Sarah Jane (Peeler) Houston Rice, a courageous pioneer woman, was the daughter of Joseph Peeler, the Tennessee preacher, and Sarah Jane Allgood. On Dec 21 1849, at the age of 17, she married William L Houston, the younger brother of her neighbor, James Houston. In 1857, William and Sarah moved to Salem, Missouri with their two children. Soon the war and the brutal conflict in Missouri overtook their small family. In 1862 John, the 20-year-old brother of their neighbor, James S Rice, a family of non-combatants and United Baptist preachers, was murdered by soldiers as a spy in front of the children in the family, including their youngest brother George. Then Sarah's husband enlisted with the Union forces along with his brother-in-law, Henry Rumfelt, perhaps to avoid the same fate. Two months later, Sarah's youngest son, aged two, died of burns. One month later she received word that William had died. Along with this news, she received William's bible containing his note to her that when she received his bible he would be "gone."

William likely died of the cholera which also killed his sister, Elizabeth Jane(Houston)Rumfelt, and her husband William and 3 children in November 1862 in Texas Co MO (mem #17966195). William Rumfelt's brother Henry lived next door to William and Sarah in Dent County, and though Henry served throughout the War, his parents and his wife took in Elizabeth's surviving sons. Elizabeth's eldest son, John Houston Rumfelt, was likely named for his grandfather.

William had been buried the same day he died at Jefferson Barracks in St Louis. She would not see him again. Sarah was now truly alone in a war-torn state with three children and a farm. Her nearest family was in Tennessee. Her neighbor and local preacher, James Rice, had also recently lost his spouse and had two small children. Sarah and James teamed up and quickly married on Feb 17 1863. Together they raised these five children, and together they had five more.

A few years after the war that had so altered their lives, the daughter of Sarah and William, Margaret Jane, married James' youngest brother, George. They were so young to marry at ages 16 and 18, they lived the next few years with his parents. Their children would always fondly refer to James as their "Uncle Jimmy."

Joseph, the son of Sarah and William and aged 11 when his father died, survived to marry and work his father's farm. He would have three sons and three daughters of his own. His eldest son would become a lawyer. He named his daughter Sarah.