William L Rice Popular Books

William L Rice Biography & Facts

William Marsh Rice (March 14, 1816 – September 23, 1900) was an American businessman who bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas. Rice was murdered by his valet Charles F. Jones while sleeping. The murder was part of a plot to forge Rice's will. The instigator of the murder, attorney Albert T. Patrick, was sentenced to death. Early life Rice was born on March 14, 1816, in Springfield, Massachusetts, the third of ten children of David and Patty (née Hall) Rice. His first job was as a grocery store clerk in Springfield, at the age of 15. By age 22, he had purchased the store from its owner. Around 1837, Rice traveled to Texas in search of new business opportunities. He started in Texas as a bartender at Milam House in Houston. Unfortunately, all the merchandise from his store was lost at sea, and Rice was forced to start anew in Houston as a clerk. He soon set up the Rice and Nichols general store with his business partner Ebenezer Nichols. This business was the foundation for what would later become William M. Rice and Company. Later life Rice made his fortune by investing in land, real estate, lumber, railroads, cotton, and other prospects in Texas and Louisiana. In 1860, his total property, which included fifteen slaves, was worth $750,000. He invested in business firms in Houston; in 1895 he was listed in the city directories as "Capitalist. Owner of Capitol Hotel and Capitol Hotel Annex Building, President of Houston Brick Works Company." Rice was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.Rice married Margaret Bremond, daughter of Paul Bremond (Houston and Texas Central Railway) and Harriet Martha Sprouls, in 1850 in Houston, Texas. The 1860 census places William and Margaret Rice in Houston's 2nd Ward. Clerks are also identified in the same census report; thus the location is most likely Rice's merchant business. Margaret was 16 years Rice's junior. She died, at age 31, in 1863 in Houston, Texas. Rice is also reported to have lived in Matamoros, Mexico, in 1863. Whether there is a connection to the timing of Margaret's death to his living in Matamoros is not clear. By 1865, he was reported as living back in Houston. While living in Houston, Rice served on the Harris County Slave Patrol.He lived in Houston until around 1865, when he moved to New York (but did not own a home there). He built a house on a 160-acre (0.65 km2) estate in Dunellen, New Jersey, and moved there in 1872. He became a resident of New York again in 1882.Rice married Julia E. Brown (nee Elizabeth Baldwin) on June 26, 1867. Baldwin was the sister of Charlotte Rice, the wife of William Rice's brother Frederick. The marriage was "stormy", and during the 1890s, she consulted an attorney regarding the possibility of a divorce. She died "hopelessly insane" in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on July 24, 1896.Rice was an eccentric. In his later years, he ate no meat and rarely any vegetables. His diet consisted of bouillon and eggs.On January 28, 1882, William Rice drafted a will, instructing the executors to pay over to the trustees, the Governor and the Judge, funds from his estate for the establishment of "The William M. Rice Orphans Institute." The next year, he began spending more time in Houston, reuniting with old acquaintances. After an 1886 or 1887 meeting with a C. Lombardi, Rice decided that the benefits of his wealth should be enjoyed by the children of the city where he made his fortune. In 1891, Rice decided that he would not establish an Orphans Institute at the Dunellen estate, but would instead found the William M. Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art in Houston, Texas. The Institute's charter was signed by all the original trustees, except for Rice, on May 18, 1891, and certified by the State of Texas the following day. William Marsh Rice donated land to the now incorporated city of Rice located between Corsicana and Ennis, Texas. Death and scandal Rice was the victim of one of the earliest sensational crimes of the 1900s. In 1893, Rice made a new will, naming as executors Captain James A. Baker, a lawyer who often worked for him, William M. Rice Jr., his nephew, and John D. Bartine. The value of Rice's estate at the time was estimated at about $4.6 million (equivalent to $150 million in 2022). The new will instructed the executors to divide his property into two equal parts, one to be bequeathed to the Rice Institute, the other to be divided into shares and distributed to his wife Elizabeth Baldwin Rice and other legatees. After her death in 1896, a new will was drafted on September 26, providing bequests for several of Rice's relatives and leaving the remainder of the estate to the Rice Institute. The next four years saw a great deal of litigation by the will of Elizabeth Rice. Its executor was O. T. Holt, assisted by Albert T. Patrick, formerly an attorney in Houston, but working in New York at the time. Under a false identity, Patrick interviewed Rice, who would not otherwise have seen him due to his professional relationship with Elizabeth Rice. Patrick was attempting to establish Rice's domicile in Texas, and not in New York, which would have provided a more favorable bequest for Mrs. Rice. Despite revealing his identity in 1900, to Rice's anger, the two men continued to have dealings.Plotting to take control of Rice's estate and become the beneficiary of his fortune, Patrick prepared a fake will, forging Rice's signature on it. The fraudulent document named William Rice Jr. and James Baker Jr. as executors, but replaced John Bartine's name with Patrick's. He made bequests to a number of relatives and friends of Rice and of his own, hoping to involve as many interested parties as possible. In the words of James A. Baker Sr.: ... Mr. William M. Rice, Jr., the nephew of William Marsh Rice, and one of the attorneys of Mr. Rice (Captain Baker) were named as executors not only of the first, or genuine will of Mr. Rice, but in the second or so-called Patrick will; that each of them received greater benefits under the second will then [sic] under the first; and while he, Patrick, was named as residuary legatee under the second will, yet he was in fact a trustee, to take over the property of the estate and administer it in carrying out a number of secret trusts verbally declared by Mr. Rice. William Rice was living alone in his apartment at 500 Madison Avenue, New York. His butler and valet, Charles F. Jones, had worked for him for a number of years.On September 24, 1900, James Baker received a telegram from Jones, stating: Mr. Rice died last night under the care of a physician. Certificate of death old age, extreme nervousness. Funeral tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. Interment at Waukesha beside his wife. Wire when you are coming. Despite the contents of this telegram, a second communique, from Rice's bankers, warned that the multi-millionaire had died under peculiar circumstances, and that his body was to be cremated.On S.... Discover the William L Rice popular books. Find the top 100 most popular William L Rice books.

