American Government Paper

Introduction

This research paper is based on William Klaus. William Klaus was born on July 24, 1795 in Germany. He married to Elizabeth Klaus in 1820, and later they were blessed with seven children, all born in Germany. William was a contractor and builder of the dam trade. At some point, the family moved to Leipzig, Germany, and later emigrated to the United States in 1846. At some time during the first year, the family moved to Easton, Pennsylvania in 1847 and later in Cleveland, Ohio in 1852 before finally settling into the new territory of Kansas in 1856 when William homesteaded a firm in one and a half miles west and a half mile south of Lecompton (William Klaus, 2013).

After the death of wife Elizabeth on March 1868, William lived with his daughter Susan (Klaus), Sulzen and his family in Lecompton. Because of the fall, he had been blind for several years before his death. He died on December 7, 1886 at the age of 91 years. William shares a tombstone with his wife Elizabeth in St. Peters Catholic Cemetery, Big Springs, Kansas. His name is engraved on the west side of the stone, but is supposed to be at rest in an unmarked grave to the right of Elizabeth.

Discussion and Analysis

William Klaus married to Elizabeth Balti (always called as Lizzie) who was born in Alsace- Lorraine in 1800, and died in Lecompton, Kansas on March 12, 1868. They were married in 1820.William and Lizzie had seven children, all born in Alsace- Lorraine and Germany. The family came from Germany to Buffalo, New York in 1846, moved to Easton, Pennsylvania in 1847. He then moved to Cleveland, Ohio in1855 and1856, parents and unmarried children arrived in Lecompton, Kansas, where parents (William and Lizzie) died and are buried in Big Springs cemetery. William and Lizzie came to Kansas, where he homesteaded a farm 1 ½ miles west and ½ mile south of Lecompton. This farm in 1930 is known as the George Bahnmaier place. During that time, Kansas was a territory known as Lecompton Territorial Capitol. For a time, he thought he would be the Lecompton Kansas State capital when he was admitted to the Union. Given this belief began to build the Capitol building in Lecompton (William Klaus, 1795-1886, Lecompton, 2013).

William Klaus was awarded the contract for the construction of the building and had advanced as far as the base where it was decided to Topeka is the state capital instead. The old stone school building Lecompton is always defined as the Foundation (1930). William's father lived to be 91 years old and blind, several years before his death. His daughter, Susan Klaus Sullen, took care of him during those years. She also lost her sight seven years before his death, on February 24, 1915, at the home of his son, Theodore Sulzen near Lecompton, Kansas. The names of seven children of William Klaus are Fred, John, William Jr., Mary, Theodore, Robert and Susan.

William Klaus was a ...