George Merrick Rice

George Merrick Rice (November 20, 1808 – November 10, 1894) was an American businessman from Worcester, Massachusetts, who had a varied career in dry goods and grain retailing and the manufacture of industrial machinery. He was a pioneer in the steel industry. He was also a banker, serving as president of the Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Company. He was president of the Worcester Common Council for three years and a member of the Massachusetts State Senate from 1869 to 1870.

Biography George Merrick Rice was born in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, on 20 Nov 1808 to Col. Samuel Buckminster Rice and Abigail (Bradish) Rice. He attended public schools in West Brookfield, and after serving as a clerk for a few years at a country store in Leicester, Massachusetts, he moved to Worcester in 1829 and became a partner in the dry goods firm Andrew, March and Company. Shortly afterwards, in 1830, he purchased the dry goods business of Burt and Merrick, and a few years later, he purchased a flour and grain store near the end of the Blackstone Canal in Worcester. In 1846, he became a partner in the firm of Howe, Goddard and Company (H.P. Howe and Isaac Goddard) in the manufacture of calico printing and bleaching machinery. This company eventually became the Rice, Barton, and Fales Machinery and Iron Company. He also served as president of the Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Company and president of the Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company.

Family relations Rice was a direct descendant of Edmund Rice, an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony, as follows:

George Merrick Rice, son of Col. Samuel Buckminster Rice (1760–1828), son of Capt. Tilly Rice (1724–1803), son of Obadiah Rice (1698–1761), son of Jacob Rice (1660–1746), son of Edward Rice (1622–1712), son of Edmund Rice (c.1594–1663)