CULP OVERVIEW
This document encompasses eight generations of descendants of Henry Culp who was born in 1780. It includes information gathered over a three-week driving trip to Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Alabama and Louisiana in September 2000 and three subsequent trips.
The surnames Culp and Kulp are both "Americanized" versions of Kolb. The surname Kolb is found in the thirteenth century in Germany and even earlier in Holland and Switzerland, but it is essentially of Germanic origin. It is my belief that we, along with the majority of other Culps/Kulps in North America, are descended from Dielman Kolb, Sr., born in the Palatine region of Germany in 1648. His ancestors most likely emigrated to Germany from Switzerland. The Rhenish Palatinate (or Palatine) is an area in west central Germany abutting the Rhine River. The capital of the Palatinate is now the city of Mainz. Dielman died in 1712 at the age of sixty- four and is buried at Manheim where he resided. He was married to Agnes Schumacher, the daughter of Peter Schumacher. Agnes died in 1705 at the age of fifty-three and is buried at Wolfsheim, Germany. Dielman and Agnes must have been people of means and position in the old country, for four of their six sons were ministers of the Mennonite faith, and Dielman, Jr. was considered a man of exceptional education in that day. Though Dielman Sr. and Agnes never left Germany, they are considered the ancestors of the majority of Culps/Kulps in North America due to their offspring.
It might prove helpful at this point to review how the Kolbs fit into the American immigration stream. If there is any one person that the Kolbs should pay homage to, at that time, it would be William Penn. William Penn was a Quaker, a conservative branch of the Mennonites. He was granted land in America by Charles II that is now known as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Penn personally went to the Palatine region and urged the Mennonites to emigrate to his colony. In the summer of 1682, Francis Daniel Pastorius, accompanied by Jacob Schumacher (an agent for William Penn), preceded an immigrant group of thirteen families to America. The thirteen families sailed from England aboard the vessel "Concord" on July 24th, 1683. They arrived in Philadelphia on October the 6th. As Mennonites and Quakers, this was the first group of immigrants to settle the area that is now called Germantown. Peter Schumacher, the brother of Jacob and father of Agnes Kolb, departed for America in 1685 with three of his daughters and his son, Peter Jr. No doubt influenced by their grandfather, four of Dielman Sr. and Agnes' sons, Martin, Jacob, Henry and Johannes emigrated to Philadelphia in 1707. A fifth son, Dielman, Jr., followed in 1717 from Ibersheim, Germany. Their sixth son, Peter, and a daughter, Ann, remained in Wolfsheim, Germany. Hans Casper Kolb and Dielman Kolb, grandsons (sons of the Rev. Peter Kolb that stayed), arrived in Philadelphia on separate ships in 1729. Dielman arrived on August 9th on the ship "Mortonhouse" from Rotterdam, and "Casper" arrived on September 15th aboard the ship "Allen".
It must have been a traumatic experience for these families to forsake their native Rhine country known as the garden of Germany. Their houses were comfortable, their barns and stables were well stocked with horses and cattle and their crops were plentiful. However, due to their religious beliefs they were subjected to harsh persecution and unjust treatment. Refer to the DOCUMENTS SECTION for articles about "ANABAPTISTS" for a more in-depth look at the religious persecution mentioned here, as well as our religious heritage. You will find that our ancestors paid a very heavy price to promote a relationship with Christ, instead of practicing a mandated, ritualistic religion.
William Penn encouraged these Anabaptists to come to his colony and practice their religious beliefs in peace and harmony, and come they did. As more immigrants arrived, some moved up the Schuylkill and Periomen Rivers and settled in what is now Montgomery, Lancaster, and Bucks Counties. Many Kolbs and a kindred family, the Funks, settled in Montgomery County in and around such locations as Skippack, Franconia, Souderton, Lower and Upper Salford, and Kulpsville Townships.
An early and prominent settler to the Franconia area was Heinrich Funck. He was born in the Palatine region of Germany in 1697. He emigrated to Philadelphia "with his best friend Dielman Kolb" on August 10th, 1717. This is the Dielman Kolb, Jr. that was the son of our possible ancestor Dielman Kolb, Sr. The Funk and Kolb families were obviously close knit while in Germany, emigrated together, and settled near one another in Pennsylvania. Heinrich Funck was the first Mennonite Bishop in America, and Dielman Kolb, Jr. (hereinafter referred to as just Dielman) was an organizer and Elder in several Mennonite Churches. Heinrich and Dielman are credited with being the co-translators of the Dutch book Martyrs Mirror, or "Der Blutige Schauplatz" from Dutch to German. This was a massive work that proved to be the largest publication throughout the Colonial period.
