23. Anthony C. Rice (Married
Susanna Rebecca Steely (24),
12 March 1861 in Pickaway, Ohio (According to
LDS). The wedding license verifies the date.
Born: 24 February 1831 of James
E. Rice (45) & Jane
McLaughlin (Jane Black According to LDS)(46).
Died: 10 July 1897;
his tombstone is in a plot with his daughter, Mattie
Steely Rice (12), and son-in-law, John
M. Thatcher (11) at Forest Cemetery,
Circleville, Ohio. (GPS: 39° 36.974' N; 82° 56.708' W).
[His siblings included:
William
Rice (Married Margaret ? Source 1860 United States Federal Census for Pickaway County, Ohio; according to that census; at that time he was 35, Margaret was 29, and they had four children: Amanda - 9, William J.-7, Elliott E. -5, and Lawrence A.-3; he was a farmer) Born: 21 March 1825, Died 3 September 1886;
John
W. Rice Born: 21 September 1828, Died: 25 January 1844, buried
at Black and Rice Cemetery,
Pickaway Twp.;
Mary Rice (Married: 1) John Williams, and 2) Manuel Dresbach) Born: 18 October 1830, Died: ?;[Note: It is probable that Mary was married more than once and that her birth date listed here is incorrect. According to History of Pickaway County, Ohio And Representative Citizens, Edited And Compiled by Hon. Aaron R. Van Cleaf, published by Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Ilinois, 1906, page 734, James Williams was James E. Rice's grandson. James Williams was born 16 June 1840 in Pickaway Township, Pickaway County, Ohio, the son of John Williams and Mary Rice. [Note: If this is true, then Mary's birth date (as researched by Russell Leach) must be incorrect. She would have been only 10 when her son James was born.] [Note: Mary is not listed in the 1850 census as living with her father and 10 year old son. According to the online Family Search (LDS), John Willliams was born in 1815 in Pennsylvania and died 22 February 1845 at the home of James E. Rice. He is buried at Ebenezer Cemetery, Pickaway Township, Ohio. Also according to this source, he married Mary on 5 May 1839 and Mary was born in 1820. This information needs to be verified. If the LDS source is correct, then Mary and John Williams were married 6 years when John died and their son would have been 5 years old.] Mary's father's will, dated 1877/78, as discussed in Abstracts of Wills, Pickaway County,
Ohio: Books 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1808-1892, p. 221 states that James’ will
“Mentions children, ...... Mary widow of Manuel Dresback
and their son William." In the document titled "Distribution of the Estate of James E. Rice", those who received cash payments in 1877 and 1878 included: Mary Dresback, and James Williams.]
James Rice (Married Nancy Steely on 5 June 1845) [Source of his wife's name is: The History of Franklin and Pickaway Counties, Ohio by Williams Bros 1880, page 268 states that "Nancy, wife of James Rice, lives in Pickaway...." According to information sent by Robert Steely (a Steely family genealogist) to Susan Snyder in April 2007, Nancy Steely married James Rice on 5 June 1845.] Born: 14 October 1832, 1822 [Source of the date in blue and confirmation that Nancy was this James' wife is the 1880 census], Died: 21 August 1883;[ Note: The birth date of 1832 as recorded in black type (researched by Russell Leach #3) is probably incorrect since James and Nancy were married in 1845 according to information sent by Robert Steely, and if this is true, then James would have been only 13 when he got married. Also, his birth date according to the 1880 census was 1822. Also note, James' wife (Nancy) was the daughter of John Steely (Meek Steely's (#47)'s brother. Meek Steely's daughter (Susanna (#24) was Anthony Rice's wife. This means that first cousins Susanna and Nancy married brothers James and Anthony.]
Jane Rice (Married: ? Ingram) Born: 3 April 1833, Died: 25 June 1909;
Margaret
Rice (Married: ? Pontius) Born: 17 July 1835, Died: ?;
Ellen
Rice (Married: George Moore) Born:
29 October 1837, Died: 15 September 1862;
Elizabeth Rice (Married: ? Shelby) Born: 23 July 1840, Died: ?;
Charles Rice
Born: 8 December 1842, Died: 21 September 1843, buried
at Black and Rice Cemetery,
Pickaway Twp.] [Source: James E. Rice's
(45) will found in Abstracts of Wills, Pickaway County, Ohio: Books
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1808-1892, p. 221]
Miscellaneous: According to History
of Franklin and Pickaway Counties Ohio, published by Williams Bros.
in 1880, p.150, an A. C. Rice was a private in Company C under the command
of Captain Andrew Boyle and Colonel H. H. Sage in the Ninety-second
Regiment of the Ohio National Guard during the Civil War. A. C. Rice
was recruited and mustered into service for one hundred days.
When Meek Steely, Susanna's father, died in 1865, Anthony and Susanna received $100 18/100 from the estate.
Anthony and Susanna had 4 children... all girls: Mattie Steely (12), Emma May, Katie Viola, and Jennie Hays.

Left: When seen on September
25, 2005, Anthony's tombstone had fallen over. It was placed back in
positon and cleaned before being photographed in this picture. In 2007, it was hypoxied to its base.
[There is a mystery involving where Anthony's body is actually buried. Forest Cemetery Records show that he is buried in Lot 1 of Section 39 with his daughter Emma and her husband's (Henry Renick) family. However, the tombstone is located in a different section with his daughter Mattie and her husband (John Thatcher.)]
According to his obituary , “Again
the angel of death has visited the home of Henry. C. Renick. Only a
few months ago a precious young wife and mother was taken and now her
father has gone to join her. A. C. Rice was born Feb. 24, 1831 and died
July 10, 1897. Mr. Rice had suffered several attacks of the grip which
eventually brought on lung trouble, causing his death at the age of
66 years. Deceased was the son of James A. and Elizabeth Rice and was
born on the farm in Pickaway township on which he spent his boyhood
and manhood. His father came from Montpelier, Vermont, and his mother
was a native of Ohio. March 12, 1861, Mr. Rice was united in marriage
to Susannah R. Steeley. To this union was born four children, three
of whom with their mother are left to mourn the loss of a kind husband
and father. Mrs. Henry C. Renick died December 13, 1895. The surviving
children are: Mrs. John M. Thatcher, Fox; Mrs. Alex Renick, Kinderbook,
and Mrs. W. H. Wanamaker, Columbus. During the long siege of suffering
he was ever patient and cheerful, always ready to greet his friends
with a smile. The gentle, unassuming disposition that characterized
his whole life was beautifully developed. The funeral was conducted
Monday morning by Rev. F. L. Ballard in an impressive manner. The pall
bearers were Wm. Gill, E. R. Black, James A. Dresbach, John P. Steeley,
Jacob Weaver and Ansel Dern, all life long friends of the deceased.”
[Note from Susan Leach Snyder (#2): The
above obituary states that Anthony's father was James A. Rice, but the
tombstone at Black & Rice Cemetery, Pickaway Twp. says James E.
Rice. The tombstone at Black & Rice Cemetery also lists James' wife
as Jane. Jane died in 1844. Anthony would have been 13 when she died.
There is a question about who Elizabeth is. The 1850-1870 do not show a wife listed with James E. Rice.]