| Notes |
- Rice Honeywell, was born March 1760 at Fredericksburg (now Carmel),
Westchester County, New York, according to his deposition for pension.
He was a younger son of David (ca 1730-1772?) and Rebecca (Rice?)
Honeywell of the same place. He was descended from Roger Hunnewell 's
third son Israel Honeywell.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR EXPLOITS
In 1773, the probable date of his father's death, Rice went to live
with his oldest brother Isaiah at Lanesborough, Massachusetts. From
there, when two months short of his sixteenth birthday, he enlisted in
January 1776, along with Isaiah, in Colonel Seth Warner's Regiment.
They immediately marched to Montreal and on to Quebec to join General
Benedict Arnold's troops. His five months of service were up just
after the Americans fell back on Montreal, and he was returned to
Lanesborough. Another enlistment of six months followed in General
Poor's Brigade. He was at Long Island, New York when it was overrun by
the British, being in a "guard" that was led to safety through the
British lines under cover of fog by General Israel Putnam. In 1777 he
was called out on a tour of militia duty on the approach of General
Burgoyne from the north, was wounded in the left arm in a skirmish at
Wood Creek near Fort Ann, but he continued to fight with his arm in a
sling. Although not fully recovered, he turned out soon thereafter to
fight under Colonel Warner at Bennington, New York, but suffered from
his neglected wound.
Beginning in May 1778 he had a number of periods of service in which
he went as a substitute for others. One such period was for nine
months with General Wayne's Brigade at Valley Forge. Both Isaiah and
Sergeant Rice Honeywell were numbered among the Green Mountain Boys.
In March 1778 he moved from Lanesborough to "Old Hoosac on the Hoosac
River" in New York State, "where he resided until March 1785 when he
removed to Augusta in the County of Grenvelle, Upper Canada."
One account has it that after the war Rice came back into Canada to
see it and fell in love with Ruth Allen, the daughter of a Tory,
Weston Allen, U.E., who had brought his family to the Prescott area.
The date of the marriage is not known, nor the place, although it is
probably Prescott, Ontario. In any case, Rice took his bride Ruth back
to his home in New York (probably Hoosac). When they returned to
Canada in 1785 because Ruth wished to be near her own family, it was
with two children, a daughter and son, Ira. Source: Pension
application. LIFE IN CANADA
There is evidence that he took an interest in the community and people
around. He was on the list of subscribers in 1790 for the Blue Church,
Prescott, which was to be erected in 1791. His name has appeared as a
witness at such functions as weddings. A number of letters are extant,
to John Small at the Executive Council Office at York, which he wrote
on behalf of other settlers.
The census of 1806 for Augusta showed Rice in a household of three,
including one son Richard; by that time Ira was the head of his own
family. It is likely that Ruth died about 1800, because his second son
Richard was born in 1802 to Rice and Catherine (Fishback) Honeywell.
In the 1823 census Rice's family consisted of himself, his wife, two
sons, one daughter, four male servants and one female servant.
His will of 1839, probated 19 August 1840, probably named only his
surviving children: Ira, Richard, John, Mariah Obrien and Israel
Putnam Honeywell (likely named after the hero of his youthly escape
from Long Island). Israel, a minor at the time, was no doubt the son
of his third wife and widow, Martha Honeywell.
Richard went back to New York State, to St. Lawrence County, and left
many descendants there. John and Mariah are as yet untraced. It is
very possible that the Israel Putnam (or Putman) Honeywell of South
Crosby, in 1854 and the one being married in Camden in 1858, later
settling at a blacksmith shop in the 5th Concession of Thurlow
Township, Hastings County, Ontario are one and the same. The corner is
still known as Honeywell's Corners. Source: Miss Doris Honeywell
notes.
LAND GRANTS AND MILLS
In 1785, 1791, and 1793, Rice and Ruth received land grants in
Maitland and Augusta Township. In 1795 they were allowed Town lot No.
19 at Johnstown on the north side of First Street and a park lot on
condition that they build a frame house, which they did.
Under an Order in Council of the 3 July 1797 he was granted a special
lot, No. 14, Concession 1 in Haldimand Township, North Cumberland
County, as the site of a sawmill. In April of that year his brother
Isaiah had moved his family from the U. S. to Concession 3, Haldimand.
Leaving his own family of four (his wife, one boy and two girls)
settled in Augusta, Rice built the mill within the required year. He
obtained its patent in April 1801 and sold the mill and the land in
August 1802 for
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Abt 1760 - 1795 (~ 35 years)
