Johannes Kuster (1670 - 1708)

Born 10 Dec 1670 in Kaldenkirchen, Germany

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Cassel) Kuster — married 31 Oct 1692 in Abington, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 1708 at about age 37 in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Virgil Kester [send private message] and Julia Ralsten [send private message]

Biography

Johannes Kuster migrated from Germany to Pennsylvania.

Johannes was a Friend (Quaker)

Johannes Kuster has German Roots.

Johannes Kuster was born 10 Dec 1670 in Kaldenkirchen, Germany, to parents Paulus Kuster and Gertrude Doors Kuster. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Johannes was baptized at the Reformed Church, Kaldenkirchen, Germany on 12 Dec 1670. ^{[1] [4]}

"Johannes was the second son and second child of Paulus and Gertrude Kusters. He was baptized at the Reformed Church, Kaldenkirchen, Germany on 12 December 1670. Johannes came to America about 1684, ^[5] ahead of his parents and siblings. His is listed on the first tax list of Philadelphia County in 1693 as living in Bristol Township (now in Bucks County). Johannes name is also on the 1691 petition for naturalization." ^[1] In America, Johannes Kuster began using Kester, and all his children were Kester.

Johannes married Elizabeth Cassel on 31 Aug 1692 in the Abington Meeting of Friends. ^{[1] [2] [4]}

"Johannes married Elizabeth Cassell on 31 August 1692 at the Abington Meeting of Friends. ^{[2] [6]}Johannes lived in Germantown and in Bristol Township. Johannes Koester and Elizabeth Koester were witnesses to a Marriage Certificate the 2nd month 14th day 1694. Johannes Koster brought suit and recovered from Johannes Pettinger three shillings for an assault which was filed in court, at Germantown, 11th month, 19th day 1694." ^{[1] [7]}

"In 1694, 1695 and 1696 Johannes was elected Constable of Germantown. He was elected a Committeeman in 1698 and 1699. In 1701 he again was elected Constable. In 1704 he appears as a committeeman and in 1705 he was elected a committeeman, Constable and a Road Viewer. Johannes became a Burgess in 1706 and the following year there was a complaint the he had married a couple outside the Germantown corporate limits." ^[1]

"Johannes made a gift of three pounds to German Friends in need the 10th month, 25th day, 1699. He died sometime during the summer or fall of 1708 since the Philadelphia Administrations, Book B, page 70, shows that 23 October 1708 "Elizabeth Custers", a widow of Germantown, with Arnold Cassell of Philadelphia County, and Thomas and Peter Shoemaker of Germantown as bondsmen on a bond for two hundred pounds, was appointed administratrix of the estate of "Johannes Custers""..."On 3 August 1709, "Johannes Kosters" son and heir, and "Elizabeth relict" of "Johannes Kusters dededent" of Philadelphia County, conveyed by deed to Daniel Falkner, land in Springfield, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Johannes and Elizabeth had at least six children:" ^[1]

Johannes passed away 1708, in Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Research Notes

• 22 Aug 2017: Error report shows different dates with Find A Grave memorial # 116676971. The source listed on the Find A Grave memorial is "Ancestral File", and there are many errors in the narrative which match errors from an old publication, which has since been proved to be in error. There is no photo of a grave, no grave, no cemetery listed. The main date in question is the date of death, Find A Grave has "Aug 6, 1740". In Wikitree, the date of death is "1708", which is sourced. The Wikitree profile has sourced the dates, and documented them. Error report status is false.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} White, Jean M. - editor; "The Descendants of Paulus and Gertrude Kusters of Kaldenkirchen, Germany and Germantown, Pennsylvania the first four generations"; Castor Association Of America, 1991; 303 Pages, Indexed. pages 18, 23-27.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Hunt, John E., Compiled by; "Pound and Kester Families"; Regan Printing House, 1904; 628 pages, Indexed; Pages 3-6 and Part I, The Kester Ancestry, pages 301-305. For his death, refer to page 304, that on 23 Oct 1708 his wife Elizabeth, a widow was appointed administatrix of the estate.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Find A Grave: Memorial #116676971, this memorial is by Bonnie & Clyde DeWeese, it has "Johannes 'Custer' Kuster", with birth: " Oct 12, 1670 Germany" and death: "Aug 6, 1740 Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania". Refer to Research Notes and other sources. In the Philadelphia Register of Wills, Book B, Page 70 on the date of 23 Oct 1708 it has his wife Elizabeth as a widow, and appointed administratrix of his estate.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Delphine, Dominique Z., "Cable-Bucher-Hawbaker-Ulery-Kester-Priest-Stafford-Scanland-Price-Hapner"; Ancestry, Ancestry Family Trees, Ancestry.com, The Generations Network, Inc., 2006-2016, Provo, Utah, USA; The information from Ancestry Family Trees has been submitted by Ancestry members (Dominique Delphine), the information may have come from one or more Family Trees submitted by other Ancestry members, all of these members may have edited or deleted information since this source was used.
5. ↑ "U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s"; Page 45, "Arrival 1683 in Germantown, Pennsylvania"; Ancestry.com, The Generations Network, Inc., Provo, Utah, USA 2006; [1]
6. ↑ U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 Accessed on ancestry.com, August 2023.
   • View Ancestry Record 2189 #99451871
7. ↑ "Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes, 1682-1746"; Collection from: Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States; Call Number: MR-Ph 4

