The birth-place of John
H. Rice was in Bedford County, Virginia, in sight of the Peaks of Otter.
Fearlessness, composure, frugality, open-handed hospitality, frankness,
and deep religious feelings, characterized the region in which he was
born. Plain fare, plain dress, little money, cheerful hearts, active
spirits, capability of endurance, and shrewd minds, were to be found in
log-houses in that fertile and magnificent county, lying south of the
river James, and at the base of the Blue Ridge.
Benjamin and Catherine
Rice had six children, Edith, David, John Holt, Sarah, Benjamin Holt,
and Elizabeth. John Holt, the third child, and second son, was born the
28th of November, 1777. The father grew up in Hanover County, and was by
profession a lawyer, a man frank in his manners, sociable in bis
disposition, and shrewd in his apprehensions. A natural vein of humor,
and his determined piety, made him a pleasant and safe companion, and a
desirable friend. At the time of the birth of his second son, he was
deputy Clerk of Bedford County, and ruling elder in the congregation of
Peaks and Pisgah, the pastoral charge of his uncle, David Rice,
afterwards known as the apostle of Kentucky. The mother, Catherine Holt,
a near relative of the second wife of Rev. Samuel Davies., born and
reared in Hanover County, possessed a gentle disposition and a
cultivated mind, was domestic in her habits, and devotedly pious.
Mr. Rice lived upon a
small tract of land belonging to the brother of his wife, the Rev. John
White Holt, an Episcopal minister, and had an income of eighty pounds
from the Clerk’s Office, in addition to the profits of his legal
practice. His unsullied purity of principle and life, and his
unsophisticated manners gave him influence and a high standing in
society. Hospitality, in those days of simplicity, unincumbered with
expensive entertainments, was the source of great enjoyment and mental
improvement. The habits of the country ensured the visitor a cheerful
welcome to a plentiful supply of any provision the host might have
prepared, or was convenient. Of books the number was small, and the
circulation of newspapers very limited; and the conversation of
intelligent visitors, at the evening fireside, or the table of
refreshment, was eagerly sought for the passing enjoyment, and the
improvement of a rising family. Some of the finest characters of the
Revolution, and the times succeeding, were formed under this social
influence, this contact with enlarged and improved minds. The earliest
associations of Mr. Rice’s young family were with the good and the
intelligent. The uncle of the father, the pastor of the Presbyterian
congregation, and the brother of the mother, an Episcopal minister,
exercised an elevating religious influence in their familiar intercourse
with the young people.
The son John Holt, when
about two years old, appeared, after a long illness, to be near his end.
He was taken from his cradle and laid upon the bed to breathe his last.
Suddenly, to the surprise of the family standing around, and commending
him to God, he began to revive. His recovery was rapid. His uncle Holt,
declared solemnly, that he believed the child was spared for some great
and good purpose, and charged the mother to bring him up piously for the
work designed by divine Providence. He promised his aid in giving him a
classical education. These words, like those spoken to Hannah, deeply
impressed the mother’s heart; and, in after years, affected the child’s
mind. Who can measure the influence of the thought — “I am called of
God” — on the heart of a noble-minded child? Soon after this sickness
his uncle, William Rice, taught school .in the neighborhood, at Coffee’s
old field, and resided with the family. The little boy often went with
his uncle to the school, sometimes riding on his shoulders; and the
uncle amused himself by the way, and at home, in teaching the boy to
call the letters, and spell words. The father was surprised to find that
he could read, before he thought him old enough to be taught; and in his
joy exclaimed — “that boy shall have a good education.” By the time he
was four years old, he would sit on a cricket by his mother’s knee, and
read aloud to her in the Bible, and Watts’s Psalms and Hymns.
When about eight years of
age, he commenced the Latin Grammar at the school of his uncle Holt, in
Botetourt County. That school being broken up in about a year, on
account of his uncle’s health, he returned home, and was, for a time,
under the tuition of Rev. James Mitchel, the son-in-law and successor of
David Rice. He then came under the instruction of a number of teachers
in succession in the neighborhood, from none of whom he received any
particular advantage. The general impression on his mind, from the
whole, was unfavorable to systematic study; the evil of which he felt
many years, perhaps the consequences followed through life; first in the
time lost in making acquirements in after years which might have been
made in these, and then the effort to counteract a bad habit of thinking
and acting. His mind, however, was slowly maturing, and gathering stores
of miscellaneous wealth for future use.
