, generation by generation. The first five generations are now on line at edmund-rice.org.

DNA Analysis Results
We used the database and other sources to compile a list of living male Rices descending from five of Edmund's sons. Then volunteers submitted samples for DNA analysis, first to the lab at Brigham Young University and later, the lab of Family Tree DNA. (Bennett Greenspan, who founded Family Tree DNA in 1999, uses Dr. Michael Hammer's lab at University of Arizona[6].)

The first results from BYU showed ten Rice male analyses agreed with the first 12 loci and thus form the Edmund Rice Haplotype. The two descendants of Gershom3 Rice from two of his sons agreed with each other but did not match the other ten Rices and one Rice sample result was different at two loci.

There were several problems with the BYU results[7]. We quickly located a descendant from the third son of Gershom3 and had his and five of the first batch analyzed by FTDNA. Still later, because of single mutations in two samples, we found pertinent living male Rices from the ERA database and obtained results from more samples. We now have results from 15 Edmund descendants. See Figure 1:

The two bottom rows contain the results for sample number 3 that matches those for a known Royce sample but the last row for number 4 has one difference for DYS 464d. This seems to be a single mutation in the otherwise perfect Royce set of markers. This means that the two living Rices with Royce Y-chromosomes have branched pedigrees.

In between are rows for those Rice samples that showed single mutations. Sample numbers 11* and 17* are from male Rices with branching pedigrees as shown in the upper diagram. They have identical mutations at DYS 439 with 12 repeats instead of 11. Two other samples with single mutations, numbers 10* and 12*, are also marked with asterisks.  Their single mutations are at DYS 390 with 24 repeats and DYS 393 with 14 repeats respectively. The blank rectangles represent male Rices who were not analyzed but were determined by conventional genealogy. Some are named so branching pedigrees can be traced in the future.

Genealogy of Gershom Rice

When it became obvious that two of Gershom3 Rice's sons were not biological descendants of Edmund1 Rice, we started searching genealogical records for Gershom, especially in Connecticut. Ward recounts his early-married life based on Groton VR, land records, and a letter from his mother-in-law to his wife Elizabeth Balcom, but notes there is no known evidence of Gershom's marriage[9].
 A copy of Groton, Conn., Vital Records[10] (vol. 1 p.112) of the original record shows:
Elizabeth4, b. 20 October 1798 [sic] (1698)
Abishai4, b. 16 October 1701
Sarah4, b. 9 February 1703
Matthias4, b. 26 January 1707/8
Ruth4, b. 11 April 1710

The births of all the children were all recorded simultaneously sometime after the birth of Ruth in 1710. Over the years the original records were transcribed at least twice and the original is apparently no longer available. New London and Groton were sacked and burned by Benedict Arnold's British troops during the Revolutionary War. The existing copy is all in the same handwriting [11]. Groton was founded in 1704 and sometime after, John Davie, the first Groton town clerk recorded his own children thusly: "These were all born in the town now called Groton"[12]. According to the above list the first three children were presumably born in what became Groton in New London County but only Abishai appears in New London VR:

             Rice, Abisha, s. Gershom & Elizabeth, b Oct 16, 1701[13].
             Gershom Rice, Jr's birth has not been found listed anywhere but can be estimated from his gravestone as 1696[14].

Ms. Judith Johnson, genealogist of the Connecticut Historical Society, found two items pertaining to Elizabeth. Her baptism at the First Congregational Church of Stonington, Conn. is listed:
           Nov. 27, 1698, Elizabeth, daughter of Gershom Rice, of Sudbury[15].
 Also the following from the Diary of Manasseh Minor of Stonington[16]:
           "1 October 1698, mrs rise came here to ly in.; 18 October, mrs Rise was brote on bed &; 2 december 1698, mrs Rice went home & El went with them to the island."
From other entries in the diary El can be identified as Manasseh's son Elnathan and the island was probably Fishers Island, 4 miles off Stonington's coast.

Thus, Elizabeth was apparently born away from home at Stonington, (established 1649), Abishai was born in New London (established 1646) and the later children in Groton (established 1705), but that does not mean the family actually changed locations. The above towns and Norwich (established 1659) were all part of New London Co. Minor's diary cryptically records the movement and activities of early settlers from 1696 to 1720 and makes clear that there was remarkably frequent horseback traffic between the area and Boston.

