Oakland’s Mansion Historical Society Library, Murfreesboro, has been given a rare book, In The Tennessee Mountains, written by Miss Mary Noailles Murfree, using the pen name Charles Egbert Craddock. Mrs. Douglas Patton (Dinah) House, Liberty, TN, gave the book to honor the memory of an extraordinary women, the late Mrs. Thomas Sumner (Florence) McFerrin III, who was a brilliant university professor, a writer, a deeply patriotic individual, and a singularly dear person to all who knew her.
Mrs. House was most appreciative that Dr. Rhea Seddon, a
physician, a retired astronaut, and a member of the Tennessee Aviation Hall of
Fame, among other stellar accomplishments, could join her for this memorial
presentation. Mrs. Florence McFerrin served as the Colonel Hardy Murfree
Chapter Regent, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
(N.S.D.A.R.) from 1978-1982. Mrs. McFerrin sponsored Dr. Seddon and Mrs. House
for their membership. The author, Miss Mary Noallies Murfree, was the first
regent of the Colonel Hardy Murfree Chapter, N.S.D.A.R.
The book, originally belonging to the late Mrs. Salvatore (Wanda) DiGiacomo, was given to Mrs. Dinah House by Wanda’s daughter. The families, who remain friends, first met at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, when Wanda’s grandson Jesse and the House’s daughter Martha were there. Both cadets graduated Class of 1993. Martha House is a member of the Colonel Hardy Murfree Chapter, N.S.D.A.R.
Wanda worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), known as America’s first Intelligence Agency, during the time of William J. (Wild Bill) Donovan and later retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Mrs. Wanda DiGiacomo was a member of the New York State, Onandoga Chapter, N.S.D.A.R.
Mrs. Dinah House said, “Enduring friendships are genuine blessings throughout life.” As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The glory of friendship is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.” Such was the friendship of Mrs. Florence McFerrin.
Written by Mrs. Douglas Patton House
