This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: BonnieWiley77 Surnames: Rice Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.saintlawrence/1027.1509.1.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: 1. There is no proof that Abner's first name was ever Silas. 2. All the deeds that I have located so far for Abner, and his sons Abner, Jr., and William, in Hampden Co., MA, never give the name of Silas as a first name. Census records for 1790, 1800, and 1810 list Abner as his given name. His marriage record dated 8 Aug 1754 gives his name as Abner. The baptismal records of all of his children list his given name as Abner. 3. I have traced Abner Rice of Westfield and Montgomery, MA to Oneida Co., NY, and Lewis Co., NY and possibly then to St. Lawrence Co., NY. However,it is my belief that he died in Lewis County about 1815. There is an administrator's document in Lewis Co., NY for the estate of Abner Rice that I am in the process of obtaining. 4. I have been corresponding with George King, Historian of the Edmund Rice(1638) Association for several years. He believes that if I can locate a present-day male Rice-surname descendant of Abner Rice to participate in the Rice DNA project, then conjecture about the ancestry of Abner Rice of Westfield will be solved. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.