Johnson / Bryans Families

Tracing the ancestry of Pamela Murdoch Bryans and Maurice Alan Johnson

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William McPherson Rice

Master Shipwright / Naval Architect
Male 1796 - 1868  (71 years)


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  • Name William McPherson Rice 
    Relationshipwith Marion Murdoch Johnson
    Gender Male 
    Born 1 May 1796  Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, Kingdom of Great Britain Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Baptism 26 May 1796  St John, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, Kingdom of Great Britain Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    Census 1841  Rainham, Kent, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location  [2] 
    Occupation Master Shipwright / Naval Architect 
    WWW https://aim25.com/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=17588&inst_id=126&nv1=search&nv2= 
    Cause Of Death "Disease of rectum"  [3] 
    Died 11 Feb 1868  2, Reculvers, Hastings, Sussex, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location  [3, 4] 
    Siblings 3 Siblings 
    Last Modified 15 Mar 2021 

    Father Lt. William McPherson Rice, RN
              b. Abt 1760
              d. 1800  (Age ~ 40 years) 
    Mother Ann Stigant
              b. Abt Nov 1767
              d. Oct 1797  (Age ~ 29 years) 
    Married 20 Nov 1791  St Mary, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, Kingdom of Great Britain Find all individuals with events at this location  [5] 

    Wife Fanny Turner
              b. 13 Feb 1806
              d. 28 Jun 1877, Erith, Kent, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 71 years) 
    Married 28 Jun 1825  Plumstead, Kent, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location  [6, 7] 
    Age at Marriage He was 29, she was 19  
    Children 
     1. Mary Ann Rice
              b. 1826
              d. 7 May 1913, Kensington, County of London, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 87 years)
     2. William Turner Rice
              b. 1828
     3. Charles McPherson Rice
              b. 1829
              d. 10 Aug 1885  (Age 56 years)
     4. Henry Harker Rice
              b. 1832
     5. Elinor Rice
              b. 1834
     6. Fanny Oakley Rice
              b. 16 Sep 1836, Chatham, Kent, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location
              d. 3 Jan 1885, Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 48 years)
     7. Susan Elizabeth Rice
              b. 1841
     8. Michael Welldon Rice
              b. 1844, Medway, Kent, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location
              d. 20 Apr 1921, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 77 years)
    Last Modified 28 Jul 2018 

  • Notes 
    • Early Life
      William McPherson Rice was born on the 1st of May 1796 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, to William McPherson Rice and Ann Stigant. His father and namesake was a schoolmaster aboard HMS ships and the Stigants were a local Portsmouth family that had been there for generations.

      Career
      William entered the School of Naval Architecture in Portsmouth in 1813. He held appointments in various dockyards between 1819 and 1822, when he became draughtsman to Sir Robert Seppings (1767-1840). In 1824 he sailed to South America to assist in repairing the Spartiate. From 1825 to 1844 he was Foreman of Portsmouth Dockyard. In 1837 he went to Lough Swilly to refloat the Terror, which had returned from the Arctic badly damaged by the ice. He was promoted to Assistant Master Shipwright in 1844 and in 1852 was appointed Master Shipwright at Pembroke Dockyard but held office for less than a year.

      Family Life
      William married Fanny Turner on the 28th of June 1825, in Plumstead, Kent. They had eight children:

      1. Mary Ann, born 1826, who married the surgeon Charles Gage-Brown and from whom descend the modern-day Cantlie family, as well as the New Zealand Gage-Browns
      2. William Turner, born 1827 and who died a year later
      3. Charles McPherson, born 1829 and died 1885 unmarried
      4. Henry Harker, born 1832 and died 1885 unmarried
      5. Elinor, born 1834, named for her maternal aunt, and died aged 3
      6. Fanny Oakley, born 1836, who married Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell
      7. Susan "Susie" Elizabeth, born 1841, who married George Middleton Edwards in Hastings
      8. Michael Welldon, born 1844, who married Agnes Boyd Graham in Edinburgh and who is the ancestor of Sir Tim Rice, the lyricist. Michael died 1921


      Death
      William died on the 11th of February 1868 at home (2, Reculvers Cottages in Hastings, Sussex). He may have moved there to be near his daughter Susan. He has a memorial inscription at St Clements (Halton, Sussex) as follows1:
      To the memory of WILLIAM MCPHERSON RICE FSA MINA, for forty-seven years one of her majesty's naval architects. Born 1st May 1796. Died 11th February 1868 at the Reculvers, Hastings.
      "Thanks be unto God which always causeth us to triumph in Christ" 3 Cor 11 V14

      Also of FANNY his wife, born 1st February 1806, died 28th June 1877, the 52nd anniversary of their wedding day
      "As for God his way is perfect"

      Also of their son CHARLES MCPHERSON RICE, died at Belvedere August 10th 1885


      Footnotes
      [1] See http://dustydocs.com.au/link/37/36085/121118/monumental-inscriptions-1066-genealogy.html

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 1 May 1796 - Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, Kingdom of Great Britain Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsCensus - 1841 - Rainham, Kent, England, United Kingdom Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Sources 
    1. [S0238] England, Hampshire Parish Registers, 1538-1980, FamilySearch, (familysearch.org), William McPherson Rice jnr; familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q5WM-NY99, 26 May 1796.

    2. [S0130] 1841 England Census, Ancestry, (ancestry.co.uk), William McPherson Rice; Class: HO107; Piece: 475; Book: 10; Civil Parish: Rainham; County: Kent; Enumeration District: 24; Folio: 40; Page: 14; Line: 18; GSU roll: 306870, 1841.

    3. [S0233] GRO Death Record, General Records Office, (gro.gov.uk), William McPherson Rice, 17 Feb 1868.

    4. [S0302] England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007, FamilySearch, (FamilySearch.org), William McPherson Rice; (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2J6R-8WL : 31 December 2014), William Mcpherson Rice, 1868; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Hastings, , 1868.

    5. [S0170] England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973, Ancestry, (ancestry.co.uk), William McPherson Rice; FHL Film Number 919744, 919745, 919746, 919747, 20 Nov 1791.

    6. [S0170] England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973, Ancestry, (ancestry.co.uk), William McPherson Rice jnr; FHL Film Number 1469482; Reference IDitem 1 p 233, 28 Jun 1825.

    7. [S0309] England Marriages, 1538–1973, FamilySearch, (familysearch.org), Rice / Turner; (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NKV2-NQZ : 10 February 2018), William Mcpherson Rice, Esquire and Fanny Turner, 28 Jun 1825; citing Plumstead, Kent, England, reference , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical So, 28 Jun 1825.