Culbertson Family

The Culbertsons were a part of the great number of immigrants to the United States who were known as he Scotch-Irish. Some of the Culbertson families of Scotland emigrated to Ulster Province, Ireland (Now North Ireland) in the 1600's when the British Crown expropriated large areas from the Catholic owners and sold or gave them to the Protestant friends of the Crown.

"Irish Samuel" Culbertson with his two brothers, Alexander and Robert, emigrated from Culbertson Row, Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ireland to the United States about 1730. They settled in what is now Franklin County, Penna. north of Chambers- burg, and called their settlement "Culbertson Row". It is still on the map. Irish Samuel fought in the French and Indian Wars, his son Samuel Jr. saw service in the Revolutionary War, and his grandson, Hugh, served in the war of 1812. Hugh Culbertson then settled on the banks of Killbuck Creek near Wooster, Wayne Co., Ohio in 1824.

In the spring of 1851, James G. Culbertson, second son of Hugh Culbertson, with his wife Mary and their eight children migrated from Wayne County to a 172 acre farm at the mouth of Big Creek on the Maumee River, Damascus Township, Henry County. Their children, all born in Wayne County, were Sarah (1832), Joseph Barr (1834), Franklin W. (1837), Jane W. (1840), Louisa 5. (1842), Anna E. (1844), Eli E. (1846), and Harriet (1849). We believe that the younger children attended the Bacon School on the southeast corner of the River Road and present County Road 2 which was established in April, 1856.

It would appear that James G. followed his younger brother John W. from Wayne County to the Maumee Valley area. John W. Culbertson was Postmaster in Gilead, Ohio (now Grand Rapids) in 1836 and 1837, and had bought and sold two farms in Damascus Township during those years. The farm on Big Creek was bought by James' father, Hugh, in 1849 from Jacob Berry who held the original patent from the U.S. Government dated Oct. 8, 1835. In 1854, James obtained from Joseph Lewis, the original patentee, 173 acres immediately to the west of the farm on Big Creek. This farm was divided in 1861/62 between his two older sons, with the west half deeded to Franklin W. Culbertson, and the east half deeded to Joseph Barr Culbertson.

James G. Culbertson (1807-1888) (The tombstone in Beaver Creek Cemetery which shows "1817" is incorrect for some unexplained reason.) was elected Damascus Township Trustee on April 3, 1853, along with S.S. Shepard and Thomas Reed. In 1855, '56, and '57 he was elected supervisor of Roads for District No. 1 consisting of Sections 11 and 12 at a compensation of $2.00 per year. James' wife, Mary, mother of his children, died in 1864. In 1868 he married Miss Adaline A. Waters. They then moved to a farm in the north end of Weston, Ohio and his son Eli remained on the farm on Big Creek.

Franklin W. Culbertson (1837-1864) was killed in the Civil War at Marietta, Georgia. His farm was then deeded by his heirs to William B. Kerr, who was also in service, and was married to Franklin's _sister Jane W., known as "Jenny." This farm was then sold to Samuel Crowell in 1881. We assume the Kerr's two sons, James "Harlan" Kerr and Dr. John "Walter" Kerr, M.D. well known residents of Grand Rapids, were born and raised in the small house still standing to the southwest of Arthur Crowell's barn.

Joseph Barr Culbertson (1834-1903) first married Henrietta Waters who died shortly after their son, Frank W. (1886-1943) was born. Frank W. Culbertson did not marry and lived in the McClure area most of his life. After Henrietta's death, Joseph married Amy Philo. Their children were Fred P. (1869-1935) who migrated to Dakota City, Nebraska, where he and his wife, Ruth, raised a family of four children; James G. (1871-1945) who married Alice Vogel and remained on the home farm with their adopted son Frank H.; Hope (1874-1924) who mar ried John Weimer of Damascus Township where they raised their family of three sons, Carl, Stanley, and Walter; and twins Pearl and Howard. Howard Culbertson died when twenty years old. Pearl married Mac Mckenna. They lived in Toledo and had three children, Olga, Graham, and Kenneth.

