We live in Independence, Missouri, the home town of President Harry S. Truman. Jana has deep familial roots in the cities of Independence and Lone Jack, along with Jackson County in general and has family members buried in cemeteries throughout Jackson County and the metropolitan area. This is also the home city of the largest free standing genealogy library in the country and the World Headquarters for the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS).

From Jana: My husband regenerated my interest in genealogy in 2010, and now it has taken over our lives ;) I am amazed at how we are all connected in some way.

As of June, 2022 our joint tree has just over 12,000 family members. Even with 12 years of research, we are relatively new member to FAG, and we are learning new things every day about genealogy, grave hunting, record keeping, and all the resources available for us. And of course, correcting these rookie mistakes from our early years, is ongoing.

We have traveled to Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas to visit the cemeteries of several grandparents, including Henry Rice (6th GGF) and Hannah (Boone) Stewart-Pennington (7th GGM). I learned on that trip that two of my cousins have written books, one about their grandfather Marcellus Moss Rice and His Big Valley Kinsmen, and the other about Henry Rice, mentioned above. Both authors are my 2nd cousins, 4 times removed (they are first cousins to each other). It was a pleasure visiting the Museum of Appalachia, where my cousin John Rice Irwin is the founder, and has kept the spirit of our ancestors alive with his museum and artifacts of the region and his book about Marcellus. Thank you John :)

I have also met numerous cousins through FB, FG, and other medias through and it has been wonderful meeting them in person while traveling in the US.

Let me know if there is something I can do for you. That is what family is for.

The pictures I use come from a variety of sources. Some are personal photos, some are provided by other family members, some are from publications, and some are from other volunteers like us.

You are encouraged to ask permission before using any photos found here, or anywhere else, but my personal photos I will generally grant permission. Just send me an email if you would like to use a photo.

I believe by sharing the wealth of the ever-growing knowledge, we are rekindling the interests in our heritage. As much as we love technology, there was a lapse of a hundred years or so, where oral history and written records went to the wayside during the industrial revolution. Too many records were lost, as well as the interest of one's heritage. With technology's ease of access and evolving nature, we can reassemble our past, keep the spark burning brightly, and preserve our past for the future.

For Jana: The family surnames I am most interested in researching are listed below. Most are direct, but some are cousins:

Rice/Rhys/Rees
Grayer/MacGrayer
Cottingham
Himes/Hymes
Frisbey/Frisbie/Frisbee
Congleton
Hazlett
Bellamy
Irwin/Erwin
Dalton
Lewis
Boone
Bennett
Lee
Dandridge
Tucker
Cave
Dealy/Daily
Snow
Whyte/White
Johnson
Allen
Myers
Hanks
Younger
Dockman
Spaid
Frye
Starry
Eckman
Harman
Bailey

Phillip's family surnames are:
Sexton
Thompson
Duncan
Yancey
Phillips
Thomas
Strunk
Chambers
West
Weigt
Harwood
Pennington

Thanks for reading and thank you to all the hardworking volunteers that make this site so a joy.

Jana Johnson Thompson

Updated Fall 2022

We live in Independence, Missouri, the home town of President Harry S. Truman. Jana has deep familial roots in the cities of Independence and Lone Jack, along with Jackson County in general and has family members buried in cemeteries throughout Jackson County and the metropolitan area. This is also the home city of the largest free standing genealogy library in the country and the World Headquarters for the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS).

From Jana: My husband regenerated my interest in genealogy in 2010, and now it has taken over our lives ;) I am amazed at how we are all connected in some way.

As of June, 2022 our joint tree has just over 12,000 family members. Even with 12 years of research, we are relatively new member to FAG, and we are learning new things every day about genealogy, grave hunting, record keeping, and all the resources available for us. And of course, correcting these rookie mistakes from our early years, is ongoing.

We have traveled to Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas to visit the cemeteries of several grandparents, including Henry Rice (6th GGF) and Hannah (Boone) Stewart-Pennington (7th GGM). I learned on that trip that two of my cousins have written books, one about their grandfather Marcellus Moss Rice and His Big Valley Kinsmen, and the other about Henry Rice, mentioned above. Both authors are my 2nd cousins, 4 times removed (they are first cousins to each other). It was a pleasure visiting the Museum of Appalachia, where my cousin John Rice Irwin is the founder, and has kept the spirit of our ancestors alive with his museum and artifacts of the region and his book about Marcellus. Thank you John :)

I have also met numerous cousins through FB, FG, and other medias through and it has been wonderful meeting them in person while traveling in the US.

Let me know if there is something I can do for you. That is what family is for.

The pictures I use come from a variety of sources. Some are personal photos, some are provided by other family members, some are from publications, and some are from other volunteers like us.

You are encouraged to ask permission before using any photos found here, or anywhere else, but my personal photos I will generally grant permission. Just send me an email if you would like to use a photo.

I believe by sharing the wealth of the ever-growing knowledge, we are rekindling the interests in our heritage. As much as we love technology, there was a lapse of a hundred years or so, where oral history and written records went to the wayside during the industrial revolution. Too many records were lost, as well as the interest of one's heritage. With technology's ease of access and evolving nature, we can reassemble our past, keep the spark burning brightly, and preserve our past for the future.

For Jana: The family surnames I am most interested in researching are listed below. Most are direct, but some are cousins:

Rice/Rhys/Rees
Grayer/MacGrayer
Cottingham
Himes/Hymes
Frisbey/Frisbie/Frisbee
Congleton
Hazlett
Bellamy
Irwin/Erwin
Dalton
Lewis
Boone
Bennett
Lee
Dandridge
Tucker
Cave
Dealy/Daily
Snow
Whyte/White
Johnson
Allen
Myers
Hanks
Younger
Dockman
Spaid
Frye
Starry
Eckman
Harman
Bailey

Phillip's family surnames are:
Sexton
Thompson
Duncan
Yancey
Phillips
Thomas
Strunk
Chambers
West
Weigt
Harwood
Pennington

Thanks for reading and thank you to all the hardworking volunteers that make this site so a joy.

Jana Johnson Thompson

Updated Fall 2022