Matthew Rice 1629-1717

Believe it or not, we descend from at least four of the eleven children of Edmund and Thomasine Frost Rice.  They are Mary, who married Thomas Axtell; Henry, who married Elizabeth Moore; Lydia, who married Hugh Drury; and Matthew, who married Martha Lamson.  This may or may not be a record for a tangled tree, but it sure makes life interesting to a family historian.

Matthew was born in 1629 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, the third child and first son of his parents, who had 11 children.  He was just a young boy when he came to Massachusetts with his parents, and the family settled in Sudbury, which is about 20 miles west of Boston.  He grew to manhood there, and in 1654 married Martha Lamson, the daughter of Barnabas and Mary Liggett Lamson.  

I wish I knew more about Matthew.  He appears to have not been a town or church leader, but I found only one possible negative item about him.  In 1670, there was some sort of writ against him by "Mr. Danforth".   Also he was "warned" for "admitting Thomas Hedley, his wife and child to some part of his land".  From what I can gather, this meant that he had sold or rented land to the Hedleys without the permission of the town, and he would therefore be responsible for them if they could not support themselves.  I don't know if this is one and the same event as the 1670 writ, or whether these are two separate events.  

I didn't find Matthew's name in any of the muster rolls for King Philip's War, although I did find several other Rice family members.  Sudbury was attacked and burned during that war, so it's more than likely that Matthew would have been involved as a militia member even though he may not have gone out from the town to fight.  He wasn't 50 years old yet during the war so he would not have been excused from duty unless he had some physical handicap.  

By 1688, he was one of several men who kept guns and ammunition at their home in case there was need for a military action.  Some of the native tribes were still conducting raids.  We don't know when the petition was written and sent to the General Court, but a number of persons signed a petition asking for relief due to losses the townspeople had suffered.  This was perhaps a response to the burning of the town in King Philip's War, or to later incursions, or it may be related to expeditions during the 1690s to Port Royal and later to Quebec.  At any rate, Matthew and others were finding it hard to return to a normal way of life.

Matthew's land was actually on the outskirts of Sudbury, bordering on Framingham, which was about 20 miles south of Sudbury.  We know this because in 1696 he and others agreed to pay rates (taxes) to Sudbury if they in turn would care for the poor of the area, and if the settlers were relieved of the obligation to pay for roads in the town itself.   

Matthew and Martha had eight children, 7 girls and one son, Isaac. Isaac was appointed executor of his father's estate, and was responsible for bequests to four living daughters, all married, and four children of a deceased daughter, Sarah Loker.  The inventory of his estate shows a value of a little over 112 pounds, not including 290 acres of land which was to be divided equally among the six heirs-Isaac, four daughters, and the four granddaughters to have one share.  Wife Martha was to be allowed to live in one half of the house, with Isaac responsible for keeping her "decently".  

We have tantalizing glimpses of Matthew, and reasonable speculation as to some of the events that touched Sudbury, but of course we have many more questions.  Regardless, we know that he was part of the early growth of Massachusetts, and part of our American heritage.  

The line of descent is

Matthew Rice-Martha Lamson

Martha Rice-John Bent

David Bent-John Drury

Mary Bent-David Goodenow

Lydia Goodenow-Jude Foster

Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore

Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stannard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants