Johann Heinrich Theis, born in 1800, was among the first German settlers in northwest Harris County, arriving in 1846 with his wife Katherina Benner, born in 1804, and their four children. In 1847 Johann acquired 200 acres in the Rosehill Community, where the family joined other German settlers in organizing Salem Lutheran Church. In 1854 their oldest son Jacob purchased 557 acres nearby and settled among other German immigrants in what later became known as the Klein Community. In the 1890s confusion in mail delivery to Theis families in the Rosehill and Klein communities led Rosehill family members to spell their name with a single s and those at Klein with a double s. Buried in a cemetery at the edge of Jacob Theis' original acreage are Johann Heinrich and Katherina Theis and their son Christian. Though the graveyard is small and the tombstones are missing, the site remains a memorial to these early German immigrants. Continuing a family tradition of community involvement and leadership, several descendants served as trustees of the Klein Independent School District.