Robert Klotz (October 27, 1819 – May 1, 1895) was a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Biography

Robert Klotz was born in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

(now

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

) County,

. He attended the county's schools. He was the first register and recorder of Carbon County in 1843. During the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, he served in the Second Pennsylvania Volunteers as a private, lieutenant, and adjutant in 1846 and 1847. He was a member of the

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

in 1848 and was reelected in 1849. He moved to

Pawnee, Kansas Pawnee is a ghost town in Geary County, Kansas, United States, which briefly served as the first official Capital (political), capital of the Kansas Territory in 1855. Pawnee was the territorial capital for exactly five days – the legislatu ...

, in 1855. He was a member of the

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, constitutional convention in 1855 and served as the first Secretary of State of Kansas under the constitution adopted. He was a brigadier general under

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Charles Robinson Charles, Charlie or Charley Robinson may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Charles Dorman Robinson (1847–1933), American painter *Charles Napier Robinson (1849–1936), English journalist and story writer *Charles M. Robinson (architect) (18 ...

. He returned to Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, in 1857. He served as treasurer of

Carbon County, Pennsylvania Carbon County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,749. The county is part of the Northeast region of the commonwealth. The county borders Lehigh and Northampton counties in the state ...

in 1859. Klotz enlisted in the Union Army in 1861, and was chosen colonel of the Nineteenth Pennsylvania Emergency Militia in 1862. He served as a trustee of

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

, from 1874 to 1882. Klotz was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses. He served as director and agent of the

Laflin & Rand Powder Company Laflin & Rand Powder Company was a gunpowder and early smokeless powder manufacturer notable for producing the smokeless powder used by United States Army infantry rifles from 1896 to 1908, which included the period of development of the M1903 Spri ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Death

He died at his home in Mauch Chunk in present-day

Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania Jim Thorpe (known as East and West Mauch Chunk until 1954) is a borough in and the county seat of Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is historically known as the burial site of Native Ameri ...

, on May 1, 1895. He was buried at City Cemetery.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klotz, Robert 1819 births 1895 deaths American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Kansas Democrats Lehigh University people Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Military personnel from Pennsylvania Politicians from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Secretaries of state of Kansas Union army colonels 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives