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Rodney W. Rice
September 5, 1846 – November 25, 1894
Mr. Rodney W. Rice, a former Monticello boy, one who enlisted in the Army from Monticello where he did gallant service in Major Farwell's regiment, died on the 25th ult. at his home in Smithland, Iowa. His brothers L. C. and N. A. Rice of Monticello attended the funeral which was held last Tuesday.
From the Smithland Exponent we clip the following account of Mr. Rice's life:
Mr. Rice was born in Whitesville, N.Y., Sept 5, 1846. With his parents he moved to Rockford, Illinois in 1852, and from there to Jones County, Iowa in 1854. In 1864 when he was a boy of eighteen, he joined the 31st Iowa Infantry, and arrived at the front in time to go with Sherman on his famous march to the sea . After the close of the war, and the grand review of the Army in Washington, Mr. Rice was transferred to the 17th Iowa and was stationed at Louisville, Kentucky until August 1865 when he was honorably discharged.
In 1866 he helped on the Union Pacific Railroad, going to Fort Dodge, Iowa the next year and after a brief stay there, moved to Dakota county, Nebraska. In the spring of 1871 he married Miss Emma Myres. In 1875 he went to Smithland and went into the hotel business. He afterwards went into Sioux City and lived on a farm in Grange Township. In 1892-3 he traded his farm for his old hotel in Smithland and has since resided here. About three years ago he had an severe attack of the grip, of which he never recovered. The disease left his system in a very bad condition of which he gradually failed until the last. For the last year he was very low and, all who saw him, a shadow of his former self, hardly expecting him to live as long as he did. Through it all he kept up good courage, and his indomitable will power undoubtedly kept him alive many months after other men would have given up. He was a member of the Amicable Masonic Lodge of Smithland, and the B. F. Smith G.A.R. Post, Sioux City.
The funeral was held Tuesday at 2 P.M., the services being at the Smithland opera house as the churches were not large enough to seat the audience. The attendance was very large. It was the request of the deceased that the old soldiers have charge of the services and that Rev. De Lano preach the sermon. His desires were complied with and about fifty old soldiers were present from Mapleton, Oto, Ticonic and Rodney. The ritual services were lead by Commander T. F. Wooster of Hoskins Post, Mapleton, Iowa. The remains were interred at the Smithland cemetery.

Submitted by: Steve Hanken
Source: Monticello Express, 6 December 1894

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