Museum offers artifact sponsors a spot in history

One way to support the Bangor Museum and History Center’s fundraising campaign is to sponsor an artifact through the museum’s artifact exhibit leadership naming opportunities.

That’s what museum President Jean Deighan did when she decided to sponsor the museum’s silver cornet, a musical instrument.

Deighan said she was having the artifact named in honor of her parents, who loved music. When her father died two years ago, Deighan decided to use some of the money he left her to support the fundraiser instead of remodeling her kitchen.

According to a museum publication, the nickel silver horn was presented to Melville Andrews by the residents of Savannah, Ga., in 1866.

The publication states, “Like many boys who were too young to enlist, Andrews joined the Union Army as a fifer and later led the band of the 12th Maine Regiment.

“Leaving his home in rural Oxford County, he accompanied the regiment to New Orleans and Savannah. He was with Sherman’s army during the march to the sea. Afterward, the army camped in Savannah for the winter. Andrews and his band gave concerts in Savannah, much to the local citizens’ delight.”

In 1866, the residents surprised Andrews with the gift. In an impromptu ceremony in an officer’s tent one evening, the Savannah residents expressed their appreciation for Andrews’ part in “helping to scatter the seeds of discord by his beautiful strains of harmony.”

The instrument is engraved with the seals for the states of Maine and Georgia above the inscription, “Presented by the Citizens of [Savannah] to Mr. Melville Andrews, Leader of the 12th Maine Band, March 1st.”

Once the artifact is on display, a brass plate engraved with the names of Deighan’s parents will be displayed with it. A large plaque listing all named artifacts will be on display elsewhere in the museum.

The museum has identified various price levels for naming selected artifacts, varying from $1 million down to a current level of $25,000, according to Elizabeth Hansen, co-chair of the capital campaign. Hansen said other artifacts are expected to be available to sponsors at lower prices.

Artifacts available for naming opportunities include:

. A Maine Central Railroad clock: Union Station, where the clock was housed, was completed in 1917 and destroyed in the 1960s. The clock was made by Edward Howard of Boston between 1858 and 1904.

. A square piano: Built around 1810 in Boston by Lewis and Adelpheus, this instrument was made entirely of wood because iron, at that time, was considered harmful to the tone of a piano.

. A miniature: Presented in a locket, the miniature is of Benjamin Andrews Burr, 1820-1892. Burr was the 11th child of Capt. Joseph and Sally Procter Burr. Benjamin Burr came to Bangor in 1834 as an apprentice to a printer. He published the Jeffersonian in 1849, and at the time of his death was one of the publishers of the Whig and Courier newspaper. The miniature appears to be a watercolor on ivory and is attributed to Mary Ann Hardy.

Very little of this artist’s work survives, making the miniature an extremely valuable piece.

Anyone interested in sponsoring an artifact or who wants more information should call Terri Garner, the museum’s executive director, at 942-1900.