ARNOLD DOORS KUSTER and FAMILY

Arnold Doors  Kuster was born abt 1669 in Kaldenkirchen, Germany, the son of Paulus and Gertrude (Doors) Kuster. Arnold was baptized 9 June 1669 in the Evangelical Church in Kaldenkirchen, Germany

 In 1683, Arnold  came with his parents to Germantown,  Pennsylvania, USA.  They were with a group of Krefield Mennonites who were seeking religious freedom.(Germantown is an area in Northwest Philadelphia. Founded by German Quaker and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854.)


Arnold later married Rebecca  Nuzom abt 1693.  He and his brother, Hermanus, were both  active Mennonites in Pennsylvania. A log church was built sometime between 1703 and 1708 for the Mennonites, and Arnold and Hermanus Kuster were among the members then. 

Arnold was a bricklayer. He appears on a list in 1702 as having sent his children to a school in Germantown, called the Friends School, taught by Francis Daniel Pastorius. He remained in Germantown until 1714. Arnold and Rebecca's children are listed below. Most of the children were born in Germantown. The last three were born in Manatawney, Hanover, PA.

1695 Conrad, our ancestor
1700 Katharine
1704 George Philip
1706 Nicolas
1710 Paul
1715 Hannah
1720 Arnold
1724 Dorthy

In 1714, the Arnold and Rebecca Custer family moved to the western part of Philadelphia County (an area now in Berks County) where he bought 316 acres in the Manatawney tract in New Hannover Township for his children. He died in 1739 in Hanover Township, Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania and was buried at the Manatawney Cemetery (Mennonite). Letters of Administration were granted to his brother, Hermanus, on 22 Dec 1739. 

ARNOLD DOORS CUSTER
BORN: abt 1669 in Kaldenkirchen, Germany
MARRIED: abt 1693 in Germantown, Philadelphia, PA
DIED: 1739 in Hanover Twp., Philadelphia, PA
BURIED: Manatawney Cemetery in Hanover, Philadelphia, PA
SOURCES: In "Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage" Volume IX Number 3 July 1986 an article by Chester E. Custer titled "The Kusters and Doors of Kaldenkirchen, Germany, and Germantown, Pennsylvania";  Researcher, Arlene Eakle, from the book "THE DESCENDANTS OF PAULUS AND GERTRUDE KUSTERS"; German immigration to Pennsylvania records. : "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVVG-ZY2T : 13 December 2015), Arnold Doors Kuster (Custer), 1739; Burial, Manatawna, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Manatawna Mennonite Cemetery; citing record ID 21547976, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.