William Marsh Rice Rice was a penniless young man when he left Massachusetts to start a new life in Texas in the early 19th century.

Within a decade of his move, his success in business would make him one of the richest men in Texas.

Rice was the founder of the William Rice Institute, which we know as Rice University.

His legacy is a complicated one. His story of wealth intersects

with a slave economy in Texas and the story surrounding his death is

questioned to this day. Was he murdered or did the man who confessed

to killing him get there too late? Had Rice already died of natural causes?

Welcome to Southern Mysteries, exploring history and mysteries of the American South.

I'm your host, Shannon Ballard.

This is the mystery of the mysterious murder of William Marsh Rice.

William Rice was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1816.

The third of ten children, Rice left school at the age of 15

to work as a clerk at a general store.

A Rice found he had a natural talent for business.

At the age of 19, his father agreed to co-sign a loan,

which enabled him to purchase the store from the owner.

In 1838, the 22-year-old made the decision to head west for new opportunities on the frontier.

He packed up the stock of his store and shipped it by sea.

He traveled to Houston by land and by the time he arrived he learned that stock

everything he owned had been lost at sea

William Rice had to start over in a frontier town. He went back to work as a clerk in a general store. But his business skills helped him quickly turn things around.

Within a matter of years, Bryce was prospering and formed a business partnership with

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