Henry Mower Rice
| Henry M. Rice | |
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United States Senator from Minnesota |
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In office May 11, 1858 – March 3, 1863 |
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| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Ramsey |
| Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota Territory's At-large congressional district | |
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In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1857 |
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| Preceded by | Henry H. Sibley |
| Succeeded by | William W. Kingsbury |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 29, 1816 Waitsfield, Vermont |
| Died | January 15, 1894 (aged 77) San Antonio, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Matilda Whital (March 28, 1849) |
| Children | Henry Rice, Lizzie Rice, Matilda Rice, Margaret Rice, Mary Welch Rice, Robert Toombs Rice, Rachel Rice, Henry Rice, Frederick Durkee Rice |
Henry Mower Rice (November 29, 1816 – January 15, 1894) was a fur trader and an American politician prominent in the statehood of Minnesota.
Henry Rice was born on November 29, 1816, in Waitsfield, Vermont to Edmund Rice and Ellen (Durkee) Rice. Both Edmund and Ellen were of entirely English ancestry; their ancestors had been in New England since the early 1600s. Rice lived with family friends from an early age due to the death of his father.
When Rice was 18, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, and participated in the surveying of the canal route around the rapids of Sault Ste. Marie between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
In 1839 Rice secured a job at Fort Snelling, near what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota. He became a fur trader with the Ho-Chunk and Chippewa (Ojibwe)Indians, attaining a position of prominence and influence. Rice was trusted by the Indians, and he was instrumental in negotiating the United States treaty with the Ojibwe Indians in 1847 by which they ceded extensive lands.
Rice lobbied for the bill to establish Minnesota Territory in 1849 and later served as its delegate to the 33rd and 34th Congresses from March 4, 1853 to March 4, 1857. His work on the Minnesota Enabling Act, passed by Congress on February 26, 1857, facilitated Minnesota's statehood.
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