Lexington Herald-Leader, KY
Thursday, November 12, 1998
LORRAINE SEAY DIES
Ashland, the home of statesman Henry Clay, was Lorraine Cloyd Seay's life for more than 30 years.
She knew more about the historical property and home on Richmond Road than just about anyone, according to those who knew her.
Some people even called her "Mrs. Clay."
Mrs. Seay, 95, who was curator of Ashland from the early 1950s to the mid-1980s, died yesterday at Samaritan Hospital.
She knew the history behind the ice cream dishes, the George Washington family portrait and the gold, silk-brocade draperies.
The tours she gave to visitors made them feel like guests in a real home, not sightseers in a museum, said Linda Brown, a former assistant to Mrs. Seay at the estate.
"People always said when they would finish a tour, 'I feel as if the family has just stepped out for the afternoon, and we've come in and just missed them,' " Brown said.
Mrs. Seay took the curator position when the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, which operates Ashland, was a struggling enterprise. She also became the foundation's executive secretary.
Ashland had 100 to 200 visitors a year when she began working there. By the mid-1980s, the number had risen to more than 30,000, Mrs. Seay said in a 1984 interview.
"You could probably credit her with saving Ashland through the lean years of the '60s and the '70s," said Betty Ellison, a former member of the board of the Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation, which restored and operates Lexington's Mary Todd Lincoln House. "She made it her life."
For years, Mrs. Seay had the help of a cat named Gypsy when she gave tours of Ashland. The stray showed up at the estate one day and just didn't leave. She started peering through windows and shooting through doors when visitors went inside the historical home.
Mrs. Seay finally adopted the cat and gave her her name.
Gypsy, who followed visitors on their tours through Ashland, stayed at the estate during the day and went home with Mrs. Seay at night.
When Gypsy died in the mid-1970s, Mrs. Seay arranged a funeral for her and had her buried on the Ashland grounds.
Mrs. Seay, who was born in Mercer County Dec. 14, 1902, had wanted to pursue a singing career as a young woman.
She studied voice at Transylvania College and in Chicago. But she decided that a musical career required too much strength and stamina.
However, she sang at funerals, weddings and church services in Lexington for many years before she took the job at Ashland.
"She loved Ashland. It was hers. Ashland was her. She always said she had two homes, Cherokee Park . . . and Ashland," Brown said.
Kentucky historian Thomas Clark would greet Mrs. Seay by saying "Good afternoon, Mrs. Clay," when he went to Ashland for board meetings, Brown said.
Mrs. Seay had been active in several historical organizations and was a member of Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church. She received a degree from Transylvania in 1924 and taught French, English and history in Tennessee as a young woman.
Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home. There will be no visitation.
Thursday, November 12, 1998
LORRAINE SEAY DIES
Ashland, the home of statesman Henry Clay, was Lorraine Cloyd Seay's life for more than 30 years.
She knew more about the historical property and home on Richmond Road than just about anyone, according to those who knew her.
Some people even called her "Mrs. Clay."
Mrs. Seay, 95, who was curator of Ashland from the early 1950s to the mid-1980s, died yesterday at Samaritan Hospital.
She knew the history behind the ice cream dishes, the George Washington family portrait and the gold, silk-brocade draperies.
The tours she gave to visitors made them feel like guests in a real home, not sightseers in a museum, said Linda Brown, a former assistant to Mrs. Seay at the estate.
"People always said when they would finish a tour, 'I feel as if the family has just stepped out for the afternoon, and we've come in and just missed them,' " Brown said.
Mrs. Seay took the curator position when the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, which operates Ashland, was a struggling enterprise. She also became the foundation's executive secretary.
Ashland had 100 to 200 visitors a year when she began working there. By the mid-1980s, the number had risen to more than 30,000, Mrs. Seay said in a 1984 interview.
"You could probably credit her with saving Ashland through the lean years of the '60s and the '70s," said Betty Ellison, a former member of the board of the Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation, which restored and operates Lexington's Mary Todd Lincoln House. "She made it her life."
For years, Mrs. Seay had the help of a cat named Gypsy when she gave tours of Ashland. The stray showed up at the estate one day and just didn't leave. She started peering through windows and shooting through doors when visitors went inside the historical home.
Mrs. Seay finally adopted the cat and gave her her name.
Gypsy, who followed visitors on their tours through Ashland, stayed at the estate during the day and went home with Mrs. Seay at night.
When Gypsy died in the mid-1970s, Mrs. Seay arranged a funeral for her and had her buried on the Ashland grounds.
Mrs. Seay, who was born in Mercer County Dec. 14, 1902, had wanted to pursue a singing career as a young woman.
She studied voice at Transylvania College and in Chicago. But she decided that a musical career required too much strength and stamina.
However, she sang at funerals, weddings and church services in Lexington for many years before she took the job at Ashland.
"She loved Ashland. It was hers. Ashland was her. She always said she had two homes, Cherokee Park . . . and Ashland," Brown said.
Kentucky historian Thomas Clark would greet Mrs. Seay by saying "Good afternoon, Mrs. Clay," when he went to Ashland for board meetings, Brown said.
Mrs. Seay had been active in several historical organizations and was a member of Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church. She received a degree from Transylvania in 1924 and taught French, English and history in Tennessee as a young woman.
Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home. There will be no visitation.
