Emmanuel Fetter (1809-1889) was born in Lancaster, PA, to Anna Yarrell and Frederick Fetter, a cabinetmaker. Christened Emmanuel, he shortened his name to Manuel when he became an adult. He attended Flushing Institute in New York, then enrolled in Columbia College, which granted him a BA and an MA degree. He married Sarah Cox (1816-1867), with whom he raised a family of four sons and three daughters. Fetter joined the University faculty in 1837 as professor of ancient languages. A year later, when the professorship was divided, he became professor of Greek language and literature, an appointment he held until 1868. Cornelia Phillips Spencer reports that Professor Manuel Fetter left Chapel Hill in late January 1869 "with his three orphan girls" (Old Days 145). Students called him "Old Fet." In 1842 he helped organize Chapel Hill’s first Episcopal church. After leaving Chapel Hill, Fetter taught in various classical schools in North Carolina (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography 2:193).