concerns

This Gertrude has been reported to be the Gertrude mentioned at A Grave Memorial but there are several significant discrepancies between the two. Are they supposed to be the same person? Yes, FYI: Find A Grave isn't always accurate. Please remember to look at all the documentation and sources before writing a message on her profile. Please refer to the document listed below. .

• Please Read The Descendants of Paulus & Gertrude Kuster, chapter 4, Ancestry of Gertrude Doors.

Gertrude Kuster Doors

• Gertrude Doors was born about 1645 in Kaldenkirchen, Germany, the daughter of Theiss (Matthew) Doors and Nees Neessgen (Agnes) Op Dem Graeff.
• Birth: 1648 in Katholisch, Toenisberg, Kempen, Kurköln, Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation
• Death: February 28, 1708 (60) in Germantown, Philadelphia County, Province of Pennsylvania
• Place of Burial: Germantown Cemetery, Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States

Immigration

• Name: Gertrude Kuster, Arrival year: 1685, Arrival Place: Germantown, Pennsylvania, Primary Immigrant: Kuster, Paulus, Family Members: Wife Gertrude; Child Arnoldus -

Married

• Married: Paulus Kester on 15 Oct 1668 in Reformed Church in Kaldenkirchen in the Rhineland. Their children were: Arnold, Johannes, Matthias, Reiner, Anna, Hermanus, Catrin, Eva, Elisabeth. These individuals appear is various records as Kuster, Kester, Coster, Kuester, Custard, Custer, and others
• Marriage Record for Paulus Kusters & Geertruijd Doors

Paulus Kuster & Gertrude Doors had 9 Children

• Arnold Kuster; bp 6/9/1669 Kaldenkirchen Reformed Church remained a Mennonite. His wife's last name not authenticated, uncertain if she was Rebecca or Elizabeth Sullen. A bricklayer. On 2/1/1714, he purchased 316 acres of land from John Herry Sprrogell and his wife on Manatawney Tract. He settled on this land, o the banks of the Schuylkill River in what is now Berks Co but in that time was pt of Philadelphia Co. In the mouth of Sprogell's Run. He d there Dec 1739. Prob buried in old Sprogell Cemetery that can no longer be found. (Kuster) . Ken Reed (prob from White) has him d in Hanover Twp, Philadelphia Co, PA Ken has him m Gertrut Conrads 24 June 1691 in Reformed Church in Krefeld, prob died bef he emigr to PA as no mention of him in the records. He is believed to have married again, Rebecca in America. Her last name variously reptd as Nuysum, Nuzam and Schulzer, but no documentation for her name.wetzel@enter.net has him m Rebecca Nuzom Descendants of Arnold spelled their name "Kustur", Kostard, "Kister", “Kishter", other ways.
• Johannes Kuster; bp 10/12/1670. Kaldenkirchen Reformed Church m Elizabeth Cassell 8/31/1692 in Abington MM, Abington TWP, PA. The only of the three sons who became Quaker. He and Elizabeth lived in Bristol, PA, in 1693. It was Philadelphia Co, now Bucks Co. Returned to Germantown , he served as constable there 1695-7, 1700, 1706. He and Hermanus bought 200 acres of land in Skippack 1704. Johannes a burgess of Germantown 1707. He d Germantown fall 1708. Johannes pretty consistently signed his name "Kosters". His brothers most often used Kusters, Kusteres, Kuster. All his descendants spelled the name "Kester". Ken Reed cites from John Hunt's The Pound and Kester Families", Johannes was a surveyer for Penn. Had a large estate in or near Philadelphia , which was lost because a grandson was raised by others and the property forfeited by the time he learned of it. White thinks this was his son John. He bef 10/23/1708 when his wife was among those appointed to administer his estate.
• Matthias Kuster; bp 12/6/1671 Kaldenkirchen Reformed Church m Margaretha Hupps 1/16/1695 Krefeld,
• Reinhart Kuster; bp 12/2/1674 Kaldenkirchen Reformed Church
• Anna Kuster; bp 12/26/1677 Kaldenkirchen Reformed Church The entry in the church records is the only record that exists of her. Germany (Mark Tunnell) LIved in Krefeld, Germany (White). Had six children there.
• Hermanus Kuster; bp 10/19/1681 or 3/15/1682. This based on baptismal accounts. But in deciding who's father was Eva Kusters' and in stating family relationships between Kesters and Godschalks, White suddenly has Hermanus born in 1677! Then she says he was too old to have been the father of a child who was enrolled in school in 1706, so Paulus (who seemingly enrolled the child) must have been Eva's father! Two Baptismal accounts on the same page of the church records, both in the same handwriting. Not known if there might have been two children of Gertrudes named Hermanus. Two children of Gertrude named Hermanus, one died? He d abt Feb 1760, Skippack. (Custer). His descendants mainly spelled their name "Custer". m Sybylla/Isabella Conrad 1706. (incorrectly listed as Elizabeth) daughter of Peter Conrad, name derived from that of Kunders. Listed as members and receiving Communion in Germantown Mennonite Ch on 5/23/1708. Later settled on land he and Johannes had purchased in Skippack became an active member of Mennonite congregation in that vicinity. He was a farmer and pioneering Mennonite settler of Skippack commuity. A trustee of Van Bebber's twp. He owned a fulling mill, on the National Register of Historic places.
• Catrin Kuster; bp 3/9/1687 Kaldenkirchen, Germany.
• Eva Kuster; d 1748 m Godschalk Godschalk (Ken Reed) wetzel@enter.net has eva, daughter of Paulus and Gertrude, m Godshalk Godshalk, b 1693 d 1748, son of Jacob Gadshalks van der Heggen b 1666/1670 in Goch, District of Cleves,(Holland) d May 1673 buried Toamencin Meetinghouse,Montgomery Co PA immigr 1699 Occupation: Bishop.Will: 26 dec 1760, wp .3 Jun 1763. Lived in Germantown, 1702,Skippack, 1713. Godshall's brother Jan ws first Mennonite Bishop in this country. Source: White cites Agenes W Storer in "Eleanor C. Custer Her family and Connections" who refers to "The Perkiomen Region" Whole Number 37, p 65, mentions Eva as daughter of Paulus.
• Margaret Kuster; b 1690 b 8/13/1694 Germantown m Cornelius DeWees, 1708

