John was born on August 22nd, 1875. John's father was Daniel Clauss and his mother was Judith Miller. His paternal grandfather was Daniel Clauss and his paternal grandmother is Dorothea Breden. He had three brothers and a sister, named Phaon, Preston, Ulysses and Anna Maria. He was the youngest of the five children. He died at the age of 3 on July 17th, 1879.