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The location found is located in the given distance / direction from the "nearby Town". MSC is Mecklenburg- Schwerin, MST is Mecklenburg-Strelitz without Ratzeburg and MSR is Mecklenburg-Strelitz / only Ratzeburg.
Prefix: Wittenberg
History of the Rice FamilyThe earliest knowledge we have of our ancestors is very obscure. We only know that a family of four, father, mother and two sons, Frederick William and Barnhart Rice left Wittenberg, Germany, date unknown and sought the forests of America and the hardships of a rude pioneer life in the yet unbroken wilderness of Pennsylvania. Barnhart RiceBarnhart Rice is believed to have married a woman named Anna Elizabeth, but her surname is presently unknown. They married and settled near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the county then known as Northampton and now known as Lehigh. He had a family of three children, one son, Frederick - our ancestor, and two daughters, Maria Margaretha who was confirmed with Frederick, and Christina, who married in Greensburg, Pennsylvania in the month of June, 1781, to Johannes Wentzel/Vensel. Johannes Wentsel died in testate in 1812
in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Their children were Philip (for John's father); Johannes; Jacob; Anna Catharine, b. 10 Sep 1786, sponsored by Uncle Friedrich and (Anna) Catharine Reiss; Bernhard, born 9 Oct 1790, died in 1848; married in 1813 to Hannah Harmon; Elizabetha was born on 15 Jan 1793; Anna Elizabetha, bpt. 22 Mar 1795; Salome, born 15 July 1797; and Joseph, born 18 June 1800, (sponsored by Joseph Wehl and "Margaretha").
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Gary
I had written you several years ago on the Greenhill Farm. You quote David Morgan – but it actually was Chris Morgan that gave you the information. Dave is my husband. Regardless, I now know a little more about the Farm, and actually have visited where the Greenhill farm use to be – It is now divided up and many homes. I even have a picture of the farm house believed to have been built around 1798-1800, but the owner of the photograph, picture being taken around 1907 or earlier. –Though this would not be your Frederick Rice’s home, it would have been similar in structure.
My point in writing now, is that one of the children of Michael and Catherine Leader, Salome Leader in 1800– when she was baptized, the witnesses were Frederick and Catherine Reis. (Rice of course) and am trying to find out if there was a connection with the Lauffer family or the Rice family to the Leader Line (Leader being spelled Leider, Lider, Lieder, Lidder, Litter, Litner, Linder, Luder, etc.) I do not know Catherine Leader’s maiden name. I am looking at every witness to the baptism of their children, to see if I can find something there. I know that Michael and Catherine Leader came from Eastern Pa – and that there may be connections to York or Franklin PA. They came to Westmoreland between 1798-1800.
ON a side note other sponsors besides Frederick and Catherine (Lauffer) Reis for children of the Leader’s include: George and Rebecca Schaeffer, Frederick and Rebecca Schleif (Slife, Schleiss, etc.), Philip and Margaretha Kuntz, Henrich and Elizabeth (Hauck) Schleif, Jacob and Magdalena Zimmerman, George and Anna Maria Magdalena(Mechling) Kepple. These baptisms were all from 1800-1811.
If you can shed any light on the Lauffer family or send me to a site or person, that could add more, I’d certainly appreciate it.
You also have my permission to edit some of what I sent you earlier, in what you have published online. You don’t have to put all my words. In fact I probably can give you a better idea on where Frederick’s land was today, then in the past.
Michael Leader's farm bordered that of Jacob Leighty and Frederick Rice. The land deed was from Samuel Beer and Barbara, his wife, of Hempfield Twp., on April 15, 1799, for 340 pounds It was for 130 acres of land, called "Greenhill." This land adjoined John Fulton, John McGuire, Frederick Rice, with allowances for Roads, at the time of purchase. . At the death of Michael, the land was sold to Adam Snyder, on 4 Sept. 1844. (At this time the land was bounded by Widow Sindorff, Frederick Sleiff, Abraham Bowman, John Leighty.) Today it is about 45 properties. It's north boundary is believed to be Sunny Lane incompassing Kintigh Lane going towards the Greensburgh Mt. Pleasant Rd, and including today's road of Brinkerton and Smarnick Rd. This is all just south of Skidmore Rd coming out of South Greensburg.
