Jonas Rice (1672–1753) was the first permanent settler of European descent in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, and was a founder and prominent citizen of the town. He was elected as a judge to the Court of Common Pleas in

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts while also b ...

and he served until his death.p. 516 In: Hiram Charleton (1903) ''Genealogical and Family History of Vermont, Volume 2.'' Lewis Publishing, New York.

Biography

Jonas Rice was born 6 March 1672 in

Marlborough, Massachusetts Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the ...

to Thomas Rice (1621-1681) and Mary (King) Rice (1630-1714). His parents had both immigrated to

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

from England, and his grandfather

Edmund Rice Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...

was a founder of both

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

and

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

. His brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

was a colonial legislator and a founder of

Westborough, Massachusetts Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...

. Rice resided before 1702 at

when it was known as Quinsigamond. Rice, along with most other residents, abandoned the town soon after the commencement of

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

. Rice, F.P. (ed.) 1879. ''Early Records of the Town of Worcester, Book I, 1722-1739. Worcester Society of Antiquity, Worcester, MA. He returned at the end of hostilities on 14 Dec 1711, and he bought 60 acres of land in what is now in central Worcester. He was a signatory on petition dated 13 October 1713 presented to the

Great and General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

expressing desire to reestablish Worcester as a town. Rice served as a selectman in Worcester beginning in 1722 and as town clerk, and he served as the first schoolmaster in 1726, and was an officer in the militia, attaining the rank of major in 1734.Worcester Society of Antiquity (1903). ''Exercises Held at the Dedication of a Memorial to Major Jonas Rice, the First Permanent Settler of Worcester, Massachusetts, Wednesday, October 7, 1903.'' Charles Hamilton Press, Worcester. 72pp
web version
/ref> Rice was selected as judge to the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

in Worcester County on the establishment of the county. Rice died on 22 September 1753 in Worcester, and was buried at Old Common Cemetery. He left a will on 23 July 1753, proved 7 Nov. 1753. The will mentions wife Mary; daughter Silence, wife of John Bond; eldest son Jonas; and sons Absalom and Adonijah, and the inventory was £200. Absalom Rice was the executor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Jonas 1672 births 1753 deaths People of colonial Massachusetts People from Worcester, Massachusetts Massachusetts state court judges