{{Short description|Canadian public official}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = William Claus | image = Colonel William Claus.jpg | caption = | office = Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs | term_start = March 5, 1799 | term_end = November 11, 1826 | predecessor = Alexander McKee | successor = Henry Charles Darling | birth_date = {{birth date|1765|09|08|df=yes}} | birth_place = Amsterdam, New York | death_date = {{dda|1826|11|4|1765|09|08|df=yes}} | death_place = Niagara, Canada | parents = Daniel Claus<br />Ann Weissenberg | spouse = {{marriage|Catherine Jordan<br />|November 25, 1791}} | children = | relatives = Sir William Johnson (grandfather)<br />Sir John Johnson (uncle) | allegiance = Great Britain | battles = War of 1812 | rank = Colonel | branch = 1st Lincoln Militia }} '''William Claus''' (1765–1826) was a member of the Executive Council of Upper Canada, a colonel of the Canadian militia during the War of 1812, and the head of the Indian Department in Upper Canada from 1799 until his death.
==Family background== William Claus's father, Daniel Claus, was born in Bönnigheim, Holy Roman Empire in 1727 and came to British America in 1749. With the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Daniel Claus was appointed to the newly created Indian Department by Sir William Johnson in 1755. In 1762, Daniel Claus strengthened his connection to the powerful Johnson family by marrying Sir William's daughter, Ann Weisenberg. Their son, William Claus, was born three years later.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/claus_christian_daniel_4E.html|title=Daniel Claus; The Dictionary of Canadian Biography|accessdate=August 16, 2021}}</ref>
In 1782, William Claus's maternal uncle Sir John Johnson became the head of the Indian Department, and it was largely through Sir John's influence that Claus later secured his own appointment. His descent from Sir William Johnson also meant that Claus had blood ties to the extended Brant family through the children of Molly Brant, with whom he shared a grandfather.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/claus_christian_daniel_4E.html|title=Daniel Claus; The Dictionary of Canadian Biography|accessdate=August 16, 2021}}</ref>
==Career== Claus was appointed superintendent of the Indian Department at the post of Niagara following the death of John Butler in 1796. Three years later, the death of Alexander McKee led to Claus's promotion to Deputy Superintendent General, the second highest position in the administration of Indian Affairs in the Canadas. His only superior in the Department was his uncle, Sir John Johnson, whose responsibilities were primarily limited to Lower Canada. As the head of the Indian Department in Upper Canada, Claus was responsible for organizing land surrender treaties, distributing annual presents to the British Empire's Indigenous allies, securing the military assistance of First Nations warriors in times of crisis, and more generally ensuring good relations between the British and the Indigenous nations of the Great Lakes region.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/chs/14/chs14-1a.htm |title=The British Indian Department and the Frontier in North America, 1755-1830 |last=Allen |first=Robert S. |date=1975 |website=Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History |publisher=Parks Canada |access-date=September 15, 2021 |quote=}}</ref>
William Claus served during the War of 1812 both as head of the Indian Department in Upper Canada and as the colonel of the 1st Lincoln Militia. During the war, Claus's leadership of the Indian Department was challenged by Joseph Brant's adopted heir John Norton, who accused Claus of cowardice and incompetence. By the end of the war, however, Norton's brashness had alienated many among the Six Nations and the British administration, including the Governor General, Sir Gordon Drummond. Claus accordingly remained the head of the Indian Department in Upper Canada, while Norton was forced into retirement, albeit with a substantial pension.<ref>{{cite book |last=Allen |first=Robert S. |date=1993 |title=His Majesty's Indian Allies: British Indian Policy in Defence of Canada |publisher=Dundern Press |page=147 }}</ref>
As one of the leading men of the Niagara region, Claus had served as a justice of the peace since 1803. He was appointed to the Legislative Council of Upper Canada in 1812, and six years later Claus was appointed to the Executive Council, the most important body advising the Lieutenant Governor on the governance of the Upper Canada.<ref>{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Frederick H. |date=1985 |title=Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology |publisher=Dundern Press |pages= 11, 30}}</ref>
==Death and legacy== thumb|upright=1.22|Claus's estate, the Wilderness, in 1911 Claus rarely enjoyed good health in his later years, and was a long-time sufferer of gout. He died of cancer in 1826 at the age of 61.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/claus_william_6E.html|title=William Claus; The Dictionary of Canadian Biography |accessdate=August 16, 2021}}</ref> Following his death, William Claus's heirs were involved in a substantial dispute with the Six Nations of the Grand River due to Claus's failure to pay the interest that had been generated from their trust fund, of which Claus had been the principle trustee.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Johnston |editor-first=Charles M. |date=1964 |title=The Valley of the Six Nations: A Collection of Documents on the Indian Lands of the Grand River |url=https://champlainsociety.utpjournals.press/doi/book/10.3138/9781442618510 |location=Toronto |publisher=The Champlain Society |pages=294–295 |doi=10.3138/9781442618510 |isbn=9781442618510}}</ref>
In 1791, William Claus married Catherine Jordan. Together they had three sons and two daughters who survived to adulthood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/claus_william_6E.html|title=William Claus; The Dictionary of Canadian Biography |accessdate=August 16, 2021}}</ref> One of William Claus's sons, Daniel Claus, was killed at the Battle of Crysler's Farm in 1813.<ref>{{cite book |last=Riley |first=J.P. |date=1993 |title=A Matter of Honour: The Life, Campaigns and Generalship of Isaac Brock |location=Montreal |publisher=Robin Brass Studio |page= }}</ref> A second son, Warren Claus, became a leading lawyer in Upper Canada.<ref>{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Frederick H. |date=1985 |title=Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology |publisher=Dundern Press |page= 116}}</ref>
The Claus family home, named the Wilderness, was purchased by the Six Nations and given to Ann Claus, William Claus's mother, as a mark of respect for the longstanding connections between the communities on the Grand River and the Johnson and Claus families. It was destroyed by American troops in December 1813 as part of the burning of Newark during the U.S. retreat from the Niagara Peninsula. Rebuilt in 1816-1817, the home can still be seen in Niagara-on-the-Lake today.<ref>{{cite news|last= Harley|first= Richard|date= |title= Niagara Foundation to purchase half-interest in NOTL "Wilderness"|url= https://www.niagaranow.com/news.phtml/754-niagara-foundation-to-purchase-halfinterest-in-notl-wilderness|access-date= September 10, 2021|archive-date= 10 September 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210910171410/https://www.niagaranow.com/news.phtml/754-niagara-foundation-to-purchase-halfinterest-in-notl-wilderness|url-status= dead}}</ref>
==Family Gallery== {{Gallery |title= |width=180 | height=200 |align=center |footer= |File:DanielClaus.jpg |alt1= |Daniel Claus, William Claus's father |File:Ann (Nancy Claus) Johnson.jpg |alt2= |Ann Claus, William Claus's mother |File:Catherine Jordan (Mrs. William Claus), (1768-1840) - Catherine Jordan (Madame William Claus), (1768-1840).jpg |alt3= |Catherine Jordan, William Claus's wife |File:Lieutenant Daniel Claus.jpg |alt4= |Daniel Claus, William Claus's son |File:Warren Claus.jpg |Warren Claus, William Claus's son }}
== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Claus, William}} Category:British Indian Department Category:1765 births Category:1826 deaths Category:British Army personnel of the War of 1812 Category:Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Category:Pre-Confederation Ontario people