Elizabeth Rice was the mother of
Bernard Rice, an Irish-born miner working in
British Columbia.
Peter Brunton Whannell, Justice of the Peace at
Fort Yale, informed Elizabeth of her son's murder in a letter sent on
14 January 1859. The
despatch indicates that
Bernard's body was found with
a Bill for £20… a Bag Containing Gold Dust value 69 Dollars and 50 Cents--In Silver
Coin One Dollar & 85 Cents and a Colt Revolver
,
along with his other possessions that were sold for 91 dollars.
Whannell told Elizabeth that he would retain the possessions
until he should hear from [her].
Elizabeth wrote back to
Whannell immediately but received no response. She tried instead to contact
Whannell through
Simpson Musgrave and
Thomas Williams, two friends of
Bernard's who had also sent her a letter regarding his death, so that she could acquire her
son's property. There is no record in the despatch collection of a response from the Colonial Office
to Elizabeth.