Now perhaps you can place the Rice Farm in relation to an everyday map.
Hoping to hear from you,
Most sincerely,
Chris Morgan
From the Glenn M. Rice Rice history, we find that Frederick Rice sold this property of 300 acres to George Brown in 1815.
Fredrick Rice spent the latter part of his life with his son Simon on the old homestead south of Wooster, Ohio where many a traveler from Pennsylvania was sheltered and refreshed. Some of these claimed relationship, others found various excuses such as having lived' near "Rice's Hollow" south of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, as reason to visit several days or even weeks if it were convenient.
Fredrick Rice died January 23, 1848 at the age of 94 years, 3 months, 25 days. His wife, Catherine, having died many years prior, in the month of August, 1823.
His last request was the administration of the Lord's Supper by Rev. S. S. Cline, pastor of the German Lutheran Church of which he was a member. Early in his teens he was confirmed in Northampton, Pennsylvania, in the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
He was buried in the church graveyard back of the present Evangelical Church in Wooster, Ohio, but was later disinterred with other members of the family and now lies In the Oakhill Cemetery, south of Wooster. (The Rice lot is next to the lot containing the Karl Merz Boulder Monument.)
Frederick Rice's wife, Catherine, died just a few years after moving to Wayne County, Ohio. She is assumed to be buried on one of the farms south of Wooster. The granddaughter of Glenn M. Rice once mentioned being shown an old map of the farm by the then manager of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Mr. Thorn. This old map of the farm showed an outlined area of the farm marked "cemetery." Although not conclusive, this is the best explanation to date as to the burial place of Anna Catherine Lauffer Rice
Here I turn again to the writing of Glenn M. Rice in his description of Frederick Rice's latter years:
"Turning again to the father of these children; He with Philip Wentzel enlisted in the war of 1812." [Not having seen the source of this information, I wonder if this might not be the son, Frederick, who died of illness during this war. - Gary Rice]
"He was brave and courageous, capable of suffering the hardships of war yet having a good kind heart ready to relieve the needy whenever the opportunity permitted.
"It is said that during an expedition against the Indians when their band reached the Indian camp they found it deserted with the exception of one woman whom some of the party would have shot but for the interference of Grandfather; with a bound the woman was at his side, clinging to him for instinct told her that she was safe with him.
"His wife died in August, 1823, and he spent the latter part of his life with his son Simon where many a traveler from Pennsylvania was sheltered and refreshed. Some of these claimed relationship, others were acquaintances who made axcuses [sic] of having lived near Rice's Hollow in Pennsylvania.
"Much of his time was spent in hunting, often being absent for weeks at a time and spending the nights on a bed made of bushes, building a fire about it for the protection from the wild beasts of the forests.
"The deer was his particular aim in hunting, in which he was most successful, always returning home with an abundance of venison.
"He died Jan. 23, 1848, after having seen the country open up to civilization from eastern Pennsylvania to Ohio."
To Frederick and Catherine Rice were born thirteen children, two of whom, died in infancy. Seven sons and four daughters lived to an adult age, and are as follows:
| Child's Name | Birth date | Death Date | Married |
| Christina Rice | April 14, 1778 | October 14, 1853 | Randolph Barnhart |
| Randolph and Christine settled at Barnhart's Mills, now called Chicora, in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Christina died October 14, 1853 and is buried in ??? Cemetery near Chicora. |
| Barnhart Rice | March 18, 1781 | August 12, 1863 | Susan Miller |
| Barnhart operated his father's mill in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He then operated a mill near Meadville in Crawford County, Pennsylvania before settling on one of the farms purchased by Frederick Rice in 1822 in Wayne County, south of Wooster, Ohio. |
| (Mary) Elizabeth Rice | March 17, 1783 | November 11, 1852 | (John) Phillip Barnhart |
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Fredrick Rice |
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1812 |
? |
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Fredrick died during War of 1812 in a field hospital due to complications from an illness. |
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Christian Rice |
April 12, 1787 |
January 17, 1852 |
Charlotte Hine |
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They settled near Tylerton, Penn., on a farm which had been previously entered by his father. |
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John Rice |
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Margaret Wible |
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John was married to Margaret Wible and always remained in Butler Co., Penn., and was also a farmer. (See last will transcript) |
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Peter Rice |
April 4, 1792 |
January 02, 1861 |
Elizabeth Vandyke |
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Peter followed the occupation of a blacksmith the early part of his life. He was married to Elizabeth Vandike and spent the latter part of his life on a farm in Medina Co., Ohio. |
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Catherine Rice |
October 17, 1793 1/ |
January 18, 1871 |
John Myers |
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Simon Rice |
October 4, 1796 |
November 5, 1863 |
1st/ Mary France, 2nd/ Barbara Yager |
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Simon went to Ohio with his father who purchased land south of Wooster, Ohio, and is now the property of the State of Ohio and used as the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station. |
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Susan Rice |
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Daniel Reaser |
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June 8, 1804 |
March 2, 1875 |
Susannah Franz |
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Henry married Susannah Franz in Wayne County, Ohio. He owned farms in Wayne County, Ohio, but moved to Huntington County, Indiana with his wife in 1864. He died on March 2, 1875 and is buried in France Cemetery on the Old Fort Wayne Road in Jackson Township, Huntington County, Indiana. Susannah died October 01, 1880 and is also buried in France Cemetery. |
1/ One source says Catherine was born in 1794.