Paulus Kuster & Gertrude Doors Wills

• Paulus Kuster Will, Endorsed 23 Feb 1707/08 by Witnesses Dennis Kunders and Cornelius Dewees. PA Will #58, Bk C pg 72- https://www.geni.com/photo/view/6000000003797372822?album_type=photos_of_me&photo_id=6000000087173375823&position=1
• 23 February 1707/8: Letters of administration were granted to Arnolt Kuster, Harmanus Custers and Johannes Kosters, the widow Gertrude being now dead. PA Will #58, Bk C pg 73 - https://www.geni.com/photo/view/6000000003797372822?album_type=photos_of_me&photo_id=6000000087173367916&position=0

The Kester and Family Ancestry Part 1

The name of "Kester" is derived from the German word Kuster or Kuester, which is closely allied to the Holland family name of "Koster". The word "Kuster" is difficult to pronounce in English and probably for this reason has been changed by different American families to the form of "Kester", "Koster", "Custer"," and other similar names.

1- Paul Kuster, his wife Gertrude, and the three sons, Arnold, Johannes and Hermanus Kuster, immigrated to America Probably about 1685. They came from Crefeld, Germany , a city located on the lower Rhine near Holland and were among the first settlers of Germantown Pennsylvania, which has now become a part of the City of Philadelphia.

The name of Paul Kuster is given in a tax list of persons residing in Germantown in 1693, and the records show that he purchased fifty acres of land of Henry Bucholtz, December 4, 1704, and that he was chosen a committeeman of the corporation of Germanntown, December 2, 1700, and was appointed overseer of fences for that municipality, January 5, 1706. Kaldenkirchen is a small village in the forest near the Dutch border, and near Krefeld and Kempden. It escaped two world wars, and the Catholic and Reformed churches that the Kusters and the Doors attended still stand there, across the street from each other. The church has played a significant role in this family's history. The medieval coat of arms for the Custer family is a cross with two crossbars. The family name of Custer is the anglicized from of the German Kuster, which means "one in charge of the sacristy where the sacramental vessels are kept" This suggests that someone in the family held that position. Even today in Germany the custodian or sexton of the church is called the "Kuster". Of Paul's children, Arnold Kuster was probably the oldest. His wife's name was Elizabeth. Johannes was married in 1692 to Elizabeth Cassell. Hermanus was married in 1706 to Isabella Conrad. Paul and his sons, Arnold and Hermanus, were embers of the Mennonite Church, while Johannaes became a member of the Society of Friends or Quakers.

