LEROYPENNYSAVER&NEWS -MAY 24, 2015
Deacessioned
byLynneBelluscio
We were notified a
fewmonths ago that the
StrongMuseumwaswill-
ing to deacession some
archivalmaterial thatwas
pertinent to InghamUni-
versity. They contacted
us andwewere elated to
know that theywould be
givingus theOtisFamily
collections. There are 12
boxesandbox#1 includes
lettersbetweenMaryAnn
Raymondandher daugh-
ters Mary and Charlotte
and the teachers of the
LeRoy Female Seminary
in 1849-1851 and 1861.
LastweekIwasable togo
to the StrongMuseum to
pickup theboxesand this
week theywillbeput into
ourarchives.When Ihave
some free time, I will be
able to sit down and read
the letters. Some of them
have been transcribed.
Here is a short section from
a letter Mary wrote to her sis-
ter Lottie:
“LeRoy Intellectual
Prison – June 18 (1851) Mrs.
Stauntonhas forbidden thewear-
ing of short sleeves in the semi-
nary. She says that if she sees a
young ladywith short sleeves on
she shall send her to her room
and keep her there until she gets
some longones.Shewillnotbear
the responsibility of their health
if theywear them. I wishMother
would sendword to her that she
wouldbe responsible forme and
that Imight wear them.”
From a letter written June
19, 1851: “They do not have
anythingat all (inLeRoy on) the
Fourth, only a Sons of Temper-
ancecelebrationand they forma
procession, thefirecompanyfirst,
then the Sons, then the Seminary
girls and then the villagers. They
march all around the streets and
then up to the grove and have
someorationsanda table–Love-
ly Imust say - -andwhen theysee
uswalking theysay theregoes the
cattle show and I should think
theywould, forwhenwewalkwe
go so fast - - - I suppose theyare
afraidwewill becontaminated if
wedonotmoveas thoughwehad
been shot orexpected tobeevery
minute– I expect I shall needan-
otherpairof shoesby theFourth.
My ten- shilling shoesarealmost
gone.Someof thegirlshaveworn
out one pair and are on their
second now and nowonder. The
otherday I thought Iwouldcount
up the number of times that we go
up and down stairs a day and it
will average thirty times. I guess
youcouldnot stand itverywelland
thenwewalkaboutfivemilesaday,
besidesourexercises.Ohdear, it is
so pleasant. I keep looking out of
my window and wishing I was at
home.Thepleasantweathermakes
me feelagreatdealmorehomesick
than the dark dismal days.”
In order for the StrongMuse-
um to deacession these letters,
they had to follow a precise pro-
cedure. Deacession isaword that
screws upmy spell check, and it
maybe aword that is only found
in amuseum dictionary. It is the
opposite of accessioned -which
does pass spell check.
Whenanobject isaccessioned
intoamuseumcollection, it legal-
lybecomespartof thecollection.
It can be a gift, or it can be a
purchase. If it is a gift, the state
requires that a “deed of gift” has
to be signed by the donor. That
indicates that the donor is the
legal owner of theobject andhas
the legal right to give it to the
museum. Thedonor also canuse
the deed of gift as a receipt for
tax purposes.
Once an object is acces-
sioned into the collection, the
only way is can leave the col-
lection is tobe“deacessioned.”
There are several reasons an
object might be deacessioned.
It might not be appropriate for
themuseum - - itmaynotmeet
the mission of the museum or
it may not be within the scope
of what the museum collects.
That iswhy theStrongdecided
to deacession these letters.
The state requires that mu-
seums report the objects to be
deacessioned to the State At-
torney General’s Office, and
the objects have to be listed
on the annual report given to
the New York State Education
Department, Board of Regents.
(If objects are soldor auctioned,
the value of the deacessioned
objects has to be reported. And
it is state law that themoneycan
onlybeused to#1purchasenew
objects or #2 care or restoration
of objects.)
We are very thankful that the
Strongwent through theprocess
todeacession these letters. They
are a welcome addition to our
collection and the story of Ing-
hamUniversity.
MyPeople
foundme in the
LeRoyPennySaver!
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