In the first episode of a periodic series on Texans you should know, learn about the interesting, active and controversial life of General Thomas Jefferson Chambers. Lawyer, surveyor, judge, land baron. Chambers had an entrepeneurial spirit and a nose for a deal. Was he a smart business man or an unscrupulous dealer? No matter what you conclude, he is certainly a Texan you should know!
General Thomas Jefferson Chambers
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5 comments on “Ep. 16: Texans You Should Know: Gen. Thomas Jefferson Chambers”
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Judge-
Thank you so much….loved the Thomas Jefferson Chambers program. Excellent!
Thanks!
Judge, My name is Sheryl Shaw, I am the chairman of the Chambers Co Historical Commission… thank you for featuring our namesake on your program… the question you pose was the subject of a reenactment we performed last year on the 150th anniversary of his assassination.. we set it up like a funeral in the yard of the Chambers home, with a eulogy telling about his life, the reenactment of the shot, Judge Tommy Chambers of Liberty played the part of the General (he is a collateral descendant of the General)… we had civil war reenactors paying tribute to him, the Sons of the Republic of Texas and a cannon, a band and a soulful rendition of Dixie… We had the ghost of Obrien stand up in protestation during the eulogy, saying ‘wait a minute, before you make him out to be a hero, listen to this…” and told of the killing, then i, as his widow, stood up and told good stuff about him….. It ended with the eulogist proposing that same question: Hero, or scoundrel? and the answer was…A bit of both it seems….. ANYWAY thank you and I will keep you in mind as a speaker…. and I would like to propose a very interesting female Chambers County “Texan you should know”….. Sarah Ridge Paschal Pix… buried in Smith Point… daughter of the Cherokee chief Major Ridge, instigator of the Trail of Tears…. OK by and thanks… Check out our Facebook page as well… Chambers County Historical Commission…. thank you, sheryl
Hi Sheryl–I’m from Baytown and was once a docent at the Heritage Society in Houston (the old homes in Sam Houston Park downtown Houston) in the early ’90s. I once heard that, when Chambers was shot, it was in the heart and the bullet went through-and-through and into a portrait of him, landing in the heart region of the painting. That was all pre-internet, when we actually got our information from libraries–or word of mouth– and now, in the age of Google, I cannot find anything to confirm that legend. I was hoping to tell a co-worker that story in a Zoom staff meeting this morning. It was such a fun fact, and he had brought up a weird painting/photo story in yesterday’s meeting.
I’m so sorry but I just saw this. It’s true that Chambers was shot through and through and the bullet lodged in his portrait but I don’t think in the heart. I saw it years ago at the San Jacinto museum. Sorry for the late reply.