Caleb Rice
1st Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts
In office
1852–1853
Preceded byBoard of Selectmen
Succeeded byPhilos B. Tyler
3rd[1] Sheriff of
Hampden County, Massachusetts
In office
1831–1851
Preceded byJohn Phelps[2]
Succeeded byPatrick Boies[2]
Member of the
Board of Selectmen
of
West Springfield, Massachusetts[3]
In office
1826[3]–1830[3]
1st President of the
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company[4]
In office
June 1851 – March 1, 1873
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byE. W. Bond[4]
Personal details
BornApril 4, 1792
Conway, Massachusetts
DiedMarch 1, 1873(1873-03-01) (aged 80)
SpouseMarietta Parsons Rice (m. 1826)
ChildrenJoseph Rice (1828–1831); Benjamin Stebbins Rice (1829–1831); Elizabeth D. Rice (b. 1835)
Alma materWilliams College
ProfessionAttorney, businessman
Signature

Caleb Rice (1792–1873) was an American politician and businessman. He was the first Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, when it became a city in 1852, and the first president of MassMutual Life Insurance Company, now a Fortune 100 company.[4]

Early years

Caleb Rice was born on April 4, 1792, in Conway, Massachusetts. He was the son of Joseph Rice and Betty (Dickerson) Rice. Rice married Marietta P. Parsons, daughter of Israel Parsons, in 1826.

Career

Rice served as the first Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, when it became a city in 1852, and he was also the first president of MassMutual Life Insurance Company. Rice also served as the third Sheriff of Hampden County, Massachusetts, and on the Board of Selectmen of West Springfield, Massachusetts,[3] Additionally, Rice served for five years in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from Springfield.[5] He died March 1, 1873.

Genealogy and family relations

Rice was a direct descendant of Edmund Rice an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony as follows:[6]

  • Caleb Rice, son of
    • Joseph Rice (1768-1823), son of
      • Israel Rice (1742-1833), son of
        • Joseph Rice (1712-1789), son of
          • Phineas Rice (1682-1768), son of
            • Joseph Rice (1638-1711), son of

References

  1. ↑ Cutter, William Richard (1916), Encyclopedia of Massachusetts, Biographical—Genealogical, Volume IV, New York, N. Y., Boston, Ma: American Historical Society (Inc.), p. 53
  2. 1 2 Davis, William Thomas (1895), Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Volume II, Boston, Ma: The Boston History Company, p. 169
  3. 1 2 3 4 Copeland, Alfred Minott (1902), Our County and Its People: A History of Hampden County Massachusetts, Volume 3, Boston, Ma: The Century Memorial Publishing Company, p. 222
  4. 1 2 3 Putnam, Henry H. (April 1903), The New England magazine, vol. XXVIII, Boston, Ma: America Company, p. 209
  5. ↑ Ward, Andrew Henshaw. 1858. A genealogical History of the Rice Family: Descendants of Deacon Edmund Rice, Boston: C. Benjamin Richardson, Publisher. 379pp. Download PDF
  6. ↑ Edmund Rice (1638) Association, 2010. Descendants of Edmund Rice: The First Nine Generations. (CD-ROM)
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