Individual Details

Said to be the widow of John Rice, daughter of William Claiborne and Elizabeth Butler.
A post on the RICE-SOUTHERN-L@rootsweb.com states that Mary was the widow of Edward Rice, born about 1620.

HARRIS-COLONIALVA-L Archives
From: Hdanw@aol.com
Subject: Re: [HARRIS-COLVA] WILLIAM CLIABORNE-- TWO DAUGHTERS
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 19:36:25 EST
Gary S. Cooper wrote:
I have never seen a document confirming William Claiborne had a daughter
named Mary. I have seen a document that he had two daughters, one named
Jane Butler Claiborne. Now if we don't know the name of the second
daughter, then we don't know if she was, or was not named Mary.
I know we can't find evidence of she being married to A Rice.
Is there something wrong with this logic?

Response:
I agree with you and so do most genealogists who have studied the Claiborne
family that there is no proof that a Mary (Claiborne) Rice was the wife of
the (believed-to-be) immigrant Robert Harris.
The newest researches of the Claiborne family are published in a book edited
by John Frederick Dorman, a well-known genealogist, author & publisher of The
Virginia Genealogist. To find the name of this book, go to www.familysearch.org
search for the catalog link on the lower right, do an author search,
and type in Dorman, John F (lower case OK). About the fifth title on the
list is the name of that book. There is a co-author.
This book treats of the first eight (count them) generations of the Claiborne
family. (A cataloger at an LDS center tells me that she pulls from the
family histories the five most prominent [or frequently appearing] surnames
in the history and lists them in the catalog listing. Harris is not one of
the names which appears in the catalog for the Family History Library.)
Another article, done long ago, if memory serves, was compiled by Clayton
Torrence (now deceased). Do an author search, same as above. He came to
the same conclusions that you did--we do not know the name of the second
daughter, but to connect her with Robert Harris or a first husband (so stated
but not proved) one Rice is stretching the imagination.
With the higher standards required of genealogists these days, this
allegation that the so-called immigrant Robert Harris was married to Mary
Rice nee Claiborne is without basis--unless someone turns up something which
proves otherwise. There are always discoveries, but they should be of the
correct place (or places) and of the correct time.

Birth	1643	Elizabeth City, Virginia
Marriage	1660	Robert Harris
Death	Abt 1670

Spouse	Robert Harris (1630 - 1700)
Child	William Harris (1669 - 1733)