C. E. Burns Papers, 1935-1982, undated

Collection Title:

C. E. Burns Papers, 1935-1982, undated

Repository:

The Holloway Archives at Milligan University

P. H. Welshimer Memorial Library

200 Blowers Blvd.

Milligan, TN 37682

Email: archives@milligan.edu

Creators:

C. E. Burns, Florence Burns, Steve Lacey

Title:

C. E. Burns Papers, 1935-1982, undated

Collection No.

C0135

Extent

3.8 cubic feet (5 boxes)

Language(s):

English

Abstract:

Charles E. Burns was president of Milligan from 1940 to 1944, although he had previously served as a professor and dean for many years prior. This collection contains correspondence from his presidency, as well as other administrative records and family materials. Among the family materials, of special interest is wife Florence Burns’ diary from the year 1943.

Biographical Note:

Charles E. Burns was born in 1883 and grew up in Iowa. He attended Hiram College for his bachelor’s degree and received his master’s degree from Northwestern University. He married Florence Anthony in 1906, with whom he had six children and fostered one boy. Burns taught at Johnson Bible College (now Johnson University) and then came to Milligan College (now Milligan University), where he taught biblical literature from 1919 to 1921. In 1921 he ministered at a church in Valparaiso, Indiana, and did some other work in the area, but he came back to Milligan in 1928 to teach business and serve as the Dean. He also served as minister at the Buffalo Creek Christian Church, which became Hopwood Memorial Christian Church as part of a large renovation process overseen by Florence Burns. After Henry Derthick retired as president of Milligan in 1940, Burns served first as interim president and then as president of the college until 1944. Florence Burns was active as first lady, such as overseeing the dining hall. In 1943, in the midst of World War II, the Navy began the Navy V-12 program, training men to be officers in the Navy while attending college, at Milligan. Burns was a pacifist and so resigned from his position in 1944, with Coach Steve Lacey stepping in until Virgil Elliott came later that year. Burns went on to become religious coordinator for WHAS, a radio station in Louisville, KY, where he stayed until 1948. In the early 1960s, Milligan awarded him an honorary doctorate. Charles Burns passed away in 1975.

Arrangement:

The papers of C. E. Burns were found in the archives. The collection files had a folder listing of the original order of the folders, which seemed to be random. While the folder names were not changed, the order of the folders was changed as they were arranged into series. Like folders were kept together, resulting in two separate alphabetical correspondence subseries due to how they were labeled. There were several folders of correspondence to and from Virgil Elliott, who succeeded Burns as president, as well as correspondence belonging to Steve Lacey, coach, dean, and eventual brief acting president after Burns. Both sets of these files were removed to a separate collection. All series and subseries are arranged alphabetically.

I. Series: Correspondence, 1935-1944, undated

1. Subseries: Alphabetical Correspondence, 1935-1944, undated

2. Subseries: Additional Alphabetical Correspondence, 1938-1944, undated

3. Subseries: Subject Correspondence, 1936-1944, undated

II. Series: Financial Files, 1940-1944, undated

III. Series: Prospective Student Files, 1936-1942, undated

IV. Series: Subject Files, 1939-1945, undated

V. Series: Burns Family, 1943-1982, undated

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of C. E. Burns are divided into five series: Correspondence, Financial Files, Prospective Student Files, Subject Files, and Burns Family Files.

The Correspondence series spans 1935 to 1944 and contains undated material. This series is further divided into three subseries: Alphabetical Correspondence, Additional Alphabetical Correspondence, Subject Correspondence. The Alphabetical Correspondence subseries spans 1935 to 1944 and contains undated material. Most correspondence is to and from C.E. Burns, although there is some correspondence with Henry Derthick. The Additional Alphabetical Correspondence subseries spans 1938 to 1944 and contains undated material. The Subject Correspondence subseries spans 1936 to 1944 and contains undated material. This subseries is divided into folders for correspondence with one person or company.

The Financial Files series spans 1940 to 1944 and includes undated material. This series contains several folders of material regarding financial matters at Milligan.

The Prospective Student Files series spans 1936 to 1942 and includes undated material. This series contains correspondence and other related materials of students interested in attending Milligan (whether they ultimately did attend or not).

