As told by Jessica Jewett for Michael Jewett.

Physical comparison of Michael Jewett and Tom Chamberlain.

Tom Chamberlain once told his wife that he believed he was born to be unlucky. This has been an attitude very difficult for his soul to shake, since he, at times, still believes in that statement in one way or another even before he knew that he once lived in 19th century Maine. By the time Tom was born on April 29, 1841, his parents were fast approaching middle-age and he was the last of five children – four boys and one girl in total. He enjoyed a rather close relationship with the oldest brother, Joshua Lawrence, who called him "little rogue" for his tendency to get into trouble in the pursuit of fun. He was not a healthy child and often suffered from chest ailments that often left him bedridden and debilitated for months on end. Regardless of his poor health, he soldiered on from an early age and stubbornly wanted to live life on his own terms in spite of strict religious upbringing his older parents enforced on their children.

While Tom's older brothers went off to college and moved on to mostly successful careers, he did not go to college and he did not seem to have any direction. He was prone to losing interest in things when they were not going his way and in his younger years, he was easily led by poorly chosen friends. Tom was the black sheep of the family, the drifter, who everyone loved dearly but were always concerned about his future. He drifted from job to job in his pre-Civil War life, eventually settling as a clerk in a grocery store in Bangor, Maine, owned by Frank Sabine.

Not long after one of his older brothers, Horace, died of tuberculosis, the Civil War broke out and Tom, looking for some excitement in his young life, wanted to volunteer. He very nearly took a lieutenant position in the 16th Maine Volunteer Regiment in the late spring of 1862, however, his aging mother could not stomach the loss of another son, so he passed on the opportunity in order to stay home and help his family with the farm. When his oldest brother, Lawrence, was commissioned a lieutenant colonel of the 20th Maine Volunteer Regiment, Tom took his opportunity and eventually his parents relented and allowed him to join the fight. Lawrence had tried to place his youngest brother in the position of quartermaster sergeant in order to try and keep him safe during the war but the position went to someone else and Tom rose from private to sergeant and so forth throughout the war until he was mustered out as lieutenant colonel of the 20th Maine, the very position that his brother had occupied upon entering the Army. His time in the military was the most fulfilling and happiest of his life, although it is largely believed that he suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder after leaving the military at the conclusion of the Civil War. Posttraumatic stress disorder was not a diagnosable condition in the nineteenth century and condition being left untreated made Tom suffer even more with discontent, drinking, aimlessness and unhappiness for the rest of his life.

Physical comparison of Michael Jewett and Tom Chamberlain.

During Tom's youth, he had a bit of a reputation for being flirtatious and enjoying the company of ladies more so than his older brothers. It wasn't until after the Civil War when he decided to marry, having fallen in love with his brother's widow, Delia Farley Jarvis Chamberlain. She was first John Calhoun Chamberlain's wife but she became close to Tom while they nursed John through the illness that eventually killed him in 1867. They were close friends until 1869 when things turned romantic and they were married in Boston on December 14, 1870. He wanted to have children but it appears that Delia was infertile having never conceived a child for either of her marriages. Their marriage was based in love but rather difficult at times due to Tom's inability to find a career that he could settle upon and be successful. His aimlessness often left Delia alone and unable to make ends meet without his income. Even through all of what other people called laziness, drunkenness and irresponsibility, Delia remained his greatest champion and she always stood up for him. She was his rock. Various employment opportunities took him to Boston, New York and Florida among other places in the last decades of his life. He died at the age of 55 on August 12, 1896.

Later in 1984, Tom returned under the name of Michael Jewett. He was also raised by older parents who were fast approaching middle-age at the time of his birth and also raised him under the strictest of circumstances. Michael was known as a willful and rebellious child who, like Tom, had a tendency toward getting into trouble in the pursuit of fun. He also continues to struggle with finding his place in the world and enduring periodic bouts of aimlessness and drifting from job to job, specifically repeating the job of a grocery store clerk as a teenager exactly as Tom had. This is a soul who still has very strong feelings about the men who fought in the Civil War and takes it very personally when those men are described in any sort of negative light. Development and healing beyond Tom's habits have probably been in the works since before Tom existed and will continue long after this lifetime has concluded. These are habits that are difficult to overcome, although Michael is much more settled in his present life then Tom was back then.

Physical comparison of Michael Jewett and Tom Chamberlain.

There also appears to be striking physical comparison between Michael and Tom. Both of them have a rather stern, angular face with narrow, serious eyes that are, in fact, the same color as they were back then. The eyebrows are virtually identical, as are the nose, mouth and chin. Tom was a slightly built figure at 5 foot 8 and 120 pounds at the start of the Civil War, whereas Michael is much bigger now at 6 feet and roughly 180 pounds. Despite the size difference, they are proportionally built. Photographs also show a similar way of standing with the weight being predominantly on one leg as opposed to the other and the opposite foot turned out slightly. In this case, physical resemblances quite strong but it should be known that physical resemblance is not the only piece of evidence to confirm a reincarnation case. Added to other evidence, however, it can be striking. Tom's way of making his way through life with several physical ailments has apparently carried through into Michael's life as he does the same.

There also appears to be a subconscious search for Delia, the immovable rock who always stood by his side, even before he knew Delia existed. As his sister, for as long as I can remember, he has occasionally talked about having dreams of a brunette woman who he feels that he should find. This may be in connection to Delia, who he has yet to find. And like Tom, Michael's youth has been filled with popularity amongst women and being known for having a flirtatious nature. Despite all of this, his real desire is to find that one person who truly understands his motivations and ambitions, especially since he continues to be very misunderstood in this lifetime. A parallel dates from history to the present for Michael and the Chamberlain family was his marriage on October 16, 2009, which was also the birthdate of Tom's niece, Grace.

Handwriting comparisons between Michael and Tom show rather similar styles in spite of the change of writing passion over time. They both write in a very compact manner and have rather similar ways of describing things. Both people have an overly intelligent nature that can make them prone to periodic laziness and misinterpretation by others as being arrogant. The root issues connecting Michael and Tom as far as their personalities go, is being so misunderstood that there is a hardness carried through both of them. Progress toward healing the old existing posttraumatic stress disorder appears to be happening, however, despite the continued misunderstood personality.

(Under construction, pending further input from Michael Jewett.)