Johnson County, NE - Family Histories
John Wesley RICE
Submitted by Judith Rice-Jones <[email protected]>JOHN WESLEY RICE [b 19 Feb 1833 Durham,ME; m Elizabeth ROBERTS 11 Jan. 1854; d 29 Oct. 1910]
Pioneer Crosses Divide
John W. Rice of Albion, Ripe in Years, Laid to Rest
John W. Rice, for 33 years a highly respected citizen of Whitman County, departed this life at his home in Albion last Saturday, aged 77 years. Old age was given as the cause of death.
Mr. Rice enjoyed the distinction of starting, in company with Oliver Hall, the first blacksmith shop in Colfax, which was the first shop north of the Snake River in Whitman county. He continued the business at Albion until last June when feebleness of body compelled him to quit. He was married in 1854 and crossed the plains from Sterling, Nebraska, in 1877, locating soon after on a homestead adjoining Albion, which has all these years been his home. Mr. Rice was born in Cumberland, County, Maine. He is survived by his wife and four sons, J.M. Rice of Lincoln, Neb., E. S. Rice of Genesee, Idaho, Eugene L. Rice and A. R. Rice of Albion. Deceased was buried at Albion Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock, services being conducted by Reynolds Lodge No. 114 of Albion, of which deceased was a charter member. He was also a member of the A.O.U.W. Lodge of this city [Colfax], which was represented at the funeral. Rev. J.P. Barker of Albion officiated at the funeral services. Internment took place in the cemetery in Albion. Hiram Lodge No. 91 of Colfax was represented at the funeral.
NOTE: John W. Rice's oldest son, John Melville RICE remained in Sterling where he married Rhoda Adelle REED, daughter of Abner Clark and Caroline Lorinda [McIntosh] REED. Rhoda REED was Sterling's first librarian.
This is her obit:
Mrs. Rhoda Rice Dies at Home of Her Son
Rhoda Adella Reed, Daughter of Abner C. and Caroline Lorinda Reed, was born at old Wyoming, Neb., December 12, 1859. While still a baby her family moved to Sterling, Neb., where she grew to girlhood and received her schooling. She was united in marriage with John Melville Rice, November 12, 1876, and they made their home in Sterling. To this union were born three sons, A.B. Rice of Tekamah, Neb., Paul Rice, of Burr, Neb., and Cecil Rice, who died in infancy; also two daughters, Mrs. Viva Harris, of Lincoln, and Mrs. Opal Johnston of Douglas, Neb. For the past two yeas Mrs. Rice has been in very poor health, but seemed to take pleasure in dividing her remaining days among her four children, and only just recently had been with her eldest son, A. B. Rice, at Tekamah. A short time ago she came to visit her son, Paul, at Burr, where she became ill, developing a severe case of pneumonia, and peacefully passed away Friday evening, Nov. 5, 1937, at the age of 77 years, 10 months and 24 days. Mrs. Rice was always active in club and civic affairs and her fondness for verse and reading fitted her well for the leadership which she so often assumed. She was instrumental in establishing the Sterling public library and remained there as its librarian until her health failed. Early in life she became a charter member of the Sterling chapter No. 128 of the Order of the Eastern Star and remained a faithful member until the end. Besides her four living children, she is survived by a brother, C.C. Reed, of Long Beach, Calif., and a sister, Mrs. Hattie B. Moorman, of Chadron, Neb.; and 11 grandchildren. Services were conducted at the home of her daughter, Mrs. F. R. Johnston, at Douglas, Monday, Nov. 8 Rev. C.A. Arnison of the Methodist Church of that place conducted the services. Interment took place in the Sterling cemetery and the Sterling chapter of the Eastern Star had charge of the services at the grave. For one who so loved verse, what better could be said than: "The one whose going leaves you lonely, Is scaling heights undreamed of yore, And guided on by Love's unfolding Has gone upstairs and shut the door. Passed on beyond our mortal visions, But now, the thought is robbed of gloom, Within the Father's many mansions, just dwelling in another room."
I am looking for any information about the families who left Sterling in 1877 for Washington state after seven years of bad weather and pests. Stokley Clarence Roberts who was raised in Sterling describes two years of grasshopper plagues and flooding of the Nemaha and exceptionally bad weather during those seven years as the reason a group left via wagon train for eastern Washington. Many thanks for any suggestions of places to look. S.C. Roberts was the son of Joseph Roberts and according to his memoirs, his father was one of the original settlers who decided to name their settlement, Sterling, after the town they had left in Whiteside County, Illinois.