Harry E. Rice
Harry E. Rice, editor and publisher of the Xenia Herald and Democrat-News and for more than two years postmaster at Xenia, is a native son of Ohio and has lived in this state all his life. He was born in the village of South Vienna, in the neighboring county of Clark, January 20, 1869, son of James S. and Angle (Busbey) Rice, both of whom are still living at South Vienna, the former now being past seventy-eight years of age and the latter, past seventy-three.
James S. Rice, who is a veteran of the Civil War, also was born in Clark county, a member of one of the pioneer families of this part of the state, and was living there when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted in behalf of the Union cause and went to the front as a member of the Eleventh Ohio Cavalry in which he rose to the rank of lieutenant. During the greater portion of this period of service he was stationed with his command at Ft. Laramie, Wyoming, and while there had many brushes and engagements with the Indians. Upon the completion of his military service he returned to his home in Clark county and became engaged in the milling business at South Vienna and was thus engaged at that place until his retirement from active labors. Mr. Rice also is the owner of a fine farm lying adjacent to South Vienna. He is a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. His parents, Asahel and Orassa (Sprague) Rice, were New Englanders who came to Ohio and located in Clark county, settling six miles east of Springfield. Asahel Rice was a building contractor and many of the fine old brick houses which still stand in Clark county were erected by him. He had a country place east of Springfield. To James S. Rice and wife were born two sons, the subject of this sketch having had a brother, Charles S., who died in childhood, and one daughter, Mrs. Carlton Henry, of Plattsburg, Ohio.
Mrs. Rice, mother of Postmaster Rice, is a member of the noted Busbey family of Clark county, eighth in order of birth of the eleven children born to Thomas C. and Ann (Botkin) Busbey, who came to Ohio from New England and located at South Vienna, in Clark county, where for years Thomas C. Busbey was engaged in teaching school. He and his wife also for some time conducted a hotel at South Vienna. Two of the eleven children born to him and his wife died in youth and eight of the surviving children followed their father's footsteps and made their start in life by teaching school. Of the five sons who lived all became journalists. The eldest of these sons, the late William H. Busbey, taught school for a while and began his journalistic career as a reporter on the Ohio State Journal at Columbus, in 1865. From there he went to Toledo and after some further newspaper experience in that city went to Chicago, where he became engaged as an editorial writer for the Inter Ocean, later becoming managing editor of that paper and later editor-in-chief, serving with the Inter Ocean until his death, a period of service covering thirty-five years. The next son, Hamilton Busbey, served as a soldier of the Union during the Civil War and after receiving his discharge from the army began working in the editorial department of the Louisvllle Courier, and while there became thoroughly qualified as a writer on matters relating to horses and the turf in general, later going to New York City, where he became a part owner and publisher of Turf, Field and Farm. During this period of his editorial activities Hamilton Busbey wrote a number of books and came to be recognized as an authority on the light-harness horse. Hamilton Busbey married a daughter of Governor Robinson, war governor of Kentucky, and at the time of the funeral of Abraham Lincoln he represented Kentucky in that solemn cortege. The next son, L. White Busbey, now an editorial writer on the Washington Herald, is best known throughout the country as the private secretary to "Uncle Joe" Cannon during the latter's incumbency as speaker of the national House of Representatives and as House parliamentarian during that incumbency. He began his career as a journalist on the Chicago Inter Ocean, later was made that paper's correspondent at Washington and while thus engaged became employed as Congressman Cannon's secretary, after which term of service he resumed newspaper work at the capital and has since been thus engaged there. Charles Sumner Busbey, the next son, also went to Chicago and was for years there engaged as associate editor of the Railway Review. He is now a member of the board of local improvements of that city, with headquarters in the city hall. The Hon. Thomas Addison Busbey, present senator from the eleventh Ohio senatorial district and now living retired at South Vienna after twenty-five years of continuous connection with the Railway Age at Chicago, went to Chicago in the spring of 1883 and there secured employment on the editorial staff of the Railway Age. He gradually advanced until he became the managing editor of the journal, becoming recognized throughout the country as an authority on subjects relating to transportation, legislation affecting the same and labor questions. Daniel Webster Busbey, the sixth son of this family, went to the front as a soldier of the Union during the Civil War and died at Nashville, Tennessee, while acting as provost marshal of that city. Henry Clay Busbey, the next son, died in infancy. The eldest daughter of the Busbey family is Mr. Rice's mother. The next daughter, Mrs. Lou M. Neer, is deceased; Mrs. Theodore Postle is living at Columbus, this state, and Miss Hattie Busbey is living at the old home.
