The Reverand Jacob "Uncle Jake" Chamberlain lived a full 107 years from 1798 to 1905, and in farmed his small 30 acre tract of land southeast of McKinney and preached the gospel in his final years. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living person in Collin County, Texas. He was born into slavery in Grainger County, Tennessee, three miles down the Holston River from Horseshoe Bend where Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Indians. Jake was taken to Lexington, Missouri by his master, Jeremiah Chamberlain, and sold to Joseph Fisher, who brought him to Texas and Collin County where he was sold to Joe Dixon. Jake was finally purchased by Elder Joseph Bryce Wilmeth, a minister and Collin county pioneer. Elder Wilmeth gave Jake and his family their freedom during the Civil War for faithful service protecting the Wilmeth women and children while all the men were away fighting for the Confederacy. Jake was married five times. His last marriage to Mary was officiated by Elder J. R. Wilmeth, a son of J. B. Most notable among Jake's many achievements was his having been a teacher at the Freedmen's School, the first McKinney school for African-Americans education. He preached the gospel for 75 years as a Baptist minister, serving in several congregations. He took great pride in having lived in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. He passed away on his birthday, June 10, 1905. Jake's headstone was paid for and erected by the Throckmorton Chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in McKinney, TX in respect for "Uncle Jake" and the life he lived. His wife and family later moved to Sherman, Texas by 1930 and some children appear to have changed their surnames to Chambers. For more information, contact the Collin County Historic Preservation Group, Inc. at 972.562.4052 or by email at [email protected] . (2011)