In his thirteenth year,
young Rice suffered a calamity in the affliction that came upon him, the
death of his mother. Mr. Rice and his children saw more clearly from day
to day, as weeks and months rolled on, the length and breadth of the
distress that followed the bereavement. The guiding hand of Mrs. Rice
being paralyzed, discomforts came in upon the family, and the widowed
husband, like many another man, felt he had lost the comfort and charm
of his house. John Holt was old enough to appreciate and remember his
mother ; and through life he cherished a lively recollection of her
form, her affection, and her instructions. She had already cast the
mould of the boy’s, character, and laid the foundation of the man. The
habit of entire self-c6ntrol so remarkable in him, he attributed, under
the blessing of God, to the earnest persuasion and instruction of his
sainted mother to govern his naturally hasty temper; and his thirst for
knowledge and desire for improvement had been cherished, if not
instilled, by her tender care.
When fifteen years of age
he was permitted by his pastor, James Mitchel, to make a public
profession of religion. He had witnessed the great revival in Bedford,
the revival that began in Charlotte and Prince Edward, and was promoted
by the labors of Smith, Graham, Legrand, Lacy, Mitchel, and Turner. From
his earliest life in religion, he believed that true piety consists in a
spirit of ardent devotion, deep penitence, love of purity, and an
earnest attachment to Christ. He had trembled under the warnings of
Mitchel, been agitated by the pathetic exhortations of Turner, moved by
the persuasions of Legrand, and enlightened and impressed by Smith and
Graham. The standard of religious experience formed in the churches
about the time he became a member, he labored to erect wherever he
preached in after life; rallying the church around that, he strove to
lead her on to high achievements of godly living; a standard higher than
any since the days of Davies, and having the elements of perfection.
On the division of the
County of Bedford, in the year 1T84, Mr. Rice removed to Liberty, the
new County seat. His worldly circumstances were improved by his marriage
with a widow of the brother of Patrick Henry. The first Mrs. Rice
excelled in tenderness and piety; the second in domestic management and
success in worldly affairs. The step-mother not being deeply impressed
by the abilities of John Holt, and perhaps not valuing at a high rate a
liberal education, and consulting for the future welfare of the boy,
proposed that, as the father probably would not be able to give him a
farm, he should be put to some good trade. The father and the son
objected. The son thought of nothing but an education, and the father
cherished the desire, and God’s providence favored the child.
Dr. Rice used to tell
some circumstances of his early life, characteristic of himself and the
country. Cotton was reared as an indispensable material for clothing,
and was manufactured in the family. Whitney’s cotton-gin was not then
invented, and the preparation of the cotton for the spindle was a
tedious operation, and gave employment to the fingers of servants and
children the early part of the long winter nights. After supper, the
children and servants were gathered round the blazing hearth, each with
his regular task of cotton from the field in balls, to be freed from
seeds and impurities. Pieces of the heart of pine, and knots saturated
with turpentine, by a process of nature, supplied the place of candles
and lamps. Burning on the hearth, they gave a splendid light. Where the
rich pines abounded, candles were scarcely known m the domestic
concerns. Thousands of families in the Southern and Western country at
this time enjoy this light by night. By this, young Rice performed his
regular nightly tasks of cotton picking, and then indulged his appetite
for reading and study. “Often,” said he, “as the flames wasted, have I
thrown myself at full length upon the floor, drawing nearer and nearer
the decaying brands, and finally thrusting my head into the very ashes,
to catch the last gleam of light.” Multitudes of Southern youths have
conned their school tasks by the pine light; and men in high station
have amused their visitors, by contrasting the simplicity of their
boyish days with the luxuries of their grandchildren. Dr. Hill was
accustomed to describe the cotton pickings with great glee.
Young Rice was sent to
Liberty Hall Academy; Rev. William Graham, in the meridian of his fame,
presided. Mr. Edward Graham, the brother and assistant of the president,
writing, in the later years of his life, says: “ his moral character was
entirely correct; that he gave much of his time to miscellaneous
reading, and was not particularly distinguished in his classical
studies.” Young Rice manifested a desire of excellence, but never
appeared ambitious of surpassing his classmates. . It is not probable
that he studied one hour, during his academic life, with the desire of
supremacy. His habits of mind did not fit him to shine in the
class-room, and he was probably too indifferent to classic honors. After
remaining at the academy about a year and a-half, he was recalled by his
father, for reasons of a pecuniary nature. Mr. George A. Baxter, the
pupil, and ultimately the successor, of Graham, was teaching an academy
at New London. Learning the circumstances of young Rice, he invited him
to pursue his studies with him, and be a partner of his room. He
remained with Mr. Baxter about a year, reciting regularly in the school,
and in his leisure hours perusing choice works of English literature.
