DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — the story of James O. Rice, as recorded in Williamson County. Born in South Carolina in 1815, James O.
Rice didn't stay put long. By 1835, he had made his way to Texas, and once he arrived, trouble — or maybe destiny — had a way of finding him. He served in the Texas Army during the War for Independence.
Then, in the early days of the Republic of Texas, he was out on the frontier with a Texas Ranger company, protecting settlements from whatever the frontier had to throw at them. That alone would be enough for most men's résumés. But Rice was just getting started.
On May 17, 1839, he was in command of a volunteer force on the North San Gabriel River when they clashed with Mexican troops led by a man named Manuel Flores. Now here's where the story gets interesting. In that fight, Rice captured documents — vitally important documents, the marker says — related to the Cordova Rebellion against the Republic of Texas.
Vitally important. The kind of papers that, in the wrong hands, could've meant something very different for a very young republic. And he kept going.
In 1842, he joined both the Somervell and Mier Expeditions. In 1843, the Snively Expedition. Then the Mexican War, 1846 to 1848.
Four separate campaigns. The Republic rewarded him the way republics do — with land, several bounties of it, for his military services. When Williamson County was created in 1848, somebody had to figure out where to put the county seat.
They picked Rice as one of the commissioners to make that call. One of the county's largest landowners, he built his home on Brushy Creek, about a mile west of where this marker stands, at a place then known as Blue Hill — later called Rice's Crossing. He ran a store there, and served as postmaster of the Blue Hill post office from 1849 to 1857.
For a short time, he also had a tanyard over in Georgetown. He married Nancy D. Gilliland, of an early Texas family.
She passed in 1860. Together they had four daughters. James O.
Rice — soldier, ranger, frontier postmaster, landowner, and keeper of documents that once mattered to the fate of a republic — died around 1875. He's buried in the Sneed Family Cemetery near Austin. Some men just can't seem to stop being in the middle of history.
Rice was that kind of man.
What the marker says
(1815 - about 1875) South Carolina-born James O. Rice migrated to Texas by 1835 and served in the Texas Army during the War for Independence. In early days of the Republic of Texas, he protected frontier settlements as part of a Texas Ranger company. On May 17, 1839, in command of a volunteer force clashing with Mexican troops led by Manuel Flores on the North San Gabriel River, Rice captured vitally important documents related to the Cordova Rebellion against the Republic of Texas. He joined the Somervell and Mier Expeditions of 1842 and the Snively Expedition of 1843. He also served in the Mexican War (1846-48). For military services, he received several bounties of land. When Williamson County was created in 1848, Rice was one of the commissioners named to select a site for the county seat. One of the county's largest landowners, Rice built his home on Brushy Creek about one mile west of here at a site then known as Blue Hill and later called Rice's Crossing. He ran a store and was postmaster of Blue Hill post office, 1849-57. For a short time, he had a tanyard in Georgetown. Rice married Nancy D. Gilliland (d. 1860), of an early Texas family. The couple had four daughters. Rice is buried in the Sneed Family Cemetery near Austin. (1977)