Philip Rice
Philip Rice, son of Barnhart and Susan Miller, came to Chatham Twp., Medina Co. and built a saw mill. His son John had the mill. In fact he died as a result of being hit in the head by a board coming off the saw. His grandson, Clement, operated a grist mill and had a picnic grove in the 30s and 40s. on the property. Clement was still producing pan cake flour, etc. into his 90s. He had two daughters so the property was sold in the late 1950s. The government confiscated many of his black walnut
trees for gun stocks during WW II. A man from the Chatham Historical Society called and in January [2000] they are having a program on Rice's Dam. Exchanging stories, pictures, etc. Dick and I are planning to go if the weather is okay. Over the years there have been many articles in the papers about the Dam.
- Contributed by Lynne Rice, Chatham, Ohio
Henry Rice, the youngest son of Frederick and Catherine Rice, was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, on June 8, 1804.
In the year 1815 at the age of eleven years, he with his father, mother, youngest brother and sister moved to Wayne County, Ohio.
Although still a boy he was busily engaged in helping clear the land of what is now probably one of the finest farms in northern Ohio, the Ohio Experimental Farm.
He was married to Susannah Franz, Aug. 17, 1825, who was born in February 1805, and also of Wayne County, Ohio.
They first settled one mile south of Wooster, Ohio where they lived a few years until they moved to Wayne township in the Killbuck Valley where they settled in the wild woods and cleared a farm on which they resided about 28 years. They then purchased a farm on Clear Creek on which they lived until their removal to Huntington County, Indiana, in the autumn of 1864 on the farm now owned by O. E. Johnson.
To them were born four sons: Nicholas, Simon, Henry, Solomon.
Mr. Rice died March 2, 1875, and his wife died Oct. 1, 1880.
(NOTE: Information in this section is from the "Genealogical Record of the Henry Rice Family," by Glenn M. Rice.
A historic item in connection with the Rice family is the Fort Rice which is located in Lewis Township, Northumberland Co., Pa., about seven miles east of Sunbury, Pa.
In a letter from Aaron E. Barnhart of Chicora, Pa., he quotes from a book entitled "Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania."
"The portion of the book relating to Fort Rice was written by John M. Buckalen who quotes "There was a noted Indian chief who boasted that he could take any fort built by the pioneers and it was admitted that it was no idle boast but Capt. Frederick William Rice with a company of German soldiers built Fort Rice which has stood the ravishes of time.
"The land upon which Fort Rice is situated was first patented by William Patterson in 1769 and was later transferred to John Montgomery in 1771 and contained 700 acres and was then known as a paradice [sic] owing to its beautiful rolling ground, its fine groves and excellent water and healthfulness. It is not excelled for fertility, beauty, and healthfulness by any like place in the United States.
"Before the fort was built this Montgomery's house occupied the site upon which the fort now stands. On July 28, 1779, there was a raid made by the Indians and Montgomery fled with his family to the settlement.