References

• "Castor Association Of America". The association was founded in 1983. An association of genealogy family members in the surname lines of Caster, Castor, Custard, Custer, Gerster, Kaster, Kastor, Keister, Kester, Kiester, Kistard, Kister, Koester, Koster, Kuester, Kuster, Kustard and Kusterd. The Castor Association of America (CAOA) applies part of its efforts to searching for our foreign origins in order to better understand the earlier cultures abroad. This provides a deeper appreciation of the struggles and accomplishments of our ancestors. The Association publishes the results of its findings so that more people may share in its knowledge. CAOA also encourages informal regional and local gatherings of members to meet one another and learn more about their common history and the CAOA.

• Millennium File; Heritage Consulting, Ancestry.com, Operations Inc.; Source: S79.

• "KY Roots.ged". This was listed here as a source, "KY Roots.ged" was a GEDCOM import used by William Hauser.

AHNENTAFEL NO. 1920.

 !<1>ANCESTRAL FILE NOS: KWPL-XW and IVB1-BP

 !<2>BAPTISM-PARENTS-SPOUSE-CHILDREN: Jean M. White, editor, THE DESCENDANTS OF PAULUS AND GERTRUDE KUSTERS; 1542-1819; The Castor Association of America, Richmond, TX, 1991; pp 18-26.

 !<3>BIRTH-PARENTS: Vivian Taylor,"Immigrant Paulus Custers"; 1576-1687; MENNONITE FAMILY HISTORY, Vol IV, No 3, July 1985; p 95; Seattle [WA] Pub Lib.

"Although much has been written about this Kuster/Custer family, I have not as yet seen any published genealogical information beyond Paulus' father's family. So, it was exciting when I discovered the LDS family group sheets based on church records in Kaldenkirchen:

I. Reinhar/Reiner Custer/Kusters

A. Johannes Custers (bailiff), 1576-Apr. 8, 1650

m 1598 Walburgis _______

4. Arnold Aret Custers, ca1606-Nov. 29, 1679

m Catharina von Haren, dau. of Christoph von Haren (surgeon)

g. Paul Custers, b ca1644/1646

m Gertrude Doors, dau. of Theiss and Agness (Nessgen) Doors"

2) ***JOHANNES CUSTERS, b 12 Dec 1670

 !<4>EMIGRATION-RELIGION: C. Henry Smith, THE MENNONITE IMMIGRATION TO ENNSYLVANIA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY; 1684; Pennsylvania, Norristown Press, 1929 (printed in the Pennsylvania German Society, 1935); pp 95-97,99,106, 116; LDS FHL SCL [974.8, B4pg, V.35]

"During these later years others must have arrived also, for in a list of men who applied for naturalization in 1691 there appear these additional names which seem to be Mennonite,... Among those who followed in the years

immediately succeeding were, ... Paulus KUSTER from Crefeld, with wife and three sons, Arnold, ***JOHANNES and Hermanus, and Heinrich Pannabekker. ... Thus far the Mennonite colonists were nearly all of Dutch descent, and came either from Holland or from the Dutch congregations in lower Germany....

From the membership list of the Germantown church of 1708, ..., we learn the following names compose the Mennonite contingent of the Germantown settlement by that time,--- ... Arnold Kuster, ... Elizabeth Kuster [Johannes' wife], ... Herman Kuster" [p 96]

* * *

"As early as 1702 the second Mennonite settlement in America had been established on the banks of the Skippack, a tributary of the Perkiomen, a fertile valley in what is now Montgomery County [PA]. On February 22 of that year Matthias van Bebber received a patent of 6166 acres of land in what is now the lower part of Perkiomen township but which for many years was known as van Bebber's township. This tract van Bebber soon sold out to actual settlers. Among the Mennonites who located here between the years 1702 and 1709, almost all from Germantown, were Hendrick Pannabecker, and his brother- in-law-Johannes Umstat, ***JOHANNES KUSTER, ... Hermanus Kuster...." [p 106]

 !<5>PARENT-SIBLINGS-SPOUSE-CHILDREN-DEATH: Marcus L. Miller, "Germantown Residents Naturalized in 1691; 1691; MENNONITE FAMILY HISTORY, Vol II, No 3, July 1983; pp 102-104; Seattle [WA] Public Library.