Harry E. Rice was reared in a "bookish" atmosphere and the schooling received in the South Vienna schools was supplemented by the instructions he received at home. As a boy he took part in the local literary societies and debating contests carried on in connection with the village school and when fourteen years of age successfully passed the examination entitling him to a license to teach school, but he was so small the school trustee would not hire him. For three years he worked abouut his father's saw-mill and then, stimulated by the course his uncles had taken, decided to "break into the newspaper game." With this end in view he secured a position on the Springfield Republic, three months later going from that paper to the Springfield Daily Gazette and thence, after a while, to the Champion City Times and was connected with the latter paper when the Springfield Daily Democrat was launched in 1888. He accepted a position as a reporter on the new paper and gradually advanced his connection with that paper, becoming successively city editor, managing editor and then owner of the paper, and continued its publication until he sold the same in 1905 to James M. Cox, now governor of the state of Ohio. During his connection with the Democrat Mr. Rice organized and for some time operated the Rice News Bureau. He was for years a member of the Clark county Democratic executive committee and while at Springfield also served for six years as a member of the city board of health. During his residence at South Vienna he served for some time as captain of Harry Whittaker Camp of the Sons of Veterans and was also captain of a military company organized by that camp.
In 1906, not long after he sold the Springfield Democrat, Mr. Rice bought the Xenia Herald and Democrat-News, a once-a-week paper of general circulation throughout the sixth congressional district, and has ever since been directing the destinies of that newspaper, the Herald's editorial columns maintaining the principles of the Democratic party. During the first Wilson administration it was generally understood in informed political circles that Mr. Rice was "slated" for appointment to the post of United States minister to Portugal, but President Wilson had another appointee in mind and the Xenia editor's friends were disappointed in their expectations regarding Mr. Rice's reward for his long and unselfish labors in behalf of the party. A measure of reward came later, however, for on January 12, 1916, Mr. Rice received his commission as postmaster at Xenia and he has since occupied that position. Besides being a writer of forceful newspaper English, Mr. Rice has written considerable along more enduring lines, his notable book, "Eve and the Evangelist," published in 1908, having attracted wide attention and extensive newspaper comment. Mr. Rice also is possessed of a fine artistic taste and in other days did considerable toward developing his marked artistic talents, some of the oil paintings of bits of familiar scenery executed by him during the days of his boyhood displaying a promise of ability along that line which his friends regret he did not further cultivate. When fourteen years of age he delighted his family and friends by writing frequent bits of poetry and numerous short stories came from his ready pen in the days of his young manhood. He has an unpublished novel which his friends would like to see come out some day. In 1902 Mr. Rice undertook the ambitious project of writing a book under the title of "World Peace," in which he sought to set out the expressions of every ruler in the world along that line, but inquiries to that end failed to elicit any response from either the kaiser or the czar and he perforce was compelled to abandon the undertaking. In addition to his newspaper and other interests Mr. Rice is vice-president of the Springfield Theater Company, proprietors of the Columbia Theater at Springfield. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On June 10, 1895, Harry E. Rice was united in marriage to May King, who was born at Plymouth, this state, daughter of David B. and Nora (Hoffman) King, the former of whom, a Scottish Rite Mason, is still living, proprietor of a general store at Plymouth, and to this union three sons have been born, namely: Robert K., a former midshipman in the United States navy and now a quartermaster in the Naval Reserves; Harry E., Jr., who after his graduation from the Springfield high school .spent a year in Wittenberg College and in June, 1917. entered the United States Naval Academy as the "middy" appointee from this district, and David Busbey, who is a student in the Springfield high school. Mrs. Rice was graduated from Harcourt Place at Gambier, this state, and completed her schooling in Germany, where she took art and languages.
From Portrait and Biographical Album of Clark and Greene Counties, Chapman Bros., Chicago, published 1890