Gershom Rice was born at Marlborough, Mass. on 9 May 1667[17] and died 19 Dec 1768 at Worcester, Mass[18]. No record has ever been found of any marriage ceremony. Gershom Rice is found in a list of Massachusetts Militia in May 1690[19] but by Nov 1698 Elizabeth is identified in Stonington, Conn. as his daughter, although he is listed as of Sudbury. He also appears on a list of settlers in Groton, Conn. "east of the river before 1700[20], in a list of Freemen there in 1708[21] and as serving on a jury in New London on 31 May 1703.

Land records of Groton, Conn. place Gershom there in 1704[22] when Gershom Rice of Groton, Conn. and Jonas Rice of Sudbury, Mass. purchased land from Nehemiah Smith. Gershom and Jonas sold land back to Smith (and Daniel Lamb) on 16 May 1709. No wives were listed in either transaction. It is not clear where Gershom's residence was for he continued to live in Groton after selling land back to Smith in 1709. He probably had received land as a pioneer settler.

Elizabeth Balcom was born 16 May 1672, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Haynes) Balcom of Charlestown, Mass[23]. No record of any marriage has been found. However, her name and identity as daughter of Henry Balcom and wife of Gershom Rice do appear in a land transaction dated 12 Nov 1709. "Gershom Rice, of Groton, Conn., and his wife, Elizabeth (Balcom) Rice sold to her brothers, John and Joseph Balcom, of Sudbury, Nov 12, 1709 for Forty and Two pounds "[24]. Ward reports a letter from her mother Elizabeth (Haynes) Balcom dated 1 April 1713 to "her loving daughter, Elizabeth Rice, living in Groton"[25]. No record of her death exists except (according to Ward) a reference Gershom made in an interview with the Boston Gazette in which her "age at death was about 80"[26].

Genealogy of other Rice/Royce Families

The Royce genealogy in early colonial Connecticut has been reasonably well documented by Jacobus[27].  There, some Royces adopted the Rice surname as well as did many Royces after they migrated from Connecticut to western Massachusetts and Vermont. After establishing the Edmund Rice Haplotype, the ERA agreed to administer any Rice family's DNA analysis for FTDNA. Until recently all the men with Royce DNA results have had Rice surnames. The first one to match genetic markers exactly with Gershom's two non-sons knew the generation (6th) in which the name change occurred from Royce to Rice. Since there are now matches of all 25 loci (or 24/25), it appears currently that all five samples belong to the Royce family, but we are hoping to have more definitive proof soon, based on tests of additional Royce descendants.

The genetic marker difference between the Edmund Rice Haplotype and the markers attributed to Royce is huge as shown in the bottom portion of Figure 1. Seventeen markers out of twenty-five are different and eight differ by more than one repeat. So, the admixture of Rice and Royce surnames cannot be due to just a few mutations as were the cases of Rice sample numbers 10, 11, 12 and 17.

It was possible with sample numbers 11 and 17 with the same single mutation of 12 repeats instead of 11 at DYS 439 to bracket the mutational event within three generations. Thus, the mutation must have occurred during one of the two Jonas Rice generations or in that of their son or grandson Thomas. Because sample number 4 of the Royce genetic descendant has a putative single mutation in comparison to a known Royce descendant that matches the markers of sample number 3 it may be possible to further differentiate the two. One possibility, but by no means likely, is that Abishai and Matthias had two different Royce fathers.

Robert Royce, first of Stratford, became an important personage in New London and had five sons, Nehemiah, Jonathan, Samuel, Nathaniel, and Isaac, several of whom married in New London but moved to Norwich, Wallingford, and other Connecticut towns[28]. We have searched for a male Royce who by age and location might be a candidate father of Abishai and Matthias Rice. David3 Royce (Robert1, Jonathan2), b 19 Aug 1682 at Norwich, d before 13 Nov 1711, is the best possibility so far. No marriage has been found for him. We have not found a married male Royce (to an Elizabeth) who died about 1707 and whose wife did not have a record of remarrying nor have we found a Royce family with children named Abishai and Matthias who were orphaned.

