During this time he was a member of the Mercantile Library Association, in company with such men as Edwin P. Whipple, James T. Fields, Thomas R. Gould, afterward the distinguished sculptor, and many others who were, active participants in its affairs, and who have become eminent in literature or in public life.  Young Rice was a careful student in the association, though sharing less frequently in its exercises than some others.  His decided literary tastes finally led him to resolve upon the enlargement of his education by a collegiate course of study.  He accordingly entered Union College, Schenectady, New York, then under the presidency of the venerable Dr. Eliphalet Nott, where he was graduated in 1844, receiving the highest honors of his class on Commencement Day.  His classmates bear testimony to the fact that his career in college was in the highest degree honorable to himself and to the institution of which he was one of the most respected and popular members.

At the time of his graduation his purpose was to study law and to pursue it as a profession; but soon afterward delicate health interposed a serious obstacle, and a favorable offer of partnership in business with his former employers induced him to join them in the firm which then became known as Wilkins, Carter, and Company, the senior member of which was a graduate of Harvard College, and, at one time, a member of its Faculty.  The present firm of Rice, Kendall, and Company, of which he is the senior member, is its representative to-day, and is widely known as one of the largest paper-warehouses in the country.

In 1845, Mr. Rice married Miss Augusta E. McKim, daughter of John McKim, Esq., of Washington, District of Columbia, and sister of Judge McKim, of Boston, a highly-educated and accomplished lady, who died on a voyage to the West Indies, in 1868, deeply lamented by a large circle of acquaintances and friends, to whom she had become endeared by a life of beneficence and courtesy.

After his graduation from college, Mr. Rice, having again engaged in mercantile business, pursued it with great earnestness, fidelity, and success.  These qualities, together with his intellectual culture and his engaging address, eminently fitted him for public service, and early attracted favorable attention.  He first served the city of Boston as a member of its school-board, in which capacity he gave much personal attention to the schools in all their various interests.  To his duties in connection with the public schools were soon added those of a trustee of the lunatic hospital and other public institutions.