The Rice Boys - Captured by Indians
Compiled and written by John Buczek
Many
thanks to Gerry Rice of Windsor Vt. For providing me with the data and
sources
See
his Genealogy at end of story
If you are driving through Westborough and happen to travel past the High School, you may notice a stone with a plaque on it. This plaque memorializes the capture of the Rice children
In the year 1664 Thomas Rice and Mary King, who were married, lived in Sudbury. The couple moved to Marlborough where he became a Proprietor. The couple where blessed with a large family of thirteen children one of whom was Thomas Rice Jr.. Thomas was born in Sudbury and moved with his parents and his brothers and sisters to Marlborough.
Thomas
Jr. eventually took the hand of Mary, her last name is unknown, and settled
down. Mary, for whatever reason, moved to Watertown and it is thought that
she moved there to escape to a safer place for King Philip the great Indian
Sachem was on the move. Her life there was short lived for It was
in 1667 when she passed . Thomas, now a widow and childless, eventually
found a new soul mate her name was Anna Rice. Anna was the daughter of
Edward Rice, brother to Thomas's father, and Agnes Bent. Thomas and
his new bride lived in that part of Marlborough called Chauncy now known
as Westborough. This is important to know as the events which were about
to happen occurred here before Westborough became a Town.
Click
on image of house to see full size. Use your back arrow to return
here.
Thomas,
who by the year 1675, built himself a garrison house on what is known now
as West Main Street Westborough. Thomas was thought to be the first
settler of this new settlement although he was not one of the signers of
the Petition for the settlement of the Village of Chauncy, however his
brother Edmon was.
A copy of the actual document reads in part as follows.
The Petition to establish the town of Chancy 1702
Therefor
wee ye Honorable & Humble Petitioners do pray for an inlargement that
from the westerly bounds of Marlborough Towne the Pt. now settled which
is called Chancy, may be expanded to Consigamck Pond and to a parcel lyne
with Marlborough west line where it becomes to Hassenessett the Indian
Plantation and to run the full breadth of five miles until it comes to
Hassenessett and to building pon that Plantation also a mile in breadth
on the southerly side from Sudbury River to the Indian bounds afore mentioned
and desireing all amongst us and Humble Petiners shall ever pray.
The
subscribers names for want of room are sett on the other side
Click
on image to read the document. Use your back arrow to return here.
(reverse of petition)
Rich'd
Barnes Thomas Brigham
Nathan
Brigham Samuel Goodnow
Samuel
Brigham Elizab' th Howe
Jacob
Rice
Edmond Rice
John
Mainerd Jr David Mainerd
Anna
Ward
Joseph Witherby
Increase
Ward Samuel Furbush
James
Rice
Isaac Thomlin
Joshua
Haines John Fay
Samuel
Fay
John Brigham
All in behalf of the rest of the inhabitants and Proprietors in the village belonging to the towne of Marlborough called Chancy.
Over the next several years Thomas and Anna had thirteen children. Of those, we are concerned with Asher, born 1694 and Adonijah, born 1696. We must also concern ourselves with three other boys, sons of Edmund Rice and Ruth Parker. Edmund and Ruth had a large family of twelve children and the children of this marriage we speak of are, Silas born 1695, Timothy born 1697 and young Nahor born 1699.
~ The Rice Boys are Captured ~
It
was a typical August morning this day in 1704 at the homestead of Thomas
Rice, the family had been up for hours, the children fed and the men were
about to ready for the days tasks. The women were about cleaning and cooking
for the noon day meal as the men left to spread out flax in a field nearby.
Uncle Edmund had come over to help and he had brought with him his sons. As they traveled to the field, they talked of how good the weather was and how bountiful the harvest was. Tagging along, laughing and poking at each other were the boys of the two men not even concerned with the work that lie ahead. Asher, who was the oldest of the boys and ten years old, Adonijah who was eight, both sons of Thomas and Silas age nine, Timothy age seven and Nahor age four the sons of Edmund, had other plans for the day.
Upon reaching the field, they set about with the task at hand. The sun was rising as was the temperature and as time went on it got harder for the boys to continue on, more often was heard "Ye boys will be up for a thrashing if ye do not finish that which ye were told to do". As the men and boys continued to work, concentrating on their job, they did not hear or see the Indians lurking in the nearby woods.
Suddenly the Indians, eight in number, rushed down the hill side whooping and began to attack the small defenseless group. Young Nahor, who had no way to defend himself, was knocked severely on the head and was dragged away by one of the Indians. The remaining boys were grabbed up and all were carried away as quickly as the attack began. The two men, Thomas and Edmund managed to escape with their lives and ran to the homestead to get weapons and more help.
As the men, now with weapons, followed the trail of the Indians in a Northerly direction they came upon the body of Nahor. He had been slain, his lifeless body lay on the ground covered with blood and wounds made by a hatchet. The bloodied remains were buried on the spot where he lay in the southerly corner of what is now the Memorial Cemetery. The men finished their sorrowful task and set about tracking the Indians once again. The men eventually lost the trail of the Indians and reluctantly gave up the pursuit to return back to their homes.
The Trail to Canada
The
Indians continued North on a direct path towards Canada. They did
not tally around and only stopped to take food and drink when necessary.
They set up camps in the night time to rest, keeping the camp fire flames
low, for they were still in unfriendly territory and would not be able
to relax until they reached the friendly lands of Canada.
The
trail to Canada may have been as shown by the gray line on this 1763 map
section.
