Collection of antique clocks auctioned online

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Mike Lewis, The Herald-Mail
GREENCASTLE, Pa. – A large collection of historic clocks is auctioned off to the public.
Hurley Auctions is running an online auction which includes a large collection of clocks belonging to the late Betty Jones of Hagerstown. Jones, who passed away this year, was an avid collector of antiques, carnival glasses and clocks.
The online auction is scheduled to end on December 11. Items will be available for inspection from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, December 10 at the Hurley Auction’s Legacy Center at 2800 Buchanan Trail East in Greencastle.
Originally from Cumberland, Maryland, Jones lived in Hagerstown for most of his life. Her late husband, Jack Jones, began collecting clocks, accumulating nearly 1,000 from around the world. One is a large clock signed by local artist George Woltz of Hagerstown, who lived from 1744 to 1812.
Woltz, a well-known watchmaker, artist, and cabinet maker in Hagerstown, created clocks from the late 1700s to the early 1800s.
“It is an honor to auction off a piece of local history because this George Woltz Grandfather Clock is as it is originally from Hagerstown, Maryland, and there are so few people who have heard of it. ‘to be sold,’ wrote Marge Hartman of Hurley Auctions in an email. “In the nearly 30 years that Hurley Auctions has been in existence, it is the first of its kind to come through our doors. It really is a rare find.
Woltz was noted as a 2nd major in the Maryland Militia in 1776 and was a founding member of the Hagerstown Fire Company in 1791.
The large Woltz case clock that Betty Jones bought over 20 years ago was from a local bank in Hagerstown for $ 7,000.
The auction features hundreds of clocks from around the world, including cast iron Nicholas Muller, Ansonia, Gilbert, Seth Thomas, Waterbury, Welch, New Haven, Ingraham, Jerome and more, according to a press release from the auction house at auction.
Sherry Greenfield is an education reporter covering Washington County Public Schools. Follow Sherry on Twitter at Sheina2018 or Instagram at beckmangreenfield.