Best Seller William L Rice Books of 2024

  • Busway to Heaven synopsis, comments

    Busway to Heaven

    Darcy

    A children's picture story book that reflects how children need the comfort of knowing where their pets go after they pass, and where they go. Of course they go to "pet heaven."

  • Sea Stories from World War II synopsis, comments

    Sea Stories from World War II

    William L. Rice

    Stories from Signalman William Rice from the Pacific Front during World War II. Some serious, some funny but all entertaining.

  • How to Publish Your Own iBook synopsis, comments

    How to Publish Your Own iBook

    William L. Rice

    Publishing your book on to iBooks is very easy and, if it’s ready to be published, (already written) you can have it submitted to iBooks in 4 hours or less using this guide. It is ...

  • Even Steven synopsis, comments

    Even Steven

    William L. Rice

    The childhood phrase means revenge. Steven Hadford is so humiliated by the cheerleaders of North High School that he is compelled to leave in shame. But, after a mysterious absence...

  • The Eagle and the Phoenix synopsis, comments

    The Eagle and the Phoenix

    William L. Rice

    The nonstop excitement continues from the first book titled, “The Eagle and the Falcon.” to this new threat: A fanatical Muslim terrorist cell is bent on destroying Washington D.C....

  • The Last Message synopsis, comments

    The Last Message

    William L. Rice

    A thriller whose fuse is lit on idyllic, allAmerican farm that has a different purpose than growing food. Fake farmer Brett, leaves the farm and heads to Washington to pair up with...

  • Some Illustrated Poems by William Rice synopsis, comments

    Some Illustrated Poems by William Rice

    William L. Rice

    Some Illustrated Poems by William Rice written over a lifetime.

  • The Eagle and the Falcon synopsis, comments

    The Eagle and the Falcon

    William L. Rice

    A chilling, fast paced investigation into the downing a Boeing 787 Dreamliner over the Atlantic and the FBI agent who enlists the help of a special TSA agent with a past as EOD in ...