Joe Klaus
When Joseph Clouse, who has just closed his relations with Grant County, as its Recorder, left his native heath in Germany in 1853, he adopted the English spelling of the German name, making it Clouse, and coming to Marion in 1860 from Lima, Ohio, where he and his brother, Philip Klaus, had lived, he established the Clouse Carriage Works. Now that he has retired from industrial pursuits the son who bears his name continues the business established so long ago, but the son has returned to the original and German spelling of the name, Klaus. When it came to the matter of writing his personal checks Joseph Clouse, Jr., became Joe Klaus, and the Clouse Carriage Works is now indeed the Klaus establishment.
When the father left his native place in Germany he was a devout Catholic, but when he married Anna Maria, a daughter of Jacob and Anna Maria (Snyder) Smith, September 17, 1862, he went the way of his wife in religious matters, and they reared their children in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Afterward, however, he reverted to the faith of his childhood -the religion of the family in Germany. His brother, Philip Klaus, of Lima, Ohio, continued the original spelling of the name and the religion, and three brothers and two sisters in the Fatherland are all Catholics. Mr. Clouse has one daughter who adopted his faith. In the business directory of Marion Clouse and Klaus designate one and the same family, the differing versions indicating the German and English forms of the name. Joe Klaus, however, has been the only member of the family to adopt the German form, and while many people designate him Clouse, his signature gives the original spelling of Klaus.
While Joseph Clouse is a German, his children have never seen his relatives across the water. They seemed blessed with longevity, and counting his brohter at Lima, Ohio, and three three brothers and two sisters in the Fatherland, there are seven in the family.
There were twelve children in the Smith family of which Mrs. Clouse is a member. Her father, Jacob Smith, came from Pennsylvania to Grant county in 1837, and he had much to do with the early history of Marion. Mention is made elsewhere of the lime kiln over the "forty-foot pitch" operated by Jacob Smith. He opened the S. R. Fankboner Farm beyond the "forty-foot pitch" on the Wabash Pike, and there is another substantial, old time brick residence at the corner of Western Avenue and Second Street, Marion, once a farm house but now in the center of a prosperous business community, and the name of Jacob Smith is still remembered by many of the older residents. Adam Smith, the eldest son, disappeared soon after his return from the Civil War and was never seen again. Mrs. Frances parks, Mrs. Catherine Webb, Mrs. Mary Zent, Joseph Smith and Mrs. Clara Osborn are his children who married. John Smith died in the Army, and Henry, Jacob, David and Daniel died in early life.
The home of the Closue family has always been in Marion, and the children born to Joseph and Anna Maria (Smith) Clouse are all married and in homes of their own. All of them bear family names in either the original Klaus or the Smith family.
Joe Klaus, the eldest son, is now the proprietor of the Klaus manufacturing and repair establishment. He married Carrie Carle, a daughter of John Carle, who will be remembered as a salesman in Marion stores, his last place of employment being with Goldthait & Sons. The family came from Baltimore to Marion, and besides Mrs. Klaus there were a son, Edward, and five daughters, named as follows: Mrs. Mary Williams, Mrs. Alverta Pfeiffer, Mrs. Laura Ragan, Mrs. Sallis Fleming and Mrs. Maggie Berry. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus occurred July 10, 1884, and the two children born of their union are Alverta and Philip Carle Klaus. The daughter died at the age of nineteen, and the son is associated with his father in business. He is an expert mechanic, and able to work at any task the shop may offer, either on wagons, carriages or automobiles, and there is usually some repair work in the shop that requires careful attention. Mrs. Carrie Klaus died on the 7th of May, 1893. Mr. Klaus was again married, November 29, 1898, to Miss Beatrice M. Morgan, who was born in a suburb of London, England, although prior to her marriage she had lived in or near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has several times crossed the Atlantic, and on a journey to England in 1912 she continued on to Germany, where she visited her uncles, Peter, Adam and John, and aunts, Catherine and Clara, who welcomed her gladly as the daughter of a brother whom they had not seen since he left home to seek his fortune in a new world. She found them cordial and hearty German folk, all of whom sent special invitations to their brothers in America to visit the old home again. All of them live in a small village, owning adjoining farm lands.
Mr. Klaus has a brother, John Clouse, who is a mechanic in the shop. and who married Miss Maude Beatty. He has four children: John Merritt, James Robert, Cassandra and Helen Louise. His sister, Mary, became the wife of C. C. Kinley, and she had two children, Forest Clouse Kinley and Mary Gertrude Kinley. Mrs. Kinley died at Summittville. Another sister, Adeline, is the wife of W. F. Gerrard. Catherine married J. A. brown and Anna Gertrude is the wife of J. C. Woomer. She has one child, Anna Maria, named for her paternal grandmother.
Joseph Clouse served his adopted country in the Civil War, and he tells the story himself in the chapter entitled "Grant County in the Wars." His name occurs again in the chapter on Civil Government, and in the county there are none to be found who will question his honesty in politics. Although well past the need for business activity, he is not one to sit idly by, and he always finds something to do in the way of looking after property interests, so that though a retired man he is a busy one. The family is an excellent example of the immigrant becoming the citizen and the Clouse-Klaus family history is now a part of the annals of Grant County. The political ties of Mr. Clouse, Sr., have always been Republican, one of the most staunch, dye-in-the-wool kind. Mr. Klaus, Jr., naturally followed the father in his political life, until the Progressive Party made its appearance, to which he then connected himself. The city campaign in the fall of 1913 found him quite active, serving as treasurer of the organization, and by the persistent work of the party they elected their candidate for Mayor, Mr. J. O. Batchelor.
Source: Centennial History of Grant County Indiana 1812-1912. The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914.