Hales Rice was born around 1821 in South Carolina to Sarah Rice. He moved to Georgia by the 1840s and married Elizabeth Rivers there on December 15, 1844. They had at least three children: Francis, born around 1846; James, born around 1837; and Arminda, born around 1850. They lived in Summerville, Georgia, and Rice worked as a farmer.
By 1850, he owned $300 of real estate. His wife probably died in the 1850s. By 1860, he was living in Chattooga Valley, Georgia, and he owned $600 of real estate and $200 of personal property. He married Elizabeth Swain in the early 1860s, and they had at least four children: Sarah, born around 1862; Hales, born around 1864; Ardella, born around 1868; and Henrietta, born around 1868. During the Civil War, he served in the 95th Georgia Militia Infantry, mustering in on May 4, 1861. He settled in Melville, Georgia, after the war and resumed his work as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $400 of real estate and $300 of personal property. He died sometime after 1880.