Hello,
A Koetter is just a farmer - Kotten is the same word as cottage in English
The farm is just not as old as a Meier farm. But that differs from place to place. You would have to compare it to the other farms in and around Vechta.
Can you explain that? My husband's family is from a little further south, Delbruck, near Paderborn. His (our) name is PETERMEIER. I was told that a meier is like an over-seer of a farm, and that was what the name meant... Can you elaborate?
Josie Petermeier