One my favorite mausoleums in Springdale is also the first built. A brief biography of Alios Zotz, translated from German to American:
Alois Zotz (born April 28, 1814, Bichlbach, Reutte District, Tyrol, Austria, died July 20, 1893 in Peoria (Illinois)) was an Austrian-American newspaper publisher, journalist and originally a Roman Catholic priest.
Alois Zotz, who comes from the traditional Tyrolean Zotz family, was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on September 11, 1839 and then worked in several parishes, including the Rottenburg diocese. His preoccupation with criticism of religion eventually led him to give up church service and to emigrate to the USA.
In 1852 Alois Zotz settled in Peoria, Illinois, where he founded the region’s first German-language newspaper, the Illinois Banner. The newspaper initially appeared weekly and was then expanded into a daily newspaper. When Alois Zotz sold the newspaper in 1858, it was given the title Deutsche Zeitung.
In 1860 he founded the German-language daily Demokrat, whose editor he remained until 1864. This newspaper is considered the leading German-language press organ in the USA at the time.
Alois Zotz was friends with Robert G. Ingersoll, who had been running a law firm in Peoria since 1857. Both had an agnostic and free-thinking attitude. Ingersoll and Zotz were the spiritual leaders of the Republican Party in Illinois. The party was founded in 1854 with the main aim of combating the spread of slavery. In contrast to Ingersoll, Zotz stayed away from political offices and functions and worked as an author and journalist for his political convictions. He also translated Ingersoll’s work that was critical of religion into German. Alois Zotz died in Peoria at the age of 79.
https://peoplepill.com/people/alois-zotz