The Subject Files series spans 1939 to 1945 and includes undated material. This series contains a variety of folders on various subjects. Of particular interest are the Navy V-12 Bulletins and the College and Church newsletters.

The Burns Family series spans 1943 to 1982 and contains undated material. This series contains items of a more personal and biographical nature. Included are clippings about the family, papers from C. E. Burns’ work on the WHAS Radio Show, family correspondence, and a diary kept by Florence Burns. Some items in this series appear to have been added to the original collection by a previous archivist. Several items are copies.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information:

Accession 2020-10

Note: There was no accession year available when this collection was processed, therefore the year when processing started is used for the accession record.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

The archivist reserves the right to determine on a case-by-case basis if certain folders within the collection that have been requested for viewing cannot be made available due to various restriction compliance, including but not limited to student information, private personal information, and organizational information of a restricted nature.

The Financial Files series is restricted due to sensitive financial and personal information contained within.

Preferred Citation:

[Item], C. E. Burns Papers, Collection C0135, The Holloway Archives at Milligan University, Milligan, TN.

Processing Information:

Processed by: Katherine Banks

Completed in 2020.

Folder List

Box 1

I. Series: Correspondence, 1935-1944, undated

1. Subseries: Alphabetical Correspondence, 1935-1944, undated

• Aa-Al 1940-1942, 1940-1941



• Am-Ar, 1940-1941



• As-Az, 1939-1943



• Baa-Bar, 1940-1941



• Baa-Bar, 1942-1943



• Bas-Bd, 1940-1941



• Bas-Bd, 1942-1943



• Be-Bh, 1940-1941, undated



• Be-Bh, 1942-1943



• Bi-Bn, 1940-1941



• Bi-Bn, 1942-1943, undated



• Bo-Bq, 1940-1941



• Bo-Bq, 1942-1943, undated



• Bra-Brn, 1940-1941, undated



• Bra-Brn, 1942-1943



• Bro-Bt, 1940-1941



• Bro-Bt, 1942-1943



• Bu-Bz, 1940-1941



• Bu-Bz, 1941-1943



• Ca-Cd, 1940-1941



• Ca-Cd, 1942-1943



• Ce-Cn, 1940-1943, undated



• Coa-Con, 1940-1941, undated



• Dr-Dz, 1942-1943



• Ea-En, 1942-1943



• Eo-Ez, 1942-1943



• Fr-Fz, 1940-1941, undated



• Fr-Fz, 1942-1943



• Fr-Fz 1943-44, 1943



• Ga-Gh, 1940-1941



• Ga-Gh, 1942-1943, undated



• Ga-Gh 1943-44, 1943, undated



• Gi-Gq, 1940-1942



• Gi-Gq 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Gr-Gz, 1940-1941, undated



• Gr-Gz 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Haa-Haq, 1940-1941, undated



• Haa-Haq, 1942-1943, undated



• Haa-Haq 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Har-Hd, 1940-1941



• Har-Hd, 1942-1943, undated



• Har-Hd 1943-44, 1943



• He-Hh, 1940-1941, undated



• He-Hh, 1942-1943



• He-Hh, 1943-44, 1943



• Hi-Hn, 1940-1941



• Hi-Hn, 1942-1943



• Ho-Ht, 1940-1941



• Ho-Ht, 1942-1943



• Hu-Hz, 1940-1941



• Hu-Hz, 1942-1943



• I, 1940-1941



• I, 1942-1943, undated



• J, 1940-1941



• J, 1941-1943



• Ka-Kh, 1940-1941



• Ka-Kh, 1942



• Ki-Kq, 1941



• Ki-Kq, 1942-1943



• Kr-Kz, 1941



• Kr-Kz, 1943



• La-Ld, 1941



• La-Ld, 1942-1943



• La-Ld 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Le-Lh, 1940-1941, undated