The
young boys were quickly learning the ways of the Indian, for they were
not given any special consideration. Their education of the woods
became important for their survival and they soon learned what berries
could be eaten along the way. Their cloths became ragged and tattered
and as the reached the northern boundaries of Canada, the nights became
colder and their cloths less comforting. They learned that the waters
that abound the lands, were not only good for drinking, but good for bathing
and soothing their sore bodies. Considering their ages, it was remarkable
that they made it to the final destination which was to be Caughnawaga,
or Sault Saint Louis. Caughnawaga was an Iroquois reservation, situated
on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, about ten miles above Montreal.
Upon reaching the reservation, their education of the Indian habits and
language became more important if they were to survive for they were to
become white slaves to the Indian families.
Over
the next four years, the boys became more aware of their surrounding and
began to act more like the Indian than the young child that they were.
Young Asher, who was now fourteen years old, had not kept up with the other
boys in becoming part of the Indian life. Adronijah, who was now
age twelve, faired better and Timothy, now age eleven, and Silas, now age
13, seemed to fit well with their captive families.
Thomas buys back Asher
Thomas
and Edmund never gave up on securing their sons freedom. They knew
where the children were, but had no way to secret them away.
It was 1708, four years after the capture, when Thomas finally negotiated
the release of one of his sons. Asher, who was still having difficulty
in accepting the ways of the Indian, was put up for ransom. The Indian,
although not compassionate, were not against releasing Asher if certain
conditions were met. During the negotiations for Asher, Thomas sold
his home to raise the money for Asher's freedom. He was able to redeem
his son and bring him back to what he considered civilization. He, Thomas,
and Edmund would meet all of the boys and with great disappointment, they
discovered that the remaining boys were not interested in becoming part
of the White Mans life. The boys had become so accustomed to their
new life that they were reluctant to give up what they had and learned.
So with heavy hearts, Thomas and Edmund returned with the only child willing
to give up the life of an Indian.
The Boys That Remained
The
Rice boys that remained behind became more Indian like than white.
They continued to learn from the 
natives
and eventually became respected and an important part of the tribe.
Adronjiah eventually married a French woman and established a farm near
Montreal. Silas and Timothy had become more adept in the ways of
the indian and eventually married Indian woman and remained in Cagnawaga.
Timothy had impressed the Indians so much with his talents, courage, strength and warlike spirit that he was eventually adopted by the Chief as a son. He eventually became to be known as Oughtzorongoughton and became an influential Sachem of the Iroquois.
He
once returned to his native home, Westborough, in 1740. He seemed
to remember the house, but could not communicate with the family for he
had lost all knowledge of his native tongue.
Asher Returns Home
Upon
securing Asher's freedom, they returned back to the homestead, where Asher
began to relearn the White Mans way. Even as he grew older, he never recovered
from his ordeal and had a constant fear of the Indian. In 1720, Thomas
built for Asher a house which stands today on South Street in Westborough.
Click
on image to see larger image. Use your back arrow to return here.
Sources: See Genealogy below
Genealogy - The Descendants of Silas "Tannhahorens" Rice and Timothy
"Oserokohto" Rice - with sources
Generously
donated by Gerald J. Rice <[email protected]>; a descendant of
"Frances and Elisha and
his
wife from Mary, children of the first Thomas and his wife Mary King".
A must read if you've come this far.
Additional notes:
Caughnawaga
Or
SAULT ST. LOUIS.
Source: An article from the Catholic Encyclopedia
An Iroquois reservation, situated on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, about ten miles above Montreal. Area, 12,327 acres. Population in 1905, 2,100; all Catholics, except five or six families. The language is the Mohawk dialect. The Sault (or Rapids) was an old seigniory, or concession, granted to the Jesuits in 1680. To P. Raffeix, S.J., is due the idea of thus grouping the Iroquois neophytes on the banks of the St. Lawrence, to guard them from the persecution and temptation to which they were subject amid the pagan influences of their own villages. In 1667 the missionary prevailed upon seven communities to take up their residence at Laprarie, opposite Montreal. Other Christian Iroquois, from different localities, soon came to join the settlement, and in 1670 there were twenty families. As the proximity of the whites was prejudicial to the Indians, the mission was transferred, in 1676, several miles higher up the river. This second site is memorable as the scene of the saintly life and death of Catherine Tegakwitha (d. 1680). In 1890 a granite monument was erected on the site, in memory of the humble Iroquois virgin. In 1689, to escape the threatened attacks of their pagan tribesmen, the Christian Iroquois sought refuge in Montreal, where they remained eight or nine months. When the danger had passed, they founded another settlement a mile or two above the last. In 1696 another migration took place to a fourth site. Here it was that P. Lafitau, S.J., discovered the famous "ginseng" plant, so valuable in the eyes of the Chinese. The discovery created a great sensation, and was for a time the source of a lucrative commerce. This fourth site still proving unsatisfactory, the settlement was moved to the present site of Caughnawaga in 1716. From 1667 to 1783 the mission was conducted by the Jesuits; from 1783 to 1903 by secular priests and Oblates. In 1903 it was again confided to the Jesuits. Among the more noted missionaries were Fathers Bruyas, S.J., Chauchetiere, S.J., Lafitau, S.J., Burtin, O.M.I., Marcoux, who composed an Iroquois dictionary and grammar, and Forbes who drew up complete genealogical tables of the settlement. The Indians are intelligent and industrious. Some are engaged in farming, others take rafts down the Lachine rapids. The industries are principally bead-work and the making of lacrosse rackets and snowshoes. Besides the presbytery, dating from 1716, and the church, built in 1719 and restored in 1845, there are in the village the ruins of a French fort of 1754, two schools, and a hospital. The government by chiefs was, in 1889, replaced by that of a mayor and council.
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