Children of

Frank at 22 c. 1872	Franz Joseph Benitz, born 22 May, 1850. He came of age while still in California. In Argentina, after his father's death, he appears to have gone his own way - not very successfully. His financial mishaps required the family to sell a quarter of "La California". He is also reputed to have had an illegitimate family, yet on 1st of June, 1881, he married Elizabeth Bihsel at "La California". Four months later (about 19 October) while on a hunting trip with his brothers, Frank vanished from his campsite; somewhere along the arroyo El Toba near Espín, south-east of Vera, Santa Fé - presumably drowned. He and Elizabeth had no children, and no further mention is made of Elizabeth in the family records.
Josephine at 22 c. 1874	Josephine Benitz, born 10 September, 1852. Apparently at odds with her mother, she found happiness when she married John Schreiber on 12 November, 1878. They had 6 children. John, a German by way of California, living in Rosario became a prosperous lithographer and for a time worked for the Argentine mint. Like her siblings, she & John established a summer home, "Los Nogales", in Cruz Grande, Córdoba. Josephine died on 13 November, 1919, at the age of 67, John lived on until he was 90 years old, dying on 26 September, 1932.
Willie at 20 c. 1874	William Otto Benitz, born 22 May, 1854. He married Clara Electa Allyn from Rochester, Minnesota, one of the school teachers invited to Argentina by President Sarmiento. They had 8 children. He worked for many years as an estancia (ranch) manager in Entre Rios. When the brothers split up the properties they held in common, he received the headquarters and surrounding lands of "La California". His summer home, "Greystone", in Cruz Chica, Córdoba, was a few kilometers north of those of his siblings. In poor health for some time, he travelled to the US in the hopes of a cure. He died at the age of 56 while visiting his in-laws in Corsicana, Texas, on 1 April, 1911, and is buried in the Allyn family plot in Corsicana. Clara lived another 20 years, dying on 12 October, 1930. She's buried at "La California".
Charlie at 18 c. 1874	Charles Theodore Benitz, born 2 July, 1856. Always of weak constitution, ill since 1870, he collapsed after attempting to lift a heavy pump part when on a routine 30 km. trip for supplies to Cañada de Gomez. He lay down to rest in the railroad station master's home and died there that day, 12 April, 1877, just 20 years old. He's buried at "La California".
Alfred at 15 c. 1874	Alfred Alexander Benitz, born 15 June, 1859. A bachelor most of his life, he was a successful rancher and big game hunter (Argentina, Alaska 1908, African safari 1910). At age 24 he established estancia "Los Palmares" in northern Santa Fé. He later sold it and bought "Campo Winter" in the Chaco. His part of estancia "La California" he named "Las Tijeras" to which he added the neighbouring "Las Tres Lagunas" - filling the house with his hunting trophies. In 1915, at the age of 55, he married Olga Blanche Horner. They had no children of their own but raised three of Olga's brother's children whom she adopted after Alfred's death. Uncle Alfred outlived all his siblings becoming the family patriarch and councelor. He died at the age of 78 on 17 September, 1937, at his summer home of "El Rincon", Cruz Grande, Córdoba. Diminutive Auntie Olga, the family battle-axe, received an OBE for her support of the British war effort during WW-II. She was 87 years old when she died on 4 February, 1963, at "El Rincon", and is buried beside Uncle Alfred at "La California".
Johny at 13 c. 1874	John Edward Benitz, born 24 August, 1861. A civic-minded successful estanciero (rancher) he helped establish towns and schools, served as mayor of two towns, was a founding member of the Rosario and Bell Ville agricultural societies, and of the Asociación Argentina de Polo. When the brothers split up the properties they held in common, he received estancia "Los Algarrobos" near Monte Buey, Córdoba. He also managed "El Victoriano" & "La Escondida" next to the Algarrobos, and "El Bermejo" in the Chaco - estancias he owned in partnership with T. Agar, M. Cross, and others. On 25 October, 1892, he married Marjorie Macintosh; they had 5 children. On 20 March, 1916, a flash flood tragically cut short his life when it washed through his summer home "Cruz Grande", Cruz Grande, Córdoba. He was 55 years old. Marjorie lived another 30 years and was 83 years old when she died on 26 December, 1945, at "Los Algarrobos". They are both buried at "La California".	John at 42 c.1903
Herman at 11 c. 1874	Herman Vitalis Benitz, born 28 April, 1863. Reputed to have been a hard worker. While on a well-earned holiday at the coastal resort of Mar del Plata, Argentina, he was accused of not paying his gambling debts. His body was found by an arroyo, dead from suicide or murder, 31 January, 1893. He was 29 years old. He is buried at "La California".