The Philadelphia Register of Wills, Book C, page 72, shows the estate of Paul Kuster and Gertrude, his wife. He left a nuncupative will, said to have been reduced to writing by Francis Daniel Pastorius, one of the prominent citizens of Germantown. It is dated January 28, 1707-8, and is signed by his sons " Arnolt Custer," "Hermanus Kuster" and Johannes Kosters," and by Dennis Cunders, John Cadwalader, Rynier vandersluys, Chr. Sprogal and Cornellis Dewees by his mark. The will was proved February 23, 1707-8 by Dennis Cunders and Cornelius Dewees, and it is therein stated that the testator "a mason", sick of body , but of perfect memory and disposing "mind",after the payment of his debts, gives all his property to his wife, Gertrude, for her life, and after her death is to be divided among his children. The inventory of the estate is signed by Dennis Cunders and Peiter Keyser. On the same day on which this will was proved, letters of administration were granted by Lieutenant Governor, John Evans, to "Arnold Kusturs", "Hermanus Kisturs", and Johannes Kosters" (named also in the letters as "Arnold Kustur," "Hermanus Custers" and "Johannes Kosters," and as "Arnolt Custurs," and "Hermanus Custurs" and "Johannes Custers" ) all of Germantown yeoman, on the estate of "Paul Kuster and Gertrude, his wife," wherein it is stated that Gertrude Kuster died soon after her husband.

It will be noticed that Paul \'s will this three sons, Arnold, Hermanus and Johannes Kuster, signed their names "Custer" "Kusters" and "Koster" respectively, and in the letters of administration on the estate of Paul and his wife the names of his sons( through no doubt here written by a clerk) are spelled in several different ways, and subsequent records show still greater changes in these names amoung later generations. The descendants of Arnold Kuster have spelled the name "Kustur", "Kostard,: "Kister," "Kisher", and "all sorts of ways", the descendants of Hermanus Kuster are believed, in main have spelled it "Custer,", and all descendants of Johannes Kuster or Koster, so far as known, have spelled it "Kester".

History 2 from William Kester's Ancestors

Gertrude Doors was born about 1645 in Kaldenkirchen, Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. She was the third of eleven children born to Matthias Theis Doors, sometimes called Mathew, and Neessgen Doors, sometimes called Ness or Agnes. Two large families of Doors (Dohrs) lived in the Kaldenkirchen vicinity during 17th century. One of the families lived in a marshy area near the village of Kaldenkirchen. It was located in the forest near the Dutch border. The Catholic and Reformed churches that the Doors families attended are still there today, across the street from each other. It was six to thirteen miles from Krefeld. (Mouse over map right.) The Doors and Kuster families that emigrated from these two villages to America, probably to escape religious persecution, were founders of Germantown, Pennsylvania.

Gertrude married Paulus Kester on October 16, 1668, in Kaldenkirchen and they had ten children baptized there – Arnold on June 9, 1669; ancestor Johannes; Mattys on June 12, 1672 (died in 1673); Matthys also called Matthias on December 6, 1671; Renier on December 2, 1674; Anna on December 26, 1677; Hermanus on October 19, 1681, who probably died as an infant; another Hermanus in March of 1682; Catrin on March 9, 1687; Eva about 1687/8, who married Godshalk Godshalk; and Margaret, born about 1690, who married Cornelius Deweese in 1708. It should be noted that some researchers say the last two girls were born in Germantown, which is possible, as birth or baptism records haven’t been found in Kaldenkirchen for them. Unfortunately, records for their births in Germantown have also not been found.

In 1688, five years after its founding, Germantown became the birthplace of the anti-slavery movement in America. The 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery was the first protest against African American slavery made by a religious body in the English colonies. It was based on the Golden Rule and argued for the equal rights of all people. Wikipedia states that this petition was written at a meeting held in the house of Gertrude’s sister, Helene, wife of Thones Kunders.

Gertrude Doors Kester died within days of her husband’s death sometime between January 28, 1708 and February 23, 1708 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and is buried there in the Germantown Mennonite Cemetery pictured above.

(Note by Grace Ebneter, Custer researcher) Some of this information was updated in the 1980s when a German scholar researched the people who settled Germantown, Pennsylvania. More recent research is based on translations from church records in Germany, which were not available at that time or at least not found until studies by Wilhelm Niepoth of Germany were translated (in the 1980s) and Chester Custer wrote The Kusters and Doors of Kaldenkirchen, Germany and Germantown, Pennsylvania in Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage in 1986. He discovered the church records which document many of the Custer/Kuster family births, marriages, etc. The most important discovery made with all this research and translation of it is that the wife of Paulus Kuster was not Gertrude Streypers, but Gertrude Doors. When the information lists her last name as Streypers, this usually tells that their information comes from an article in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography in 1880 by Samuel W. Pennypacker called The Settlement of Germantown, and the Causes Which Led to It. This new information has been compiled in a 1991 book by Jean M. White, called The Descendants of Paulus and Gertrude Kusters of Kaldenkirchen, Germany and Germantown, Pennsylvania: The First Four Generations.