The John Rice family of Warwick, Rhode Island descended from John Rice, b in England, ca 1644, d 6 Jan 1730/1 at Warwick. This Rice family was in the Providence region in 1690-1710. Recently, a descendant of this family had his DNA analyzed and the results were completely different from either Edmund Rice or Robert Royce descendants[29].

Another John Rice from England married in 1649 at Dedham, Mass. and a son, Samuel, b 1658 at Dedham migrated to Woodstock, Conn., establishing a Rice family in northeastern Connecticut.. We have not found any connection to Edmund Rice but are searching for a living male Rice of this family for DNA analysis.

In less than six months of DNA analyses over 11 different Rice families other than Edmund's have been discovered in the US. Their genetic markers can be seen on a periodically updated table at edmund-rice.org.

Discussion

There were non-paternity events in the early years of 1700 in New London Co., Conn. The chemical DNA analysis is definite, not equivocal.  The question is, were the events adultery or adoption?

Adoptions in early New England are always difficult for genealogists because many, if not most, were not recorded. Families took in children who were orphaned if they were kin. The Edmund Rice family has at least one case involving a Rice boy who was adopted by a King family who were kin[30]. If, however, adoption were to result in dilution of inherited property then people would resist. Many orphans were indentured, as were many birth children of large households. We know that Gershom and Elizabeth Rice were considered married at least by 12 Nov 1709 when Abishai was eight and Matthias was about two. Such ages were probably too young for indenturing.

The committee was reluctant at first to consider adultery seriously because it was such a serious crime in Puritan society. Furthermore, Elizabeth and Gershom apparently were married over 50 years and their home in Worcester, as the site of the first church service, was a center of Puritan life. Gershom and his brother Jonas, were among the first fathers of town. All their children were in Worcester and stayed around for some time after their marriages. Gershom, Jr., agreed to look after both his parents as they became old.

We have found so far in the vital and probate records only one possible father of the two boys who have Royce DNA. That man is David Royce, b 19 Aug 1682 at Norwich, Conn. d. before 17 Nov 1711[31]. He would have been eighteen and one half years old at Abishai's conception. There is no record of his marriage or of his death, which apparently was about January 1711.

On 13 Nov 1711, his brother, John Royce, was appointed executor of David's estate, consisting primarily of a farm in Norwich, Conn. John was to sell portions of the farm to pay any debts and he posted a bond of 140 pounds[32]. This is the only probate record of any Royce in the first volume of New London District Probate Records. There are no records for any Rice in that volume which covers February 1675 to October 1713. There are no records for Gershom Rice in the copy of the first volume of land record indexes for New London in the Town Clerk's Office.

David Royce died at about age 29, so he could have been married and had children and his wife could have died between the birth of Matthias, 13 Jan 1708 and 13 Nov 1711 when John Royce was appointed executor. Otherwise David's hypothetical wife would certainly have been mentioned in the probate entry. However, we have found no evidence whatsoever of the existence of a wife for David Royce. The entry for David Royce in the genealogy of the Robert Royce Family, published under the auspices of Donald Lines Jacobus, ends with "d s.p. before 13 Nov 1711"(i.e., without issue) [33].

Three apparent descendants of Robert Royce appear to have Y-DNA single mutations among those tested so far[34], but two of them may belong to a different branch of the Royce family than that with Abishai and Matthias's DNA.  The descendant with the exact match to Abishai is of the Samuel Royce branch whereas David Royce descends from Jonathan Royce, but none of the pedigrees are completely verified and the three with mutations are especially uncertain. At the very least, we need a verified descendant of Jonathan Royce to have his Y-DNA analysis done. Unless we are lucky and can rule out David because of a mutation, the descent lines will remain uncertain.   Thus, it is important to obtain more complete pedigrees and DNA samples.

The question remains: were the non-paternity events adultery or adoptions?

The evidence and, possibly equally important, lack of evidence would seem to favor adultery. Groton and Norwich are about ten miles apart but there were Royce males all over that region of Connecticut. If Gershom Rice traveled from Groton, Conn. to Massachusetts even less frequently than residents of Stonington, Conn., (as recorded in Minor's diary) there would have been plenty of occasions when Elizabeth was alone[35]. There is some evidence from the deed that both Gershom and Jonas Rice signed, that both of them were in Groton in 1709 for the signing[36]. Ward assumes that Gershom Rice removed to Marlborough, Mass. by 1713 when he and Jonas Rice signed a petition to re-settle Worcester but he did not actually settle there until 1715. It is not clear where the Gershom Rice family were between selling Groton land in 1706 and 1715 although the land record of 1711 describes Gershom as of Groton[37]. The Massachusetts Archives has no record of the petition of 1713. New London probate or land records do not list any Rices during that time period.

