Fetters Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Medieval Austria is the ancient homeland of the Fetters family. Austria, which was originally home to a Celtic people, was conquered by the Roman Empire in about 15 BC. Following the fall of Rome, Austria was repeatedly invaded by barbarian tribes, such as the Vandals, Visigoths, and Huns, who swept in from the east. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the Alemanni, Avars and Slavs settled Austria. The Avars were defeated in 785 by the Frankish emperor Charlemagne, who set up the East Mark, which later became known as the Österreich. Austria was ruled by the Babenburger dynasty until 1278, when they were succeeded by the Hapsburg dynasty, which ruled Austria until the 20th century.

Fetters Early Origins

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The surname Fetters was first found in Bavaria, where the name, historically associated with the landed aristocracy, could be considered to have played a major role in the feudal society which became the backbone of early development of Europe. The name became prominent in local affairs and branched into many houses which took part in the tribal and national conflicts, each group seeking power and status in an ever changing territorial profile. The main branch of the family left Bavaria for Styria in Austria in 1587 and later moved into Silesia where they became one of the most respected families. The ancestral seat was the castle and estates of Feistritz, near the city Cilley, two miles from Graz in Styria. The family also acquired the castle and manor Miestitz near Oppeln in Silesia.

Fetters Spelling Variations

Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Fetters include Vetter, Voetter (Bavaria), Votter (Bavaria), Vetters, Vetterle, Voetterl, Vetterling, Vetterlein, Vetterley, Vetterline, Vedder (northern Germany), Vett, Veth, Vether, Fett, Fetter, Fetters, Fetterle and many more.

Fetters Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fetters research. Another 497 words (36 lines of text) covering the years 1653, 1822, 1547, 1622, 1666 and 1734 are included under the topic Early Fetters History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fetters Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fetters Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

After the First World War, Austria became a republic. The Treaty of Versailles broke up the empire in 1919 and many of the Sudeten Germans were incorporated into the new nation of Czechoslovakia. In the 20th century, many Austrians migrated to other parts of Germany or Europe, as well as to North America. In the United States, the majority of settlers landed in Philadelphia, and moved on to Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. Many German settlers also migrated to Canada, particularly Ontario and the Prairies. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Fetters were

Fetters Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Gitel Fetters, aged 30, who emigrated to the United States, in 1895
Leie Fetters, aged 9, who emigrated to America, in 1895
Moische Fetters, aged 5, who emigrated to the United States, in 1895

Fetters Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

William Fetters, who landed in America, in 1908
Willis Fetters, who settled in America, in 1908
Wm. Fetters, aged 47, who landed in America, in 1909
Margaret Fetters, aged 38, who landed in America, in 1920
Kenneth R. Fetters, who landed in America, in 1920

Contemporary Notables of the name Fetters (post 1700)

Michael Lee Fetters (b. 1964), retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher
Karl L Fetters (b. 1909), President of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers 1964
Mrs. Harlan C. Fetters, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Nebraska, 1932 ^[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
E. H. Fetters, American Democrat politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Iowa, 1952 ^[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html

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Citations

^ The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html

Other References

Weis, Frederick Lewis, Walter Lee Sheppard and David Faris. Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came to New England Between 1623 and 1650 7th Edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0806313676).
Browning, Charles H. Americans of Royal Descent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8).
Samuelsen, W. David. New York City Passenger List Manifests Index 1820 - 1824. North Salt Lake, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems International, 1986. Print.
Schenk, Trudy. Wuerttemberg Emigration Index Volume I-VIII. Salt Lake City: Ancestry Inc., 1986. Print.
Siebmacher, J.J. Siebmachers Wappenbuch. München, Battenberg: 1975. Print.
Zoder, Rudolf. Familiennamen in Ostfalen. Hildesheim: Geog Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1968. Print.
Best, Hugh. Debrett's Texas Peerage. New York: Coward-McCann, 1983. Print. (ISBN 069811244X).
Crozier, William Armstrong Edition. Crozier's General Armory A Registry of American Families Entitled to Coat Armor. New York: Fox, Duffield, 1904. Print.
Bolton, Charles Knowles. Bolton's American Armory. Baltimore: Heraldic Book Company, 1964. Print.
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The Fetters Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Fetters Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 7 May 2016 at 13:34.