Thomas Rice (Massachusetts politician, born 1654)

[1] He was the grandson of Edmund Rice, a 1638 immigrant from England and founder of Sudbury.

Rice's brother Jonas was an early resident and founder of Worcester.

[3] Rice's home was a fortified garrison house that was used by area settlers for refuge from Indian raids during King Philip's War 1675-1676.

[3] During Queen Anne's War in 1704, two of Rice's sons, Adonijah and Ashur, were abducted from a flax field in Marlborough by Mohawk raiders from Canada.

[1] He represented the Town of Marlborough in the Great and General Court of Massachusetts, the colonial legislature in Boston in 1715 and 1716.

Plaque memorializing the death of one and capture of four Rice boys from a flax field with the inscription, "In the Field South of this Spot August 8, 1704 Indians Killed Nahor and Captured Ashur, Adonijah, Silas and Timothy Rice." Thomas Rice's sons included Ashur and Adonijah. The other children were sons of Thomas Rice's cousin Edmund Rice, residing nearby. The monument is located in Westborough, Massachusetts , near Westborough High School at global coordinates 42°15′57″N 71°37′05″W  /  42.265712°N 71.617979°W  / 42.265712; -71.617979 .