"History of Ogle Co., IL" by H. F. Kett & Co., Chicago, IL, 1878

RICE, ISAAC, Physician and Surgeon; Mt Morris; owns 200 acres on Sec 10, valued at $14,000; also owns 600 acres in Township 25; in Sec 32, 40 acres; in Sec 33, 240 acres; in Sec 28, 340 acres, in Sec 29, 80 acres; is a graduate of Rush Medical College; is a member of the Banking firm of Newcomer & Rice, of the Bank of Mount Morris; came to Ogle County in 1837; married Jan 14, 1857, to SARAH HIESTAND, who was born January 27, 1836, in Washington Co., Md. and was a daughter of HENRY and ELIZABETH; have had three children-
ROWLAND born Feb 10, 1858, ANNA, March 22, 1860, and JOSEPH L, Dec 23, 1866; the first two deceased; there were no schools in Ogle Co. at the time the father of Dr Rice came to this county, and his father built the first school house ever located in this county; the Doctor, at an early day, devoted his time to school teaching, and for years alternated between teaching, and attending school at the Rock River Seminary; and in that way laid the foundation not only of his future usefulness, but of a solid education; he was a member of the State Legislature for the years 1872 and 1874, and is a gentleman of sterling business qualifications; his wife is a member of Methodist Episcopal Church; Mr. R. is Republican in politics.

"History of Ogle Co., Illinois" by Munsell Publishing Co., Chicago, IL, 1909

RICE, Hon. Isaac (deceased), formerly one of the oldest residents of Mount Morris, Ill., and foremost in promoting the development of Ogle County throughout all it's earlier stages, was born in Washington County, Md., October 28, 1826, a son of Jacob and Mary (Rowland) Rice, whose Maryland home was near where the Battle of Antietam was fought in after years. In the early thirties, his father, who was born September 2, 1784, removed to Clark County, Ohio, where Isaac attended school at New Carlisle, and in the spring of 1837, Jacob Rice and John Wagner (an uncle), with their families, started westward through the wilderness of Ohio and Indiana, finally arriving in the Rock River valley, which impressed them as a desirable and suitable spot to establish a home. For a time the "prairie schooners" which they had used in the long journey, furnished their shelter and living accommodations, this conditon continuing until an elder brother brought from Cincinnati, tools and other facilities for putting up a dwelling. Then they built a double log-house, about four miles north of the present site of Mount Morris, and the four rooms of this primitive abode housed the twenty people composing the pioneer party during their first winter in Ogle County.

At that time all the region around them was unsettled and wild, and traces of the recent Black Hawk War were here and there observable. Deer and other wild game were abundant. The necessary milling was done at St. Charles, Kane County, and Chicago was the point for marketing their produce. The subject of this sketch once took fifty bushels of wheat to the Chicago market, using two yokes of oxen, consuming ten days in the trip to and fro, and receiving thirty cents per bushel for the grain. In 1838, Jacob Rice built a school-house of logs on his own land, with seats of slabs hauled from the saw-mill at Grand Detour and slab desks resting on pegs. At the age of eighteen years, Isaac Rice, who was the largest boy in the settlement and the only one fitted for the task (having attended Rock River Seminary), taught school there for two terms, his compensation being $18 per month without board. In 1840, Mount Morris became the location of the Methodist school, and this selection resulted in the town's enduring association with many honored names, notably those of Hitt, Farwell, Wallace, Beveridge, Rawlins, and Cullon.

On settling in Ogle County, Jacob Rice entered up about 1,200 acres of government land, all of which he improved, being identified during a period of forty-two years with the development of Ogle County. He died on his farm, April 25, 1870, his first wife, Mary (Roland) Rice, who was born May 28, 1788, having passed away December 21, 1840. His second wife, Catherine (Funk) Rice, born August 24, 1797, died December 26, 1900. Of the twelve children born of the first marriage, Isaac Rice was the eleventh. After finishing his studies in the seminary and his experience as a teacher, he read medicine with Dr. Francis A. McNeill and then entered Rush Medical College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1855. He practiced his profession a short time in partnership with Dr. McNeill, and then began farming on a section of land which he had bought in 1860. After his father's death, he moved to a portion of the homestead farm, 160 acres of the paternal estate having come into his possession by inheritance. In 1878, he took up his residence in the village of Mount Morris, having in the year previous, together with Maj. Charles Newcomer, organized the Mount Morris Bank.

The marriage of Mr. Rice took place January 14, 1857, on which date he was wedded to Sarah Hiestand, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Newcomer) Hiestand, natives of Washington County, Md. Her paternal grandfather was Jacob Hiestand, and her maternal grandparents, Jonathan and Barbara (Hoover) Newcomer. Her parents settled in Ogle County in the fall of 1837, living during the ensuing winter in the same dwelling with the Rice family, and afterward taking up government land on which the father followed farming throughout the remainder of his life. He died March 26, 1869, his widow surviving him until May 17, 1882. Mrs. Rice was born January 27, 1836, and was one year old when brought by her parents to Illinois. In childhood, her acquaintence with her future husband, began, and later, she was one of his pupils in the pioneer school-house. Of the three children born to this union, Roland died in infancy; Anna, born March 22, 1860, died January 17, 1878; and Joseph L., born December 23, 1866, conducts the bank at Mount Morris.

Politically, Isaac Rice was originally an Abolitionist, and after listening to the Lincoln-Douglas debate at Freeport in 1858, cast his fortunes with the Republican Party. In 1872-76, he served two terms as a Representative to the General Assembly of Illinois, being a member of the Committee on Education and State Institutions. In 1880, he was elected to the State Senate, in which he served one term (1880-1884), acting at that time as Chairman of the Committee on Banks and Banking. During his legislative experience, he introduced the "Hinds Bill", empowering women to vote on measures pertaining to licensing the sale of intoxicating drinks, and was also the author of a resolution relating to the manufacture of distilled spirits in the state.

Dr. Rice died May 3, 1897. By all who knew him-he was regarded as an honorable, upright man, and as one of the most public-spirited and eminently useful citizens of Ogle County. Throughout his long and busy career he enjoyed the unreserved confidence and high esteem of all who became familiar with his sterling traits of charcter. He was a consistant and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

During the last ten years of his life, Dr. Rice traveled extensively, making three trips abroad, and visiting all of the more interesting points in Europe. On one of these trips, Dr. Rice had a remarkable experience. While crossing the English Channel, he made the acquaintance of the Earl of Lonsdale, a member of the English nobility, who had traveled extensively all over the world. After the journey's end, the Earl invited Dr. Rice to accompany him to his home at Lowther Castle, near Penrith, situated in the English lake district in the north of England. For more than a week, he stayed at the Castle as the guest of the titled gentleman, and enjoyed his aristocractic, yet democratic hospitality. There were a number of guests who were scions of England's most aristocratic families. During this time, Dr. Rice enjoyed the novel experience that does not often come to a commoner of his self-made type, of participating in the bounty of nobility without a sponsor and with only a few hours previous acquaintance. Among other entertainments during his visit, a grouse-hunt was arranged that was most elaborate in it's many details. From the cable office several messages were sent to his family, and several books of fine pictures of scenery of the English lake region were presented to him. Dr. Rice has often spoken of this incident with great pleasure, as affording him an opportunity of seeing, at first hand, a phase of life that , to most Americans, is a sealed book.

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