It is unknown who Jane Rhea's parents are, nothing solid to go on has been found, but Archibald Rhea and wife Susanna Luttrell are possibilities. One interesting fact about them is that Jane's husband Albert G. Lea was one of two men to "prove" the will for Archibald, so that at least shows Jane and her husband knew Archibald and his wife Susanna. The will was written Mar 1835 in Wilson County, Tenn.. Jane and Albert were living there at that time too. Unfortunately, Susanna's will names her children, all of the girls using their maiden names, and Jane is not named as one of the children. Is this because Jane is married???

We know from Jane's extensive obit, written by her son Archibald (also another clue that the above mentioned Archibald might be her father, to name her son after her father) all about her movements in early life from Virginia to Tennessee. Jane married Albert Gallatin Lea on August 15, 1832 in Wilson County, Tennessee. Albert was a farmer and also a Baptist Minister in Lebanon, Tennessee. He performed many marriage ceremonies. Jane and Albert had a total of eleven children, two of them died as infants, the oldest son, name unknown, died at age 16, and three others also preceded Jane in death. The known children are: Louisa, Mary O., Archibald Thomas, Sarah Aurilla, Martha Louisa, William Jordan, Cicero Brown and Margaret Isabella. Albert died in 1857 after 15 years of marriage.

In 1869 sons Archibald and William moved with their mother to Kansas City, Kansas. By 1870 they had all moved to Columbus, Kansas, where Jane lived the rest of her life. On December 13, 1871 in Columbus, Jane married James Vandevender. He was a Justice of the Peace in Columbus. James passed away in 1883.

On January 22, 1884 Jane married William Peters, but the marriage only lasted two years. Jane lived in a home on west Maple Avenue all during her time in Columbus, through her two marriages, and also died in this home.

Her son Archibald, who had stayed living in Columbus, was very close to his mother. He owned and operated the local newspaper, the "Columbus Weekly Advocate". Here are a few excerpts from his newspaper concerning his mother:
The Columbus Weekly Advocate (Columbus, Kansas) 25 Feb 1886, Thu Page 3

Yesterday evening about 6:30 Mrs. Jane Peters (mother of the writer hereof), caught her foot in a small wire, the ends which were buried in the ground, and fell heavily to the ground, striking her face and right elbow, resulting in a slight fracture and dislocation of that joint. The accident occurred near uncle Sam Meginity's, and parties witnessing the fall ran to her aid, assisted her to her feet and into uncle Sam's house, where she was kindly cared for until a carriage was procured, and she was taken to her residence. Dr. may, being near by, was called in, replacing the dislocated joint, and dressing the limb properly, making her as comfortable as could be expected under the circumstances, her now being in her 79th year. There is very little hope of her ever being able to have use of the elbow joint when she recovers, owning to the nature of the fracture.
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The Columbus Weekly Advocate (Columbus, Kansas) 18 Mar 1886, Thu Page 3

Residents of 1870

As we sat musing by the glare of the fire in the open grate this morning, our mind, by chance, wandered back to the Spring of 1870, and while ruminating through the dim visages of the past, we let our optics fall upon that page of history containing the names of the first settlers of this now beautiful city, and began to read name after name, and check off those who are still here, and out of that long list of those who settled and helped to build up Columbus and who has stayed by it to the present day, we could only count the following:.....................A. T. Lea, Mrs. Jane Peters............
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The Columbus Daily Advocate (Columbus, Kansas) 09 Nov 1886, Tue Page 3

A Pleasant Evening - We overlooked to mention in yesterday's daily a very interesting social event which occurred at the home of Mrs. Jane Peters on West Maple Avenue last Saturday evening.

It was the gathering of the lady friends and neighbors of Mrs. Peters, loaded down with all the good things of life, which were spread upon tables for the purpose of enjoying a regular old fashioned feast, and further to entertain Mother Peters in a way that would aid in smoothing from her brow the furrows of care which had been gathering there for half a century. And to recall from her fading memory the incidents of her early womanhood, away back more than three score years.

To her it was a happy event, though she be tottering around in her eightieth year, and while this gathering was not all together a surprise to her, in one sense of the word, yet the numbers who gathered there, of all ages, was something of a surprise to her, as she had been informed that only a few of her more intimate friends would be in to spend the evening with her. But there was one thing lacking to fill her measure of happiness, for out of six children now living, three sons and three daughters, only one son and one daughter were there to represent the family circle, the remaining four scattered in as many different states.
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The Columbus Weekly Advocate (Columbus, Kansas) 27 Oct 1887, Thu Page 3

Mrs. C.C. Clarke of Bentonville, Ark. arrived in the city last night and will spend several days visiting her mother, Mrs. Jane Peters, and the ADVOCATE family.
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The Columbus Weekly Advocate (Columbus, Kansas) 19 Apr 1888, Thu Page 1

Mrs. M. O. Turner of Minneapolis, Colorado, arrived in the city yesterday, called here by the illness of her mother, Mrs. Jane Peters.
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The Columbus Weekly Advocate (Columbus, Kansas) 14 Mar 1889, Thu Page 1

DIED - At her residence on west Maple Avenue, this city, after a brief illness, Tuesday morning, the 12th, at 2:35 o'clock, Mrs. Jane Peters, aged 81 years and 5 months.

Funeral services were held in the Presbyterian Church, Wednesday the 13th, at 2p.m., conducted by Rev. R. H. Sparks, assisted by Rev's Ferguson and Tout. At the close of the services at the church, her remains were conveyed to the city cemetery, followed by a large procession of friends, there to pay to one of the oldest and most respected citizens the last sad rites.

Deceased was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Nov. 14th, 1807. In the spring of 1811, she removed with her parents to Knox County, Tennessee, and there grew into womanhood. In 1827 she again moved with her parents to Wilson County, Tennessee, where in 1831 she was married to Albert G. Lea. The same year she united with the Baptist Church, to which religious organization she held fellowship up to 1838, when she moved into the city of Lebanon, where she united with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, to which organization she held fellowship up to 1872, when she, by letter, severed her connection with that church and soon after united with the Presbyterian Church of this city, to which she remained a member up to the time of her death.

To her first marriage union were born eleven children, four boys and seven girls. Two died in infancy. The oldest, a son, was accidentally killed at the age of sixteen years. Five girls and three boys all lived to be grown and married, as follows: Louisa, to W. T. Calloway, died, 1863; Mary, to Reuben Turner, now a resident of Trinidad, Colorado; A. T., (the writer) to Margaret Newton in 1864, resident of Columbus; Sarah A., to N. T. Davenport, now a resident of Joliet, Illinois; Martha L., to C. C. Clarke, now a resident of Bentonville, Arkansas; C. B., (or Brownie) to Dot Lee, 1886, now a resident of Ouray, Colorado; Belle to S. E. Ratekin, died, 1869.

In 1848, she, with her family, moved from Tennessee to Warren County, Illinois, and two years following, to Abingdon, Knox County, Illinois, and from Abingdon to Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois, in 1857. Three months following, her husband, the father of her children, A. G. Lea, died. In 1869, in company with her sons, A. T. and William J., she moved to Kansas City, but in October, 1870, in company with her sons, she again moved, this time to this city, where in 1871, she was married to James Vendevender, and they together started out in life anew, and established the comfortable home in which she continued to live up to the time of her death. February 17th, 1883, James Vandevender died. In November 1884 she married William Peters, with whom she lived but two years.

*above is a portion of the long obituary written by her son Archibald Thomas Lea*