Hi all,
My ancestor Conrad Heinrich Vetter is first found in the 1851 census living with his wife and their children at Crown Court in Manchester, Lancashire. He is a musician, professor of music, and music instrument repairer in future censuses (eventually the family moves to Chorley).
He was born about 1816 and his birth place is consistently "Prussia," or Germany in census records. His wife was born about 1810 and I know she is from Hesse and was previously married to a Jacob Veit (her maiden name was Thorn). She had a daughter, Catharina Veit, from that marriage, who married Jacob Stutt in Manchester - he was also German.
Their first son, Frederick, is baptised in Manchester in 1843 so I know both Conrad Heinrich and his wife Anna Maria were in Manchester by then. I can't find them in the 1841 census. They didn't marry until 1846 after first baptising a second son, John.
In 1861 Conrad Heinrich is referred to as a British subject, implying he was naturalized between 1851 and 1861. He is always referred to as a British subject thereafter until his death in 1890. He seems to have gone by Henry Vetter (his name on most of his children's birth certificates, marriage certs, etc). His wife is buried as Mary Vetter. Sometimes their last name is mis-spelled Fetter or Fether (V and F pronounced similarly in German, apparently).
I can't find Conrad Heinrich or his wife (with her maiden, 1st married, or 2nd married names) in any of the passenger lists or foreign arrivals lists on Ancestry (I did find their neighbors, the Hausers).
Where else could I look for records of these emigrants? I would really like to find Conrad Heinrich's kingdom of origin. His son Fred became a pretty well-respected musician (playing for the royal family on a few occasions) and clearly learned his talent from his father.
Thanks in advance!