Finally

This interim report of the ERA Genetics Committee's activities will be up-dated regularly in the newsletter. We want to thank Judith Johnson, Joyce Pendery, CG and George Sanborn, Jr., FASG for helpful discussions.

The committee members are John Chandler, George King and Bob Rice. The latter is responsible for any errors or omissions.

End Notes:

1 Andrew Henshaw Ward, A Genealogical History of the Rice Family of Deacon Edmund Rice (Boston, MA: C. Benjamin Richardson, Boston, 1858, reprinted 1989/90 by Edmund Rice (1638) Association. Hereafter cited as Ward.
2 Clarence L. Hewitt, Jr., The Register, 122, 274-277 (1968); Frank F. Starr and James Goodwin, Various Ancestral Lines of James Goodwin    1,  295-301, Hartford, 1915, reprinted, Higginson Books, Salem, MA, 1970.
3 Before 1810 Captain Alpheus Rice changed to Royce (Alpheus, Jonas, Adonijah, Jonas, Thomas, Edmund), as did Augustus E. Rice before 1839 (Augustus, Abishai, Abishai, Gershom, Thomas, Edmund). (Is it possible that Augustus had some knowledge of what we now suspect?) There are more than half dozen male Royces in the ERA database but all lived mostly in the 1800s. Edmund Rice Database, edmund-rice.org.
4 Donald Lines Jacobus, Families of Ancient New Haven, collected as VII, TAG, 1649 (1931). Hereinafter Jacobus.,  D.H. Hurd, History of New London County, Connecticut, 1882, reprinted Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie, MD, 155, (1990). Hereinafter Hurd.
5 New England Ancestors, 3, 50-51, (2002).
6 ftdna.com.
7 We started out with the laboratory of Professor Scott Woodward but the results came back from Sorenson Genomics, which was soon changed to Relative Genetics. These first results did clearly show agreement for an Edmund Rice Haplotype but the report did not use terms readily compatible to international usage. One sample was re-analyzed by RG with proper DYS designations and repeats and the same individual had oxfordancestors.com analyze a sample. We have exclusively used FTDNA for all subsequent samples.
8 The first 5 or in some cases 6, generations were obtained from the ERA database. Then, each submitter's pedigree was checked with published vital records, church records and cemetery records. In only a few instances was this not completely possible since many of the participants' forbearers had remained in Massachusetts. A very few generations did not have complete documentation. Some volunteers were rejected because their pedigrees were not reliable.
9 Ward, 26-28.
10 Barbour Collection, Groton, CT State Library (1918), 125.
11 Personal communications, Judith Johnson, Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford.                                                                                          12 Hurd, 421, our italics.
13 Barbour Collection New London, CT, Connecticut State Library, Hartford, (1919), 246.
[14] Inscriptions from Old Burial Grounds, 1717 to 1826, Collections of Worcester Society Antiquity (Worcester Society of Antiquity 1878, Worcester, MA), 56.
15 Richard A. Wheeler, History of the First Congregational Church, Stonington, Conn., 1674-1874, with Appendix containing Statistics of the Church, T.H. Davis, Norwich, Conn., (1875), 202.
16 Frank Denison Miner, The Diary of Manasseh Minor, Stonington, Conn., 1696-1720 (1815), 31-32. Hereinafter Miner.
17 Marlborough VR, 155.
18 Boston Gazette, 26 Dec 1768, as reported by Ward.
19 Roll of men who mustered for Capt. Thomas Brown Militia for Preservation for 1 week. MA Archives file, 37, 6.
20 Hurd, 150.
21 Ibid, 422.
22  F. M. Caulkins, History of New London, Connecticut (New London 1895), 346.  Groton Land Records, 1a-1b, Reel # 536, Connecticut State Library, Hartford. Ward states the date as 28 April 1704 but Groton was incorporated in May 1705. Hereinafter Groton Land Records.
23 Charlestown, MA Vital Records, 84.
24 Abstracts of Early Worcester Land Titles, (Worcester Society of Antiquity, Worcester, 1907), 173-174. Hereinafter Worcester Land Titles.
25 Ward, 26.
26 Ward, 28.
27 Jacobus, 1549.
28 Ibid.
29 edmund-rice.org., Rice Family DNA studies, sample number 4507.
30 Ward, 38.
31 Jacobus, 1550.
32 Probate Record, A: 575, District of New London, Feb. 1675 to Oct. 1713, New London, CT.
33 Jacobus, 1550.
34 edmund-rice.org.
35 Miner.
36 Groton Land Records.
37 Worcester Land Titles.