"In 1689 a revolution occurred in England which forced James II off the throne and brought William and Mary to power. The residents of Germantown must have felt somewhat concerned by the political situation and on 7 May

1691, they submitted in open court in Philadelphia, a statement promising 'allegiance to King Wm & Queen Mary, and fidelity to the Proprietors.' The 62 petitioners were then granted 'naturalization' and made freeman by Thomas

Lloyd, Deputy Governor of PA on 3 Jul 1691. * * *

"***JOHANNES KUSTERS married Elizabeth Cassel in 1702 and became a Quaker that same year. His two brothers, Arnold and Hermanus, were Mennonites. Johannes' children were John, Margaret, Reiner, Herman, Arnold, Abigal [sic], Samuel, Dorothy, and Charity. Johannes was the son of Paulas Kuster. In 1702, Johannes moved to the Skippack area and died in the fall of 1708.[f.34]

Footnote 34: Samuel W. Pennypacker, SETTLEMENT OF GERMANTOWN, N.Y., Benjamin Blom, 1970 (1899), pp 136,142.

CONFLICT: I have no record of any children named Abigail, Dorothy, Charity, or Arnold.

 !<6>BIOGRAPHY: Clarence V. Roberts, EARLY FRIENDS FAMILIES OF UPPER BUCKS [COUNTY, PA]; 1683-1708; Philadelphia PA, self-published, 1925; p 95; Seattle [WA] Public Library [R929.2, R541E].

"XII CUSTARD FAMILY

1. Paul Kuster, emigrant ancestor of the Custard family of Upper Bucks County, was a Mennonite who came from Crefeld, Germany and settled in Germantown about 1683. It is somewhat uncertain whether he came on the "Concord" with the thirteen original settlers of Germantown or soon afterward. He was accompanied by his wife Gertrude who was a sister of Wilhelm Streypers, who came from Kaldkirchen, a village in Germany between Crefeld and the border line of Holland.

Paul Kuster took a more or less active part in the government of Germantown. He served as a committeeman of the municipality 2, 10 mo.[Dec], 1700, and was overseer of fences 5, 11 mo. [Jan], 1706. He was a mason by trade. He died 28, 11 mo. [Jan], 1707-08, leaving a nuncupative will, declared on his deathbed. His widow Gertrude survived him only a few days. Their three sons, ***JOHANNES, Arnold and Hermanus came with their parents from Crefeld.

2. ***JOHANNES KOSTER, eldest son of Paul and Gertrude (Streypers) Kuster, was born in Crefeld, Germany, on the border of Holland, about 1670. He was constable of Germantown in 1695, 1696 and 1697, and was made one of the burgesses of the town in 1707. He died in 1708. He married at Abington Meeting of Friends Elizabeth Cassell, daughter of Johannes Cassell, the founder of the prominent family of his name in Pennsylvania."

Children of Johannes and Elizabeth (Cassell) Koster:

3 Christiana, b. 1-15--1691-92.

4 Samuel, b. 8- 1--1693.

5 Jacob, b. 12-1--1697-98.

CONFLICT: Christiana and Jacob are not listed in other sources.

Acknowledgements

• Kuster-4, Kuster-32, Kuster-104 and Kuster-116. Not locating status, or why they were merged into Kester-140, and not the proper merge to the lowest. Unknown-85754 was merged into one of these.

• Custer-3 was merged into Kuster-140 on 2 Feb 2016.

• Kuster-140 was created by Virgil M. Kester III on 19 Jan 2016. Johannes Kuster is Virgil's 8th Great-Grandfather. Thank you Virgil.

• Kuster-116 was created through a GEDCOM import of "Ancestry William Saunders.ged" on 3 Oct 2014 by Pat Saunders. Thank you Pat.

• Kuster-32 was created through a GEDCOM import of "Our Roots.ged" on 23 Jul 2011 by Larry Arnold. Thank you Larry.

• UNKNOWN-85754 was created through a GEDCOM import of "Lupton file.ged" on 7 Jul 2011 by Kim Ostermyer. Thank you Kim.

• This person was created through a GEDCOM import of "124-DeCoursey.ged" on 14 Sep 2010.

• This person was created through a GEDCOM import of "Holler 14 Feb 2010.ged" on 26 Apr 2010, by Chris Holler (2016-An UNLISTED Member). Thank you Chris.