Newton County IN Biography

   JAMES H. RICE, a native of Pownal, Maine, came to Newton County, 
Indiana in 1875, and located in Beaver Township, on the cattle ranch 
of J. M. Gaff, of Cincinnati, Ohio, which he has since managed.  It 
consists of 11,000 acres, all under fence, upon which are usually 
from 600 to 1,000 head of cattle.  Mr. Rice has made many improvements 
in fencing, building and ditching.  He was born September 2, 1832, 
being one of ten children of Rufus and Mary (Sylvester) Rice, both 
natives of Maine.  When six years of age, his parents came to Dearborn 
County, Indiana and located at Manchester, where they remained three 
years, after which his father bought a farm near that place, where he 
resided until his death in 1839.  He served in the American Army 
during the war of 1812.  James H. received his education in the common 
schools of Indiana, and at the age of thirteen went from home to work 
on a farm, where he remained six years.  In 1851, he came to what is 
now Kankakee, Illinois, where he managed a farm ten years; he then 
spent four years in Iroquois County in farming and stock dealing, 
then returned to Kankakee, where he remained twelve years, except 
an absence of six months in Dakota Territory, where he herded cattle.  
While there, he assisted in the erection of Fort Totten.  He was 
married, January 1, 1851, to Hannah M. Taylor, a native of Ohio.  
Seven children have been born to them, three of whom, viz., Mrs. 
James M. Wheaten, Emma and Cora, survive.  He is a member of the 
M.E. Church, to which all his family belong.  He is also a member 
of Morocco Lodge, No. 372.  In politics, he is a Republican and one 
of the prominent men of the county.  

Beaver Township, Newton County.  From A History of Warren, Benton, 
Jasper and Newton Counties, 1883.  

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Submitted By Gerald Born
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