Frank H. CulbertsOn (1903-) married Marjorie Gill of Grand Rapids. They remained on the home farm until 1940. They now live in Washington Township on Road U and have three married daughters, Lavonda Lynn Johnson, Shirley Jean Box, and Marilyn Jane Yawberg.

After the death of Joseph Barr Culbertson's second wife, Amy he married Mrs. Tamzon Nulton McIntire (1850-1930) who lived in McClure for many years until her death. His descendants still living in Henry County (1978) are Carl Weimer, Geraldine Weimer, Bryce Weimer, Frank H. Culbertson, and Shirley Jean Box.

Eli E. Culbertson (1846-1922), youngest son of James G. Culbertson, inherited the original farm on Big Creek, which was known in later years as "Crescent Homestead". This farm was sold by Eli's heirs in 1962 after it had been in the Culbertson name for 113 years. It should be noted that in the northwest corner of this farm a 7 1/2 acre plot just west of Big Creek between the road and the Maumee River was deeded to Omar Carr in 1880 to establish a sawmill. In later years the sawmill was converted to a clay tile mill. Omar's son, Dan Carr, lived in the house built at this location for many years, and all of his and Lizzie's eleven children were born there. The plot was deeded back to Eli Culbertson by Omar Carr's widow, Mary Carr, in 1919.

Eli E. married Mary Battershell (1855-1937) of Williams Center, Williams County, and their family of eleven children were born and raised on the farm. They were Adeth B. (1874-1947), Ralph W. (1875-1962), Roy (1876-1936), Clarence E. (1879?1962), Hattie M. (1881-1960), Mabel F. (1883-1929), Nellie G. (1885-1975), Walter J. (1888-1948), Paul H. (18911955), Bessie M. (1893-1966), and Joseph L. (1895-1971). All of them attended Beech Grove School which was located on the west side of the Deshler Road (County Road 2) one-half mile south of the River Road. Not a single trace of that school now remains.

Adeth went blind in her middle years. She, Hattie, and Walter did not marry and lived on the farm for most of their lives. Ralph went to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Toledo in 1897 and retired as Yard Conductor in 1937. He and his wife Helen had three children, Bernice, June, and Donald. Roy did not marry and lived on a farm south of Grand Rapids for a number of years until his death. Mabel married Charles De Muth. They lived on a farm near Whitehouse and had two children, Inez and Vaughn. Nellie married Art P. Harrison and they lived on a farm north of Grand Rapids for many years. They had six children, Violet, Roger, Cecil, Russell, Ruth, and Phyllis. Paul married Lillian Chambers of Tampa, Florida. They then lived in the Omar Carr house mentioned above until Paul's death. They had no children. Bessie married Casper "Bud" Myers from Colton, Ohio. Their home was in Toledo where their two daughters, Mary Wanda and Donan Fay were born.

Clarence E. Culbertson (1879-1962) third son of Eli E. Culbertson, who was called "Clare" or "Turney", lived in Damascus Township most of his life. He married one of his Beech Grove schoolmates Gertrude "Gertie" Landis (1884-1952) and they had four children. Anette "Aneta" and Irene were born in Waterville where Clare worked for a short time before returning to a farm just south of Beech Grove School. Floyd and Warren were born there. The three older children started to school at Beech Grove which was closed about 1914. The family then moved to the Sam Powell farm on the Henry-Wood County line west of Grand Rapids and later to the Durbin farm across the road north of the Damascus Christian Union Church. The house on the latter farm burned in the winter of 1922. When the new house was built the following summer by Hank Weimer it was wired for electricity to connect to the new power line which had just been installed to provide electrical power to the Village of McClure from Grand Rapids. Clare and Gertie left the farm in 1929 to operate a restaurant in the old Durbin Building in McClure. The depression years of the 30's followed and they left the restaurant in 1935.

Aneta Culbertson (1903-1964) married Dwight Erven of Grand Rapids and they had two daughters, Vava Jean and Norma Mae. They lived in Delta, Ohio and in Garden City, Michigan. Irene Culbertson (1904-), who still lives in McClure, was very active in 4-H club work in her earlier years. After serving as clerk in the McClure post office several years she was appointed Postmaster in 1948 and retired in 1968. She was instrumental in obtaining the lease for the Post Office in the Legion building when it was taken over by the Legion in 1960. She and her neice, Vava Jean Carson of McClure are the only living descendants of Eli E. Culbertson living in Henry County at present. (1978).

Floyd W. Culbertson (1907-) was a Radioman, U.S. Navy 1927-1931, then was a radio operator/technician for the Ohio State Highway Patrol for three years. After that he was with Trans World Airlines until he retired in 1971. He now lives in Roeland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. He and his wife Dolores have four children, Robert, Jocelyn, Richard, and Kathleen.

Warren E. Culbertson (1910-), generally known as "Cub", lived in McClure from 1929 to 1962 with the exception of service during World War II in England. After leaving service he married Fern Brown of Dayton, Ohio and Atchison, Kansas. They have no children. Warren was elected Post Commander of Roberts- McMillen American Legion Post in 1946 and was the first W.W. 11 veteran elected to that position. He also served as Commander of the Post Drill Team for several years. He was deeply involved in the rejuvenation of the World War I Memorial Building to serve as the Legion Post Building in 1960. He also served as Mayor of McClure in 1949-50. He retired from the U.S. Military Inspection Service in 1973 and lives in Alger, Michigan.

Joseph L. Culbertson (1895-1971), youngest son of Eli E. Culbertson married Orpha Gill (1895-1956) of Grand Rapids. They had four children, all born and raised in the Omar Carr house previously mentioned, Nelva Jane, William Eli, Richard J., and Milo G. Joe served in the U.S. Army in World War 1, 1916-1918. After the war, he farmed the west half of the original Culbertson farm which he and his brother Paul purchased. He was a Past Master of the Masonic Lodge in Grand Rapids and a member of the Scottish Rite. After moving to Grand Rapids in 1942 he was active in local politics and was Judge, Wood County Court from 1954 to 1962. He was also a charter member of Roberts- McMillen American Legion Post in McClure. After Orpha's death, Joe married twice; first to Betty Compton of Perrysburg, and second to Irene Drake Roberts of Toledo.

Nelva Jane Culbertson (1921-), R.N. married John B. Kelley of Quincy, Mass. while they were both in the Air Force. He is now a retired Lt. Colonel and they live in Washington, D.C. They have five children, two boys and three girls.

William E. Culbertson (1922-), oldest son of Joseph L. Culbertson, married Phyllis Ann Thurston of Grand Rapids. They have two children, Hollis Ann and William Jr. After service in the Air Force, 1942 to 1945, he received a degree from Ohio State and is presently Administrator, Wood County Hospital, Bowling Green.

Richard J. Culbertson (1925-) first married Choice Ann Kendall of Defiance, Ohio. They had four children, Shelley Sue, Scott Richard, Sharlene Kay, and Brian Joseph. His second marriage was to Stella Pappas of Tontogany. He is employed at Bowling Green State University and lives in Bowling Green.

Milo G. Culbertson (1933-), youngest son of Joseph L. Culbertson, married Dorothy Lee Woodburn of Bowling Green. After service in the U.S. Army, 1953 to 1955, he received a degree from Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida. He is a District Sales Manager for the L.B. Foster Steel Co. and lives in Plantation, Florida. They have four boys, Michael, Jeffery, Barry, and Greg.

Milo G. Culbertson is the youngest member of the fourth generation of Culbertsons who have lived in Henry County, Ohio, over a period of 125 years.

Submitted by: Floyd W. Culbertson