Quote Originally Posted by Tim Little View Post
I'd echo what Todd said in terms of doing the legwork on your genealogy, but I'd also throw out the possibility that the surname "Rice" might derive from the Welsh "Rhys"....
Indeed. I have forebears in KY/VA dating from that time frame who spelled their name in a variety of ways over three generations: Priest, Price, Preece, and Prees (the original Welsh spelling, dating to 1710).

Thank goodness for Mr. Dan'l Webster and standardized spelling! (Though it seems to be falling off again as people become lazy/reliant upon "spell check" - or simply don't care to learn the correct spelling and usage of the language they're trying to communicate in. That's a whole other topic/rant.)