W. Edmunds Claussen

Born 11 December 1907. Born of German stock, his grandfather (also William) had come to America in 1872 and was naturalized in 1877. His parents Henry and Grace, were from New York, and he was born in New Jersey, where his father worked as a watchman for the railroads. but lived with his grandparents in Philadelphia.

Claussen was a prolific writer of Westerns in the years after the war, at least 1946-58. He ran Boyertown Photo Shop,132 East Philadelphia Avenue, and was a resident in nearby Pine Forge. In December 1952, Claussen sent a copy of his book Rebels Roundup to President-elect General Dwight D. Eisenhower and proudly displayed the reply he received in the show window of his shop. Claussen, a member of the local Boyertown Lions club, was nicknamed "Wild Bill" by the local newspaper.

Some of his work was syndicated, including Tall Drifter, distributed by NEA Service to various newspapers in 1956.

He was also a journalist, writing for the local newspaper in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, where he died in April 1974.

PUBLICATIONS

Novels
Lawdog of Skeleton Canyon. New York, Phoenix Press, 1945; London, Wright & Brown, 1948.
Rustlers of Slabrock. New York, Phoenix Press, 1946; London, Wright & Brown, 1949.
Gun Devil. New York, Lion Books 29, 1950; London, Robert Hale, 1956. 
El Paso. New York, Lion Books 55, 1951; London, Corgi Books T135, 1955.
Rebels Roundup. New York, Abelard Press, 1952; London & New York, Abelard-Schuman 1959.
Fight the Wild River. New York, Dodd, Mead, 1954.
Ride the Dark Hills. Pocket Books 1048, 1955; London, Robert Hale, 1955.

Novels as Clem Edmunds
Devil's Mesa. New York, Phoenix Press, 1946; London, Wells Gardner, Darton, 1948.

Non-fiction
Pioneers Along the Manatawny. Pine Forge, PA, Gilbert Printing Co., 1968.
Wyck: The story of an historic house, 1690-1970. Philadelphia, M. T. Haines, c.1970.
History of Colebrookdale Township. The author, c.1971.
The Revolutionary War Years in Berks, Chester and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania, being chiefly concerned with September 11 till December 18, 1777. Boytertown, PA, Gilbert Printing Co., 1973.
Stories of the Falls of French Creek. 1974.