Johann Philip Cruse was born 29 December 1722 in Wiesbaden, Germany. He was the son of Philip Adolph Cruse and Maria Catharina (surname unknown). Johann immigrated to America aboard the ship "Henrietta" and arrived at the Port of Philadelphia 22 October 1754. He married Anna Catharina (surname unknown) ca. 1759 in Red Hill, Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania. They lived in Salisbury, Rowan Co., North Carolina and were the parents of five sons and five daughters. Descendants lived in North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, California and elsewhere.

George Hull (1590-1659) and his family emigrated in 1630 from England to Dorchester, Massachusetts, moving in 1636 to Windsor, Connecticut. Joseph Hull (1596-1665), his brother, emigrated in 1635 and died at York, Maine. Richard Hull (1599-1662), not a relative, immigrated before 1636 to Massachusetts, moving to New Haven, Connecticut in 1639. Descendants of these three immigrants lived mainly in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Tennessee and California.