Thomas Rice^[1]

1625 - 1681  (56 years)

• Name	Thomas Rice  [2]
  Birth	26 Jan 1625	Haverhill, St Edmundsbury Borough, Suffolk, England   [2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Death	16 Nov 1681	Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA   [2, 3, 4, 5]
  Burial	Wayland, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA   [3]
  Person ID	I17954	Master
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2018

  
  

  Father	Edmund Rice,   b. 1594, Stanstead, Suffolk, England d. 3 May 1663, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 69 years)
  Mother	Thomasine Frost,   b. 11 Aug 1600, Stanstead, Suffolk, England d. 13 Jun 1654, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	15 Oct 1618	Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England   [6]
  Family ID	F4589	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Mary King,   b. 12 Feb 1630, Shaston, Dorset, England d. 22 May 1714, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 84 years)
  Marriage	1651	Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
  Children	1. Grace Rice,   b. 1652, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 3 Jan 1653, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 1 year)  [Father: Natural]   2. Thomas Rice,   b. 30 Jun 1654, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 1747, Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, USA (Age 92 years)  [Father: Natural] + 3. Mary Rice,   b. 4 Sep 1656, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 22 Aug 1733, Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA (Age 76 years)  [Father: Natural] + 4. Peter Rice,   b. 24 Oct 1658, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 28 Nov 1753, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 95 years)  [Father: Natural] + 5. Nathaniel Rice,   b. 3 Jan 1660, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 13 Nov 1726, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 66 years)  [Father: Natural]   6. Sarah Rice,   b. 15 Jan 1662, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 1742, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 79 years)  [Father: Natural]   7. Ephraim Rice,   b. 15 Apr 1665, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 25 Oct 1732, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 67 years)  [Father: Natural] + 8. Gershom Rice,   b. 9 May 1667, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 19 Dec 1768, Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA (Age 101 years)   9. James Rice,   b. 31 Mar 1669, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 14 Oct 1730, Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA (Age 61 years)  [Father: Natural]   10. Frances Rice,   b. 3 Feb 1670, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 12 Aug 1721, Lincoln, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 51 years)  [Father: Natural]   11. Jonas Rice,   b. 6 Mar 1672, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 22 Sep 1753, Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA (Age 81 years)  [Father: Natural]   12. Grace Rice,   b. 15 Jan 1675, Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA d. 3 Jan 1768, Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA (Age 92 years)  [Father: natural]
  Family ID	F4587	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 26 Jan 1625 - Haverhill, St Edmundsbury Borough, Suffolk, England Marriage - 1651 - Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA Death - 16 Nov 1681 - Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA Burial - - Wayland, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  Thomas emigrated with his parents and lived in Sudbury where he was made a freeman in 1660. He moved to Marlborough in 1664 and was one of the original proprietors of the town. In 1675, when the Indians destroyed the town, Thomas moved back to Sudbury and remained there the rest of his life. He was termed a yeoman and/or husbandman (both meaning farmer). He seemed to continue in his father's footsteps, making many real estate transactions all for the improvement of the family fortunes. His wife Mary was named executrix of his will, which was dated 11 Nov 1681 and proved 4 Apr 1682. The initial inventory placed the value at 702 Pounds, but a secondary inventory dated 19 Dec 1681 added another 370.01.00 Pounds to the total. An item in the inventory that I found interestingly worded was, "Horse, bridle, saddle with all his trooping furniture at 10 Pounds. Thomas Rice (1626-1681) of Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, son of Edmund and Thomasine (Frost) Rice. Thomas Rice married Mary King (1630-1715), daughter of Thomas and Anne (--?--) King in about 1651, and they had thirteen children: Grace King (1653-1654); Thomas Rice (1654-????); Mary Rice (1656-1733); Peter Rice (1658-1753); Nathaniel Rice (1660-1726); Sarah Rice (1662-1742); Ephraim Rice (1665-1732); Gershom Rice (1667-1768); James Rice (1670-1730); Frances Rice (1671-1721); Jonas Rice (1673-1753); Grace Rice (1675-1768); and Elisha Rice (1679-1761). Thomas Rice of Sudbury died 16 Nov 1681 with a fairly large estate. His will (transcribed from Middlesex County Probate Records, Probate Packet #18,810, FHL Microfilm 0,421,502, copy in Middlesex County Probate Records, volume 5, pages 394-395): "The Last Will & Testament of Thomas Rice of Sudbury in the County of Midlesex of the Massachusets Colony in New England, made the eleventh day of November in the yeare of our Lord God one thousand six hundred eighty & one. "Inasmuch as I Thomas Rice am now weak in body (though of sound understanding & memory) I do have reason to expect my great change, doe comitt my soul to God & my body after my decease to be buryed at discretion of my wife & friends to rest in the grave in hope of a blessed resurrection through ye merrits of my Dear Redeemer, & for my outward estate I doe hereby will & dispose ye same as followeth. "Imprimus. I give & bequeath & confirme unto my Eldest Son Thomas, what I formerly promised (to will) one halfe pt of my houslott at Marlborough, yt is to say, the halfe pt next ye Pond & also my stirrup (?) meadow & nonsuch meadow at ... which shall be his own & at his dispose for ever. "Item. I Give & bequeath unto my second son Peter, the other halfe pt of my houslott at Marlborough & my parcell of meadow ground in Marlborough, called three corner meadow which shall be his own & at his dispose forever. "Item: I Give & bequeath unto my third son Nathaniel yt my houselott at Marlborough which I lately bought of John Brown, & the first division of meadow which I also bought of sd Brown wch shall be his own & at his dispose forever. "Item: I give & bequeath unto my fourth son Ephraim, all yt my uplands yt lyes in Sudbury at or near to Hogg House Hill & also all yt my parcell of meadow ground lying near unto it wch I lately bought of my brother Benjamin Rice wch shall be his own as soon as he shall be one & twenty years of age & from thereon shall be at his own dispose for ever. "Item: I Give & bequeath unto Mary my beloved wife all ye rest of my estate of housing, lands, cattell, beasts, mony, goods & moveables, debts due to me wherever they may be found during her natural life to be by her used & improved at her pleasure for the remainder of her life & also to be disposed of unto the rest of my younger children not abovenamed at her will & discretion both in her lifetime & at her death. "My will also is yt all my debts which I really owe to any person shall be paid by just proportion out of my whole estate, & also my funerall expenses, excepting out of ye legacys abovegiven to my eldest son Thomas as abovesd. "And I do hereby declare, will & constitute Mary my beloved wife the only Executrix of this my will & also I do desire & constitute my loveing friend Deacon John Haynes of Sudbury & my three brethren Henry Rice, Matthew Rice & Peter King to be overseers & to be assisting counselling & every way helpful to my deare wife and children in all things needfull. Dated yt day & yeare first above written, & in the three & thirtieth yeare of his Majesties reign. ........................................... Thomas Rice & seale "Signed, sealed & owned by ye abovenamed Thos Rice to be his last will in presence of us John Green John Haynes John Haynes senr Peter King" The will was proved on 4 April 1682, with John Haynes senior and Peter King making oath to the will. On 19 December 1681, the lands and chattels of Thomas Rice senior, deceased, in Marlborough were appraised by Gamaliel Beaman, Samuel Rice and Abraham Williams. This inventory totaled 370 pounds. It included the following real property: 1) Homestall and housestall given him by the town of Marlborough being 35 acres of upland and the second and third divisions of upland and all his divisions of meadows and rights in the town (260 pounds). 2) A houselott and homestall purchased of Jno Brown, being a grant of the town containing 18 acres with second and third divisions of upland and all his divisions of meadows and rights in the town (60 pounds) An inventory of the estate of Corporal Thomas Rice of Sudbury, deceased, was taken by Henry Rice, Peter King, Mathew Rice and John Haynes on 26 February 1682. This inventory totalled 702 pounds, including the following real estate: 1) Housing, homestall & uplands & meadows (400 pounds) SudburySudbury with all town rights and privileges in commons (80 pounds) In addition, they found 50 pounds in money to be paid out of the estate. On 4 April 1682, Mary Rice Executrix appeared in Court and made oath to the above inventory. The will names only his four sons and his wife, Mary. There is no mention of the four youngest sons (Gershom, James, Jonas, and Elisha), and the four daughters that survived him (Mary, Sarah, Frances, and Grace).

  
  

• Sources

  [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=117125034&pid=685 [S340] Findagrave.com, (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi: accessed 16 July 2011.). Birth date: 26 Jan 1625 Birth place: Death date: 16 Nov 1681 Death place: [S751] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S338] Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.). [S1133] Ancestry.com, North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Book Title: History of the town of Marlborough, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1. [S58] Heritage Consulting, Millennium File, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.Original data - Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Heritage Consulting.Original data: Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: ).