Career
He was trained as a goldand silversmith specializing in enamel and worked for a while in Cologne. In 1663 he travelled to Amsterdam where business prospects were not good. The conventicle act of 1664 which limited meetings in England led to the arrest of January Claus.
He was convicted to be shipped to Jamaica.
Then it was attacked by a Dutch privateer from the city of Hoorn. They were saved by Friends who had them released and brought to Amsterdam.
lieutenant is not clear what happened to the others but January Claus, because of his command of both English and German, was pressed into staying with the Friends in Amsterdam. lieutenant is known that Claus studied works by Johannes Tauler, Sebastian Franck and Jakob Böhme.
By 1673 he was established as a buttonmaker in the company of another Quaker friend: Pieter Deen.
He was for business reasons corresponding with another Friend, John Furly in Colchester. In 1677 January Claus accompanied William Penn on a trip through Leeuwarden, Wieuwerd, and Groningen to Embden. In 1684, with George Fox, he visited Harlingen.
(To be continued)
Source: J.Z. Kannegieter,Geschiedenis van de vroegere quakergemeenschap te Amsterdam, Amsterdam/Haarlem, 1971.
