Hey Andrea,
I think I can help you here as I've been interested in the Rice family almost as long as I've been interested in the Titanic - which is a LONG time!!! The only Rice family aboard were the 6 that boarded at Queenstown consisting of widowed mother, Mrs Margaret Rice (nee Norton) and her 5 young sons - Eric, Arthur, Eugene, George and Albert. Their story is as follows...
Margaret Rice was born as Margaret Norton in the town of Athlone, Co. Westmeath (my home-county), Ireland on the 6th of October, 1872. She grew up in the town and about the age of 20 met and married an Englishman by the name of Mr William Rice in St. Mary's catholic church - the same church where she was baptised. They lived in Athlone for a while, but then decided to emigrate to the States. They left Ireland and eventually reached New York where they lived for a while. William worked as an engineer on the railroads there and brought in a steady income. Then when his work required him to transfer to Montreal in Canada, they then moved there. This was about 1902. It is interesting to note that the railroad which William worked on in Canada belonged to none other than Charles Hayes - the first class passenger who would later go down with the Titanic along with the Rices. It is about this time that the Rices were blessed with their first child. I can't recall the name just now - but I think their first-born was called Francis or Hugh(?). It is also then that the first in a series of tragedies began to plague the family. Their first-born choked to death on his pacifier (dummy). The couple were devastated. However, they were further blessed with 3 more boys in Montreal. About 1908 the family were again uprooted by William's work and they moved to Spokane in Washington. All seemed to go well for the family here and they were yet again blessed with two more boys. Just as Margaret and William were settling down in life tragedy was yet again to pay them a visit. In 1910 William was killed in a horrific accident while working on the railroad. This was more than Margaret could bear - she could'nt face life alone bringing up 5 young boys in a still unfamiliar place. With the money she received as compensation for the loss of her husband, Margaret returned with her boys to Ireland. Back in Athlone she gradually came to terms with her devastating loss in the care of her family. However by the Spring of 1912 she began to ask herself if her children would have a better chance at life in the States. In early April she booked passage home to Spokane via New York aboard the brand-new liner Titanic. The family's last few days in Ireland were spent in a lodging-house on Mardyke Street in Athlone. The day before the family were to board Titanic at Queenstown - the 10th of April, Margaret purchased a box of pills in "Fleming's" chemist Athlone as well as a brand-new pair of shoes in "Parson and Sons". The next morning Margaret and her boys found themselves boarding Titanic at Queenstown (now Cobh) in Co. Cork. They all must have had mixed emotions - fear, anxiety, excitement, loneliness... However once the voyage began Margaret quickly made friends with the likes of fellow Athloner Miss Bertha Mulvihill. The boys also made friends with other youngsters. The voyage went exceedingly well for the Rices up until the night of Sunday, April 14th. We all know what happened over those couple of hours. Tragically the Rices never made it to a lifeboat - the last that was seen of them was when Bertha Mulvihill spied them on deck as she boarded a lifeboat. Margaret was seen holding baby Eugene while the other boys clutched fearfully to her skirts. Of the 6 Margaret's was the only body to be recovered, speculation has it that "the unknown child" is Eugene - but who knows. Margaret's body was posititvely identified through correspondance with "Fleming's" chemist concerning the box of pills recovered on her body and by a label in her new shoes with "Parson and Sons, Athlone" on it. Her body was eventually laid to rest in Mount Olivet cemetery in Halifax, finally laying to rest the last member of a seemingly cursed and tragic family.
I hope this helps you Andrea. Senan Moloney's "The Irish aboard Titanic" is an excellent source for the story of the Rices - it even includes a photo taken of Margaret surrouded by her 5 boys. I highly recommend this book.
Best wishes,
Richie.
