Thomas James Gibson was born in 1886 into a poor farming family in the village of Edderside Cumberland, the ninth of ten children. While his family were nominally Church of England he nevertheless began to feel a definite call to serve God during his teenage years. Despite educational and health setbacks he offered his services and was accepted into the Church of England Brotherhood of the Good Shepherd which worked in outback Australia. He sailed for Australia in 1908 and within days of his arrival was sent to the Brewarrina district in northern NSW.;;In November the following year he returned to England and became a candidate for Holy Orders in the Diocese of Lincoln and was subsequently made Deacon for the Diocese of Canterbury on 2nd June 1912. Upon his return to Australia he became a priest in the Bathurst Diocese in May 1913. He was admitted as a full member of the Brotherhood of the Good Shepherd and returned to Brewarrina. ;;During his return voyage to Australia he met and fell in love with Kathleen Haywood. Kathleen lived in Bellerive, Hobart and despite frequent letter writing their separation over the coming months was to cause each considerable pain until the Church finally consented to their marriage in January 1916. ;;The previous September TJ, as he had become known, moved to Tasmania with the promise of a posting to the parish of Derby in the state's north-east. After an initial visit to the district he was reluctant to accept. However, moving there as newlyweds TJ was kept busy and the posting grew on him. In May 1917 he was appointed assistant curate to All Saints South Hobart where he served as de facto priest due to the curate's frequent absences. As the war came to a close he was appointed senior minister to the new parish of St Michael and All Angels in West Hobart where he was to serve for the next ten years.;;In 1920 he began work as visiting chaplain at the Church of England school for girls, St Michael's Collegiate School. He ministered as chaplain to the Sisters who ran the school as well as teaching in the Junior School. This service would be a lifelong love apart from the years he spent in the north of the state and overseas.;;His own health was never good after suffering TB from an early age, and Kathleen, who also didn't enjoy good health died on 6th January 1921. In 1922 he took a few months leave in England and upon returning to Hobart and St Michael's he was to find romance again and marry Gertrude Mary Mansell (known as 'Mary,' 1895 - 1975) on 22nd July 1924 whom he had met several years previously. Prior to their marriage Mary Mansell had been living with her family at the Melton Mowbray property, 'Mount Vernon.' Together Thomas and Mary had three daughters: ;;Mary Mansell Gibson or 'Mem' or 'Memmie' (born 10 May 1925 died 11 May 2007). Mary was a long time Director at Lady Gowrie Child Centre and later became a lecturer in child development at the University of Tasmania, ;;Margaret (born 3 March 1928) and ;;Catherine (born 2 April 1930). ;;In 1927 Thomas was appointed parish priest at Christ Church Longford. Sensing the need for a greater challenge he sought and gained a missions posting and in January 1933 sailed for an eleven month assignment as parish priest in Rabaul New Guinea which included work in the surrounding districts of New Britain. ;;In June 1940 he was posted once again to All Saints South Hobart which was to be his last full-time ministerial appointment in Tasmania. After leaving All Saints in June 1954 he returned to New Guinea for a six month stint in the Lae district and a further four months in Rabaul before returning to Tasmania in April 1955 and retirement with Mary to Kingston. ;;His was an active retirement being on call to take services at All Saints as well as taking services regularly at St Clement's Kingston where he and his wife worshipped. He also undertook a locum appointment for some months to the Huonville parish. Failing health only stopped his twice weekly visits to Collegiate School at the end of 1970. He died on 31st October 1972. His wife Mary died on 19th February 1975.