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Milburn Divine Letter to LaReine Warden Clayton and And This Is Our Heritage Chapters

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0908

  • Staff Only

In this letter to LaReine Clayton, Milburn Divine provides Clayton with information about an inn that her aunt and uncle, Robert and Elizabeth Evans, once operated and discusses another inn in Rheatown, Tennessee. Divine includes photocopies of several chapters of a book by Esther Moreland Leithold entitled And This Is Our Heritage (1944) regarding the Evans' inn.

Dates

  • 1944-1976 August 8

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)

Abstract

In this letter to LaReine Clayton, Milburn Divine provides Clayton with information about an inn that her aunt and uncle, Robert and Elizabeth Evans, once operated and discusses another inn in Rheatown, Tennessee. Divine includes photocopies of several chapters of a book by Esther Moreland Leithold entitled And This Is Our Heritage (1944) regarding the Evans' inn.

Biographical/Historical Note

Milburn Adelaide "Sis" Divine was born on January 6, 1909 to Paul (1871-1935) and Lulu (Milburn) Divine (1881-1955). She married Reginald M. Randall on August 2, 1937 in Johnson City, Tennessee. Randall abused Milburn physically, which prompted her mother, Lulu (Milburn) Divine, to shoot and kill him on July 21, 1938. Milburn Divine returned to her maiden name and did not remarry. She became a certified air traffic controller in 1943 and served as a control tower operator in the WAAC during World War II. After the war, she worked as an analyst for the Armed Forces Security Agency before returning to Johnson City and involving herself in historical and genealogical pursuits. Milburn Divine died on February 4, 2001 and is buried alongside her parents in Johnson City, Tennessee.

LaReine Alberta Warden Clayton was born to Hubert Pascal and Betty Alberta (Strother) Warden in Mexico, Missouri in September 1894. She graduated from the University of Missouri where she met her husband, Claud F. Clayton (1890-1968). The couple married during World War II. Claud was assigned to establish a Department of Agriculture post in the Philippines after the war and the couple lived in Manila for several years before returning to their home in Knoxville. Here, LaReine Clayton worked as a musician, painter, writer, and illustrator. She published Now Be a Little Lady in 1967 and was working on Stories of Early Inns and Taverns of the East Tennessee Country (1995) at the time of her death. Clayton also served as President of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities (Ramsey House) and was a longtime member of Knoxville's First Presbyterian Church. She died in Knoxville on May 1, 1993.

Arrangement

This collection consists of a single folder.

Related Archival Materials

Researchers may be interested in viewing:

  1. MS.0998, Early Inns and Hostelries in the East Tennessee Country, 1760-1860, undated
  2. MS.1299, LaReine Warden Clayton Research Material, circa 1970s-1980s
  3. MS.2361: Paul Divine Papers
  4. MS.2555: Divine Family Papers
  5. MS.3659: Major Paul E. Divine Materials
  6. MS.3789: Divine Family Correspondence

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480