	CAÑADA DE GOMEZ (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LA CALIFORNIA. April 22. When Mr. Benitz, senior, with his family came to this country in 1875 from California, he found it in a very different state to what it is at present. No railway to his destination and no roads of any worth, the difficulty of moving his goods and chattels was great, but that overcoming, Mr. Benitz arrived on the ground which he had chosen and bought. Three leagues of land between what are now called Elisa and Las Rosas were retained out of the four leagues bought, and to this the “lares et penates” of the family were carted with considerable difficulty. It was decided to build a house not only suitable to the immediate wants of the family, but one in which could be entertained the numerous friends and passers by also, which all estancieros receive with a welcome known only in camp life. In addition, Mr. Benitz was of opinion that when building it would be better to build with regard to future requirements and not only for the wants of the day. The result was a house of much larger extent than most of those I have seen, “replete with every comfort” (this is the auctioneers’ phrase, and I believe copyright), altos, with rooms sufficient to accommodate twenty-five visitors, and though so many may not often be seen there at one time, it is certain that they would be received, should they arrive, as though they had been expected for a week. The number of skins disposed about the rooms is simply astonishing to one not knowing the sporting proclivities of the brothers Benitz; the astonishment when one knows them is that they have not been fallen upon and smitten by the way. Lion, jaguar, wild boar, guanaco, serpent, and indeed every class and kind of skin indigenous to this country is to be found at La California, and some of the most beautiful specimens. To describe the park in front of the house and the trees and gardens around is difficult. The appearance of the grounds when one comes from the dining-room is most imposing, and the guardian, the giant puma, prowling from end to end of its tether, makes it more imposing still. All the trees were grown from seed brought into the country by Mr. Benitz, not one being on the place previous to his arrival, and the result is simply marvellous. The blue gums, of which very few exist in Santa Fé, are here the finest to be seen. Pepper trees, silver and golden wattle, pines from the States, and many other varieties are to be found in profusion. In the garden behind the house are pears, apples, quince, figs, cherries, peaches, raspberries, strawberries of both European and Alpine varieties, and all kinds of fruits and vegetables, Mrs. Benitz taking almost as much interest in her garden as in her dairy. Most sadly, twelve months after the building of the house Mr. Benitz died and left his sons to carry on the estancia business in conjunction with his widow. To arrive at La California you take train to Las Rosas and return towards Elisa, then, at an angle almost acute, turn to the left, and with your destination unmistakably in front of you, carry yourself on another half league; La California, Las Lomas, and Las Rosas are all in touch and more or less equidistant. Mr. John Benitz, so well known to your readers that it is needless to mention the many sports in which he excels, is the actual head of the establishment, and it was he who gave me the information for these notes and who showed me all over the place. What was seen was nearly the whole estancia, but much was related, and I think it as well to combine the two in one narrative.
	To commence with the horses: The breeding of horses for harness purposes is the aim of Mr. Benitz, and many were being handled and broken on my visit. There are four manada of mares each containing forty, and this year great luck has happily been the lot. The stallions, four in number, were selected from the stud of Mr. John Nash, of Carcaraná [sp] and El Refango [sp], and do not retract from the reputation of that gentleman as a breeder of high class animals. They are Clydesdale, Cleveland, and one Irish hunter of great power and form, and their stock are just of the class required in this country for carriage and draught purposes. One pair of chestnuts, rising five, are almost perfection, and a great horse or foal which galloped past me, struck me as being the very animal for carrying weight and beautiful in every point. All cannot be noticed but all are good. Mention must, however, be made of a pair of pure white criollo ponies which are now being broken to harness. They are as handsome as any driven in the “Row” and should turn out as valuable. The potros, of which there are now seventy-five rising three, and some fifty or more rising two, and the fillies to the same amount, are kept in separate potreros, and they look as well as any to be seen around. The mares are mostly Suffolk Punch and are descended from that great old horse Nelson which belonged to Mr. Paul Krell. Two thoroughbred bulls and 100 breeding cows of at least 15/16ths, are the home cattle. But this does not represent the stock. In three leagues of camp, now almost entirely laid down in alfalfa, one must expect a few more. Of late there have not been so many on account of Mr. Benitz having been ploughing and putting in this alfalfa, but in a few days (they are