Many thanks Chris for your reply. I go through St Heliers most days...

As you noted, I don't know where to go next, each path I've gone down has come to a grinding halt. I want to find where in Germany he is from, his date of birth, his parents names & family, whether any other family members went to USA, etc.

I don't know what sort of church - but I suspect that it was Protestant of some variety. His wife was not Catholic in England or when she was in NZ, but that's slim evidence!

Several people have tried searching many different spellings for his surname in various Civil War lists, but no luck so far. It is possible he was a bandsman I suppose.

I was hoping that maybe a German source might yield something.