Source - William Kester's Ancestors - http://jtbullock.com/Tree/WilliamKester.html

Links

• https://archive.org/stream/poundkesterfamil1904hunt#page/301/mode/1up
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~villandra/OldGeocities/Web...

Sources

• The Pound and Kester families: containing an account of the ancestry of John Pound (born in 1735) and William Kester (born in 1733) and a genealogical record of all their descendants and other family historical matter, Regan Printing House, 1904, p.302, found on Google Books
• "The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine"Volume XXXI 1980 number 3 in an article titled "The Ancestry of the Thirteen Krefeld Emigrants of 1683" by William Niepoth translated byJohn Brockie Lukens page 506. her parents were persecuted. Account taken from the "julich-Berg Histrical Journal.
• Pennsylvania German Roots Across the Ocean, page 99 - https://books.google.com/books?id=dbWPG_sOk8gC&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=...
• Doors (Thiessen, Tyson) Family of Krefeld - http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~villandra/genealogy/OldGeocities/Web...
• The Ancestry of Gertrude Doors - https://www.geni.com/photo/view/6000000013280633526?album_type=photos_of_me&photo_id=6000000087171331926&position=0

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GEDCOM Note

Category: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
destination-flag =US_State_Flag_Images-42.png

Category: German Roots Project Category: Pennsylvania Mennonite Pioneers Category: Kaldenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen

Biography

Gertrude Doors was born about 1645 in Kaldenkirchen, Germany, the daughter of Theiss (Matthew) Doors and Nees Neessgen (Agnes) Op Dem Graeff. Gertrude married Paulus Kuster, 16 Oct 1668, in Kaldenkirchen, Germany. Gertrude and Paulus came to Germantown, Pennsylvania, (USA) in 1683. Gertrude passed away 1708, in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

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"Many earlier genealogies of the Kuster family speak of Gertrude Streypers as the wife of Paulus Kuster. This misconception was probably passed along for many years because of the article appearing in "The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography in 1880 by Samuel W. Pennypacker, The Settlement of Germantown, and the Causes Which Led to It,"saying that Gertrude was a sister of Jan and Willem Streypers. She was in fact the sister-in-law of Jan/Johann Streypers, her sister, Anna, having married him."... <ref>"The Descendants of Paulus and GertrudeKusters of Kaldenkirchen, Germany and Germantown, Pennsylvania, the first four generations", Jean M. White, Editor; Publisher The Castor Association of America, 1991; page 47.</ref>
"Gertrude's father, Theiss Doors, baptized 12 September 1614 in the Catholic Church in Kaldenkirchen, was the son of Peter Dohrs/Doormans and Lysgen (Elizabeth) Grietes. Theiss' name appears in an article about the persecution and suffering of the Mennonites in the 'Julich-Berg Historical Journal' under the surname Dahrs, Dahrmans, Peters and Peterschen which indicates that his father's name was Peter. Surnames in this period of time were not set. In fact, surnames were not requiredin the Netherlands (Kaldenkirchen lies almost on the border with the Netherlands) until 1811. Many families did adopt surnames around the 16th and 17th Centuries. Thus, with Theiss' and Neess' children one will note that some of the children used their father's surname of Doors while several used the patonymic of Theisson."..."Neessgen (Agnes), Gertrude's mother, was also born in Kaldenkirchen around 1616/18. Nothing is known about her parents or her childhood. After her marriage to Theiss Doors, which probably occurred around 1635-40, they became parents of eleven children:"<ref>"The Descendants of Paulus and Gertrude Kusters of Kaldenkirchen, Germany and Germantown, Pennsylvania, the first four generations", Jean M. White, Editor; Publisher The Castor Association of America, 1991; page 47-48</ref> Gertrude Doors married Paulus Kusters 16 October 1668 which is documented in the Parochial Register of the Reformed Congregation in Kaldenkirchen. Paulus Kusters is believed to have been born about 1644 in Kaldenkirchen, Germany, to Roman Catholic parents.<ref>"The Descendants of Paulus and Gertrude Kusters of Kaldenkirchen, Germany and Germantown, Pennsylvania, the first four generations", Jean M. White, Editor; Publisher The Castor Association of America; page 15</ref>"During these later years others must have arrived also, for in a listof 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 [***GERTRUDE] and three sons, Arnold, Johannes and Hermanus, and Heinrich Pannabekker.... Thus far the Mennonite colonists werenearly all of Dutch descent, and came either from Holland or from theDutch congregations in lower Germany...."<ref>C. Henry Smith, The Mennonite Immigration to Pennsylvania in the Eighteenth Century 1684,Pennsylvania, Norristown Press, 1929 (printed in the Pennsylvania German Soc, 1935); pp 95; LDS FHL SCL 974.8, B4pg, V.35.</ref> Gertrude died in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania soon after thedeath of her husband who died soon after 28 January 1707/8.<ref>"TheDescendants of Paulus and Gertrude Kusters of Kaldenkirchen, Germany and Germantown, Pennsylvania, the first four generations", Jean M. White, Editor; Publisher The Castor Association of America; page 16</ref>

