Representative Robert Klotz

Robert Klotz (October 27, 1819 – May 1, 1895) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who served two terms in Congress from 1879 to 1883. Over a long public career that spanned state and territorial politics, military service in two wars, and business pursuits, he represented the interests of his constituents while participating in the legislative process during a significant period in American history.

Klotz was born on October 27, 1819, in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in an area that later became part of Carbon County. He attended the local county schools, receiving the basic education typical of rural Pennsylvania in the early nineteenth century. As Carbon County developed following its creation from portions of Northampton and Monroe Counties, Klotz quickly emerged as a local leader. In 1843 he became the first register and recorder of Carbon County, marking the beginning of his formal public service.

During the Mexican–American War, Klotz volunteered for military service and joined the Second Pennsylvania Volunteers. Between 1846 and 1847 he advanced through the ranks, serving successively as a private, lieutenant, and adjutant. After returning to Pennsylvania, he entered state politics and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1848. He was reelected in 1849, participating in the legislative affairs of the Commonwealth at a time of expansion and political realignment.

In 1855 Klotz moved west to Pawnee, in what was then Kansas Territory, becoming involved in the turbulent politics of the era known as “Bleeding Kansas.” That same year he served as a member of the Topeka constitutional convention, which framed a free-state constitution for Kansas. Under the constitution adopted at Topeka, he became the first Secretary of State of Kansas, reflecting his prominence among the free-state leadership. He also served as a brigadier general under Free-State Governor Charles Robinson, further underscoring his dual role in both the political and military struggles that shaped the future state.

Klotz returned to Pennsylvania in 1857, settling again in Mauch Chunk in Carbon County. Resuming local public service, he was elected treasurer of Carbon County in 1859. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he again entered military service. In 1861 he enlisted in the Union Army and, in 1862, was chosen colonel of the Nineteenth Pennsylvania Emergency Militia, a unit raised to respond to Confederate incursions into the North. His leadership in this emergency force added to his record of service in defense of the Union.

In the years following the Civil War, Klotz remained active in civic and educational affairs. From 1874 to 1882 he served as a trustee of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, contributing to the governance of the institution during a period of growth in higher education and industrial development in the Lehigh Valley. His standing in the community and long record of public service helped pave the way for his election to national office.

Klotz was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from March 4, 1879, to March 3, 1883. During these two terms, he took part in the legislative work of the House at a time marked by debates over Reconstruction’s aftermath, economic policy, and industrial expansion. As a member of the Democratic Party, he represented the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents and contributed to the broader democratic process in the post–Civil War Congress.

After leaving Congress, Klotz remained engaged in business and public life. He served as a director and agent of the Laflin & Rand Powder Company in New York City, a major manufacturer of explosives in the late nineteenth century, reflecting the close ties between Pennsylvania’s industrial economy and national commercial enterprises. He continued to reside in Mauch Chunk, where he had long been a prominent figure in local affairs.

Robert Klotz died at his home in Mauch Chunk, in present-day Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, on May 1, 1895. He was interred in City Cemetery, leaving behind a legacy of service that encompassed county administration, state and territorial government, military command in two American wars, educational stewardship, and two terms in the United States Congress.