Peter Hotze was born 12 Oct. 1836 at Innsbruck in the Austrian Tyrol and died 12 Apr. 1909 in Little Rock, Ark. He was the son of Wolfgang Reinart Hotze and Mary Sophia Hotze. In 1856 he came to the U.S. and settled in Little Rock early in 1857 where he engaged in the general merchandise business. He was a member of the Capital Guards, which became Company A of the Sixth Arkansas Regiment, of General Cleburne's division during the Civil War. After the war he formed a partnership with John Gould Fletcher and entered the cotton and general merchandise business. Hotze had a business and resided in New York City from 1873 until 1900, when he returned to Little Rock. In 1868 Peter Hotze married Johanna Krause. Mrs. Hotze died in 1900. They had three children, Sophia (Mrs. Robert D'Orsay Wooldridge), Frederick, and Clara (wife of Col. James Villard Heidt). Peter Hotze had two brothers, Frederick and Conrad L. Hotze. Frederick Hotze was a field marshal of the Austrian empire and was governor of the military province of Bosnia in Austria. He died in 1900. Conrad L. Hotze was a prominent attourney in Cleveland, Ohio. He died 27 Jan. 1913. Sophia Hotze (Mrs. Robert d'Orsay Wooldridge) and Robert d'Orsay Wooldridge had a daughter Laura d'Orsay Wooldridge who attended Little Rock High School in 1921 and 1922. Sophia Hotze Wooldridge was a member of the City Federation of Woman's Clubs in Little Rock, Woman's City Club, Aesthetic Club, and the Fine Arts Club of Arkansas during the 1920s and 1930s. Clara Hotze Heidt was a member of the Little Rock Garden Club (1952-1953).
From the description of Hotze family papers, 1613-1960 (bulk 1880-1920). (Arkansas History Commission). WorldCat record id: 428433305
