Martha (Rice) Stafford (1754)

Born 9 Oct 1754 in Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island

Ancestors

Wife of John Stafford — married 1774 in Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Warwick, Kent Co., Rhode Island, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Sara Rice [send private message]

Biography

Death: BEF 28 AUG 1822 in Warwick, Kent Co., RI

Martha, whose mother died shortly after her birth, was brought up from infancy, though never formally adopted, by her uncle Thomas and wife Anne (Stafford) Rice who were childless.

Henry Rice left Martha only $1 on the grounds that "her Uncle Thomas Rice brought her up, and has given her more than I am able to give the Rest of my Daughters" [S-281].

Indeed Thomas had left her a handsome inheritance: land at the fulling mill at Apponaug, a feather bed and furniture, his great Bible and its case, his "shaw" and harness, money, securities, silver teaspoons, and his part in the schooner Sally [S-282]. Aficionados of naming patterns will note that she named children for her natural parents, her aunt and uncle who raised her, and her in-laws.

Having lost her uncle, her father, and her husband within the space of two years, she lacked their support but was in her own right one of the richest women in Warwick.

By the time of her death, however, Martha had considerable debts ($433.75) and minimal personal estate: a few pieces of furniture and a small annuity [S-290]. A public auction was held 28 June 1823 to settle the estate. Her son-in-law Thomas Taylor bought her interest in a lot of land in Apponaug with a 46 1/2 ft. road frontage with a store for a mere $263 [S-291].

No gravestones have been located for John and Martha Stafford. They may have been buried in the "family Burying Ground" on the Stafford farm, rights to which were reserved when the property was sold in 1813 [S-292].

Sources

• Cherry Bamberg (Email: bamberg@tiac.net) descended from this family line. Cherry is the author of , "Major Henry Rice of Warwick and His Family" published in R.I. Roots, Vol. 24 No. 1&2 (Mar/Jun 1998). She has also authored, "John Rice, 1st," "R.I. Roots," Vol. 24, Nos 3 & 4 (Sep/Dec 1998). Soon a third article will appear in "R.I. Roots" about John Rice, 2nd. The first half will appear in "Roots," Vol. 25, No. 3 (Sept. 99).

S-281 Warwick Wills, 5:120.

S-282 Warwick Wills, 5:12-17.

S-290 Warwick Wills, 8:29.

S-291 Warwick Land Evidence, 18:293.

S-292 Warwick Land Evidence, 16:378

• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=glencoe&id=I52163

• "Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F873-KT1 : 6 December 2014), Martha Rice, 09 Oct 1754; citing WARWICK,KENT,RHODE ISLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 908,269.

Name: Martha Rice

Birth Date: 9 Oct 1754

Birth Place: Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

Page Number: 199