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Æ 76 Years, 9 Months, 5 Days - Heart Disease - per Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982
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Thomas Andrew was the fourth born child of nine known children and the third born son of seven born to James T. Chamberlain and Sarah Runnels Oliphant Barton.

He married Mariah Louise "Maria" Bumgardner on 22 March 1871 in Burnet, Burnet, Texas. Together they had nine known children.

As a young man he was a teacher and farmer in Burnet, Burnet, Texas. When he reached the age of majority, he was elected Burnet County Surveyor, a position he held for more than fifty years.
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OBITUARY

CHAMBERLAIN, Thomas A. - (1849 - 1926)

Burnet Bulletin, 17 July 1926; contributed by Barry Caraway

Uncle Tom Chamberlain Answers the Last Roll Call, By L. C. C.

Uncle Tom Chamberlain died Friday, June 11th, 1926, in Falfurrias, Texas, at the home of his son L. L. Chamberlain, whom he had been visiting for about two weeks previous to his death. His body was brought to Burnet for burial and was interred Monday afternoon in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, with Masonic honors. The funeral service was held at the Methodist Church, conducted by Rev. C. C. McKinney, pastor of the M. E. Church, assisted by Rev. Truett Blaylock, pastor of the Baptist Church, and Silas Howell, pastor of the Church of Christ.

The ladies of the Eastern Star, of which order Uncle Tom was a member, were in charge of the church decorations, and the body lying in state banked by the profusion of beautiful flowers and lovely pot plants, made the most impressive scene ever viewed at a funeral at this place. Its loveliness and solemity are beyond the pen of any writer, and to add to the impressiveness of the occasion every one present in the overflowing church knew that the beautiful arrangement of every detail of the occasion was the result of a labor of love by every one of the many who assisted. As Bro. McKinney and Silas Howell spoke of Uncle Tom, his life, the love the people had for him, and the courage, humanity and strength of character with which he faced and conquered every problem of the many he had to face during his long and active life, their remarks met with a spontaneous approval from every listener that is seldom felt by an audience so vast in its proportions. It was easy to say kind and good things about Uncle Tom.

The active pallbearers were: M. Z. Glimp, L. Debo, C. S. Shipp, Billy Koon, Joe Pangle and O. B. Zimmerman. The ushers were Clain and Vert Gibbs.

T. A. Chamberlain was born in Jefferson County Missouri, September 6th, 1848, making at the time of his death 76 years, 9 months and 5 days of age. With his father's family he moved to Texas in 1849. The long journey was made in wagons drawn by oxen. The family first settled near the present town of Manor, where they lived for about three years. They then moved to what is now Karnes County, but which was then unorganized, where they remained until some time during the Civil War, when they moved to Round Rock, and in the year 1865 moved to Burnet County, where Uncle Tom has resided almost continuously since. Shortly after reaching his majority he was elected County Surveyor of Burnet County, and from then until his death, had probably served in this capacity for more than 50 years. He had few advantages in school, but studying at home and possessing a natural aptitude along that line he developed into a mathematician with few equals and no superiors anywhere. Over a wide area of this section of the State, Uncle Tom worked at his avocation as surveyor and early in life was recognized by the general public as a man of superior ability along his chosen line. Because of this ability, his unswerving integrity, courage to hew to the line regardless of consequences and personal popularity, he built up a name as surveyor that will live in the chronicles of Burnet and adjoining counties for years after many of us are forgotten.

In March 1871, Uncle Tom was united in marriage to Miss Maria Bumgardner, and his faithful, courageous helpmate still survives him, as do also the following sons and daughters: Lyman Chamberlain of Falfurrias, Mrs. Roy Fry of Burnet, John B. Chamberlain of Bertram, Mrs. Gordon Mackay of Lampasas, Mrs. B. H. Robinson of El Paso and Mrs. Dotson Cauley of El Paso. All of the children were at their father's funeral. He is also survived by one sister, Mrs. J. M. Livingston of Spicewood, and four brothers: Rev. L. S. Chamberlain of Dallas, D. N. Chamberlain of Throckmorton County, L. W. Chamberlain of Haskell and B. B. Chamberlain of Canyon City, Texas.

