Born 1869 Nov 29th in Bernhard's Bay in the first house above the depot on the right hand
side of the street heading to Panther Lake. When three years old moved with her parents to
Reed Tract three miles north of Cleveland. Grandparent's on mother's side came from Wiltshire
England in 1835 and settled in a log hut built on a side hill three miles north of Cleveland.
It was all forest then from Oneida Lake up north for a great many miles. The road was made
by cutting chips out of trees so far apart wide enough for an ox team to go and brush cut between
these marked trees.
Grandfather John Dodd, a baker in England, married Jane Smith who was a governess in Whiltshire;
she had four children born in England and two were buried in the Sea coming to this country
"with smallpox". The other two 9 and 11 years old Mary and William.
My mother Jane A. Dodd born 1835, her sisters Harriette and Elizabeth and brothers James
and Lemuel died during the Civil War in Camp in Virginia with typhoid fever. Aunt Mary died
with typhoid in 1862 and six weeks later Mary's mother who had taken care of her died with the
same disease.
Mary married a miliner Silas Powers had four children: Herbert, Willie, Flora and Bertha.
Elizabeth married John Lonis and only lived a few years. Harriette married Silas Fasdick had
three boys and one girl. William married Emily Eaton and had five boys and one girl.
Grandfather built an 11 room house at the foot of what was known those years as Feelers Hill.
He bought 26 acres of land and built a barn, a hen house and a hogpen a few years after he came
to this country. He died with a cancer in 1872.
My mother, Jane A. Dodd, married my father, John H. Rice in May of 1852. Their children were
Mary Jane, who was married to Frank Dickenson of Bernhard's Bay and they had three girls and one
boy: Mabel, Jennie, Elizabeth and Rolland. Ida Elizabeth who married Llewellyn Armstrong of Elpis
in 1882 they had four girls and one boy: Viola, Edna, Elsie, Clarissa and Ralph. He had been
married before and his wife was Helen Will of Hillsboro, she had three boys: John, Benjamin
and Will Armstrong aged 11-9-8 when Ida married him. Frank Rice who died in November 1882 aged
18 years he had typhoid fever. Edward Rice who died 1938 with what Dr's called jaundice but we
all thought it a cancer. Nina Myrtle Rice came next "that's me" 1869. Cyrus who was born January
24th 1873 and died in Fulton March 1943. He married Lizzie McIntyre in January 1894 and they had
two children: Lizzie who is Mrs. Harold Parker of Oswego, and Frank Rice of Fulton, his first wife
died in six years and ten years later he married Mrs. Etta Campbell who had five children.
As for myself, when I was nine we moved from Reed Tract to Maple Flats. When 11, we moved on
the James and William Rae place to Jewell; that was where brother Frank died and brother Ed had
typhoid and where I learned to milk 10 cows morning and night and wash 2 milk cans, 4 coolers and
5 pails and wash dishes, make three beds and walk two miles to school to Kate Fox who was later
wife to Dr. Shaver of Camden.
I was 13 in November and in March went to work for Mrs. John Artcher of Cleveland who with five
children were in bed ill with the measles. There was also a hired man and two men who worked by
the day and were there to dinner; and poor me I had all that work to do. She never did any thing
but the mending. I worked there a year and six months; was sick six weeks from going swimming
after ironing. Went in Oneida Lake with Mrs. Whitcomb a woman of 45.
From there I went to Oneida to work for Mrs. John Morrison. I went home from there the day I
was 16. January 2nd I went in the silk mill and worked five years, boarded 1 year with Mrs. Morrison
where I had worked, 1 year with Mrs. Joe Williams and three years to the Wilson boarding house:
8 girls and 7 boys there. It was one fine place for nice young people; they would have no one
with bad habits.
Then I learned the Millners trade in Oneida of Mrs. Jay Dicky. Can't say I liked it. Came to
Camden to help Mrs. Will Becker who was ill. Got up on my Irish and left. Then I went to Mrs.
Albert Hornings and worked for four months. Then to Cleveland and worked one year for Charles
Knights, a civil engineer and surveyor. He had two boys and two girls. Their mother had been
dead for several years; their grandmother Potter lived with them, they were beautifully behaved
children, one never had to ask them to or not to but just once; I was fond of the children and
they were lovely to me.
From there after one years work, I came to Camden and worked in the Knitting mill, where they
made only knit underwear from tiny baby shirts to large men and womens unionsuits. I boarded one
year with Mrs. Will Reymore then when I went home one night I found my trunk set outside and the
house quarantined for Scarlet fever.
I then went to Mrs. Etta VanDykes in the Fall, the next June I met Fred Swanson and we kept
company until a year from that fall in June Nellie Sharon, Maggie Kelly, Grace Weaver and myself
went to Syracuse where we taught the girls in the new Frisbie Stanfield and Byhinton Knitting Co.
the same work we were doing in Camden. We were there till October 1st and on October 17 1894
we were married and lived in with his folks till a year from new years day. When we moved in
our own home, which we had bought in 1895 and lived there till 1940 when he passed so suddenly
away. Three children were born to us Vineta May born July 15, 1895, Leota Myrtle born May 10,
1897 and Frederica born May 15, 1905 who only lived three and one half days (died with a heart
attack). Vineta married Orville Manzer 2nd in 1921 and Leota married in 1929 Lewis Fleming Lock
they have one child Elizabeth. Vineta one son, Orville the 3rd.
My father John Henry Rice was of Holland decent born in Athens Green County down at the foot of
Catskill Mountains in October 24th, 1824. He had two sisters and one brother who died very young
with consumption. One brother Ezeriah lived to be an old man. He lived on the old homestead.
My father was a millright and carpenter. He came to Camden and worked in different mills when
a young man. He died with cancer in 1906 aged 82 years. His ancestors came over in the Mayflower.
His mother's maiden name was Elsie Schmerhorn and his grandmother's name was Winslow. And many an
interesting story he could tell of things that happened when he was young. And also hair raising
stories when he told of experiences with rattle snakes and copperheads which were very numerous and
many a bear and panther story have I listened to that he had part in. He loved to play the violin
and the Jews harp. He was a good singer and many happy Sunday afternoons I remember when a little
tot, when he and my two sisters and Frank Dickenson my brother-in-law sang half the afternoons the
old songs we all loved. Picnics, donations for the ministers, building raisings, quilting bees,
applepairing bees and evenings when different schools met and spelled down. I well remember when
I was 11 years old and spelled three schools down on the word Bivouac. The first three spelled it
Bivwhack. These were our pleasure times. Of course we had homade sleighs and could slide down
hill but not very much skating on ice because very few had skates. They were a great luxury and
our parents did not want us to skate the soles off our calfskin shoes.
Every two weeks in school we had to on Friday afternoon either recite a short piece or write a
poem or read a piece. I remember one teacher who kept us all one winter drilling on three pieces
in the sixth reader the winter I was nine years old. The pieces were the Proud Miss McBride, Drafted
and All Worldly Shapes. We had very wonderful teachers who took such an interest in our studies,
our character, our manners and our health. The ones I best remember were James Gallagher, who is
now a lawyer in Cleveland, his sister Julia, John Will, Anna Audas who became the wife of Prof.
Nicholas Knight and spent much time abroad, also Althania Lewis who spent time in drilling her
pupils on singing and having every pupil as a friend.
Note: Great-Grandma wrote an interesting history with quite a bit of information but she did get
a couple of facts wrong. John Henry Rice was born October 24, 1823 not 1824 and John Dodd died
December 12, 1871 not 1872.
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