C. Allen Thorndike Rice

Charles Allen Thorndike Rice (June 18, 1851 – May 16, 1889) was an American journalist and the editor and publisher of the North American Review from 1876 to 1889.

Early life and family C. Allen Thorndike Rice was born 18 June 1851 in Boston, Massachusetts as the only son of Henry Gardner Rice (1820–1869), from a Boston publishing family, and Elizabeth Francis (Thorndike) Rice, from a New York publishing family. Rice (known as Charles or Charlie as a child) grew up in the Beacon Hill section of Boston and Baltimore, Maryland, but his parents divorced in 1859, and a child custody dispute ensued. However, Elizabeth was able to escape to Canada with Charlie disguised as a girl. They eventually moved to France and Germany and resided there for several years. In 1866, Rice's mother Elizabeth died and he was able to rejoin his father in Boston.

Literary References Rice appears (his name partially disguised) in A Doffed Coronet, an anonymous 1902 roman à clef authored by Marguerite Cunliffe-Owen.

Selected publications

Rice, Allen Thorndike. 1880. Ruined Cities of Central America North American Review. 131:89-108. Rice, Allen Thorndike. 1886. Recent Reforms in Balloting. North American Review 143:628–43. Rice, Allen Thorndike (ed.). 1888. Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln by Distinguished Men of His Time. The North American Review Publishing Company, New York.

Genealogy Charles Allen Thorndike Rice was a direct descendant of Edmund Rice, an English immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony, as follows:

Charles Allen Thorndike Rice, son of Henry Gardner Rice (ca1820 – 1869), son of Henry Gardner Rice (1784 – 1853), son of Dr. Tilly Rice (1756 – 1824), son of Capt. Tilly Rice (1724 – 1803), son of Obadiah Rice (1698 – ?), son of Jacob Rice (1660 – 1746), son of Edward Rice (1622 – 1711), son of Edmund Rice (1594 – 1663)

Charles Allen Thorndike Rice was also a descendant of John Thorndike, an English immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony.