Laserfiche WebLink
Olivers, Studebakers, Birdsells, Colfax, Alfred Miller (founder of the South Bend Tribune), <br />Elisha Whittlesey (the first Comptroller ~ Treasurer of the United States) and many, many, <br />more. <br /> <br />And places the Kotz family was directly linked to were cities afar off from South Bend such <br />as Chicago, Grand Rapids, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and even the White House. <br /> <br />In truth, the Kotz family was a local hub, a conduit of political access, an important <br />substation in farming, a family filled with blacksmiths, and a local powerhouse for the arts. <br /> <br />The Kotz’s all operated with humility, with modesty, steadfastly involved in community, their <br />respective churches, and exercised their faith in God. They had an unwavering <br />commitment to hard work, and alongside other early pioneers, helped to shape the city of <br />South Bend and St. Joseph County into what it is today. <br /> <br /> <br />DANIEL KOTZ ~ SON OF JOHN G. & CHRISTINA KOTZ) <br />Aside from the farming and wagon businesses, the Kotz Family Farm was the childhood <br />home of the famous American painter and artist, Daniel Kotz. Daniel Kotz, born in 1848 – <br />1933, started drawing and sketching landscapes at eight years old in his spare time. Art <br />was certainly one of his many giftings. He was also noted in one South Bend Tribune article <br />as an inventor of a threshing machine and a typewriter. But initially, the Kotz family, like <br />many pioneers in those days, struggled to clear and settle their vast and heavily forested <br />farm. Thus young Daniel’s art time was limited, outweighed by the family’s need for <br />everyone to contribute to survive.