"John H. Van Culin Sr.,was born in 1821, in the town 
of Salem, Salem Co.,N.J. His parents were John Van 
Culin,of German descent, and Sarah (Ware)Van Culin.
John H. was but a small boy when his father died, 
and his subsequent boyhood's days were fraught with 
a remarkably checkered experience. At the age of sixteen
years, he decided to go west, and after reaching 
Pittsburg, Penn. he found his limited means exhausted. 
He succeeded in securing a Position as clerk in a dry 
goods store, and after three years of such employment 
he obtained a clerkship on a steamboat. About 1841 he
went to Hopkinsville, Ky., and obtained a position as
book-keeper for Gant & Kinkead, but at the end of one 
year was elected to a clerkship in the branch bank of
Kentucky, next to cashier of that institution in which 
he continued until July 1854. He then went to New Orleans 
and there engaged in a general commission business, which 
he conducted with marked success, accumulating a handsome 
fortune which was mostly swept away by the results of the 
Civil War. In 1860 Mr. Van Culin removed from New Orleans 
to Paducah, Ky. and engaged in merchantile business. In 
1876 he established his present book business, and is now 
located at No. 107 Broadway. In 1858 he married Miss R.E. 
White a native of Tennessee. They have a family of three 
sons, viz; John H. Jr., a traveling salesman; Nolan W., 
assisant cashier in the Bank of Madison, at Jackson, Tenn., 
and David L. Van Culin, of Paducah." 

Source:  Biographical Sketches from, "Kentucky, History of 
the State" Main Author; William Henry Perrin 1887, Submitted by:
Vera Burnham vburnham@metrocast.net Date: May 28,2002