Researched and written by Harriet Robinson, June 2000

Abraham Joseph Rice was born Abram Joseph Reiss in 1800 in Gochsheim, Unterfranken, Bavaria (Bayern). He was an orthodox rabbi, who came to the United States with is wife and sister in 1840. Settling in Baltimore, Rabbi Rice was the first ordained rabbi in the U.S. Much of his story is related in The First Rabbi, by Rabbi Harold Sharfman (1989).

For the descendant chart, photos and stories about the family members, click on the links above.

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