Family

She married 16 OCT 1668 Paulus Kuster in Kaldenkirchen, Germany<ref>"The Descendants of Paulus and Gertrude Kusters of Kaldenkirchen, Germany and Germantown, Pennsylvania, the first four generations", Jean M. White, Editor; Publisher The Castor Association of America; page 15</ref> and had the following children:

Arnold Kuesters "baptized 9 June 1669, Kaldenkirchen, Germany...died 1739, Hanover Twp., Philadelphia County, PA , buried Manatawney Mennonite Cemetery" Johannes Kuesters "baptized 12 October 1670, Kaldenkirchen, Germany...died 1708, Germantown, PA." Matthias Kuesters "baptized 6 December1671, Kaldenkirchen, Germany...lived in Krefeld, Germany" Reinhart Kuesters "baptized 2 December 1674, Kaldenkirchen, Germany" Anna Kuesters "baptized 26 December 1677, Kaldenkirchen, Germany"

"Hermanus Kuesters, baptized 19 October 1681, Kaldenkirchen, Germany." Hermanus Kuesters "baptized early March 1682, Kaldenkirchen, Germany...died about February 1760, Philadelphia County, PA" Catrin Kuesters "baptized 9 March 1687, Kaldenkirchen,Germany"

Eva Kuesters "died after 1748" Margaret Kuesters "born about 1690"<ref>"The Descendants of Paulus and Gertrude Kusters of Kaldenkirchen, Germany and Germantown, Pennsylvania, the first four generations", Jean M. White, Editor;Publisher The Castor Association of America; page 18-19</ref>

Sources

<references/>

Notes / References

• Roberts, Clarence V.; EARLY FRIENDS FAMILIES OF UPPER BUCKS.*Miller, Marcus L.; "Germantown Residents Naturalized in 1691"; 1691; MENNONITE FAMILY HISTORY, Vol II, No 3, July 1983; pp 102-104; Seattle[WA] Public Library.*Pennypacker, Samuel W.; SETTLEMENT OF GERMANTOWN, N.Y., Benjamin Blom, 1970 (1899), pp 69, 136.
• Elmer Leonard Hauser Genealogy.
• William Howard Hauser Genealogy.*Delphine, Dominique Z.; Ancestry Family Tree, Ancestry.com; CABLE-BUCHER-HAWBAKER-ULERY-KESTER-PRIEST-STAFFORD-SCANLAND-PRICE-HAPNER. (Thisis a family tree from Ancestry.com).
• KY Roots.ged (This is someones downloaded family tree).*"Castor Association Of America". Theassociation 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.

Acknowledgements

• Jeanne Schmitz
• Kim Ostermyer
• Larry Arnold
• William Hauser for starting this profile.

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Gertrude Theisson Dohrs Kuster-Streypers

• BIRTH 1645 - Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
• DEATH February 281707 (aged 61–62) - Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA
• BURIAL March 2 1708 - Germantown Mennonite Cemetery, Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania,
• MEMORIAL ID 64445543 · View Source

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64445543/gertrude-kuster-streypers

Daughter of Matthias Thiess Dohrs and Agnes, she married Paulus Kester on 15 Oct 1668 in Reformed Church in Kaldenkirchen in the Rhineland.
Their children were:

1. Arnold,
2. Johannes,
3. Matthias,
4. Reiner,
5. Anna,
6. Hermanus,
7. Catrin,
8. Eva,
9. Elisabeth.

These individuals appear is various records as Kuster, Kester, Coster, Kuester, Custard, Custer, and others,