John I. Rice Biography


	This biography appears on pages 884-889 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				JOHN I. RICE. 

	John I. Rice, a successful farmer of Spirit Mound township, Clay 
county, was born in Norway in 1862, a son of Englebrecht and Kari 
(Oleson) Rice, both of whom were also born in that country. The father 
was a farmer throughout his life which came to a close on the 20th of 
September, 1894. He had survived his wife for many years, her demise 
occurring when her son John I. was but seven years of age. He is one of 
four children and the second in order of birth, the others being: Mary, 
the wife of Cornelius Hanson, of Gregory county, this state; Ole, of 
Sioux City, Iowa; and Margaret, the wife of Gilbert Field, of Geddes, 
South Dakota. 

	John I. Rice was reared upon his father's farm in Norway and 
attended the public schools in that country until he was seventeen 
years of age. Upon emigrating to America he settled in Yankton, South 
Dakota, and worked on farms in that locality for a year. At the end of 
that time he removed to the vicinity of Vermillion and was employed as-
a farm hand for three years, at the end of which time he was married. 
He and his wife located on a part of her father's homestead, which she 
had inherited. That farm is still their residence but now comprises 
three hundred acres, Mr. Rice having added forty acres to the tract 
which his wife inherited. At the time of their removal to the farm only 
sixty acres was under cultivation, but one hundred and seventy acres is 
now being cultivated. Mr. Rice has also erected large barns and made a 
number of improvements, and the farm is now one of the best developed 
in his county. As he is enterprising and progressive and uses good 
business judgment in carrying on his work, he is meeting with excellent 
success. 

	Mr. Rice was married on the 30th of September, 1883, to Miss 
Gurina Siverson, a daughter of Ingebrigt and Geneva (Tiger) Siverson, 
both natives of Norway. Mr. Siverson came to America in 1856 and first 
settled in Iowa, where he farmed for two years. He then removed to 
Dickson county, Nebraska, but remained there only a short time and soon 
came to Dakota territory, settling in what is now Clay county, South 
Dakota, on the homestead which is now owned in part by our subject. Mr. 
Siverson first squatted upon the land but later, when it had been 
platted by the government, took up a preemption claim and eventually 
became the owner of about one thousand acres of land. Mrs. Rice was the 
first white child baptized in the Lutheran church in South Dakota. Her 
father had a number of unpleasant experiences with the Indians and on 
several occasions they stole his cattle. Sioux City was at that early 
day the nearest trading point and conditions were in all respects those 
of a northern frontier country. Mr. Siverson died March 28, 1896, and 
his wife passed away in 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Rice have eight children: 
Clara, the wife of Ed Sieler, a farmer of Clay county; Amos D., of 
Sioux City, Iowa; Bertha, the wife of Charles Ross, of Sioux City; 
Mable, a business woman of Denver, Colorado; Guyda, the wife of Dan 
Orten, a farmer of Clay county; Alfred, Harry and John, at home. 

	Mr. Rice is a democrat, as are all of his sons. He has served for 
two terms upon the township board and for two terms as road supervisor. 
For twenty years he has been a member of the school board and has taken 
great interest in educational matters, giving his children good 
advantages along that line. Both he and his wife are members of the 
United Lutheran church and he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. 
He has been active in the development of his section of the state and 
is intensely loyal to the interests of South Dakota, having great faith 
in her future.