now on their way), he will have some 4000 head for fattening. That cattle were removed from La California was due to the fact that the pasto fuerte was found not to have the nutritive powers hoped for, and so they were sent to the Gran Chaco, where Messrs. Benitz rent some six leagues and have over 8000 head, which are of the best and fattest. Every year tropas are brought down to invernar, and other cattle are taken for the same purpose. To the markets of Buenos Aires, Rosario, Cordoba, and Santa Fé there are continual consignments both from here and the Chaco. The sheep consist of 3000 black face, from the flocks of Mr. Kemmis and Messrs. Dickenson, with thirty imported rams. The capones and boregas are all in separate paddocks, only the breeding ewes being together. The sheep dip is some six feet deep and some fifty yards long, and built, with its approaches, on principles of the soundest. Three hundred pigs from “famed Berkshire” complete the stock, but still there are many working bullocks employed in ploughing the last 1000 squares which are to take alfalfa in July, and for home purposes. There are now 3800 squares of alfalfa divided into potreros and fenced to perfection. No wheat is grown, except by the colonists on the land, who this year, from 1000 squares, averaged sixteen quintals of excellent grain. The dairy, cool and grotto-like, is a great hobby of Mrs. Benitz, who delights in superintending the making of the cheese and butter. The excellence of these is well known, not only over the province but at much greater distance. Hides and wool are sold on the place, and not exported direct. Direct exportation of horses is, however in contemplation for the early future. The ostrich about which Mr. Benitz wrote you a week or so ago, which had, as supposed, ceased to lay, has now beaten her record; on the day of my visit, the 21^st inst., she had deposited ninety-eight eggs, and still looked as if she could eat another packet of tin-tacks or a cold chisel, for which she seems to have a penchant. There are thirteen of these birds in the small paddock adjoining the house, and very charming they make the view, but this is the only domestic one. The Gran Chaco, which I have never visited, is, I hear, though wild and rough, specially adapted for breeding cattle on a large scale and is the home of all wild game. Mr. Alfred Benitz is in charge there and has had many a brush with the Indians, for whom he generally accounts. Mr. Herman Benitz spends his time doing the hard work—he likes it—either here, at the Chaco, or on the estancia at Entre Rios, where another brother is manager and part proprietor. He was in the expedition against the Indians some three years ago which was commanded by Commandantes Agromenova and Sepera, in which 120 men took part. He was three months out and has many tales to tell of his sufferings and experience, and of the scalps that fell—I mean came off to him. The success of Polo in this province owes much to Mr. John Benitz. He and Mr. Alfred Dickenson, enthusiasts in the game, whip up from every available spot those who can play and those who are likely to make players, and encourage the “young idea,” not by swearing at him when he makes a bad stroke or breaks some rule, and so unnerving him, but by applauding any mark he makes on the field and telling him quietly of his mistakes afterwards. These are the class of men to make the game popular and to bring in new blood. C. W. W.

	THE BENITZES A BREED OF PIONEERS IN ARGENTINA For Revista de la Sociedad Rural de Rosario by Dr. Pó M. Olcese (translated by Prof. Nelida Lopez-Newgord) All those who, for many years, have been engaged in this endeavor of cultivating the soil and fostering quality cattle, have invariably heard the name of one of the Benitzes and their rural activity in our country tending evidently to cattle-raising. From parents to children, from grandparents to grandchi1dren, all were indubitably men of integrity, and true men of the farm land, founding rural establishments which have remained as prototypes of an intelligent and relentless effort. To say "Benitz" in certain areas of the provinces of Santa Fé and Córdoba is as much as saying: perseverance, capacity, intelligence in all that pertains to rural life: In other words, men of integrity and honest men. Many years ago, I was on the farm of Mrs. Eustolia Iriondo de Fraga in the north part of our province, and had to leave for Santa Fé [city] immediately. It had rained torrentially and it was impossible to use either a car or carriage; therefore I decided to make part of my journey on horseback. I had to cross the Espín Arroyo, which because of the rains was quite rough at the time, and it looked as though it had overflowed. The foreman objected to my doing so – of course, he would go with me – and it was then that he said: "I fear for you. When I was quite young an Englishman who tried to cross drowned in that same Espín. So that you know, if you can't swim, don't ride the horse into the current, or it will defeat you even though you may be the most knowledgeable person in these parts. The current is strong and the bottom treacherous." The supposed Englishman was one of the Benitzes, a family of true pioneers, precursors in many wild areas which are now centers of production and civilized life. However, so that the reader need not speculate, we swam