 He was one of ten surviving children of the Swiss-born Benjamin Etter (d. 1889), all but one of whom were boys.Around 1876 the family moved to Humboldt County, where Benjamin acquired a farm near Ferndale and became the first person to grow lentils in the county.Albert's German-born mother, Wilhelmina (Kern) Etter (d. 1913) was skilled at cultivating plants, and Etter showed a talent for hybridizing plants in childhood, working with apples, peaches, dahlias, and strawberries by the time he was twelve.