Walter Rice

Sir Walter Rice (* around 1560 or around 1562; † after November 1635, according to other sources as early as 1611), was a Welsh nobleman and politician.

Life

Rice came from the Welsh Rhys family and was the eldest son of Griffith Rice and his wife Elinor, a daughter of Sir Thomas Jones from Abermarlais . In 1578 he married Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Sir Edward Mansel of Margam Abbey . After the death of his father in 1584 he inherited his property. From 1583 he was Justice of the Peace and from 1585 to 1586 Sheriff of Carmarthenshire . Supported by his father-in-law Edward Mansel, Rice succeeded his brother-in-law Walter Vaughan in 1584 Knight of the Shire for Carmarthenshire in the House of Commons , but did not run again the following year. Like his father, he tried to regain other properties of his family that had been confiscated as traitors in 1531 after his grandfather Rhys ap Gruffydd was convicted . In 1605 he commissioned the poet Twm Sion Cati to write a song of praise for his family. Rice's efforts to regain his family's estates were not all successful, but in 1594 Queen Elizabeth I leased him properties in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire for 41 years in gratitude for unspecified services . In 1601 he helped with the investigations that should uncover the circumstances of the conspiracy of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, who was wealthy in South West Wales . Enmity between the families and Rhys had existed since his grandfather's time, and that antagonism favored Rice's election as Member of Parliament for Carmarthen that same year. He was confirmed in the general election in 1604, which he certainly owes to his nephew Sir John Vaughan, who was mayor of Carmarthen at the time. His parliamentary immunity protected him from his creditors, to whom he was highly indebted because of his lavish lifestyle.

Under King James I , he was part of the king's household as Esquire of the Body from 1603 and was knighted on July 23, 1603 . As a member of the House of Commons, all that is recorded is that he campaigned for perks for wine merchants, as Carmarthen was a major import port for wine in South Wales at the time. In 1610 he was fined for having repeatedly failed to comply with a summons to visit parliament. In 1607 he lost his post as justice of the peace because of his debts. In the general election in 1614, he did not run again.

As early as 1612 he transferred his possessions in Pembrokeshire to his eldest son Henry , who had to pay for his father's debts, which at the time were over £ 2,500. In the early 1620s, his son-in-law Thomas Button and his brother-in-law Robert Mansell had to vouch for further debts from him. Much of his property around this time was being administered by Francis Mansel of Muddlescombe , another brother-in-law of his, to whom Rice owed over £ 2,000. The debt eventually led to a long-standing argument with his eldest son, Henry Rice.

progeny

He had several children with his wife, Elizabeth, including:

• Henry
• Walter
• Mary ∞ Thomas Button

Web links

• AHD: RICE, Walter (c.1560-? 1611), of Newton, Llandefaison, Carm. (History of Parliament online)
• Lloyd Bowen; Simon Healy: RICE, Sir Walter (by 1562-at least 1635), of Newton, Llandefaisant, Carm. (History of Parliament online)
• Glyn Roberts: RICE family (Welsh Biography online)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Glyn Roberts: Rice family (Welsh Biography Online). Retrieved February 3, 2015 . 
2. ↑ Lloyd Bowen; Simon Healy: Carmarthen Boroughs, 1604-1629 (History of Parliament online). Retrieved February 3, 2015 .