Her ancestor, James Caldwell, a Scotch Presbyterian, came to the U.S. from Ulster, County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1769.
[3] John Jolliff Yarnall, a relative of Mrs. Culbertson, was Oliver Hazard Perry's first lieutenant in the Battle of Lake Erie, and for distinguished gallantry on that occasion, he was voted a sword by the legislatures of Pennsylvania and Virginia.
For two years, she was principal of the Harriet House School for Girls in Bangkok, Siam.
[5] In 1887, Culbertson removed with her family to Washington, D.C. where she was active in works for the betterment of humanity.
From 1897 to 1905, Culbertson served as the president of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Presbytery of Washington City.
[5] She also served as president, Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Presbytery of Washington City; vice-president, Mothers' Congress of D.C.; member, Executive Board, the Anti-Saloon League; and member, Executive Board, W.C.T.U.
She was also a translator of German fiction, notably, "Sunnyheart's Trial" (published December, 1910, in the Southern Observer) and "A Christmas Story for Children" (translated from the German of Emmy von Rhoden, which ran as a serial in the Lutheran Observer, 1910).