"It was during his absence after the Indians had burned all his buildings and grain stacks [sic], that the government thru' Capt. Rice selected the site for the fort. It was built over a very fine spring and upon the site of Montgomery's house in the autumn of 1779 and the winter of 1780 by Capt. Rice with a company of Pennsylvania German troops from Col. Weetner's German Regiment.
"It was built of surface limestone the building is 26x28 feet outside measurement and is two stories high with an attic of four feet. It is twenty-two feet high from the ground up to the square.
"The walls are two feet thick. It originally had a stockade built out of the same material around it.
"During the time the fort was built the Indians were spying and keeping a sharp watch. After the Indians had destroyed all the other forts and as a last resort the settlers repaired to Fort Rice.
"On Sept. 21, 1780, about 300 Indians made an assault upon the fort but were baffled and defeated by Capt. Rice and his German soldiers.
"The stockade has long since been torn down but the fort still stands and on a stone in the south wall about 8 feet from the ground are the initials F. W. R. which are still visible. The portholes are still visible also, altho' [sic] there has been many changes made in the building.
"The land upon which the fort stands when this was written was owned by an Irishman by the name McIntosh who has tried to have the fort named Fort McIntosh but Mr. Buckalen says it was and is justly due that the name be kept Fort Rice.
"The present owner is using it as a spring and milk house."
Mr. Buckalen says he has failed to find where or what has become of Capt. Rice further than he had gone west.
- History of the Rice Family, Appendix, Fort Rice, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.
Word came on morning to the settlers, Frederick Rice and wife, that the Indians had attacked the village and all the whites in the country around were summoned to help the villagers who were being tortured and killed, and their homes pillaged and burned.
Catherine, the wife, who was washing, had to stop and help to make the place look as though deserted. While the husband and father nailed up the windows with clapboards, she disposed of her washing which was scalding in a kettle, by upsetting the whole kettle full of clothes into a mortar hole, from which her husband had been using mortar to close up the holes about the cabin. Then she got her children ready and they started.
Frederick Rice shouldered his musket and went to the help of the villagers, while the wife took Christina by the hand, Barnhart on her back, and Elizabeth in her arms and started to walk under brush and wheat fields, all bent over so she would not be seen by any skulking Indians, to the nearest neighbor one mile away. When she got there, the house was deserted. Windows were clapboarded, and no response of a living being around, so she plodded on her way to the next neighbor another mile, and there she found about twenty people. There were mothers with their
children and only one old man with his musket to protect them against the invading Indians.
The old man was nailing up the clapboards to all the windows and doors, and making the place look as if deserted. There, these pioneer women huddled, not daring to speak above a whisper, and smothering the cries of their young ones.
The father, Frederick, on his way through the woods saw the Indians at a cabin, torturing a mother whom they had tied to a tree, and were impaling her baby in front of her on the picket fence. But as the Indians were a dozen to him (only one), he had to steal past them unobserved on his way to the village, which he found in flames when he arrived there, but joined the settlers in pursuit of the attacking Indians, killing many of them.
- History of the Henry Rice Family, by Glenn M. Rice, Destruction of Hannastown - by the Indians, p. 34.
Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Penna.
Deed Book Vol. II, page 140
The name Frederick Rice as placed in a transfer of deed for several hundred acres of land by Frederick Rice and Catherine Rice to George Brown, April 1, 1815, Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
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Frederick Rice's land in Westmoreland County as recorded in survey February 13, 1786, was 300 acres.
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Congressional Library Records
Washington, D. C.
Note this interesting fact, referring to the purchase of land by the pioneer, Rice, south of Wooster, Ohio. From abstracts, Dr. Thorne, director of Ohio Experimental Station, Wooster, Ohio, gives the data of transfer of this property to the Rice's.
"U. S., James Monroe, President, to Frederick Rice, May 12, 1821. Assignee, Joseph Dorsey and Wells."
Then Frederick Rice to Simon Rice, west half of farm, March 1, 1822. Frederick Rice to Barnhardt Rice, east half of farm, March 7, 1882 [obvious typo - should be 1822].
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The last owner of the Rice homestead south of Wooster, Ohio, being D. R. Firestone, who transferred it to the State of Ohio for the Experimental Farm.
- History of the Henry Rice Family, by Glenn M. Rice, Real Estate Records, p. 34
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