His acquaintance with the classics became intimate and correct, and the
productions of his pen manifested the advantage of his English reading.
Mr. Baxter considered young Rice correct in morals and pious, kind in
heart, reserved in company, conversing on moral and religious subjects
with propriety, but possessing little of that small talk essential to
the cheerfulness of social circles. He gave no intimations of any
extraordinary powers, or brilliancy of intellect. His mind was slow in
its operations, but safe in its conclusions. The friendship formed
between the teacher and his pupil ripened with increasing years; the one
became President of Washington College, and the other Professor in Union
Theological Seminary, which position he yielded by death to the friend
and teacher of his youth.
Mr. Rice commenced the
work of a teacher in the family of Mr. Nelson, of Malvern Hills, about
thirty miles below Richmond. Judge William Nelson, while attending a
session of the District Court at New London, made inquiries for a
teacher for the family of his kinsman. Mr. Baxter recommended young
Rice; and, with, the consent of his lather, he was engaged for the
office. Patrick Henry being at this sessions of the court, the step-son
of his brother’s widow was introduced to him in the court-house yard.
The orator addressed a few words of encouragement to the youth, and
said, “be sure, my son, remember the best men always make themselves.”
Inoperative at the time, this sentiment was pondered, in after years, as
a great historic truth in Virginia, among statesmen and divines. An
eminent British statesman said, “No man can rise without patronage.”
Patrick Henry, after untold mortifications, had risen to a commanding
position; and the youth he addressed at New London, in his kindness,
after efforts equally great, without the mortifications, left a name
among the churches never to pass away.
With his father’s
blessing, ten shillings in his pocket, and all his wardrobe in a
handkerchief, he walked to James River, stepped on board a market boat,
and floated down to Richmond. Canal boats, rail cars, and trunks of
baggage, were unknown in those days; and young Rice would probably have
been amazed at the luggage of some students in these days of progress in
education. In, Mr. Nelson’s family he showed himself worthy of the great
kindness he received, by his diligent attention to his duties as a
teacher, his modesty, and obliging deportment. Here he was introduced to
the highly polished society of the “Ancient Dominion,” at an age to feel
its allurement, and its power to refine. He made himself agreeable to
the family, and the numerous visitors. His high tone of honorable and
refined intercourse with ladies, which rendered him peculiarly pleasing
and useful in Richmond, and throughout Virginia, and wherever else he
visited, was greatly improved by his social relations with the society
of Malvern Hills. Naturally unsociable, he learned winning manners. With
his kind heart and sound principles, he became irresistible, where he
determined to please a social circle.
This improvement in his
manners was bought with trials of heart. His sense of truth and justice
was accompanied with a keen perception of the ridiculous and absurd. He
could be pleasant in his remarks, like his father, humorous in his
observations, and when excited or offended, keenly satirical. The world
opened upon him with her enchantments, and touched his heart. His well
arranged principles guarded him against the persuasives to sin, while
the softening influence of refined society wore away his awkwardness,
and reserve, and the greenness of boyhood. Religious society once
familiar, now necessary to preserve the balance of his mind, and purity
of his heart, was a rare enjoyment, almost a thing unknown. Men of
sprightly minds and pleasing manners uttered in his hearing the
sentiments that prevailed in Paris, and produced the arguments of the
leaders of the French Revolution, which he was not prepared to answer,
and by the novelty of which he was sometimes confounded. In the midst ot
luxuries unusual, and prospectively beyond his enjoyment, and not
congenial to his moral tastes, he began first to feel lonely; and then
an indifference towards his fellow men came over him; and then lastly a
strange coldness towards his God. He was passing the trial which in some
form awaits all youth as they come upon the great theatre of the world.
First, is the kind feeling towards all; then, as bitter experience makes
them partially wiser, comes the. distrust of men which may he very
general; then as the tide of affairs roll on, unless prosperous
business, or kind attention of the good, or the internal influences of
God’s amazing grace arrest the downward course, come misanthropy,
hardness of heart, free thinking, perhaps dissipation, Atheism, and an
unhonored death.