Heinrich, and his wife Anna Meyer, are known to have had ten children including Henry Funk (note the changes to the spelling of the name to agree with the American pronunciation). Henry was born in 1729 and married Barbara Showalter. While in Pennsylvania they had fourteen children including Frances ("Fanny") who is definitely our ancestor. Henry, a Mennonite minister and miller, loaded up all of his family except for his son Jacob and migrated to Rockingham County, Virginia, in 1786. It is apparent that other Funk and Culp families accompanied them or preceded them.
Genealogists have been searching for the parents of our Henry Culp born in 1780 for over two-hundred years. Most genealogy sources have Henry being born in Rockingham County, or more recently, emigrating directly there or migrating from Pennsylvania. However, there is no evidence of his being born in Virginia or emigrating directly there. There are a lot of clues that his father was a descendant of one of Dielman Kolb, Srs. offspring that settled in close proximity to other Culp and Funk families in Pennsylvania. However, most recently, Johann Phillip Kolb is being identified as Henry’s father. Ancestry.com, the leading genealogical website, is now showing Johan Phillip Kolb as Henry’s father with five earlier generations of Johann Phillips going back to the 1500s. Hopefully, new information will become available that will confirm our Henry's parents.
It is certain that our first known ancestor, Henry Culp (born about 1780), married Fanny Funk in Rockingham County, Virginia, on March 22, 1798. The Henry Funk farm and the Henry Culp farm are both in the vicinity of Singers Glen, a beautiful community in Rockingham County about eight miles north of Harrisonburg, Virginia. In the spring of 1830, Henry set out on horseback from Virginia to find a location for a home in the West. He apparently considered Fairfield County, Ohio, on his way to Logan County, Ohio. Other Culp and Funk families settled near Rushcreek Township in Fairfield County, but Henry went on to Union Township in Logan County. He selected a forty-acre tract in the "Fallen Timber" district on the west side of the township. In 1831 (more likely January of 1832) he brought his entire family of about fifteen persons, including his son-in-law, Samuel Claytor, a widowed daughter (first child Nancy Ann) and her three children. They set out from Rockingham County, Virginia, with a three-horse team, arrived in the fall, and settled in a cabin that had been prepared for them. Two sons, Joseph and Jacob, followed the next year. They improved the forty acres of government land and succeeded well in Ohio. While in the Bellefontaine area, the family helped establish and served in several "Brethren" churches. The Brethren were essentially Mennonites that believed in baptism by immersion. David, Joseph and others became prominent citizens in the Bellefontaine area, Christian moved back to Logan County to be with other Funk and Culp kin, and Henry Jr. migrated to Union County, Illinois.
Our second-generation ancestor was another Henry believed to have been born in Pennsylvania on February 28, 1762. Henry is believed to have followed his brothers (and possibly his father) to Rockingham County, Virginia, from Pennsylvania. He is thought to be living in Virginia beginning around 1785 until the early 1800s. Henry and his brother John were listed in the Rockingham County Minutes Book numerous times between 1786 and 1801. Henry and his brother Michael witnessed a Showalter - Roth marriage in 1791, and Henry witnessed his son's, Henry and Frances Funk's marriage consent form on 22 March 1798. He deeded Rockingham County land to John Herdman in February of 1799, and to a Trout in December 1802. He then moved on and became an early pioneer of Fairfield County, Ohio where he first purchased land in 1804. He and Dorotha were residents of Pleasant Township until their deaths. They are both buried in Pleasant Hill Mennonite Cemetery, now the Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church Cemetery Row H - #32 (see SPHOTOS).
I have not been able to determine why or when our third-generation ancestor, Henry Jr. (born 1809) and his spouse, Mary Powell, moved to Illinois. The incentive was probably cheap land and the opportunity to spread their faith. Henry and Mary were members of the "Dunkard" faith while in Illinois, according to their grandson, Clifton W. Culp. Dunkards were also essentially Mennonites that took baptism by immersion one step further. They immersed three times to symbolize being baptized into the "Trinity" (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Henry and Mary are buried beside each other in the Water Valley Cemetery in Union County, Illinois. Their son, the Rev. David Culp and his wife Martha are buried nearby in this very remote cemetery (see PHOTOS).