across the Espín even though we [were] veered off our course by the current. This digression is meant only to clarify later an evident mistake made by the descendants of that first Benitz, a Californian and not English, and whom tradition kept calling Benitez. Prompted by my desire to establish the image of those men and the Benitzes that I could meet – among them don Guillermo, already a man when I was a child – I requested information that had to do with the family as a whole, and here I transcribe the letter that I received some time ago, together with a photograph of the three brothers, with their sincere faces, their intelligent foreheads and eyes of honest men. The letter sent from the establishment La California, dated November 24, 1954, says the following: "Dear Sir: I didn’t answer your letters of September 3 and 21 because I wasn’t here. You honor my ancestors with your desire and intention of relating the arrival and activities of these emigrants. It gives me great pleasure to tell their story now. My Grandfather, Guillermo Benitz, a German, emigrated to Mexico in 1832 when he was 17 years old; in 1843 he purchased 17,000 acres in Fort Ross, California, to which he brought 900 cattle, 200 breeding mares and 300 sheep. In 1847 he married Josefina Kolmer, 16 years old at the time, who had crossed the plains from St. Louis in carts. They had 10 children. The first three were killed by the Indians, who were constantly attacking the fort and stealing cattle; this and the invasion of hordes that arrived when gold was discovered in the region made them decide to emigrate to the River Platte with his family. The. Benitz family arrived in Buenos Aires in 1874, and then went to Rosario as a more central point to look for land. In February 1875 he bought 4 leagues of land in a place known as Los Esteros (the present La California) in the Dept. of Iriondo (now Belgrano) for 16,000 hard pesos. It was open land, without wire fences or trees. The nearest railroad station was Cañada de Gómez, from where they brought everything they needed by ox-drawn carts, the work being divided among the children. The following year, my grandfather died: the eldest boy, Francisco [Frank], left to go to Chaco, where he tried to develop the Espín Colony, with North American emigrants (that was the largest piece of land that remained in the hands of Governor Iriondo, whom you mention). Francisco didn't do well and his mother had to sell a league of land to cover his debts: it is presumed that Francisco drowned crossing a swollen stream in 1881: two other brothers, Carlos and Herman died respectively in 1877 and 1893. The three brothers, Guillermo (my father), Alfredo (who settled in the Chaco with 16 leagues of land and called it Los Palmares, Dept. of Calchaquí) and Juan with four leagues in Los Algarrobos, Dept. of Unión, Córdoba; worked in partnership until 1902, when they separated, my father retaining 2 leagues of La California, Alfredo with Los Palmares and one league of La California and Juan with Los Algarrobos. The three were very active, enterprising men; their estancias were exemplary for their good wire fences and equipment, their buildings, their alfalfa fields, the cattle, all, in short, were very complimentary to the inhabitants of the pampas. Alfredo, who lived some 20 years in [the] Chaco, had many encounters with the Indians, and was very fond of hunting wild animals, which he also did in Africa and Alaska. He sold his land in the north to buy the estancia Las Tres Lagunas, owned by Knight and Porteous, next to La California. He died in 1937. Juan, well known in the Rural Society of Rosario as a very cooperative member, drowned in [a flash flood] of the Cruz Grande River in 1916. Guillermo (my father) was very active in his cattle business and in buying and selling land. He died in 1911. From what I have told you, you may reduce, verify or modify according to what you think is best. I sincerely appreciate the intelligent and strong support you have given our rural society, and I congratulate you for the tradition that is preserved for our ancestors, to whom we owe so much. I am enclosing a photo of the three Benitz brothers, such as they were known in the rural society; from the left, Guillermo, Alfredo and Juan. I will appreciate your returning it. I shall be happy to answer any question that you may have. My cousin Juan has settled in England, and I don't think it's worth trying to get information from him. Yours truly, Guillermo A. Benitz" This letter makes us aware of what the country was like not too many years ago, and allows us to judge the caliber of the men who were never afraid of adversity or the desert, establishing their worth and influence by themselves, without any sponsors backing them or relying on the support of any men or governments. They truly incarnate a special breed of men and the work they did honors their descendants as well as the one ancestor, Don Guillermo Benitz, who emigrated to Mexico in 1832 when he was only 17 years old! I only have to correct one error. The land (once Benitz desisted) was bought by Don Agustín de Iriondo, who was not the governor of Santa Fé, and which later came into the hands of Doña Eustolia Iriondo de Fraga, by virtue of being Iriondo's daughter.


Wilhelm Benitz 1815-1876	Wilhelm's List signed by Josefina K. de Benitz	Josefa Kolmerer 1830-1912