Caleb Rice

Caleb Rice
1st Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts
In office 1852–1853
Preceded by	Board of Selectmen
Succeeded by	Philos B. Tyler
3rd[1] Sheriff of Hampden County, Massachusetts
In office 1831–1851
Preceded by	John Phelps[2]
Succeeded by	Patrick 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 by	None
Succeeded by	E. W. Bond[4]
Personal details
Born	April 4, 1792 Conway, Massachusetts
Died	March 1, 1873 (aged 80)
Spouse(s)	Marietta Parsons Rice (m. 1826)
Children	Joseph Rice (1828–1831); Benjamin Stebbins Rice (1829–1831); Elizabeth D. Rice (b. 1835)
Alma mater	Williams College
Profession	Attorney, businessman
Signature

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

Biography

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

• • • • Edmund Rice (ca1594-1663)

Notes

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. Davis, William Thomas (1895), Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Volume II, Boston, Ma: The Boston History Company, p. 169.
3. 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. Putnam, Henry H. (April 1903), The New England magazine, 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)