Edmund Rice (1638) Association, Inc.

The Edmund Rice (1638) Association, Inc. endeavors to encourage research into the family of Edmund Rice of Sudbury and Marlborough, Massachusetts. We have an ongoing effort to record and document the descendants of Edmund. Several members are participating in this effort. In 1998 and 1999 we sponsored research into the ancestry of Edmund Rice. We continue to investigate how the exciting science of genetics can help genealogical research and vice versa. The Association also makes occasional grants to institutions in the Sudbury and Marlborough area who support genealogical research. Links from this page describe some of these efforts in more detail.

To foster interest among our members we sponsor an annual reunion in late September. Our reunion includes trips to sites of historical interest in Eastern Massachusetts, occasional instruction about genealogical research, and culminates with a lecture by a noted authority on a topic of current interest. Of course, we provide time for renewing friendships and exchanging information among our members.

The Association also publishes a newsletter to encourage the exchange of information among our members. Copies of our recent newsletters, edited for web distribution, are available online. Submissions are welcome from the membership.

In past years several descendants of Edmund Rice have published books that provide accounts of his descendants, beginning with Andrew Henshaw Ward's The Rice Family published in 1858. Although not documented to primary sources, these books provide an excellent guide to our ancestral lines back to Edmund Rice and his two wives. Copies of these books are available for purchase from the Association.

With modern computer technology it has become much easier to record and document family history information. Several members of our Association are building a computer data base of Edmund Rice descendants that includes source citations to early vital records, census records, gravestone inscriptions and other important records. Our objective is to create an authoritative record that will compete favorably with the deluge of unsourced and suspect information that is now available on the internet.

Descendants of Edmund Rice were holding reunions as early as 1851, but it was not until 1912 that the Association was formed and officers elected. Incorporation under Massachusetts law took place in 1934.

The Edmund Rice (1638) Association, Inc. is governed by a Board of Directors of at least five members who are elected at the annual reunion and meeting.

Click here to review a copy of the bylaws of the association.