Prior to his marriage to Isabella, John was married to Louisa [surname unknown]. John, age 23, and Louisa, age 19, are found in the 1850 U.S. Census in Shaler Twp., Allegheny Co., PA. John's occupation is listed as "Boiler". He was probably a worker in one of the Pittsburgh area iron mills and may have been a member of the "Sons of Vulcan" organized in 1858 as part of the first union movement in Pittsburgh's iron industry.

John served briefly in the Union Army during the Civil War. He enlisted on May 27, 1861 and, on June 4, mustered into the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves. This was a federal regiment organized at Harrisburg, and John served in Company B as 1st Lieutenant. This regiment was also known as the 42nd PA Regiment, 1st PA Rifles, and "Kane's Rifles". It was also known as the "Bucktails" because the regiment consisted largely of hunters and woodsmen who wore male deer tails pinned to their caps as a symbol of their shooting skills. John mustered out as 1st Lieutenant, with remarks on the muster roll simply stating: "resigned November 1, 1861." He re-enlisted in 1865 and, in his "Declaration of Recruit", signed an oath swearing that he had not been discharged from previous service "on account of disability or by sentence of a court martial, or by order before the expiration of a term of enlistment." No reason for the 1861 resignation can be found in John's compiled military record, but it may have been prompted by the illness or death of his wife, Louisa. Neither John nor Louisa can be located in the 1860 or 1870 census, so Louisa's date of death is not known.

On March 23, 1865, John Culp re-enlisted for a 1-year term in Company I of the 67th Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry. His enlistment papers indicate that he had been born in Philadelphia and that he was currently a resident of Shaler Twp. in Allegheny County, that he was 37 years of age and by occupation a "Boiler". He mustered in as a Private in Allegheny City on April 14, 1865, whereupon he received credit for a U.S. Bounty of $100. At Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, he was paid a Local Bounty of $500 on April 21. The Company Muster Roll dated June 30, 1865 indicates that John had been appointed Sergeant on April 18. He mustered out in Washington D.C. on July 14, 1865 as a 2nd Sergeant with Distinguished Service.

Prior to her marriage to John Andrew Culp, Isabella Reed was married to Thomas Cougle. Isabella and Thomas had two sons: Will (b. 1868, d. ?) and Frances (b. 1874, d. 1897). In the 1870 U.S. Census, Isabella and Thomas Cougle are found residing at 2005 Brianna St. in Philadelphia with son "Willie", age 2. Nothing is known about Isabella's parents. The 1850 U.S. Census, however, includes a John Reed residing in the 6th Ward Kensington in Philadelphia. John Reed's household includes his wife, Martha, and three children: John (age 13), Eliza (age 10), and Isabella (age 8). Both John and Martha state that they were born in Ireland. Isabella's age on the date of the census (8/2/1850) indicates a birth year of 1841 or 1842. It is highly possible that John and Martha Reed are the parents of the Isabella Reed who married John Culp.

John and Isabella apparently married around 1875. They had one child, Anna Martha, born on June 1, 1876. The Culp family is found residing at 3118 Wharton St., Philadelphia, in the 1880 U.S. Census. Listed with John and Isabella are Anna (age 4) and Isabella's sons Will and Frances Cougle (ages 12 and 8). Isabella indicates that both her parents were born in Ireland. John indicates that both his parents were born in Spain, but this is obviously a joke; in the 1910 census, he indicates that both his parents were born in Pennsylvania, and the record is clear that his immigrant ancestor was part of the German Immigration of the 1700's. John's occupation is listed as "Pudler", and Isabella is shown as "keeping house". A puddler was a highly skilled iron worker in charge of a reverberatory furnace used in the process of converting pig iron into wrought iron; it was a dangerous occupation requiring physical strength, stamina and sustained concentration.

Isabella died on December 28, 1884 at 31 Oakford St. in Philadelphia. The cause of death was pneumonia. Her death certificate shows her age as 43 and her birthplace as Philadelphia. Isabella was buried on December 31 at Greenwood Cemetery in Philadelphia.

On September 11, 1895, John Culp married Helena Hartlieb in Camden, NJ. John was 67 years old and Helena was 36. She was the widow of John C. Breschel of Reading, PA, with whom she had 9 children. John and Helena Culp had two children: Albert Ramon, born on October 15, 1895 and Mabel, born on January 16, 1897. John and Helena separated in 1898.

In February 1892, John Culp had begun drawing an invalid soldier pension benefit of $6 per month. John applied for an increase to $8 per month in 1898, stating that he "can do no manual labor for past 2 years" because he suffered from "the following disability, incurred in the service, viz: chronic rheumatism, dyspepsia, catarrh of head, disease of eyes, broken breast bone, injury to spine, heart disease." The doctor performing a medical examination on July 1, 1898 certified that John, "age 70 years, was Pudler. Palms slightly roughened, fairly nourished, healthy looking for his years." For the most part, the doctor confirmed John's injury and other ailments, and the pension increase was granted. At the time of his death, John was receiving a benefit of $22.50 per month.

In 1910, the U.S. Census shows John Culp living alone as a boarder at 326 Franklin Street in Philadelphia. He was 82 years old and listed his occupation as "pensioner". In 1913 he became ill enough to require constant care, and on December 13 he moved to his daughter Anna's home at 1011 Buttonwood Street where he died on January 16, 1914 at the age of 86. John was buried on January 20, 1914 at Fernwood Cemetery in Lansdowne, PA.