Alexander H. Rice

Alexander Hamilton Rice was an American politician and businessman from Massachusetts. He served as Mayor of Boston from 1856 to 1857, a U.S. Congressman during the American Civil War, and as the 30th Governor of Massachusetts from 187678. He was part owner and president of RiceKendall, one of the nations largest paper products distributors.

Alexander Hamilton Rice was born in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts, to Thomas and Lydia Rice, on August 30, 1818. His father, a Brighton native, owned a paper manufacturing business in Newton, and both parents had deep colonial roots. He was first educated in the Newton public schools, and then at private schools in Needham and Newton. He first clerked at a Boston dry goods store, and then apprenticed in the Boston paper distributor Wilkins, Carter, and Company in Boston. In 1840 he entered Union College in Schenectady, New York, graduating as class valedictorian in 1844. He was injured in a fall from a horse in 1844, after which he gave up thoughts of pursuing a career in law, and decided to focus on business.

Source: Wikipedia