When Thomas Porter Burris was born on 14 April 1877, in Polk, Missouri, United States, his father, Erastus Arbuckle Burros, was 22 and his mother, Ann Jeremia "Annie" Berlier, was 19. He married Rebecca Richardson about 1900, in Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 2 daughters. He lived in Jackson Township, Polk, Missouri, United States for about 30 years. He died on 20 December 1913, at the age of 36.