In his talk at the church, Silas Howell said that he had known Uncle tom since his earliest recollection, and that he was as pure as the driven snow, and incapable of a mean, or dishonest, or unworthy act. I have known Uncle Tom twice as long as Mr. Howell has lived. His two sons, Lyman and Jerry, the latter now deceased, were about my age and for many years it was the delight of our hearts with my own brothers to be thrown together in play. I have spent scores of days and nights in Uncle Tom's home and he was the same unobtrusive gentleman, kind neighbor, forbearing father, upright Christian gentleman 40 or 45 years ago that he was yesterday. I presume that most boys who have a good father think he is the best man in the world. I thought when a lad, I think now, and I always will believe that my father, John T. Chamberlain, whose memory I know many of the readers of this sketch still revere, was one of the best men that ever lived. He did not possess the even temperament that Uncle Tom had, but his character was as a shining star and never dimmed by an act of deed unworthy of the highest type of Christian gentleman. As Uncle Tom's body rested in the beautiful church scene, I thought of these two men. Neither of them ever gained great wealth in this world's goods, neither of them climbed high in the political, social or religious world, but each of them left behind a memory that is cherished by their children and children's children, that will be handed down in the family to generations yet unborn. I had rather be the son of such a father than to possess any thing this world may give. I hope my boy Bill may say the same for me when I have joined my father and Uncle Tom.

Not only was Uncle Tom loved by the older people, but the younger boys and girls and even the children looked up to him with love and respect. Indicating this was a short article read by Bro. McKinney at the funeral service from the Burnet High School Annual; written by Jesse Pogue, a this year's graduate and which was published in this paper a few weeks ago. A little boy, no relation to the family and perhaps not more than ten years of age, stopped me last Saturday and said: "Mr. Chamberlain, is Uncle Tom dead?" I replied that he was. The little fellow's eyes filled with tears and he said: "Uncle Tom was one of the best men that ever lived."

Silas Howell read a tribute to Uncle Tom at the funeral service, written three years ago by L. B. Russell of Comanche, and which was published by the Comanche Enterprise at that time. Mr. Russell and Uncle Tom were raised together in Karnes County as the article will show. It is a sermon as well as a tribute, and is as follows:

"A Beautiful Character"

"So far as I know, there is but one person living whom I have known and who has known me seventy years, and it is a great pleasure to me to be able to say that that man is one of the finest character I have known during the entire seventy years.

We went to school together from the first school I ever attended in 1857 until about 1863. He is from eighteen months to two years older than I, but we were in the same classes from the beginning. He had attended a session or two before I began, but I had been taught at home, and we were both well advanced for our age. We were put in McGuffey's old Fourth Reader togethr in this first school association, and in Mitchell's High School Geography, which had an atlas separatly accompanying it, and in Smith's Grammar.

"One difference between us was that I had not learned to write the letters of the alphabet, while he was "ciphering" in Ray's big arithmetic and at the next session, when he was about ten years old he was figuring in Davies' school Algebra.

"This personal reminiscense is not given merely for idle display of my own experience. Notwithstanding there was a vast difference in our temperaments and impulses, we were always very much attached to each other, and the point I am making in writing this is, that he exerted a wonderful saving influence upon me during our boyhood.

"I was inclined to wildness and was easily led by bad company. It got me into quite a number of scrapes, but never so long as I was with him. He was redheaded, freckeled faced and quiet; I was black-haired, tanned like a Mexican and boisterous. He led me into the Methodist Church when I was eight years of age, and he about ten, and he didn't have to change his ways, while I did, or at least, it was necessary that I should. We were associated together until we were both nearly grown, and I never heard from him a by-word of profanity or an indecent word of obscenity. He seemed to have been born religious, though he was not at all unappreciative of fun, as he had a well defined sense of innocent humor. I don't remember that he ever protested or advised against some of my foolish ways, but there was something about him which, when I got off wrong made me feel ashamed for him to know it.

"He left Karnes County about the close of the Civil War and moved, with his father's family to Burnet, where he has been living ever since. Probably for fifty years he has been the County Surveyor of that county, and I believe he still holds the position. He has been clean and pure in word and thought and action during all the three-score and ten years of our acquaintance, clean as a hound's tooth. He was on a farm from the time I first knew him, and he has farmed pretty much of the time since he grew up.

"What I mention all this for is to call the attention of the boys and girls of the present generation to the beauty of CHARACTER, and its influence. Tom Chamberlain--that is the man--has been to me during all these years a kind of standard measure. Many a time when I have been tempted to go wrong I have asked myself, "what would Tom Chamberlain do?" And I have always known what Tom would do-he would do the RIGHT thing. If it took the hair off and the bone out.

"Boys and girls! Can you think of anything more beautiful or more desirable to crown an happy life in its old age than to be able to say as I can of Tom, that he never swore, never uttered ribald jokes, never drank or used tobacco, never gambled, and never did any act during life unworthy of a gentleman? That is Tom Chamberlain." --L. B. Russell in the Comanche Enterprise.

Goodbye, Uncle Tom--no more will the people of Burnet meet you and receive your cheery smile and kind greeting, but we all know where you are, and joy at the reward that is yours is mixed with the sorrow that we feel at your departure.
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