Early Life
William McPherson Rice senior was born in 1760 and baptised on the 30
th of September that year, the second child and first son of
William Rice and
Mercy Cook, of
Teddington in Middlesex.
Career
William became a schoolmaster and in 1792 evidently joined the navy as a schoolmaster aboard navy ships. In 1797 he apparently
1 charted a submerged reef north of Cape Recife in
Algoa Bay, South Africa and was generally responsible for some important African cartography
2.
Family Life
There is an intriguing baptism record for a William James Rice in
Jamaica, as follows:
William James Rice, son of Wm. McPherson Rice, by Caroline James, a free mulatto woman, born Oct 27, 1788.
It seems unlikely that there were many William McPherson Rices around at this time who would have had opportunity to travel to Jamaica, so I think there's a strong likelihood that William James Rice was an illegitimate child of William McPherson Rice senior.
A few years after this possibly connected event, William married
Ann Stigant on the 20
th of November 1791 at
St Mary's' in Portsea, Hampshire. The marriage record states:
William McPherson Rice belonging to his majesty's ship Hebe3, Bachelor and Ann Stigant of this Parish, spinster were married in this church by Banns this twentieth day of November in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety one.
The ceremony was witnessed by
John Stigant (Ann's father) and Susanna Yelland. William and Ann had four children:
- Mercy Ann, born 1792 and died in 1794 as an infant
- Allen Gardiner, born 1794 and may have died in 1797 as a young child
- William McPherson, born 1796 and who married Fanny Turner
- Henry Gruaz, born 1797 and who died as a child in 1804.The middle name came from his paternal uncle, Louys Gruaz
So of their four known children, only the third son
William survived past childhood.
Death
William died in 1800 (aged just 40), probably around November as he was buried on the 30
th of November that year. His will, which was written in 1792 just after he married, states:
I, William MacPherson Rice, serving as Schoolmaster onboard His Majesty’s Ship Juno4, Samuel Hood Commander...
I give and bequeath and dispose thereof as followeth, that is to say: One hundred pounds lawful money of Great Britain, that stands nominated for me in the will of Mary Budd, widow, residing at Teddington, Middlesex, in case the said Will of Mary Budd should remain unaltered as far as respects me at the time of her decease.
And all wages, sum and sums of money, lands tenements, goods chattels and estate whatsoever as shall be any ways due owing or belonging unto me at the time of my decease I do give devise and bequeath the same unto my beloved wife Ann Rice, residing at No. 5 Cumberland Street, Town of Portsea, Hants. And to her case of distribution, ten pounds, that is named in the Will of ye said Mary Budd above mentioned, for my daughter Mercy Ann.
And I do hereby nominate and appoint Mr John Stigant (senior) (the father of my wife) now residing at No. 1 Gloucester Street, Town of Portsea, Hants, and his son John, Executors of this will.
Mary Budd (née Chandler) was actually a maternal great aunt.
Footnotes
[1]
http://www.zsports.co.za/bellbuoy/content/bellbuoy-history:
In 1797 Lt William McPherson Rice charted a submerged reef approximately 1½ nautical miles off shore, north of Cape Recife. He named it Dispatch Rock and noted that it lies only 3m below the surface at low tide. This rock was a peril to many a ship and in 1838 a lit marker buoy was anchored over the reef, but it was soon washed away. In 1843 another buoy was placed and an official notification was placed in then Government Gazette naming it Roman Rock.
[2]
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0018-229X2013000100002:
Barrow offers more detail on the mapping of Algoa Bay in collaboration with Lt William McPherson Rice RN of HMS Hope, "an expert and intelligent gentleman", one of several who did much for the cartography of Africa.
[3] Possibly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_H%C3%A9b%C3%A9_(1782)
[4] Possibly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Juno_(1780)