The Olivia Johns Rice Collection is composed of 660 items in five boxes.

Box 1: Contains 316 items documenting the personal, professional, and family life of Olivia Johns Rice between 1902 and 1973. The materials primarily consist of correspondence, legal and financial documents, educational records, church membership materials, printed items, and personal ephemera. The correspondence includes letters exchanged with members of the Johns and Rice families, particularly her father, Rev. Redding B. Johns, and with Peyton R. Hazard regarding the management of his summer home. Several letters are addressed to Frank H. C. Rice. Also included are newspaper clippings dated 1940–1964; two copies of riddles written by Isaac Rice Sr.; and a copy of a letter sent to Olivia Johns Rice from W. E. B. Du Bois. Church-related materials include letters and membership cards from Union Congregational Church in Newport, Rhode Island, dated 1925–1966. Writings include a history of poet Paul Laurence Dunbar authored by Rice for her class, incorporating information attributed to Dunbar’s son. Legal and financial records include documents concerning the estate of her aunt, Mary E. Barney (1959); a civil court document in Wayne C. Woodmansee and Donna M. Woodmansee v. Heirs of Bethany Robinson and Lucy M. Rice et als. (1979); checks and receipts issued by the Hazard family (1916–1939); and a shipping receipt from the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company. Also present is a 1924 adoption agreement transferring custody of Barbara Helen Wordell, daughter of Lilian Rice, to Annie and Thomas Stevenson of New London, Connecticut. Educational records include documents pertaining to Rice’s grandson, Harrison Murphy, such as an eighth-grade report card from Thomas H. Clarke School (1951–1952), a Rodgers Chemistry Club membership card (1956), and a Rodgers High School diploma. Additional educational materials include: a 1902 commencement program from the Joseph K. Brick School; a 1907–1908 program from Lincoln Academy; a page from the American Missionary Association annotated by Rice concerning her schooling; commencement invitations for Howard University (1913) and Yale University (1918); and a fundraising letter to alumni of Lincoln Academy. Agricultural and household records include inspection and accreditation reports from the United States Department of Agriculture concerning nine cows owned by Rice (1928–1958); orders for egg incubators; a legal agreement between Benjamin E. Hull and Rice related to cattle breeding; and grocery receipts dated 1914–1924. Personal items include an address book belonging to Rice; business cards for Paul Johns, Miss Lois Johns, James L. Lewis, and Gregory Reed of the Afro-American Cultural Art Center, Inc.; a ticket for the 1963 Jamestown Historical Society “Johnny Cake and Sausage Day”; and Rice’s personal identification documents, including a blood typing card, Social Security card, voter registration card, Blue Cross benefits card, and Children’s Bureau weight cards for her daughters Lois and Olivia. A newspaper clipping depicting Rice’s home is also included. Documents relating to Jamestown, Rhode Island, include tax receipts; political candidate lists for local offices; a 1925 memo from the Town Clerk offering Frank H. C. Rice a Special Police appointment; a certificate of ownership for a sewing machine; receipts from carpenter Ralph G. H. Hull; and a 1973 acknowledgement of a memorial donation to the Jamestown Ambulance Building Fund following Rice’s death. Also included are postcards and invitations dated 1905–1978; a collection of envelopes dated 1898–1973; a weekly menu written on the back of an envelope; recipes clipped from a Hires Root Beer advertisement; two muffin recipes from Rice’s personal cookbook; coupons for Bufceco Oats Cereal; and an advertisement for poultry for hatching and raising. Finally, the box includes a cataloging index from the previous archiving of these documents describing items in Boxes 1–5, along with photocopies of most documents in this box and photocopies of additional Rice family materials for which no originals are present in the collection.

Box 2–3: Contains a total of 312 photographs and tintypes arranged alphabetically by subject (A–W). Subjects include family members, animals, portraits, and group photographs, including images of unidentified individuals. Box 4: Contains 27 items documenting the domestic, agricultural, and personal interests of the Rice family. Materials include the personal cookbook of Olivia Johns Rice; a receipt book dated 190_; a set of No-Show Lace Collar Supporters; a pamphlet by J. H. Kellogg promoting the health benefits of oranges; and an order book for eggs and milk. Also present are several books, pamphlets, and manuals on the care, feeding, breeding, and hatching of chickens and ducks dating from 1914 to 1924, along with promotional recipe booklets from Sunkist, Burt Olney’s Canning, Minute Tapioca, Gelatine, Malted Cereal Coffee, and Jelly Crystals. Additional items include an unused photograph-album page; a promotional pamphlet for Great White Frost Refrigerators; a book on mathematical shorthand; and a laundry manual distributed with Fels-Naphtha soap. A baby-care book published in 1906 by Ivory Soap contains handwritten information on Lois Rice from 1913. The box also includes a 1932 church handbook of daily prayers and Sunday School guidance; a dime saver from Citizens Savings Bank in Providence, Rhode Island; and a cancelled bank book belonging to Olivia J. Rice from the Savings Bank of Newport with entries from 1919 to 1933. Other materials include a fact book on President Herbert Hoover and the Republican administration produced in 1932 by the Women’s Division of the Republican National Committee; a tourist guidebook to Jamestown and Newport, Rhode Island; a pamphlet from Hood Sarsaparilla and Pills describing ailments and treatments; a 1917 yearbook and almanac with information on poultry care; and a personal phonebook belonging to Olivia J. Rice.

Box 5: Contains five hair keepsakes, including one braided piece and three tied with ribbon. All samples are black or dark brown in color.