Individual Details
John Asaph RICE
(22 Feb 1829 - 21 Apr 1880 - 1891)
Bio of brother Charles A. Rice says he was a noted hotel man who died in Chicago, IL, in April, 1891. The full date is from an unsourced, unverified gedcom.
History of Chicago from the earliest period to the present time. 3 volumes, A. T. Andreas, A. T. Andreas, publisher, Chicago, 1884, Pg. 355:
"TRMONT HOUSE - The present building, and the fourth structure of that name, was completed two years after the fire, and opened in 1873. The new hotel covers nearly 50,000 square feet of ground, with a frontage of over five hundred feet, and is six stories in height, with Amherst sandstone front, ornamented in the French Renaissance style of architecture. The architect was J. M. Van Osdel. The property belongs to the Couch estate, and was leased by the heirs to Jewett Wilcox, who operated it for six years, making way for its present proprietor, John A. Rice, who assumed management in January, 1879.
JOHN A RICE is the third son of Anson and Lucy (Sherman) Rice, and was born on February 22, 1829, at Northboro', Mass. Mr. Rice's father was a country trader, and the son's earliest years, after a moderate education in the village school, were passed in the country store, in the training and exercise that have given so many successful business lives. Mr. Rice's first experience in the hotel business was at the Clinton House, in Ithaca, N.Y., which he entered in 1850. When twenty-two years of age, he was called to the Weddell House, of Cleveland. After remaining in that city for a few years, he went for one season to the Mt. Vernon Hotel, the largest at that time in the world, at Cape May, and then was with General James L. Mitchell at the famous Congress Hall at Albany. When the new Sherman House of this city opened in 1861, Mr. Rice and Samuel Hawk, late of the Windsor, New York, were associated, and they organized the handsome structure, throughout, into a house which for ten years stood in the very foremost rank of American hotels. His associates in the Sherman, after the withdrawal of Mr. Hawk, were Gage Brothers, and later on Charles C. White came into the partnership. Ten years after the opening of the Sherman House, the Grand Pacific Hotel was projected, and the Sherman House patrons were drawn to it. Mr. Rice took hold of the enterprise early, and the crowning perfections secured to the Pacific were mainly due to his skill and knowledge of his calling. Then came the fire, and swept away both the Pacific and Sherman. The re-construction of the Grand Pacific made it handsomer and costlier than before, and was built under Mr. Rice's guidance. The opening of that famous house was among the foremost events of the great re-building of Chicago, but it passed into other hands. At about this time, the Centennial was in preparation at Philadelphia, and among the features was the immense Globe Hotel of one thousand rooms, designed to illustrate the Immensity of the American hotel system. Its projectors called on Mr. Rice as the best demonstrator of the art of keeping an hotel, and he forthwith took the management. Among the visitors to the Globe in that year was E. J. Baldwin, of San Francisco, who urged Mr. Rice to visit his city and organize and open his hotel,, the Baldwin. After two years in the management of that hotel, Mr. Rice returned East, and when the Tremont was about to change hands, in 1879, he bought out the entire interest. In the season of 1881, he took charge of the great Rockaway Beach Hotel, which was the largest and most notable hotel undertaking of the time. At the close of the season, Mr. Rice returned to the Tremont, since which time he has remained therein. Mr. Rice for many years has had a mild penchant for pet hobbies that were his relief and recreation, and when he parted with his library, for nearly $50,000, it was proof that his pursuit was judiciously followed. He had offered the collection to the Chicago Historical Society at what it had cost him, about $30,000, but the Society was unable to accept his generous offer. He now devotes his attention to pictures, and has already formed quite a gallery, which may in time become as noted as his library. Mr. Rice was married at Aurora, Cayuga Co., N.Y., on November 1, 1855, to Miss Margaret Van Slycke Culver; they have three children, - Wallace de Groot, Margaret Sherman and Lewis Anson. Mr. Rice is a member of the Chicago and Washington Park clubs, and is always interested in such affairs as are material to the welfare of the city."
History of Chicago from the earliest period to the present time. 3 volumes, A. T. Andreas, A. T. Andreas, publisher, Chicago, 1884, Pg. 355:
"TRMONT HOUSE - The present building, and the fourth structure of that name, was completed two years after the fire, and opened in 1873. The new hotel covers nearly 50,000 square feet of ground, with a frontage of over five hundred feet, and is six stories in height, with Amherst sandstone front, ornamented in the French Renaissance style of architecture. The architect was J. M. Van Osdel. The property belongs to the Couch estate, and was leased by the heirs to Jewett Wilcox, who operated it for six years, making way for its present proprietor, John A. Rice, who assumed management in January, 1879.
JOHN A RICE is the third son of Anson and Lucy (Sherman) Rice, and was born on February 22, 1829, at Northboro', Mass. Mr. Rice's father was a country trader, and the son's earliest years, after a moderate education in the village school, were passed in the country store, in the training and exercise that have given so many successful business lives. Mr. Rice's first experience in the hotel business was at the Clinton House, in Ithaca, N.Y., which he entered in 1850. When twenty-two years of age, he was called to the Weddell House, of Cleveland. After remaining in that city for a few years, he went for one season to the Mt. Vernon Hotel, the largest at that time in the world, at Cape May, and then was with General James L. Mitchell at the famous Congress Hall at Albany. When the new Sherman House of this city opened in 1861, Mr. Rice and Samuel Hawk, late of the Windsor, New York, were associated, and they organized the handsome structure, throughout, into a house which for ten years stood in the very foremost rank of American hotels. His associates in the Sherman, after the withdrawal of Mr. Hawk, were Gage Brothers, and later on Charles C. White came into the partnership. Ten years after the opening of the Sherman House, the Grand Pacific Hotel was projected, and the Sherman House patrons were drawn to it. Mr. Rice took hold of the enterprise early, and the crowning perfections secured to the Pacific were mainly due to his skill and knowledge of his calling. Then came the fire, and swept away both the Pacific and Sherman. The re-construction of the Grand Pacific made it handsomer and costlier than before, and was built under Mr. Rice's guidance. The opening of that famous house was among the foremost events of the great re-building of Chicago, but it passed into other hands. At about this time, the Centennial was in preparation at Philadelphia, and among the features was the immense Globe Hotel of one thousand rooms, designed to illustrate the Immensity of the American hotel system. Its projectors called on Mr. Rice as the best demonstrator of the art of keeping an hotel, and he forthwith took the management. Among the visitors to the Globe in that year was E. J. Baldwin, of San Francisco, who urged Mr. Rice to visit his city and organize and open his hotel,, the Baldwin. After two years in the management of that hotel, Mr. Rice returned East, and when the Tremont was about to change hands, in 1879, he bought out the entire interest. In the season of 1881, he took charge of the great Rockaway Beach Hotel, which was the largest and most notable hotel undertaking of the time. At the close of the season, Mr. Rice returned to the Tremont, since which time he has remained therein. Mr. Rice for many years has had a mild penchant for pet hobbies that were his relief and recreation, and when he parted with his library, for nearly $50,000, it was proof that his pursuit was judiciously followed. He had offered the collection to the Chicago Historical Society at what it had cost him, about $30,000, but the Society was unable to accept his generous offer. He now devotes his attention to pictures, and has already formed quite a gallery, which may in time become as noted as his library. Mr. Rice was married at Aurora, Cayuga Co., N.Y., on November 1, 1855, to Miss Margaret Van Slycke Culver; they have three children, - Wallace de Groot, Margaret Sherman and Lewis Anson. Mr. Rice is a member of the Chicago and Washington Park clubs, and is always interested in such affairs as are material to the welfare of the city."
Events
| Birth | 22 Feb 1829 | Northborough, Worcester Co., Massachusetts |  | ||
| Marriage | 1 Nov 1855 | Aurora, Cayuga Co., New York - Margaret Van Slycke CULVER | |||
| Death | 21 Apr 1880 - 1891 | Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois |
Families
| Spouse | Margaret Van Slycke CULVER (1832 - ) |
| Child | Wallace de Groot Cecil RICE (1859 - 1902) |
| Child | Margaret Sherman RICE (1865 - 1916) |
| Child | Lewis Anson RICE (1871 - 1941) |
| Father | Anson RICE (1798 - 1875) |
| Mother | Lucy SHERMAN (1790 - 1868) |
| Sibling | Martin Luther RICE (1824 - 1888) |
| Sibling | Charles Anson "Charley" RICE (1826 - ) |
| Sibling | Myron Grenville RICE (1830 - 1864) |
| Sibling | Mary Fairbanks Penny RICE (1832 - 1901) |
| Sibling | Solon Wood RICE (1835 - 1907) |
Endnotes
1. Vital Records of Northborough Massachusetts, Pg. 57.