Young Rice never knew,
till this time, the power within him to hate his fellow man, nor the
bitterness, that hidden under ridicule and sarcasm, could amuse and
sting the world, and torment the possessor’s heart. He knew he had a
power that might be fearful or amusing, but its two edges he found out
by-some inward wounds that were healed by a kind mother’s hand in Prince
Edward. He remained in the family of Mr. Nelson about a year and a half.
On a visit to his father’s house he was seized with a violent and
protracted fever. During the progress of the disease he fathomed the
excellence of Deism, of the French Moral Philosophy, of the being
without God in the world: and the line soon reached the bottom. Deism
became his abhorrence on principle and on feeling. He sounded the grace
of the gospel, and like the God from whom it flowed, it was without
shore or bottom, an ocean in which he might swim for Eternity. The one
might be charming in the revelries of a voluptuous city, the other was
the help of a sinner as he approached his God with the veil torn from
his heart. The world now appeared to him, empty as a treasure, false as
a support, lovely as a work of God ; and full of wisdom and goodness, as
man’s place of trial. The cheerfulness and piety of his father were
priceless in his eyes. His heart was broken, and not healed ; the
fashion of Christ was appearing, but not the full image of unsullied
brightness that shone out in succeeding years. The work of
reconstruction was reserved as the work of another agency more winning
than sickness.
On the restoration of his
health he sought employment as a teacher. Bearing in the kindest
remembrance the family in which he had been employed ; and carrying with
him their warmest wishes for his prosperity, and enjoying their
friendship through life, like all youth pleased with “novelty and fond
of change,” he turned his attention to another part of his native state.
Hearing that a tutor was wanting in Hampden Sidney College, he sought
the office. The Presbytery of Hanover held its fall session, Oct., 1796,
at Bethel Meeting House in Bedford. Besides Mitchel and Turner, the
co-pastors of his native congregation, Lacy, Alexander, and Lyle, were
present. The father of Mr. Rice, as an elder, was member. The ministers
were all deeply interested in the College, and some of them warm friends
of the father, and prepared to favor the son. With such introduction as
he could procure he made application to the trustees, by a personal
interview.
With his bundle in his
hand, he proceeded on foot through Campbell County, and part of
Charlotte to Prince Edward; and found that the trustees were in
correspondence with Robert Logan of Fincastle, and waiting a final
answer. Encouraged to expect the appointment if Mr. Logan declined, and
anxious to know the event he returned to Bedford, crossed the Blue
Ridge, and waited on Mr. Logan. Returning to Prince Edward with a
communication from Mr. Logan declining the office, and recommending Mr.
Rice to the attention of the trustees, this long pedestrian journey was
crowned with success; he received the appointment.
Major James Morton,
Treasurer of the Board, took him to his residence to remain the short
time intervening the commencement of his labors as teacher. From that
visit Willington became associated, in the heart of young Rice, with all
that is kind, and excellent, and lovely. The Major advanced a small sum
of money for some claims due in Lexington, and furnished him with
clothing for the winter. And Mrs. Morton, in her kind and Christian
manner, won his confidence. The intimate friendship that followed, Dr.
Rice always acknowledged as having a most controlling influence
throughout his whole succeeding life. He had passed his childhood in
retired life; in his early youth he had been with the polished world;
and now he was introduced to a sphere of activity in pursuit, and
seclusion in living, under the influence of Christian example of the
most endearing domestic nature at Willington, in Mrs. Morton; and the
most admirable public exhibition in Archibald Alexander. In Mrs. Morton
he seemed to himself to find his own dear mother revived, and by that
name he called her long before the thought was formed that she might be
so in reality. With the confidence of a son he laid open to her his
distress of soul, and told her his hopes and fears, and the perplexing
experience through which he had passed. Her counsels and instructions
were, by the blessing of God, the means of rescuing him from the
hardening influences of an infidel philosophy, which he could neither
believe, or with clear reasons decidedly reject; they closed the springs
of bitterness, and opened the fountains of benevolence. He used to say
of Mrs. Morton — “It was impossible to know such a woman without
thinking more kindly of his fellow-men for her sake.” During the winter
the pupils were few and the duties of the teacher light. The hours not
required in teaching and preparation for recitations, were devoted to
literary reading and composition. He practised the celebrated rule of
reading some well-written piece, and then, without relying upon verbal
memory, attempting to reproduce the style and thoughts of the author. He
wrote narratives and essays, and made compends of important treatises.
His facility in composition, in after years, may be traced to the
efforts at improvement made at New London, and his early residence at
Hampden Sidney. |