Patricia Jean Unruh
Sedgwick KS

Edmund Rice = Thomasine Frost  Edmund Rice = Thomasine Frost  Edmund Rice = Thomasine Frost
Samuel Rice = Mary Dix Brown  Henry Rice = Elizabeth Moore  Edward Rice = Agnes Bent
Edward Rice = Lydia Fairbanks  Mary Rice = Thomas Brigham, Jr Lydia Rice = John Woods
Martha Rice (Howard) = John Bannister Nathan Brigham = Elizabeth Howe Benjamin Woods = Elizabeth Morse
Sophia Bannister = Ivory Bigelow Sarah Brigham = Uriah Eager  Catherine Woods = Antipas Brigham
William Bigelow = Catherine Brigham Uriah Eager, Jr. = Tryphosa Bush  Catherine Brigham = William Bigelow
Rebecca Eager = Lovewell Barnes
John Bigelow = Hepzibeth Barnes Hepzibeth Barnes = John Bigelow John Bigelow = Hepzibeth Barnes
Emeline Bigelow = David Rice Allen
Eliza Louise Allen = Patrick Kennedy
Charles Patrick Kennedy = Frances Harriet Allen
Glenn Eldon Kennedy = Dorothy Louise Wilson
Patricia Jean Kennedy = Robert Lee Unruh

Patti, who joined us in July, writes, "Upon investigating some of my early ancestors I happened upon your website and much to my delight found a relative .Grace Ransom from Anthony, Kansas [Fall 2001, p. 12] who descends along the same lines as I to Emeline Bigelow = David Rice Allen. Her grandfather, Rufus Jefferson Allen was a brother of my Eliza Louise Allen. Since this discovery I have met Grace and have found her to be a wealth of family knowledge. She has given me a photograph of my Eliza (Allen) and Patrick Kennedy, as well as providing information and documentation on family lines."

 "I am grateful to Grace for sharing her information with me, and I am certainly grateful that the Edmund Rice (1638) Association publishes newsletter information on its website - otherwise, I would never have discovered Grace!"

Query

Marlea Rice Warren, 8015 W 26th St, St Louis Park MN 55426, www.mricewarren@cs.com
Was Levi Rice, son of Ephraim and Thankful Walker Rice of Brookfield MA, the same Levi Rice who was in Athens, Bradford Co, PA by 1808, children Silas, Harley, Mary, Eunice, Polly, perhaps Abisha and others? Ephraim and Thankful's son Levi, "moved to Penna and had several children."

Roberta Huntington
Oshkosh WI

Edmund Rice = Thomasine Frost
Edward Rice (1622-1712) = Agnes Bent (c1631-1713)
Daniel Rice (1655-1737) = Bethia Ward (c1658-1721)
Daniel Rice (1684-1734) = Elizabeth Taylor (1696- )
David Rice (1717-1801) = Love Moore (1734-1823)
Benjamin Rice (1764-1834) = Betsy Oliver (1777-1858)
Moors Rice (1806-1879) = Clarissa Phillips (1808-1883)
Moors Myrick Rice (1850-1934) = Emma Jane Ricks (1854-1947)
George Wilfred Rice (1876-1958) = Cora Ellen Shipley (1876-1956)
Robert George Rice (1907-1992) = Bertha Elizabeth Bender (1912-
Roberta Carol Rice (1935- = Darrel Huntington (1932-

"I recently joined the Edmund Rice Association and received my first ERA Newsletter which included information which I submitted about my ancestors [Spring 2002, p. 14]. I would like to make a correction. My mother's legal name is Bertha Elizabeth (Bender) Rice - not Elizabeth Bertha. I believe the incorrect name was passed on to Margie (Rice) Hazen for a book she was writing on the Rice Family . I am going to contact [her son] concerning this."