• Le-Lh, 1942-1943



• Le-Lh 1943-44, 1943



• Li-Lz, 1935-1941



• Li-Lz, 1942-1943



• Li-Lz 1943-44, 1943-1944, undated

Box 2

• Ma-Mb, 1940-1943, undated



• Ma-Mb, 1942-1943



• Ma-Mb 1943-44, 1943



• McA-McD, 1940-1941, undated



• McA-McD, 1942-1943, undated



• McA-McD 1943-44, 1943-1944



• McE-McK, 1940-1941



• McE-McK, 1942-1943



• McE-McK 1943-44, 1943-1944



• McL-Md, 1940-1941



• McL-Md, 1942-1943



• McL-Md 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Me-Mn, 1940-1941



• Me-Mn, 1942-1943



• Me-Mn, 1943-1944



• Mo-Mx, 1940-1941



• Mo-Mx, 1942-1943



• My-Mz, 1940-1941



• Na-Nn, 1940-1941



• Na-Nn 1943-44, 1943



• No-Nz, 1940-1941



• No-Nz, 1942-1943, undated



• O, 1940-1941



• Pa-Ph, 1940-1941, undated



• Pi-Pq, 1940-1941, undated



• Pr-Pz, 1940-194



• Q, 1940-1941



• Ra-Rh, 1940-1941



• Ri-Rof, 1940-1941, undated



• Rog-Rz, 1940-1941



• Sa-Scg, 1940-1941



• Sch-Sd, 1940-1941



• Se-Shd, 1940-1941



• Se-Shd 1943-44, 1943, undated



• She-Shz, 1940-1941, undated



• She-Shz 1943-44, 1943



• She-Shz 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Si-Sn, 1940-1941



• Si-Sn 1943-44, 1943



• So-Ss, 1940-1941, undated



• So-Ss 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Sta-Sth, 1940-1941



• Sta-Sth 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Sti-Stz, 1940-1941



• Su-Sz, 1940-1941, undated



• Su-Sz 1943-44, 1943



• Ta-Tn, 1939-1942



• Ta-Tn 1943-44, 1943-1944



• To-Tz, 1940-1941, undated



• To-Tz 1943-44, 1943, undated



• U, 1940-1941, undated



• V, 1941



• V 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Wa-Wd, 1940-1941, undated



• Wa-Wd 1943-44, 1943



• We-Wg, 1940-1941



• We-Wg 1943-44, 1943



• Wh, 1941, undated



• Wh 1943-44, 1944



• Wia-Wil, 1940-1941



• Wia-Wil 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Wim-Wn, 1940-1941



• Wim-Wn 1943-44, 1943



• Wo-Wz, 1940-1941



• Wo-Wz 1943-44, 1943



• X-Y, 1940-1941, undated



• X-Y 1943-44, 1943-1944



• Z, 1941

2. Subseries: Additional Alphabetical Correspondence, 1938-1944, undated

• Correspondence “B” July 1943-June 1944, 1943-1944



• Correspondence “D” June ’43-May ’44, 1943-1944



• Correspondence “E” July 1943-July 1944, 1943-1944, undated



• Correspondence “F” June 1943-July 1944, 1943-1944, undated



• Correspondence “G” Aug 1943-March 1944, 1943-1944, undated



• Correspondence “H” June 1943-June 1944, 1943-1944



• Correspondence “I” Sept. ’43-May ’44, 1943-1944



• Correspondence “K” Oct. ’43-June ’44, 1943-1944



• Correspondence “L” July ’42-April ’44, 1943-1944, undated



• Correspondence “M” June ’43- June ’44, 1943-1944, undated



• Correspondence N & O July ’43-Aug ’43-May ’44, 1943-1944



• Correspondence “P” May ’43-May ’44, 1938-1944, undated



• Correspondence “R” Aug ’43-May ’44, 1943-1944



• Correspondence “S” July 1943-June 1944, 1943-1944



• Correspondence “W” 1942, 1942, undated



• Correspondence “W” 1943, 1943

Box 3

3. Subseries: Subject Correspondence, 1936-1944, undated

• About C.E. Burns, 1942-1943, undated



• Association of American Colleges, 1942-1943, undated



• Callahan, P.H. – Louisville Paint and Varnish, Louisville, Ky., 1936-1937, undated



• Earhart Foundation – H.B. Earhart, Kennedy, Guiles, Smith, Richard Earhart, 1942-1943, undated



