Joseph Redmond Rice and Willie Masters Rice

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Joseph Redmond Rice and Willie Masters Rice, right here in Houston County. Joseph Redmond Rice was born on May 24, 1805, and Willie, she was born on August 17, 1809, the daughter of a man named Jacob Masters. Joseph came out of Tennessee, and he married Willie around 1825.

Now think about that for a moment. A young Tennessean, a new bride, and a whole lot of Texas ahead of them. By 1828, the two of them were living in a log cabin near this very spot.

Not a house, not a homestead built up over years. A log cabin. Right here.

That was home. Joseph and Willie went on to have quite a family. Sarah was born in 1826, Jacob in 1828.

Then came twins, and here the marker grows quiet, because those twins did not survive infancy. Then Amanda Elizabeth, born in 1832 and living all the way to 1910. John, born in 1838, gone by 1862.

Francis, born in 1841, gone by 1861. Joseph R. Junior, born in 1843, lived until 1927.

George R., born in 1847, died in 1879. Henry, born in 1853, lived to 1929. And the youngest, Willie Louise, born in 1856, who lived until 1915.

Joseph Redmond Rice passed on August 11, 1866. Willie Masters Rice followed on September 6, 1881. Many members of this family, the marker says, rest in this very plot.

A log cabin near this spot, a family grown up around it, and now, generations later, the ground itself holds them. Some stories don't need embellishing. They just need remembering.

What the marker says

Joseph Redmond Rice (May 24, 1805 - Aug. 11, 1866) and Willie Masters Rice (Aug. 17, 1809 - Sept. 6, 1881) Tennessean Joseph R. Rice married Willie, daughter of Jacob Masters, about 1825. By 1828 they lived in a log cabin near this spot. Their children were Sarah (b. 1826), Jacob (b. 1828), twins deceased in infancy, Amanda Elizabeth (1832-1910), John (1838-62), Francis (1841-61), Joseph R., Jr. (1843-1927), George R. (1847-79), Henry (1853-1929), and Willie Louise (1856-1915). Many members of the family rest in this plot. Recorded - 1976