"I have added a complete list of birth and death dates as well as names of spouses and their birth and death dates which I would appreciate added."

"I had hoped I would be able to attend the ERA Reunion this year but will not be able to - perhaps next year."

Barbara K. Kennedy
Junction City KS

Edmund Rice = Thomasine Frost
Joseph Rice = Sarah Prescott
Jonathan Rice = Anna Derby
William Rice = Mary Estabrook
Charles Rice = Susannah Moore
Josiah Rice = Ursula Hecox
Levi Rice = Nancy Burroughs
Josiah Burroughs Rice = Rebecca Ervin
Nancy Ann Rice = Emerson Power Story
Virgil Story = Edna Beatty
Barbara Story Kennedy

Barbara, a new member, is looking forward to gaining additional family information.

Susanne Rice Loetterle
Rensselaerville NY
riceyren@aol.com

Edmund Rice
Henry Rice
David Rice
Bezaleel Rice
Josiah Rice
Buckminster Rice
Micajah Rice
John Loring Rice
Frank Rice
William Francis Rice
William Francis Rice, Jr.
Susanne Rice

 "I have just discovered the Rice Assn on the Internet and would like to join . My cousin lived in Wooster, Mass. for a while and researched our family line."

New Members
September 1, 2001 - August 31, 2002

Michael J. Drury                        Memphis           TN
 Ann Leuenberger                      Camden             NY
 Barbara K. Kennedy                 Junction City     KS
 Barbara K. Woodrum                Milwaukie         OR
 Nancy Odell, Local Hist. Lib.   Westborough     NY
 Winston S. & Carol J. Rice       Norwell             MA
 Robert Briar Rice                      Mechanicsville  MD
 John Raymond Rice                  Washington       DC
 Joyce A. Walker                        Hot Springs      AR
 Melinda L. Schiering                Seattle               WA
 Ron L. Regan                            Vancouver        WA
 Terry L. Hughes                        Slidell               LA
 Judith Hayes                             Seneca Falls      NY
 Alice E. McCoy                        Brier                 WA
 Patricia J. Unruh                       Sedgwick          KS
 Glenda J. Duclos                      Fall River          MA
 Judy L. Dailey                          Schertz              TX
 Mrs. Susan Malec                    Cherry Hill        NJ
 Mrs. Linda Testerman              Columbia          MD
 Dr. Matthew E. Pollard            Dedham             MA
 Mr. Daniel P. Egan                  Boston               MA
 Susanne R. Loetterle                Rensselaerville NY
 Donna Fisher                            Houston            TX
 Kathryn C. Bond                      Atlanta              GA
 Lawrence F. Peters                  York Harbor      ME
 J. Anthony Parker                    Auburndale       MA
 Diana E. Warren                      Wayland           MA
 Elouise Rice Woolworth          Sparta               MI
 Linda Goettman Wilson           Hudson             MA
 Laurie Gaddis                           Johnston           RI

Rice Reunion - 2003

September 19 & 20, 2003
Sheraton Hotel, Lexington, Mass.

Six Mayflower Descents of Peggy Rice Grosser
Kerrville TX
 

Bathsheba Kelley = Willard  Rice>John>Ephraim>Perez>Thomas>Thomas>Edmund Rice

Freeman Orestes Rice = Sarah Slee

Edwin Roy Rice = Mary Aurelia (Cone) Davis

Peggy Mary Rice(1916 - ) = Everett Ernest Grosser(1911 - 1984)

Peggy has some impressive accomplishments. Not only has she proved six Mayflower lines and some DAR lines, but also has compiled a book, Grains of Rice - With an Occasional Dash of Salt: A Rice Family Chronicle from 1847-1947. Peggy writes, "I received much encouragement from Ruth Rasey Simpson as I was preparing my book for publication." (Cousin Ruth, a published author of such works as Out of the Salt Box; The Savour of Old Vermont and Hand-Hewn in Old Vermont, and nephew of James H. Tyler, died last year at 99.)

