Stephen Rice (1737 - abt. 1831)

Born 15 Mar 1737 in Westborough, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Dorothy (Woods) Rice — married 10 Nov 1763 in Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died about 24 Nov 1831 at about age 94 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Stephen Rice was born at Westborough, Massachusetts, on 15 Mar 1737, the son of Beriah Rice and Mary (Goodenow) Rice. ^[1]

In Mary 1760, when Stephen was about 23 years old and still single, he migrated along with his father and brother Benjamin on the ship Charming Molly to Annapolis Royal, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. ^[2] His mother and brothers later followed them. His father passed away there in 1764. His mother passed away sometime after his father's will was probated. By 1770, the family had amassed land holdings of 4,511 acres. ^[3]

Marriage and Family

Stephen did not remain in Nova Scotia and returned to Massachusetts where he married Dororthy Woods, daughter of Deacon James Woods and Hephzibah Eager, at Marlborough, Massachusetts, on 10 Nov 1763.

^[4]. They settled in Hardwick, Massachusetts where they had seven children between 1765 and 1782, including three sons and four daughters. A few months after their first child Ashbel was born, Stephen returned briefly to Nova Scotia were he was a petitioner for the Grant of Confirmation of Township of Annapolis, dated 30 Oct 1765.

Stephen Rice and Dorothy Woods had the following children:

1. Ashbel
2. Mary
3. Hepzibah
4. Lucy
5. Lydia
6. Stephen
7. Thomas

Public Service and Revolutionary War

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Rice served with Worcester County Militia, Massachusetts Militia during the American Revolution.

Stephen Rice is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A095136.

Stephen Rice was elected as a delegate from Hardwick to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1774 and 1775 and was a representative from 1775 to 1784.

^[5] He served in the Revolutionary War in 1776 and 1777 as a Lt. Col. in the 4th Worcester County Regiment of Massachusetts Militia, variously under Col. James Converse and Col. Job Cushing, in Gen Warner's brigade. He was among the forces that responded to the Bennington Alarm in July 1777. ^{[6] [7] [8]} He was referred to as Colonel for the remainder of his life.

Death and Burial

Stephen executed a will on 20 April 1821. The will mentioned wife Dorothy; sons Ashbel, Stephen, and Thomas and daughters Mary Freeman, Hepzibah Rice, Lucy Rice, and Lydia Rice. Stephen Rice died on 24 Nov 1831 at the reported age of 95, according to the Hardwick, Massachusetts, vital records, which also identify him as a Revolutionary soldier.

^[9] His will was proved 7 Feb 1832 with wife Dorothy and son Ashbel as Executors. He is buried at the Hardwick Cemetery, with his gravestone identifying him as Col. Stephen Rice. A notation on his FindAGrave page inaccurately states that he died at Annapolis, Nova Scotia. ^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Vital Records of Westborough, Massachusetts To the Year 1850 (n. p. , 1903), 90, http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Worcester/Westborough/Images/Westborough_B090.shtml
2. ↑ Ancestry.com. History of the county of Annapolis, including old Port Royal and Acadia: with memoirs of its representatives in the provincial parliament: and biographical and genealogical sketches of its early English settlers and their families [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/73661:32427?ssrc=pt&tid=84829229&pid=48518266193
3. ↑ Ancestry.com. History of the county of Annapolis [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/177:27967?ssrc=pt&tid=84829229&pid=48518266193
4. ↑ Vital Records of Marlborough, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, 1908), 332 ,http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Middlesex/Marlborough/Images/Marlborough_M302.shtml
5. ↑ Paige, Lucius R. History of Hardwick, Massachusetts with a Genealogical Register. Houghton, Mifflin, and Company, Boston, 1883.
6. ↑ DAR
7. ↑ Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War
8. ↑ Massachusetts. Office of the Secretary of State. Massachusetts soldiers and sailors of the Revolutionary War: a compilation from the archives. Wright and Potter Printing Co., 1896.
9. ↑ Vital Records of Hardwick, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (Boston, 1917), 318, http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Worcester/Hardwick/Images/Hardwick_D318.shtml
10. ↑ Photo of gravestone of Col. Stephen Rice (Find A Grave: Memorial #125751253)

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 2022-08-22), "Record of Stephen Rice", Ancestor # A095136.

• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War (Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, 1896); Vol. 13, p. 184

• 1790; Census Place: Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts; Series: M637; Roll: 4; Page: 272; Image: 308; Family History Library Film: 0568144

• 1800; Census Place: Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts; Series: M32; Roll: 16; Page: 301; Image: 312; Family History Library Film: 205617

• 1810; Census Place: Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts; Roll: 22; Page: 845; Image: 00203; Family History Library Film: 0205630

• 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts; Page: 83; NARA Roll: M33_55; Image: 96

• 1830; Census Place: Herdwick, Worcester, Massachusetts; Series: M19; Roll: 68; Page: 562; Family History Library Film: 0337926