The Historic Shepherdstown Museum recently acquired some silver spoons that were made by a Shepherdstown artisan some 200 years ago.

Raw metals in the early 1800s were difficult to come by and any silver that was used most likely came from silver coins, which were melted down and molded into the desired shape –spoon, fork or even a diner plate or charger. The term “coin silver” refers to silver that’s been mixed with about 10 percent copper to give it extra strength.

The museum’s new acquisitions were made by John Bernard Woltz. If you’ve visited the museum, this name may perhaps sound familiar.  The tall-case clock in the front parlor was made by the same John Bernard Woltz. Huh?  Clocks and cutlery?

According to Eric Jenkins, a docent at the museum and an expert on early Jefferson and Berkeley County silver, “Clocks had a very limited market because they were made primarily for the wealthy.  The maker therefore had to diversify to make ends meet.  Things like silver spoons, though still a high priced item, were given as wedding gifts or for other special occasions and had a slightly larger market.”

John Bernard Woltz no doubt learned his trade from his father, George Woltz, a silversmith and clock maker in Hagerstown, Maryland.  John worked in Shepherdstown between 1811 and 1820.  An advertisement in the Charles Town Farmer’s Repository newspaper in June of 1811 informs the public that he has begun his clock and watch-maker business in Shepherdstown, “where all kinds of watches committed to his care, will be faithfully and punctually repaired.”  Moreover, “He intends keeping a general assortment of GOLD and SILVER WORK, and a handsome assortment of JEWELRY of every description, which will be disposed of on very low terms.”

The museum also has on display several silver spoons made by Frederick Posey, likewise a silversmith, watch and clockmaker, who lived at the Entler Hotel for a time.

Oh, and what about the cavities?  Eric Jenkins says that there were several clock makers in Martinsburg who not only made clocks and silver but, because they worked with gold, also made gold crowns and fillings.

Stop by the museum and see the Woltz and Craft clocks, as well as the museum’s collection of silverware made by early Jefferson County craftsmen.

Historic Shepherdstown is partnering with the the Historic Landmarks Commission to host a public event celebrating the historic places in Shepherdstown. The public is invited to lend their input to the new Shepherdstown Historic District Guidelines, recently revised by the Mills Group (http://millsgrouponline.com/) a firm specializing in planning historic preservation for communities.

Experts will be on hand to answer questions about renovating historic properties and identifying your house style, and we’ll be happy to offer advice on how to research your home’s history. Join us on Tuesday, March 27 between 6:30 – 8:00 pm at Shepherdstown Town Hall. Join the community as we celebrate what makes Shepherdstown unique!

View the Historic Landmarks Commission flyer here.

Occupying a prominent place in the front parlor of the Historic Shepherdstown Museum is a new piece that has several connections to the town.  It’s a Jacob Craft tall clock, donated by Curt Mason, a former member of the Museum’s Board of Directors.  Not only was the clock made in Shepherdstown, but it belonged to a once famous member of the Shepherd Family.  And the tale of the clock’s travels across the country and how it came back home again is worth telling.

Jacob Craft was born in the Marburg region of Germany and died in Shepherdstown in 1825. He and his wife, Catherine, had three daughters and six sons, none of which took up their father’s trade. The Craft Family lived in a house on German Street, just below Princess Street. It’s been estimated that there are some 30 Craft clocks in existence.  The Museum now has three. More information on Craft clocks and Jacob Craft is available on the Museum’s website here and here.

The clock once belonged to Rezin Davis Shepherd, a Shakespearean actor in the first half of the 20^th Century. A great-grandson of the founder of Shepherdstown, R.D., as he was known, was born in New Orleans in 1859 and grew up at Wild Goose Farm, just outside of Shepherdstown.

From an early age, R.D. was interested in the theater. Taking the stage name of R.D. McLean, he appeared on the stage in various Shakespearean roles and in several early movies.  R.D. and his wife, the actress Odette Tyler, lived for several years at the family farm in Shepherdstown, but sold the farm in 1911, to move to Washington, DC, and eventually to Los Angeles in 1919. A lengthier biography of R. D. Shepherd is in the Digital Exhibits section.

R.D. Shepherd died in Los Angeles in 1946 and left his home and all its furnishings to his housekeeper, Viola Kidwell, who had served the family since its Shepherdstown days.  Viola’s daughter, Elizabeth Shepherd Saxe was a close friend of Curt Mason’s mother.

According to Curt, “Elizabeth apparently had valued Mom’s appreciation of the clock and felt that it would be in good hands if it were passed on to her.” For many years the clock graced the entrance hall of the Mason home, the oldest house in Pasadena, CA.

In 1989, Mrs. Mason gave the clock to her son, who was living in Virginia at the time.  She knew he clock had been made somewhere in Virginia and thought it only appropriate for it to reside closer to where it was made.

Curt eventually moved to West Virginia where the clock once again graced the entrance hall of an old farmhouse. But it wasn’t until several years later that he realized that the clock was made by an important artisan in a town just a few miles away.

Curt and his wife Suzette Kimball, who are leaving the area, donated the Craft-Shepherd clock to the Museum in memory of Curt’s mother, Berthe Courtois Mason, who would have been happy to know it came home to within a block of where Jacob Craft brought it to life.

We have a new exhibit in the Museum — it’s called The Civil War Comes to Shepherdstown, September 2017. If you attended Jim Broomall’s Speakers Series talk a week or so ago, you may have seen it displayed in the lobby of the Byrd Center. You can view the digitized version here or stop by the Museum and see it in real life!

Mary Tyler Moore, the iconic television personality who died earlier this year, had a family connection to Shepherdstown as well as to the Historic Shepherdstown Museum.

Her great, great, great grandfather, Conrad Shindler, an early resident of Shepherdstown, was a coppersmith and lived in a house at the corner of German and Church Streets.  Several of the kettles he crafted are on display at the Museum.

The Shindler Family sold the house in 1869 to the Christ Reformed Church, which used the house as its parsonage.  In 1995 Moore purchased the house and donated it to the Shepherd University Foundation to be used by the university as a center for Civil War studies.

In September 1995, Mary Tyler Moore attended the dedication of the Center which was named after her father, George Tyler Moore, an avid historian.

Also in attendance at the event was Jo Ann Knode, a then member of the Historic Shepherdstown Commission Board of Directors. Mrs. Knode invited Mary Tyler Moore to visit the Museum just down the street and view not only the copper kettles fashioned by her ancestor, but also the Shindler Family Bible, on display on the second floor of the Museum.

The bible was donated to the Museum in 1991 by E.B. Rogers, another Shindler descendent. The bible is inscribed with the date “16th of March 1792.”

Ms. Knode recalls that Mary Tyler Moore leafed through the Bible, but since she didn’t have her glasses with her, she was unable to read most of the inscriptions. Ms. Knode’s daughter, who had accompanied them to the museum, snapped the accompanying photo.