Ancestors.

I thought this might be of interest as it's coming up to Christmas, and the piece has something of a seasonal theme.
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In the course of tracing my family tree, I found I have German ancestors.
My great great grandfather Conrad Zimmer came to England from Weisbaden in the 1840s, as did Eliza Berta Lottig, the woman he would later meet in Liverpool, and marry.
I have often wondered what made Conrad leave the country of his birth, where he was in a secure occupation, and come to England, and a possibly precarious existence.
I now think I may have found the answer, and appropriately enough, it is connected to Christmas…
When he was resident in Weisbaden, he was leader of the ‘Stadtpfeifers’ - the official town musicians, whose duty it was to perform at civic events and religious festivals.
If available records are to be relied on, he performed his duties in a satisfactory manner until the Christmas of 1839, when it seems he blotted his copybook…
The Stadtpfeifers had been told to go around the town, and perform Christmas carols outside various civic buildings and institutions. They had been further instructed that wherever possible, they should choose works suitable to the location.
So it was, that they performed ‘Stille Nacht’ (Silent Night) outside the Foundling Hospital, and ‘Tannenbaum’ (Christmas Tree) outside the town's ornamental gardens.
All was going well until the Stadtpfeifers arrived at the town Lunatic Asylum, and Conrad led them in a spirited rendition of ‘God Rest Ye Gerry Mental Men’.
The town council dispensed with his services shortly afterwards.

A nice story for Weihnachten indeed......