Mystery solved!

 William B. Rice (1794 - 1845)  of White County, Tennessee

Son of Samuel and Eleanor Rice of Prince Edward County, VA

Grandson of Francis Rice, Sr. and Sarah (Womack) Rice of  Henrico, Amelia, and Prince Edward Counties, Virginia

compiled by Willie D. Smith - wolfman@blomand.net

I am now certain that William B. Rice's parents were Samuel Rice (born c. 1743-1753 - died 1807 Prince Edward County, Virginia) and Eleanor (maiden name unknown - born January 1, 1757 in Carmenton, Ireland - died October 1, 1846 in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee). After Samuel's death in 1807 in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Eleanor and her children Francis, Frances "Fanny" (Rice) Harper, son in law Asa Harper, Isham Rice, James Rice, and William Rice,  packed up and moved to Tennessee in 1813. William settled in White County, TN with the rest of the family moving further West to Williamson County.

DNA testing was done by a descendant of William B. Rice's son, William Rice Jr. and two other descendants of his son, John A. Rice. The results from the last two participants totally disproves the malicious rumor that John's sons Marion Rice and John Rice were the "illegitimate children of William's daughter, Martha..."  The only mutation occurring in the results was on the last gene, divided over the last four markers. Two of the test subjects were a father and son, and the mutation was different in the last four loci's in their results, indicating to this researcher that the mutation is of no significant consequence. Nearly every other participant's lineage has been traced back thus far to the SAME couple - Francis and Sarah (Womack) Rice!

FRANCIS RICE was born about 1711 probably in Virginia. He may have been the grandson of an earlier Francis Rice  who died in Warwick County, Virginia circa 1698. Francis Rice appears in deed records in Henrico County, Virginia about 1732, living near Thomas Womack Sr. He married Sarah Womack, daughter of Thomas Womack Sr. and Mary Farley, between 1732 and 1734. In 1739, Francis relocated to Amelia County, Virginia and lived in the western section of the county which was split off to form Prince Edward County in 1754. He died after March 1770, when he deeded his estate to his son, Abraham Rice, which also included land in Charlotte County, Virginia. 

SARAH (WOMACK) RICE was born about 1711 in Henrico County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Thomas Womack Sr. and Mary Farley. Thomas wrote his will in 1733. By 1734, she had married Francis Rice as his wife, Sarah, relinquished her dower rights to two tracts of land sold by Francis Rice that year. Mary (Farley) Womack was the daughter of John Farley and Elizabeth Aiken. Roger Womack has compiled considerable data on Sarah's ancestors and may be seen at his Womack Family News website. Mary (Farley) Womack wrote her will in Henrico County, Virginia, naming daughter "Sarah Rise", and died 1759 in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Sarah's brother, William Womack, died about 1799 in Charlotte County, Virginia and in 1803, his estate was divided between his siblings and their children. Sarah's children were given as follows:

A. FRANCIS RICE (JR.) -  Born about 1735. He died in Prince Edward County, Virginia in 1806. Francis Rice's first wife is unknown, but he remarried in February 1790 to Mrs. Eleanor (McGehee) Smith, widow of Jonathan Smith. Francis left his portion of his mother's division of the William Womack estate to his son, Isham Rice, in his will of 1806. His children included:

1. Josiah M. Rice - Josiah settled his step-mother Eleanor's estate in 1810.

2. Isham Rice -

3. William Rice - He died 1821 in Prince Edward County, Virginia.

4. Thomas Rice - born 1785. He married Susannah Biggers in Prince Edward County, Virginia in 1807. He died 1839. They had two known sons: John Frank Rice and Joseph Rice, per the 1845 will of their maternal grandfather James Biggers. A descendant of John Frank Rice through his son,  Alexander "Sandy" Rice,  tested as a DNA match to our William B. Rice of White County, TN.

5. John Walter Rice - born about 1786. He was a Physician in Prince Edward County, VA.

6. Samuel Rice - No information. May have moved to Charlotte County, Virginia.

B. ABRAHAM RICE - Born about 1737-1740. Francis Rice names Abraham as his son in a deed conveyance in Prince Edward County, VA in 1770, and Abraham takes possession of the property in March 1771.  He may have been the Abraham "Reece" living next door to Robert Puckett in Fluvanna County, VA in 1790. Prior to that time, he was in Orange County, NC in 1775 as a witness to the will of John Moore, Sr. In 1777 he appears on the tax lists of Caswell County, NC along with his uncle, Abraham Womack. He was with his brother, Thomas Rice, in Southwest Virginia in the late 1790's. His daughter Elizabeth married Joshua Phipps about 1797 in Washington County, Virginia. He was in Russell County, Virginia in the 1790's with Benjamin Hansford, and other Hansfords, as well as James Hatfield. Abraham Rice died sometime after 1816, per records in Caswell County, NC dealing with the continued settlement of the William Womack estate in Charlotte County, Virginia. His  children (there are possibly others yet unidentified) were:

1. Thomas Joules Rice - Thomas was born about 1783 in Virginia. In 1810 through 1830, he lived in Wayne County, Kentucky near his brother James. In 1830, his brother William Rice appears on the census record for the first time in Wayne County. He married twice, and settled in Randolph County, Missouri, with a large family. A descendant of his probable son, Mitchell Hansford Rice, tested as a DNA match to our William B. Rice family in White County, TN.

