My Genealogy Hound

JOHN K. KULP, a progressive farmer of Skippack township, was born on the old homestead where he still lives, on March 26, 1858. He is the son of Abraham H. and Magdalena (Keyser) Kulp.

Abraham H. Kulp (father) was also born on the Kulp homestead in Skippack township. He received the place from his father and continued there during life. He made alterations in the buildings as modern inventions came into use, and attended market regularly. He was a Mennonite in religious faith and a Republican in politics. He was born April 27, 1827, and died June 25, 1867. He married Magdalena, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Cassel) Keyser, who was born November 8, 1832, and died May 9, 1896. Their children: John K., the subject of this sketch; Amanda, born August 26, 1861, still unmarried; Mary, born August 22, 1863, married David Glismer; Sally, born August 26, 1866, married Isaac Kulp.

John Kulp (grandfather) was born at the old homestead in Skippack township, and married Magdalena Himbaugh, a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. He carried forward what his father had undertaken in farming, and inherited his portion of the original tract of land, the fifty-two acres where John K. Kulp now lives. He built commodious buildings of stone, and carried on general farming. He was a member of the Mennonite church. His wife survived him several years, dying in 1886 at the age of ninety- five years. Their children: Catharine, born in 1812, unmarried; Elizabeth, born in 1815, died young; Johannes, died in Ohio, leaving three children; Magdalena, born in 1821, married (first husband) Mr. Saurs, having two children, and (second husband) J. Undercoffler, they having no children; David, born in 1823, died in Montgomery county, leaving five children; Anna, born in 1825, married William Bean, they having six children; Abraham H. (father), born in April. 1827; Daniel, born in 1829, living, having three children; Rebecca, born in 1830, married Hiram Ritter, living, no children; Sarah, born in 1830, never married, died in Illinois in 1870; Mary, born in 1834, married Mr. Clymer, they having no children. All of these children were Mennonites except Daniel, who is a Dunkard. The family were nearly all farmers.

Yellis Kulp (great-grandfather) was the first of this branch of the Kulp family in America. He emigrated from Germany and purchased a tract of land which included what is now four good farms in Skippack township, Montgomery county (then Perkiomen township). This purchase was made in 1774. He settled there and lived as a farmer for the rest of his life. In the assessment list of Perkiomen township for 1766 we find that Yillus Kolp was the possessor of 160 acres, two horses, and five cows. On the tombstones in the graveyard of the New Mennonite meeting house near Harmony Square, the name of Kulp appears very frequently.

John Keyser (maternal grandfather) was a farmer and carpenter who lived in Skippack township all his life and died there. He was a Mennonite. He married Elizabeth Cassel, daughter of Hupert Cassel, born May 1, 1775, married Catharine Kolb, who was born August 21, 1782, daughter of Isaac Kolb, of North Wales, Montgomery county, Isaac Kolb being a farmer and Mennonite. Hupert Cassel, father of Mrs. Keyser, was the son of Hupert Cassel (grandfather), born August 13, 1751, died in 1840, married Magdalena Johnson, daughter of Nicholas Jans or Johnson, on June 9, 1774. Hupert Cassel was the grandfather of Abraham Cassel, the antiquarian at Harleysville, Pennsylvania. Hupert Cassel (grandfather) was the son of Yellis Cassel, born March 30, 1722, died in 1781, his children being Hupert, Barbara, Christian, Henry, Elizabeth and Abraham. Yellis Cassel was the son of Hupert Cassel, who emigrated in 1715 or 1720 from Kriesheim, the Palatinate, in Germany, west of the Rhine, married Miss Syche and settled in Skippack township. His children were: Yelles, Elizabeth, Henry, Abraham and Mary. John Keyser (maternal grandfather of John Kulp), who married Elizabeth Cassel, had the following children: Sarah, married Abraham Kolb, a farmer in Skippack, the son of David Kolb; Mary, married Charles Baringer and had no children; Magdalena (mother), married Abraham Kulp, the son of John Kolb; Isaac, married Lizzie Tyson; Sadie (deceased); Henry (deceased), and Sisie (deceased).

John K. Kulp was reared on the farm and received a practical education, attending the public schools at intervals. At the time of his father’s death he was eight years old, and as the oldest child began while still young to take some of the responsibility of the farm from his mother. When all the children were grown up John K. Kulp administered his father’s estate, purchased the farm, and has lived there ever since. His mother continued to reside there, being cared for by her son until her death. Mr. Kulp is one of the representative men of the community. He manages his farm carefully and intelligently, and raises some stock. He is a stockholder in the creamery, in the Norristown banks and in the Schwenkville banks. In politics he is a Republican, but does not desire public office. He is a trustee in the Mennonite church, of which he and his family are members.

Mr. Kulp married, in 1885, Mary A., daughter of John and Lavina Cassel Detwiler, who was born May 16, 1856, in Skippack township. Her father was the son of Abraham and Mary (Kratz) Detwiler. Abraham Detwiler (grandfather of Mrs. Kulp) was the son of the immigrant. He was a farmer, a Whig in politics, and a Mennonite in religious faith. He lived in Skippack township, and died there. His wife was the daughter of John Kratz, a prominent farmer, who first opened the Detwiler homestead and afterward sold it to Abram Detwiler. The children of John Kratz: Mary (Mrs. Detwiler); and Elizabeth (Mrs. Fritz). The children of Abraham and Mary K. Detwiler: Jacob, a retired farmer; John, father of Mrs. Kulp; Lydia, married A. Seipt.

John Detwiler, father of Mrs. Kulp, was born on the Detwiler farm and spent his life in general farming and in attending the Philadelphia market. He was a Republican and a Mennonite. His father’s farm came into his possession and there he reared his family, dying October 11, 1888. He married Lavina, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Smith) Cassel, who was born May 15, 1826, and who is still living. Their children: Abraham C., lives on his father’s farm, with whom his mother resides ; Eliza Jane, married Aaron Gouldy, and died leaving one child; Mary Ann (Mrs. John Kulp); Mahlon, married Sarah Detwiler, and is a farmer in Worcester township; John, of New York city, and Sarah. Abraham Detwiler, the oldest child, married Lydia Kulp, daughter of Henry Kulp, of Skippack township.

Benjamin Cassel, maternal grandfather of Mrs. Kulp, was the son of Henry Cassel, and was born March 22, 1795, died November 17, 1862. He married Elizabeth Smith, and they resided on the Skippack Road near Skippackville, Pennsylvania. He was a carpenter and farmer. His children: Jesse, born May 28, 1832, married Elizabeth Johnson, their children being Benjamin, William and Harriet; Lavina, mother of Mrs. Kulp, born May 15, 1826; James, born August 22, 1842, married Mary Umstead, their children being Walter, Jesse, Charles, John, J. Arthur, Benjamin; they reside in Philadelphia.

Henry Cassel, maternal great-grandfather of Mrs. Kulp, had the following children: Benjamin (grandfather); Samuel and Catharine, resided in Skippack. Henry Cassel, great-great-grandfather, was the son of Yelles or Julius Cassel, and was born November 10, 1759, married Rachel___, and had one child, Henry. Yelles Cassel, great-great-great-grandfather, was the son of Hupert Cassel, the immigrant, who came to Pennsylvania from Germany. His children have already been mentioned. Yelles Cassel was born March 30, 1722, died 1781.

Mr. and Mrs. John K. Kulp have only one child, Norman, born November 18, 1888. He is attending school in the vicinity.