The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1906-01-10
KEPT TIME 200 YEARS.
Clock That Has Passed Along
Through Seven Generations.

s. s. Peters OF 572 South Twenty
eighth street, Omaha. is the owner OF
a calendar clock which Is 1874 years
old and still running. II has come
down In direct line OF descent from
the original purchaser through the
Oldest male member OF the Peters
family through the two centuries OF
its existence. There Is no flaw In it's
pedigree. The clock was built by
Felix Owen in the famous town OF
York, England. in I'LL, and was pur-
chased by Newton Peters. Seven
years afterward Newton Peters came
to America, settling at jamestown,
Va. A few years later he. with VIII
liam Byrd founded the town Of Peters
burg, Va. On the death of Newton
Peters in 1925. the clock became the
property of his son, Absalom, and on
his death in 1850, Absalom's son,
Zachariah, came into possession. Zack
Peters was an officer in the American
navy, and when he died his son, Tunis
evidently named in memory of the
scene of actual naval service-got the
timepiece. In 1887 Tunis Peters be-
came member of colony moving
to Ohio, and brought the clock with
him to that then new country. On
his death, in 1902, his son, also Tunis,
became the owner of the old clock.
He was one of the pioneers OF Ross
county, o., where he lived until 1855.
His successor in the ownership was
Jonathan l.. Peters OF Columbus, o.,
who died in 1882. The clock then be-
came the property of Jonathan's only
surviving son, Samuel S. Peters, now
on the Bee staff.
1t will thus been seen that the Pet
ers clock has counted the hours OF
seven long-lived generations of the
Peters family.
The body of the Peters clock is OF
cherry, the works of brass. So well
did ancient Felix Owen do his work
that the only repairs ever made on
his handiwork have been in the nature
of occasionally renewing the cords
that support the weights. 1t is an g.
day clock, and must be wound once a
week. The face of the clock shows
the phases Of the moon and also indi.
Gates the ebb and the flow of the tides.
The face of the dial is Of enamel and
shows marks of it's great age in the
shape of cracks, honorable scars Of a
useful life. The figures are Arabic
characters, an inch and an eighth in
length. The corners of the face pro-
tecting the dial are painted with
quaint old English figures. The sec.
ond hand is three inches in length, the
minute hand six inches and the hour
hand five inches. The clock frame is
eight feet high and eighteen inches
wide. The pendulum rod is four feet
and ten inches long, and the two
weights tip the scales at thirty
pounds. It is still in excellent run
ming order and correctly records the
time of today as it did in the sedate
days two centuries ago.
This old clock was on exhibition at
the Centennial exhibition in Philadel-
phia in 1876, with no other veteran Of
its kind to dispute its precedence for
age. Subsequently it was exhibited
in the Curtis Press club rooms at Co
lumbus, O., for several months, when
the Ohio Historical society tried in
vain to secure it for the state collector
of antiquities.
Persons in Virginia, Philadelphia
and New York have repeatedly made
fattering offers in money for the
clock, and other branches of the Pet
ters family have been anxious to get
possession of it, Samuel S. Peters
steadily refused to part with the hon
ored timekeeper of the lives Of his an.
cestors. He brought the clock to |
Beatrice, Neb., from Ohio in 1885, and |
has frequently loaned it for exhibition |
at gatherings of old folks. For sew
eral years, however, this has been |
stopped for fear of possible injury in !
moving Omaha Bee