2. Rev. William Rice - William was born 1785 in Virginia. He was murdered by Confederate guerrillas at his home in Wayne County, Kentucky in the Fall of 1863.  He had a large family. A descendant of William has tested as a DNA match to our William B. Rice in White County, TN.

3. James Rice -  James was born about 1786 in Virginia. He settled in Monroe County, Missouri after 1830.

4. Elizabeth Rice - Elizabeth was born about 1779, possibly in Caswell County, North Carolina. She married Joshua Phipps in Washington County, Virginia in 1797. They settled in the area of Adair and Green Counties, Kentucky.

5. Sally Rice - Sally Rice married twice. Her second husband was Elijah Terry. After her death about 1838, Elijah moved to Randolph County, Missouri near Sally's relatives there.

6. (probable) Abraham Rice Jr. - We believe the Abraham Rice who married in Adair County, Kentucky in 1802 to Elizabeth Stagg may be Abraham's son. His daughter Elizabeth (Rice) Phipp's family is known to have been in the Adair/Green County, Kentucky area at the same time, and appear in Green County in the 1810 census.

7. (probable) Ann Rice - born about 1785, possibly Russell County, Virginia. Married there to James Hatfield, born about 1785.  They had a son named James Hansford Hatfield, leading to the belief that Abraham's wife was Ann Hansford. She was possibly a daughter of Benjamin Hansford.

C. ISHAM RICE - Isham Rice was born about 1745 in Amelia County, Virginia. He married Francis "Fanny" about 1765-1770 in Virginia. Her maiden name is unknown. He died 1804 in Rowan County, North Carolina. His children included:

1. Francis Rice - He married Jemima Oliver in Rowan County, NC. Francis died before 1816. His wife Jemima was legatee on his behalf, along with Abraham Rice, in the continuation of the estate of William Womack, in Caswell County, NC in 1816. Francis and Jemima had one known son: Silas Rice, who may have moved to Mississippi.

2. Philip Rice - A descendant of Philip Rice has tested as a DNA match to our William B. Rice of White County, Tennessee.

3. William B. Rice - Born about 1790. He married Sally Marland in Rowan County, NC in 1812. We at first thought this was OUR William B. Rice. However, he is only a cousin. This William B. Rice died in Rowan County in 1837 and is buried there.

4. John Rice

5. Edmund Rice

6. Elizabeth Rice

7. Mary Rice

D. THOMAS RICE - Thomas Rice was born about 1747-1750 in Amelia County, Virginia. His wife's name is unknown. He named five children to whom he assigned to his part of his mother's share of the William Womack estate in Charlotte County, Virginia in 1803. They were:

1. William Rice - no information.

2. Benjamin Rice - No information.

3. Charles Rice - No information.

4. Nancy Rice - No information.

5. Sally Rice - No information.

E. SAMUEL RICE - Samuel was born about 1750 - 1754 in Amelia County, Virginia. He married Eleanor (maiden name unknown) about 1776 in Prince Edward County, or Charlotte County, Virginia. He died in Prince Edward County, Virginia in 1807. Eleanor removed to Williamson County, Tennessee in 1813 with several of their children. Eleanor was born January 1,1757 in Carmenton, Ireland and came to New England when she was 12 years old (about 1769). She died in Williamson County, Tennessee October 1, 1846. Their children were:

1. Francis Rice - died 1860 with a will in Williamson County, TN. He administered the estate of his brother, James Rice, which was settled in 1847. Francis Rice appointed his mother Eleanor Rice, sisters Mary Rice, and Elizabeth Rice, as executrixes of his estate. Mary resigned as Executrix in 1860, leaving Elizabeth to settle his estate at his death.

2. Isham Rice - He died about 1855 in Williamson County, Tennessee. His wife was Prudence, who died 1861. They had two daughters:

    A. Eliza W. Rice - She married William Poyner. Their son:

         (1) Isham D. Poyner - He was born in Williamson County, TN in 1841. Isham was a Private in Company F., 4th (McLemore's) TN Cavalry. He married Susan E. Mangham in Williamson County on December  7, 1865.

    B. Martha  Ann Rice - She married Paul C. Garner. Children from 1860 Williamson County, TN census were:

         (1) Samuel Garner - born 1843 Williamson County, TN.

         (2) Frances Garner - born 1846 in Kentucky.