Joseph Culp (fourth generation ancestor born 1856) was born and died in Union County, Illinois. He and his spouse, Mary Jennie Eaves, had a 280 acre farm ten miles east of Anna. Their grandson, Paul M. Culp, vividly remembers that they had apple and peach orchards, grew corn, wheat, oats and hay, and raised pigs. Joseph and Jennie had six children. The first child, Mary Edith, died at age nine. Triplets (Eddy, Fanny and Freddy) were born in between Clifton and Watson and survived less than four months. Watson served in World War I and settled in California after the war. Despite suffering poor health from an injury sustained during the war, Watson operated the Santa Ynez Motion Picture Ranch in Santa Monica training horses and stuntmen. After Joseph died, Jennie spent equal time living with her sons, Watson and Clifton. She died while living with Clifton in Shreveport, Louisiana. She had a funeral service there and another in Anna, Illinois. Joseph, Jennie, Mary Edith and the triplets are all buried in the Anna Cemetery. Their family were prominent followers of the Baptist faith (see PHOTOS).
Clifton W. Culp (fifth generation) was born in Anna, Illinois, on the seventeenth of December, 1883. He married Martha Rich on April 1, 1904. Clifton and Martha had three children. Martha died of cancer in 1945 at the age of sixty. I was only five years old at the time of her death, but have fond memories of a very loving grandmother. In 1953, Clifton married Bena Doerr in Hannibal, Missouri. They enjoyed two years of marriage before a tragic automobile accident in Colorado that killed Bena instantly and left Clifton with a long recovery from multiple injuries. He felt he had recovered sufficiently to return to the pulpit as a guest evangelist to several churches in Shreveport shortly after his release from the hospital. He was staying in the home of a longtime friend and fellow pastor, the Rev. Marion B. Dunham, when he died peacefully in his sleep. Clifton spent forty-seven successful years in the gospel ministry as a Baptist minister and administrator. He is buried in the Forest Park Cemetery (Shreveport, Louisiana) in a family plot with Martha and Bena (see PHOTOS).
This OVERVIEW will close with my father, Paul M. Culp (sixth generation born 1910). His story can be better told by himself, and I refer you to his writing found in the DOCUMENTS SECTION (Culp Family History updated November 2000). To his story I would only like to add that he was greatly loved by his spouse, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His life can be characterized by sacrificial giving of himself to his family and others. Whatever good character traits I have, I learned from observing him. My greatest spiritual gift is the gift of "giving". Giving of my time, talent, and treasure brings me great joy. I began developing this gift at an early age by seeing how he lived his life and through his encouragement. The greatest thing that a father can do for his family is to instill in them a knowledge of, and a dependence on their Heavenly Father. Indeed, this is a man's greatest responsibility. It can be said of Paul Culp, that he followed the tradition of his ancestors and passed on a Godly heritage to the next generation (see PHOTOS).
This information was compiled from numerous sources and with the assistance of many individuals that share our interest in the search for our Culp ancestors. My search culminated in a three week, forty-eight-hundred-mile trip in September 2000. I was able to walk the lands once walked by each generation of our ancestors. I was able to locate and photograph all of the grave sites of each generation with the exception of Henry Culp, Sr., who was buried on private land in 1838. Special thanks are extended to Shirley Culp of Bellefontaine, Ohio, who responded to my call from the telephone directory with the sharing of information, a guided tour of our ancestors' properties, and some wonderful zucchini bread. Gratitude is also extended to Joseph Funk of Singers Glen, Virginia, who also responded to a late afternoon telephone call from the telephone directory. His hospitality on a rainy night provided me with directions to the Henry Culp and Henry Funk farms, as well as the sharing of family histories. This document will never be completed because of the ongoing nature of genealogical research made available by the Internet. Anyone reviewing this document is encouraged to contact me for more information, updates, corrections, directions to a specific cemetery, or to contribute information. I dedicate this document and the hundreds of hours that went into it to my father, Paul M. Culp. The original document was presented to him belatedly for his ninetieth birthday. I am unable to adequately describe the love, respect, and admiration I have for him.
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