George Hugh Rice was born on 30 Nov 1903 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.[1] He is the third son born to William Rice (a reserve soldier with the British Medical Corps) and Margaret Norton (an Irishwoman from Athlone, Co. Westmeath). His oldest brother William had died as an infant three years earlier in Ireland, and his parents and second brother Albert migrated to Canada around the end of 1902 or early 1903. They settled first in Montréal, where George Hugh was born. He was named after his two uncles who died young (his mother's brothers).
Before 1905 the family had moved on to Ontario where two more brothers were born, Eric and Arthur. In January 1909 the family moved to Spokane, Washington, USA. Migration records describe George as having a dark complexion with brown hair and brown eyes. [2] Another boy - Francis - was born in Spokane.
One year after the move to Spokane, their father William was killed in a work accident leaving Margaret with five young boys to care for. After William's death, the family are listed on the 1910 US Census at 435 Sheridan Street, Hillyard, Spokane. [3]
With the help of insurance money from William's death, sometime after this, the family travelled to Margaret's hometown of Athlone in Ireland. It is not know if this was intended to be a permanent move or a temporary visit. They appear again on a census in 1911 living at Castle Street in Athlone, Co Westmeath, Ireland. [4][5][6]
Soon plans were made to return to Spokane, Washington, with some other locals from Athlone who would be making a crossing of the Atlantic aboard Titanic. Margaret and her five sons travelled under ticket number 382652 which had cost £29, 2s, 6d and they boarded Titanic at Queenstown as third class passengers. At about 1.30pm on April 11, 1912, the Titanic departed for it's doomed voyage across the Atlantic. Four days later, Margaret and her five sons would perish in the icy North Atlantic waters. George's body was never recovered after the sinking of the Titanic. Only Margaret's body was recovered and she was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia. [7]
Birth record:
No reliable birth record source has been found yet for George. His date of birth is listed on other websites, but a primary source needs to be added to this profile.
Birth place:
The census records of 1910 (US) and 1911 (Ireland) erroneously record George's birthplace as America, but Toronto Junction, Canada was his actual birthplace.
Baptism record:
It is possible that George was baptised in a local church sometime after his birth, as the family were known to be Catholics (as stated on the 1911 census record).
Other sources or biographies of George Rice:
1. Encyclopedia Titanica: https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-victim/george-rice.html
ref: #1155, last updated: 3rd February 2016, accessed 29th April 2023
2. FindAGrave memorial: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14215125/george-hugh-rice
George Hugh Rice (30 Nov 1903–15 Apr 1912 Ref: #14215125 accessed 29th April 2023
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