Lexington Herald-Leader, KY
Thursday, November 12, 1998
LORRAINE SEAY DIES
Ashland, the home of statesman Henry Clay, was Lorraine Cloyd Seay's life for more than 30 years.
She knew more about the historical property and home on Richmond Road than just about anyone, according to those who knew her.
Some people even called her "Mrs. Clay."
Mrs. Seay, 95, who was curator of Ashland from the early 1950s to the mid-1980s, died yesterday at Samaritan Hospital.
She knew the history behind the ice cream dishes, the George Washington family portrait and the gold, silk-brocade draperies.
The tours she gave to visitors made them feel like guests in a real home, not sightseers in a museum, said Linda Brown, a former assistant to Mrs. Seay at the estate.
"People always said when they would finish a tour, 'I feel as if the family has just stepped out for the afternoon, and we've come in and just missed them,' " Brown said.
Mrs. Seay took the curator position when the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, which operates Ashland, was a struggling enterprise. She also became the foundation's executive secretary.
Ashland had 100 to 200 visitors a year when she began working there. By the mid-1980s, the number had risen to more than 30,000, Mrs. Seay said in a 1984 interview.
"You could probably credit her with saving Ashland through the lean years of the '60s and the '70s," said Betty Ellison, a former member of the board of the Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation, which restored and operates Lexington's Mary Todd Lincoln House. "She made it her life."
For years, Mrs. Seay had the help of a cat named Gypsy when she gave tours of Ashland. The stray showed up at the estate one day and just didn't leave. She started peering through windows and shooting through doors when visitors went inside the historical home.
Mrs. Seay finally adopted the cat and gave her her name.
Gypsy, who followed visitors on their tours through Ashland, stayed at the estate during the day and went home with Mrs. Seay at night.
When Gypsy died in the mid-1970s, Mrs. Seay arranged a funeral for her and had her buried on the Ashland grounds.
Mrs. Seay, who was born in Mercer County Dec. 14, 1902, had wanted to pursue a singing career as a young woman.
She studied voice at Transylvania College and in Chicago. But she decided that a musical career required too much strength and stamina.
However, she sang at funerals, weddings and church services in Lexington for many years before she took the job at Ashland.
"She loved Ashland. It was hers. Ashland was her. She always said she had two homes, Cherokee Park . . . and Ashland," Brown said.
Kentucky historian Thomas Clark would greet Mrs. Seay by saying "Good afternoon, Mrs. Clay," when he went to Ashland for board meetings, Brown said.
Mrs. Seay had been active in several historical organizations and was a member of Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church. She received a degree from Transylvania in 1924 and taught French, English and history in Tennessee as a young woman.
Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home. There will be no visitation.
Thursday, November 12, 1998
LORRAINE SEAY DIES
Ashland, the home of statesman Henry Clay, was Lorraine Cloyd Seay's life for more than 30 years.
She knew more about the historical property and home on Richmond Road than just about anyone, according to those who knew her.
Some people even called her "Mrs. Clay."
Mrs. Seay, 95, who was curator of Ashland from the early 1950s to the mid-1980s, died yesterday at Samaritan Hospital.
She knew the history behind the ice cream dishes, the George Washington family portrait and the gold, silk-brocade draperies.
The tours she gave to visitors made them feel like guests in a real home, not sightseers in a museum, said Linda Brown, a former assistant to Mrs. Seay at the estate.
"People always said when they would finish a tour, 'I feel as if the family has just stepped out for the afternoon, and we've come in and just missed them,' " Brown said.
Mrs. Seay took the curator position when the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, which operates Ashland, was a struggling enterprise. She also became the foundation's executive secretary.
Ashland had 100 to 200 visitors a year when she began working there. By the mid-1980s, the number had risen to more than 30,000, Mrs. Seay said in a 1984 interview.
"You could probably credit her with saving Ashland through the lean years of the '60s and the '70s," said Betty Ellison, a former member of the board of the Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation, which restored and operates Lexington's Mary Todd Lincoln House. "She made it her life."
For years, Mrs. Seay had the help of a cat named Gypsy when she gave tours of Ashland. The stray showed up at the estate one day and just didn't leave. She started peering through windows and shooting through doors when visitors went inside the historical home.
Mrs. Seay finally adopted the cat and gave her her name.
Gypsy, who followed visitors on their tours through Ashland, stayed at the estate during the day and went home with Mrs. Seay at night.
When Gypsy died in the mid-1970s, Mrs. Seay arranged a funeral for her and had her buried on the Ashland grounds.
Mrs. Seay, who was born in Mercer County Dec. 14, 1902, had wanted to pursue a singing career as a young woman.
She studied voice at Transylvania College and in Chicago. But she decided that a musical career required too much strength and stamina.
However, she sang at funerals, weddings and church services in Lexington for many years before she took the job at Ashland.
"She loved Ashland. It was hers. Ashland was her. She always said she had two homes, Cherokee Park . . . and Ashland," Brown said.
Kentucky historian Thomas Clark would greet Mrs. Seay by saying "Good afternoon, Mrs. Clay," when he went to Ashland for board meetings, Brown said.
Mrs. Seay had been active in several historical organizations and was a member of Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church. She received a degree from Transylvania in 1924 and taught French, English and history in Tennessee as a young woman.
Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home. There will be no visitation.
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