         (3) Jane Garner - born 1847 Williamson County, TN.

         (4) Paul Garner - born 1851 Williamson County, TN.

         (5) J. Garner (female) born 1855 Williamson County, TN.

         (6) M. Garner (female) born 1857 Williamson County, TN.

3. William Rice - probably our William B. Rice. William may have served as a Private in Captain William Mackay's / Mackey's Company,  Colonel Phillip Pipkin's West Tennessee Militia, June 1814 to December 1814.  William first appears in White County on the 1814 tax list. His sudden appearance in 1814 is consistent with the statement in Eleanor Rice's 1846 obituary that the family moved to Tennessee in 1813. William likewise married a woman named Eleanor, who was, according to censuses, born in South Carolina about 1792. They married about 1813. Eleanor died in May 1865 in White County, TN. Their children:

        (1) Elizabeth Rice - born about 1814 in White County, TN. She married a distant cousin, Stephen Farley.

        (2) John A. Rice - born about 1815 in White County, TN. He married Sarah Howell, daughter of John and Nancy (Brewer) Howell, about 1832 in White County, TN. He was killed while hunting about 1837, and Sarah remarried to John Jaco. She and John A. Rice had two sons: Francis Marion Rice born 1833 and John Rice born 1834.  Two descendants of John A. Rice participated in the Rice DNA study, and their results matched the other participants in Group 9.

        (3) William Rice, Jr. - born about 1820 in White County. William married Mary Massa in White County in 1839. He died between 1865 and 1870. Mary died after 1883 in White County. A descendant of William's through Logan Mansfield Rice, participated in the Rice DNA study, and it matched the other participants in Group 9.

         (4) Mary Rice - born about 1819. She married James William Tallent. Mary died in 1867 and was buried in the Rice Cemetery in White County.

         (5) Martha Rice - born about 1823. She never married, and was listed as "insane" on the 1850 DeKalb County, TN census. She died in 1858.

         (6) Matilda C. Rice - born about 1827. She married Silas Howell, brother of Sarah Howell, in White County. She died in 1883.

         (7) male child - He died between 1820 and 1830. Name unknown.

4. James Rice - born January 1791 in Prince Edward County, Virginia. James never married. His estate record in Williamson County, TN identifies his siblings, and several of their children. He died December 19, 1835 in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee and buried in the old city cemetery "with full military honors". He may have been the James Rice who served in Capt. Ebenezer Kirkpatrick's Company, Colonel Phillip Pipkin's West Tennessee Militia, from June 1814 - December 1814.

5. Sterling Rice - Sterling married Ann Fleming in Prince Edward County, Virginia on February 3, 1816. He married (2nd) Obedience Nichols in Halifax County, Virginia November 20, 1823. He died before 1834.

6. Stephen Rice - Stephen Rice died before 1834 probably in Halifax County, Virginia, where Thomas G. Coleman was appointed guardian of his minor children. His wife is unknown. Children cited in James Rice's estate papers were:

   A. Permelia Ann Rice

   B. Abram (Abraham) F. Rice

  C. Mary E. O. Rice

   D. Emily S. Rice

   E. Sarah A. R. R. Rice

   F. James S. Rice

  G. David B. Rice

7. Frances "Fanny" Rice - Fanny was born about 1782 in Prince Edward County, Virginia. She married Asa Harper there in 1804, and they moved with her mother to Williamson County, Tennessee. They died between 1860 and 1870 in Williamson County, TN.

8. Mary "Polly" Rice - died about 1860 in Williamson County, Tennessee.

9. Elizabeth S. "Betsy" Rice - died 1868 in Williamson County, Tennessee.

F. MOLLY (RICE) CHEATHAM  No information.

G. ELIZABETH (RICE) PUCKETT - Was born about 1742 in Amelia County, Virginia. She married about 1760 to Robert Puckett, probable son a the Charles Puckett who's property adjoined that of Francis Rice in Prince Edward County. Because of Robert Puckett's infidelity, Elizabeth left him and settled in Campbell County, Virginia with their children. Robert was living with his paramour, Sally Potter, at time of his death in 1799. Sally's son Robert Potter shot him, and he died shortly thereafter. Robert Puckett had written his will in 1795 in which he names his children:

1. Clayborn Puckett

2. Patty Puckett - She married a Mr. Lewis

3. Nathaniel Puckett - He died 1842 in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

4.  Isham Puckett

5. Fleming Puckett

6. Charles Puckett - Born June 24, 1772 in Charlotte County, Virginia. He married Elizabeth Akin in Campbell County, VA in 1801. They moved to Rutherford County, Tennessee, where Charles died  January 31, 1854. His wife died in 1859.

7. Shippy Allen Puckett

8. Thomas Puckett

9. Francis Puckett

H. FRANCES "FANNY" RICE - No information.