Peter Klaes 1780 — 1870

Source: familysearch.org

Upon arrival in 1845, the family may have resided in the towns of Sauk City/Prairie du Sac, collectively referred to as “Sac Prairie.” Peter Klaes and his eventual son-in-law Franz Staeler were naturalized there in 1846. Gertrude Klaes married Jacob Rosche there in 1846, only one year after arrival. Jacob Rosche was a brickmaker in Sauk City, so it is entirely possible the Klaes family first lived in Sauk City, where Gertrude met Jacob Rosche and married in 1846. However, the 1850 Census for the Township of Berry, Dane County, Wisconsin, indicates that Peter, Agnes, Wilhelm, and Heinrich were living in the Township of Berry, Dane County, Wisconsin. The Township of Berry borders the Township of Roxbury, where Peter and Agnes would spend the remainder of their lives with their daughter Anna Maria Staeler and her family. We see the close proximity of the Township of Berry and the Township of Roxbury. To the northwest, across the Wisconsin River, would be the Sac Prairie area of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac.