William Marsh Rice (March 14, 1816 – September 23, 1900) was an American businessman who bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Patrick, was sentenced to death. ==Early life== Rice was born on March 14, 1816, in Springfield, Massachusetts, the third of ten children of David and Patty (née Hall) Rice.
Around 1837, Rice traveled to Texas in search of new business opportunities.
Owner of Capitol Hotel and Capitol Hotel Annex Building, President of Houston Brick Works Company." Rice was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Rice married Margaret Bremond, daughter of Paul Bremond (Houston and Texas Central Railway) and Harriet Martha Sprouls, in 1850 in Houston, Texas.
Baker Sr., in uncovering the truth. ==References== ==External links== William Marsh Rice Collection, Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library Guide to the William Marsh Rice business and estate ledgers, 1855–1965 (Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA) Guide to the William M.
In 1860, his total property, which included fifteen slaves, was worth $750,000.
The 1860 census places William and Margaret Rice in Houston's 2nd Ward.
She died, at age 31, in 1863 in Houston, Texas.
Rice is also reported to have lived in Matamoros, Mexico, in 1863.
By 1865, he was reported as living back in Houston.
While living in Houston, Rice served on the Harris County Slave Patrol. He lived in Houston until around 1865, when he moved to New York (but did not own a home there).
Brown (nee Elizabeth Baldwin) on June 26, 1867.
He built a house on a estate in Dunellen, New Jersey, and moved there in 1872.
He became a resident of New York again in 1882. Rice married Julia E.
On January 28, 1882, William Rice drafted a will, instructing the executors to pay over to the trustees, the Governor and the Judge, funds from his estate for the establishment of "The William M.
After an 1886 or 1887 meeting with a C.
After an 1886 or 1887 meeting with a C.
The marriage was "stormy", and during the 1890s, she consulted an attorney regarding the possibility of a divorce.
In 1891, Rice decided that he would not establish an Orphans Institute at the Dunellen estate, but would instead found the William M.
The Institute's charter was signed by all the original trustees, except for Rice, on May 18, 1891, and certified by the State of Texas the following day. ==Death and scandal== Rice was the victim of one of the earliest sensational crimes of the 1900s.
In 1893, Rice made a new will, naming as executors James A.
He invested in business firms in Houston; in 1895 he was listed in the city directories as "Capitalist.
She died "hopelessly insane" in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on July 24, 1896. Rice was an eccentric.
After her death in 1896, a new will was drafted on September 26, providing bequests for several of Rice's relatives and leaving the remainder of the estate to the Rice Institute.
William Marsh Rice (March 14, 1816 – September 23, 1900) was an American businessman who bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas.
The Institute's charter was signed by all the original trustees, except for Rice, on May 18, 1891, and certified by the State of Texas the following day. ==Death and scandal== Rice was the victim of one of the earliest sensational crimes of the 1900s.
Despite revealing his identity in 1900, to Rice's anger, the two men continued to have dealings. Plotting to take control of Rice's estate and become the beneficiary of his fortune, Patrick prepared a fake will, forging Rice's signature on it.
Jones, had worked for him for a number of years. On September 24, 1900, James Baker received a telegram from the valet, Charles Jones, stating: Despite the contents of this telegram, a second communique, from Rice's bankers warned that the multi millionaire had died under peculiar circumstances, and that his body was to be cremated. On September 23, 1900, Rice was found dead by his valet, Charles F.
Patrick was sentenced to death, spending four years on death row at Sing Sing Prison before having his sentence commuted by Governor Frank Higgins in 1906.
Opening in 1912 as William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Letters, Science, and Art, it is known today as Rice University.
In 1930 John Angel completed the Founder's Memorial at Rice University depicting a seated William Marsh Rice in line with specifications by architect Ralph Adams Cram. ==Legacy== Rice left the bulk of his estate to the founding of a free institute of higher education in Houston, Texas.
Patrick died in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 11, 1940, aged 74.
Charles Jones was given freedom, and remained in seclusion until November 16, 1954.
Johnson Rice University's first black student was admitted in 1964. The Rice School in Houston is also named after William Marsh Rice. A film, The Trust, depicts the story of William Marsh Rice's murder and the role of his attorney, James A.
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