Heritage, Volume 14, Number 1, Winter 1996 Page: 6
30 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Charles and Sadie Seay Donate $20,000 to Historical Foundation
Texas Ties Bind Couple to Historical Preservation
By Gene KraneThough they have supported
philanthropic causes ranging from
Texas public libraries to medical
research and art institutions
throughout the 59 years of their
marriage, it was their own strong
family roots in Texas that led
Charlie and Sarah Meadows Seay
of Dallas to make a $20,000 challenge
grant to the Texas Historical
Foundation.
Sarah, known as Sadie, is a
descendant of Captain James and
Susannah Cunningham who
came to Texas in 1840, moved to
Comanche in 1855, and became
one of the prominent family of
settlers in that area. Following in
the footsteps of Susannah and
James who blazed trails in West
Texas, members of the
Cunningham family have been
actively involved in the historical
preservation movement in this
state for many years, and they
include Lee Lawrence, who helped begin
the historical marker program in
Texas and later served as president of
both the Texas State Historical Association
and the Texas Historical Foundation.
Lee is currently a member of the
Texas Historical Commission. Another
relative, Fred Moore, was also a former
president of both the Association and
the Foundation. Sadie's nephew, John
B. Meadows is the current president of
the Historical Foundation, and the Seay's
daughter Sally Stout serves on the board
of directors of the preservation organization.Charlie Seay, who began his career in
insurance sales and later became a specialist
in life insurance stocks, was born
in Dallas in 1914; his family has been in
the state since 1871. The couple met at
the University of Texas in 1934 and
married three years later. Those long
Lone Star state roots make the Seays
great-granddaughter, Ashley Stout, an
eighth-generation Texan.
"We have always been proud of our
Texas heritage, and passing that history
down to our children and their familieshas been very important to us. Sadie and I
thought that a grant to the Texas Historical
Foundation was an appropriate way to
help ensure the preservation of Texas history
for future generations and to pay tribute
to our own Texas ancestors," said
Charlie.
The Texas Historical Foundation has
now begun a fundraising campaign to collect
the $20,000 matching funds. THF PresidentJohn
Meadows said,"We are extremely
appreciative of the generosity of the Seays,
and their donation gives the Foundation a
great opportunity to continue its goal of
preserving and protecting our state's great
heritage. We hope that the members of the
Foundation will now step forward to show
their support by helping raise the matching
funds."
Meadows explained that this is an excellent
way for members to get "more bang
for their preservation bucks," as the Seays
match each dollar that the Foundation is
able to raise. Meadows added that the THF
Board of Directors has agreed that only the
income generated from the grant principal
will be used for funding preservation
projects, so that the Sarah Meadows andCharles E. Seay Grant will become
a perpetual fund of the Texas
Historical Foundation.
Throughout the years, the Dallas
couple has supported numerous
philanthropic causes including
an endowment in mental
health at Southern Methodist
University, a chair in finance at
the University of Texas Southwestern
Medical School, and the
financing of the Seay Biomedical
Research Building at UT Southwestern.Their support for the Texas
Historical Foundation is by no
means, however, the first in the
area of historical preservation. The
Seays contributed money for two
stately flagpoles at Dealey Plaza in
downtown Dallas, marking the site
of President John F. Kennedy's
assassination. More recently, they
were approached about contributing
to the Texas State Capitol
Restoration Project, and in another gesture
of support for historical preservation,
they have donated nearly half-amillion
dollars to install high-tech lighting
at the statehouse. Of that amount,
$100,000 will stay in a fund for maintenance
to ensure perpetual lighting of
the Capitol building.
Meadows said, "The Seays have certainly
done their part to help preserve
Texas history. Hopefully, their recent
donation to the Historical Foundation
will inspire the others of us interested in
Texas history to come forth. If we can
raise $20,000 to match the Seay's contribution,
we will have an initial total of
$40,000 to help us achieve our preservation
objectives in the future." Meadows
reminded members and other interested
contributors that gifts to the Texas
Historical Foundation are tax-deductible.Pledges to this fundraising effort
should be earmarked appropriately and
sent to: Texas Historical Foundation,
Sarah Meadows and Charles E. Seay
Fund, P.O. Box 50314, Austin, Texas
78763.6 HERITAGE *WINTER 1996
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 14, Number 1, Winter 1996, periodical, Winter 1996; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45404/m1/6/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.