• Films – Eyler Basketball, 1941-1942, undated



• Kresge Foundation – Amos F. Gregory, Secretary, 1940-1941



• Letters from C.E. Burns to Earhart Foundation, 1940-1941



• Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1942-1943, undated



• Miscellaneous 1943-44, 1943-1944, undated



• National Defense Federal Sec. Agency U.S. Office of Ed. 1943-44, 1943



• National Youth Administration, 1940-1943



• National Youth Administration 1943-44, 1943



• NYA and Other Governmental Correspondence, 1940-1941, undated



• Save the Children Fund, 1939-1941, undated



• Student Recommendations and Other Recommendations, 1940-1941



• Tennessee College Association 1943-44, 1943



• Tennessee College Asso. – Dr. Paul Palmer, Sec’y-Treas., Thomas P. Johnston, Pres., 1940-1941, undated



• Transportation, 1944

II. Series: Financial Files, 1940-1944, undated [RESTRICTED]

• Financial Lists – Earhart-Tennessee Contributions, Teachers Salary, 1942-1943, undated



• Instruction Books, undated



• Loan Funds, 1941-1943, undated



• Notes – July 1, 1943 to date, 1943-1944



• Payroll Reports – Buildings & Grounds, 1943, undated



• Payrolls – Faculty, 1943-1944, undated



• Payroll Reports – Mess Hall, 1943-1944, undated



• Tentative List of Contributions 1940-1941, undated

III. Series: Prospective Student Files, 1936-1942, undated

• Miscellaneous Prospective Students – Lists – 1942-43, 1942, undated



• Old Miscellaneous, 1942, undated



• Prospective Student A 1941-1942, 1942-1943, 1940-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “B” 1941-43, 1940-1942



• Prospective Student “C” 1941-42; 1942-43, 1940-1942



• Prospective Student “D” 1941-42; 1942-43, 1941-1942



• Prospective Student “E” 1941-42; 1942-43, 1940-1942



• Prospective Student “F” 1941-42; 1941-42-43, 1940-1942



• Prospective Student “F” 1943-44, 1936, undated



• Prospective Student “G” 1941-42; 1942-43, 1941-1942



• Prospective Student “H” 1941-42; 1942-43, 1940-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “H” 1943-44, 1942



• Prospective Student “I” 1942-43, 1941-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “J” 1941-43, 1941-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “K” 1941-43, 1940-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “L” 1941-42; 1942-43, 1940-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “L” 1943-44, 1942



• Prospective Student “M” 1941-43, 1940-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “N” 1941-43, 1941-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “N” 1943-44, 1942



• Prospective Student “O” 1941-43, 1941-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “P” 1941-43, 1940-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “R” 1941-42, 1941-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “S” 1941-43, 1940-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “T” 1941-43, 1940-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “V” 1941-43, 1942, undated



• Prospective Student “W” 1941-43, 1940-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “W” 1943-44, 1942



• Prospective Student “X, Y, Z” 1941-43, 1941-1942, undated



• Prospective Student “X, Y, Z” 1943-44, 1942

Box 4

IV. Series: Subject Files, 1939-1945, undated

• Accredited Public High Schools, 1940



• Applications Prospective Teachers and Others, 1940-1941, undated



• Athletics – Contracts, 1941-1942



• Bulletins Navy V-12, 1943-1945, undated



• Catalogs, 1939-1942, undated



• College and Church, 1941-1943, undated



• Daily Reports of Temperature of Water in Swimming Pool – Submitted by R.L. Shepherd, 1944



• Faculty Contracts 1944-45, 1944, undated



• Form Letters and Lists, 1940, undated



• Form Letters and Lists, 1941, undated



• Miscellaneous, 1940-1941, undated

Box 5

• Miscellaneous, 1941-1943, undated



• Newspaper Articles, 1940-1943, undated



• Newspaper Articles, 1942, undated



• Student List, undated



• Tennessee Alumni Groups, 1940

V. Series: Burns Family, 1943-1982, undated

• Burns’ Photograph, 1982



• C. E. Burns WHAS Radio Talk Summaries, undated



• C. E. Burns – WHAS Radio Talks,
  
  
  
  • Folder 1, 1946
  
  
  
  • Folder 2, 1947
  
  
  
  • Folder 3/Florence A. Burns – “Bed of Roses,” 1948
  
  
  
• Clippings about C. E. Burns and Family, 1961-1982, undated



• Dedication Florence Anthony Burns Plaque at Hopwood Church, undated



• Letters to Florence Burns Helsenbeck from Parents Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Burns, 1956-1960



• Mrs. Charles Burns’ Diary – Milligan 1943, 1943