As a reviewer wrote, "Fortunate Peggy Rice Grosser found herself with a treasure that most genealogists can only dream about - boxes of old family documents including deeds, photographs, compositions and letters, letters, letters! Thankfully, she decided to organize and publish these documents and the result is a delightful look not just at one family's history, but also at a slice of Americana." (Rondie Yancey, Copper State Journal, Fall 2001, p.131)

If you have questions about her book, Peggy can be contacted at 1004 Hillcrest, Kerrville TX 78028-3330, (830) 896-3270.

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Edmund Rice (1638) Association
September 21, 2002, Wayside Inn, Sudbury, Mass.

About 60 members of the Edmund Rice (1638) Association gathered at 9am on Saturday, September 21, 2002, at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, for informal discussions. George King gave a presentation on entering data using TMG and demonstrated the new, expanded web pages with Edmund Rice's early descendants.  Lunch was served at noon.

Association president Bob Rice called the meeting to order at 1:30 pm, with 59 people in attendance.  Secretary John Chandler read the beginning of the minutes from the 2001 annual meeting.  Further reading of the minutes was suspended upon a motion by Beth McAleer, passed unanimously.

Bill Drury presented the Treasurer's report, copy attached.  The report was accepted unanimously.  Bob Wesen gave an auditor's report, copy attached, declaring that the Association's books were in order.

Bill Drury then presented the membership report, copy attached.  The membership now stands at 491, including 123 life members.  Next followed his report as Book Custodian, copy also attached.  In all, 56 books were sold during the past year.

Bob Rice asked for a moment of silence in memory of members who died in the past year, namely, Charles W. Rice, Sr, William Beasly, and Leslie Turner.

Bob Rice announced the slate of officers and directors proposed by the nominating committee.  No further nominations were offered from the floor, and Dana Hastings moved to direct the Secretary to cast one vote for the proposed slate, passed unanimously.  The elected officers are as follows.

President: Robert V. Rice
Vice President: George W. King
Vice President for Arrangements: H. Jeannette Pollard
Treasurer: William H. Drury
Recording Secretary: John F. Chandler
Historian/Information Manager: Dennis R. Rice

Directors:
Keith Capen Allen, Newsletter Editor
Kathleen Bond
Ruth M. Brown
William H. Drury, Book Custodian/Membership
Beth McAleer
Gary H. Rice
George Rice
Margaret S. Rice, Director Emerita
Carl R. Vickery, Jr
Calista Vickery
Wendolin E. Wesen

Traditional prizes were awarded: oldest member present, John Rice (87); youngest, Laury Gaddis (age not stated); and the attendee who traveled the farthest, Anita Cooper from Texas City, Texas.

Vice President Jeannette Pollard gave some details about the next annual meeting, to be held September 19-20, 2003, at the Sheraton Lexington.  The activities will focus on the historic tie-in of Lexington to the Revolutionary War.

In lieu of an outside speaker, Bob Rice then gave a presentation of the results to date obtained by the efforts of the genetics committee. His report included the basic technical details needed to understand these results and the goals of the DNA testing.  The initial phase consisted of recruiting 13 volunteers representing five of the sons of Edmund Rice.  The first round of testing confirmed that most of the testees have the same set of genetic markers (haplotype), but also revealed that two of them have a very different haplotype.  Subsequent testing has allowed the reconstruction of Edmund Rice's haplotype at 25 markers and has shown that the two discrepant testees (who match each other) have what appear to be the same haplotype as early Connecticut settler Robert Royce.  The testing has also revealed a total of three different mutations among the now 15 confirmed descendants of Edmund Rice (to be expected in a group of that extent).

Testing of Rices not known to be connected with Edmund has shown that there are at least 11 different and mutually unrelated Rice haplotypes. Efforts are being made to include still more Rice lineages in the testing.  George King moved to appropriate $3,000 for continued investigation by the genetics committee, passed unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

John F. Chandler
Recording Secretary

In Memoriam

Margaret S. Rice, of Amesbury, Mass., died September 21, 2002, the day of the Rice Reunion.
 Margaret, a former president of the Edmund Rice Association, a Director Emerita, and editor of some of its books, was a second cousin of Wendy Wesen's father and responsible for interesting Wendy in joining the Association.

Birth

We welcome the safe arrival of Brady Matthew Stech, born 17 Sept 2002, son of Mary Beth (Rice) and Marvin Stech; grandson of the late James D. Rice, nephew of Kathy (Rice) Hoeppner and fellow Rice cousin.