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Research in Other Countries => Europe => Topic started by: Ancient Mariner on Thursday 27 September 07 22:50 BST (UK)
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My Great Grandfather came to London from Eisenbach, a town in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) South West Germany, in 1867. He was a clockmaker and he lived in Newman Street, off Oxford Street, London.
His ancestor was a famous, listed cuckoo clockmaker named Fidel Hepting who married into the Ketterer family, also residents of Eisenbach.
Does anyone on this forum have any knowledge about the town of Eisenbach?
I believe that Friedenweiler is a nearby town in the same area of the Black forest.
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Eisenbach is quite famous for clock making. As in most Black Forest villages, most of the inhabitants were farmers, who, during the long winter months, produced crafts. Usually, the whole village "specialised" for a certain type of craft, there are e.g. villages where lots of glass blowing was done, in others they made brushes, and Eisenbach was one of the villages famous for clock making.The church records for Eisenbach are most probably at the Erzbischöffliche Archiv in Freiburg (http://www.ordinariat-freiburg.de/14.0.html page in German only).
As you mention the name Ketterer: there is a local history researcher called Emil Ketterer, who did some work for the museum of local history of the town Loeffingen.
I've no idea how to get hold of him, but maybe it is a good idea to contact the museum of Loeffingen. The homepage of Loeffingen (http://www.loeffingen.de/) is also in English, maybe you can use their contact form to ask if they can help you.
Rossi
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This site lists lots of Hepting researchers: www.geneanet.org
Found surname in Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World by Brian Loomes (vol. 2)- no further details given:
Alios Hepting. London 1828 C[locks]
Hepting & Furderer London 1881