In the Papers

February 1940

The Claiborne County Progress – January 17, 1940 Other Papers February 1940

Ben Earl Campbell was a classmate and very close friend of Roger Payne and his family. In February of 1942 Roger mentioned Ben’s recent marriage in a long letter he wrote before going into the Army. Three short weeks after Roger was mentioning Ben in his letter, he was serving as a pallbearer at Ben’s funeral. Tragically, at the age of 20 and only three months after his marriage, Ben was killed in a horrible car accident. He was buried in the Campbell Cemetery near the intersection of Bear Creek and Lone Mountain Roads. Ben’s young wife, Priscilla Lewallen Campbell, gave birth to their son, Ben, Jr., the following November. A few years later, she married William Paul Kilday, who raised Ben as if he…

Cuba “Cube” Jordan, a Lone Mountain resident and neighbor of the Paynes, finds a Mastodon tooth near Tazewell!

1844 Fifty Claiborne County men were selected to be delegates to a Whig convention in Knoxville. Most of these were either the earliest settlers in Claiborne County or their sons. Among them was Anderson Jennings, the son of Hezekiah Jennings and Sarah Johnson who migrated to the area from North Carolina in around 1795. Anderson, their only son, was born in 1796. This is a remarkably early article to find about him The other surnames mentioned in this article will appear throughout the biographies and stories of the Paynes and Jenningses – especially Hodges and Yoakum. Full Article