JAMES MONROE and MARIAM
(JOHNSON) CHAMBLISS
"Our Grandparents
By Richard
Melton
James Monroe Chambliss, was born
November 26, 1848 in Many, Sabine Parish, LA. He came to Texas with his
parents, Mr. Greenberry Young and Mary Fisher Chambliss in 1852. They
settled in Sabine, Van Zandt County, TX, in what was referred to as
Chambliss Corner. Mr. Chambliss served as a Methodist Circuit Minister,
often going to deliver his sermon to his congregation by way of
horseback or on foot through the pine forests of East Texas. James
Monroe had six brothers: Henry, Vergal T. ("Bunk"), Sam
Houston, Lorenzo Dow, Winfield Scott, Greenberry, Jr., and one sister,
Mrs. John (Alice) Harlien. He married Mariam Johnson August 17,
1877.
Mariam was born in Grayson County, Texas, the daughter of John and Eliza
Johnson, who later moved to Hamilton
County.
James and Mariam began their married
life on a farm not far from Hamilton where eight of their 10 children
were born. The farm was later sold (1888 - 1891) to the County of
Hamilton and this became the County Farm. James and his family moved in
1891 to another farm not far away known by the family as the "Old
Home Place". This farm was located near present day Blue Ridge .
The remaining children were born on this farm. James and Mariam's
children were: Ethel, Adah, Molissie, May, James Miriam, Edgar, Walter,
Gould, and Homer.
James Monroe was an eminent citizen of
Hamilton County and a farmer of notable success. He was one of the
twelve citizens who realized the need for educational opportunities for
the children of Blue Ridge, four miles south of Hamilton, settled around
1878. Plans were made for the erection of a school building and it was
ready by the fall of 1879. Their children attended this school and they
lived in the Old Home the remainder of their lives.
James Monroe Chambliss died March 31,
1918, and Mariam died July 28, 1932. In 1956 James and Mariam Chambliss
were parents of four children, the grandparents of thirty-five grand
children, and seventy-four great and great great granchildren still
living.
Note:
Greenbury Chambliss lived near Hamilton and was visiting his sister
Cynthia Thompson in Hood County in 1881 when he passed away. He was
buried in Acton Cemetery in Acton, Texas. Mr. Chambliss also taught
school in the Chambliss Corner region of Van Zandt County in the 1860's."