Life Sketch
On May 15, 1844, Hyrum Smith Rice, more often called William Hyrum, was born in Nauvoo, Illinois. His father was Ira Rice and his mother, who died while he was yet very young, was Sarah Ann Harrington. This couple had pioneered in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Michigan, and had prospered well there. After their conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1841. They built a fine brick home near the Temple, which was burned by persecutors after the Prophet and his brother Hyrum were killed at Carthage, Illinois. Hyrum Smith Rice was born just a month after this tragedy. Another child, Ephraim was born in 1846, after they had left Nauvoo. At Winter Quarters, the family endured more hardships, but Ira and his sons always manage to have more horses and equipment than they needed for their own use. Many destitute families found assistance through Ira and his sons.
When Ira and his two older sons decided to go West with the first companies of Saints, Sarah Ann and the rest of the family were to come across the following year. It fell to Hyrum’s older brother, Leonard Gurley, to shoulder much responsibility in this decision. It is easy to assume, since details are so scarce, that Hyrum’s mother must surely not have been well enough to make the journey, but her courage is manifest, as she sent all of her children between the ages of 18 and 4 to cross the plains with the Heber C. Kimball Company. Hyrum was only four years old and he never saw his mother again, for she died shortly after her children left Iowa. Hyrum lived for a time in Utah, with Leonard Gurley and his new bride, Elizabeth Almira Babbitt. When his father, Ira, married Ann Morris Butler, Hyrum lived with them for a while. Early in life, Hyrum began working as a man. He loved horses and ranching.
Hyrum married Olive Emily Smith on December 25, 1865, in Salt Lake City, Utah. They lived in Cache County, Utah, until about 1880. Hyrum freighted a lot and had a ranch in Mendon. Five children were born to them before they moved to Round Mountain, Cassia County, Idaho. He became known as “Hy Rice from Round Mountain.” His ranch became a way station for freighters, stagecoaches, and mail carriers. By 1884, they had two more children. They sold the ranch and moved nearby to Almo, Idaho. It was here that his wife, Olive Emily, had a tragic accident that took her life on May 22, 1886. She suffered a compound fractured arm, the result of a fall from the family wagon. Infection set in and blood poisoning followed.
Hyrum faced difficulties in trying to do what was best for a motherless family. He did not always keep them together. When Nathaniel married, an attempt was made to live with him and his wife, Alice Jane. Alice was an inspiration and mainstay for this drifting family until they were old enough to shift for themselves.
Hyrum tried working wherever he could, even in Nevada, but he returned to the more established location with Nathaniel in Almo, Idaho. After the children were grown, he lived alone in Almo. We are not sure when he died or where he is buried. It is said he died in Malta at the home of his daughter, about 1906.
