Peter Klaes 1780 —

1870

The first cemetery at St. Norbert Catholic Church in Roxbury was established by Father Inama in 1846. According to the 1971 St. Norbert Parish anniversary booklet, “a plot of ground, about one block west of ‘St. Norbert House’ was set aside for cemetery purposes.” According to that same booklet, “44 persons were buried in this original cemetery; 26 were children.” The current cemetery was consecrated on November 1, 1857, according to the anniversary booklet. The booklet goes on to state that “when the present cemetery was opened, some graves were moved from the original cemetery, but many still lie buried in this now abandoned burial place.” It was used until 1853. No records exist for this cemetery. Parish history indicates that the creek flooded one spring, and those graves and markers were washed away. It is possible that Agnes and Peter Klaes were buried in that first, washed-away cemetery, if a deceased family member was buried there, in a family plot. It is also possible they were buried in the current St. Norbert Cemetery, consecrated in 1857, without grave markers. There are ancient iron crosses, such as the marker for Franz Staeler, in St. Norbert Cemetery where the elements have erased names and dates. We are left to speculate that Peter Klaes and his wife Agnes Bungardt are buried there, close to the farm where they lived with their daughter Anna Maria Staeler. Two of Peter’s adult granddaughters are buried near their father Franz Staeler, neither living in Roxbury at the time of their deaths. They were brought to St. Norbert Cemetery from other towns for burial. This further indicates the importance to the Klaes family to be buried together in this beloved Catholic Cemetery.

Respectfully submitted by Lori Ploetz, December, 2022

No Tombstone

There is no tombstone for Peter Klaes, or his wife, in St. Norbert Cemetery, Roxbury, WI. Extensive research has failed to find any concrete evidence of his burial there. There is also no listing of them in the burial records of St. Norbert Church.

Lori Ploetz, has speculated that, “…the first-hand account of his service was supposedly made by his daughter Anna Maria Staeler/Stehler with whom he lived, pretty much full time, after the arrival in America. I believe he was living with the Staelers in Roxbury when he died, and he was buried in the old St. Norbert's cemetery. That's my guess.

“Another thought on no tombstone: Franz and Anna Maria Staeler/Stehler lost the farm in bankruptcy in 1877. If he [Peter] died in 1875 while living with them, they had absolutely no money to put up a stone, especially if they were losing the farm. But Father Inama [the priest at St. Norbert’s Catholic church at the time] would have buried him at the cemetery. If he was buried in the old one that washed away, the stone, if it had ever been there, was destroyed anyhow.

“Another thought on no tombstone, if there ever was one: Perhaps it was Peter Klaes' wish that his grave could not be identified, because he did not want his military service known.”

There were no burial records kept during the early years of St. Norbert Church. Also, during those early years, the cemetery, which was located near a creek, was completely washed away during a severe storm, and the tombstones were lost, if there was one for Peter. It is not certain if he was buried there, but it may be one reason that his grave can not be found.

Sources Used

1 Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe/The-Napoleonic-era

2 Napoleon’s Retreat from Moscow, By Edwin Muller, Reader’s Digest, March 1942

3 National Army Museum: https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-waterloo, The Battle of Waterloo