HENRY M. RICE:

Henry Mower Rice was born in Waitsfield, Vermont, in 1816 and died in San Antonio, Texas, in 1894. Agent of the Chouteaus, he came to Saint Paul in 1849. He served as territorial delegate to Congress from 1853 to 1857. In 1858 he became a United States senator from Minnesota, as a Democrat, where he served until 1863. Rice was frequently involved in treaty negotiations between Native American tribes and the United States government. He was a member of the University of Minnesota board of regents (1851-1859), and served as president of the Minnesota Historical Society.

Rice married Matilda Whitall in 1849. Five of their children survived to adulthood: Frederick Durkee Rice, Margaret Holt, Rachel Newbold, Elizabeth (Lizzie), and Matilda, who married Maurice Auerbach. Five other children died young.

The Auerbach children were Matilda (who married Richard Elliott), Oscar, Maurice, and Robert. Robert married Mary Virginia Rugg, daughter of Horace Rugg; their children were Robert M., Philip, and H. Dustin. In 1918 the Maurice and Matilda Auerbach children changed their names from Auerbach to Rice, and the children of Robert and Virginia Rice bore the Rice surname.

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Rice’s letters as territorial delegate to Congress discuss federal land surveying, mail service, Fort Snelling, a fort at Pembina, and other aspects of territorial development and governance. Other letters discuss the Civil War and slavery, Indian affairs, and occasionally Rice’s various business ventures. Also present are biographical sketches of fur traders, collected by Rice; papers concerning the court-martial of Horace P. Rugg, 59th New York Volunteers; and a letterpress book (1869) consisting largely of Rice’s letters to Gardner Colby, W.H.C. Folsom, and others concerning surveys, land acquisition, financing of the Bayfield and St. Croix River Railway Company, and other railroad matters.

Papers for 1901-1966 are chiefly those of the Robert (Auerbach) Rice family, with data on Robert’s position as superintendent of the St. Paul Union Depot and with several brokerage firms, the change of the family name from Auerbach to Rice, and the careers of other family members. There are also family recipe books, as well as two diaries, a real estate list, a scrapbook, and a Norwegian language notebook of Frederick D. Rice.

Many of the letters are photocopies presented to the Society by members of the Rice family.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Henry M. Rice and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 1767D1; 1771K; 1861; 3826; 4143; 5032; 5156; 5959; 6021; 6191; 6272; 6362; 6381; 6574; 6662; 6895; 7827; 8605; 9901; 10,330; 10,575; 10,890; 11,063; 11,097; 12,022; 13,115; 17,211

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 990017336880104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Dueling.

Fur trade -- Minnesota.

Investments.

Postal service -- United States.

Railroads -- Minnesota.

Securities.

Slavery -- United States.

Persons:

Aitken, William Alexander, -1851.

Alderson, A. M., author.

Alderson, Ernestine M., author.

Auerbach, Mary Virginia, 1881- , author.

Auerbach, Matilda Rice, author.

Auerbach, Maurice, 1835-1915, author.

Auerbach, Oscar Rice, -1946, author.

Auerbach, Robert Rice, 1881-1954, author.

Beaulieu, Clement H. (Clement Hudon), 1811-1893, author.

Budd, Ralph, 1879-1962, author.

Butler, Pierce, 1866-1939, author.

Clark, James Truman, 1852-1922, author.

Colby, Gardner.

Cruttenden, Joel D., 1822- , author.

Donnelly, Charles, 1869-1939, author.

Elliott, Mathilde Rice, author.

Fairbanks, John H., 1802-1880.

Farwell, James C., 1833- , author.

Folsom, William H. C. (William Henry Carman), 1817-1900.

Gordon, J. A., author.

Jones, George Wallace, 1804-1896, author.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865, author.

Lowry, Sylvanus B., -1865.

Mendenhall, Luther, 1836-1929, author.

Morrison, Allan, 1803-1877, author.

Morrison, William R., author.

Oakes, Charles Henry, 1803-1879, author.

Preston, Homer M., author.

Rice, Frederick Durkee, 1871-1944, author.

Rice, H. Dustin, 1910- , author.

Rice, Oscar Auerbach, -1946, author.

Rice, Philip, 1906-1959, author.

Rice, Robert Auerbach, 1881-1954, author.

Rittenhouse, C. E.

Roth, John C., 1874-1937, author.

Roy, Vincent, 1797-1872.

Roy, Vincent, 1825-1866.

Rugg, Horace P., 1842-1913, author.

Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891, author.

Slade, George Theron, 1871-1941, author.

Stevens, Frederick C. (Frederick Clement), 1861-1923, author.

Sweeny, H. B.

Toombs, Robert Augustus, 1810-1885, author.

Whitall family.

Wilkinson, Morton S. (Morton Smith), 1819-1894, author.

Winter, Wallace Charles, 1872- , author.

Organizations:

American Fur Company.

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

Saint Paul Union Depot Company (Minn.)

Places:

Bayfield (Wis.)

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

United States -- Politics and government.

Document Types:

Diaries.

Genealogies.

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