Blair County Pa Archives Biographies.....funk, James April 17, 1823 - ????
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Judy Banja Http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00004.html#0000757 January 4, 2025, 12:05 Pm

Source: Biographical And Portrait Cyclopedia Of Blair Co, Pa: Philadelphia, 1892.
Author: Samuel T. Wiley

James Funk, 
Ex-sheriff Of Blair County, And A Popular Business Man Of Duncansville, Was
Born In Black Log Valley, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1823,
And Is The Eldest Son Of John And Jane (goshorn) Funk.  The Funks Are Of
German Ancestry, And Mr. Funk's Paternal Grandfather, Jacob Funk, Was Born At
Frankstown, Washington County, Maryland, Where His Ancestors Had Settled At An
Early Day, And Where The Funk Family Had Become Prominent In The Local History
Of Western Maryland.  Later In Life Jacob Funk Came To Black Log Valley, Where
He Resided Until His Death.  His Son, John Funk (father), Was Born In
Maryland, And Came With His Father To Black Log Valley, Where He Followed
Farming Until His Death.  He Was An Old-line Whig, And Afterward A Democrat
In Politics, And Had Been A Zealous Member Of The German Baptist Or Dunkard
Church For Many Years Before His Death.  He Married Jane Goshorn, Who Was A
Daughter Of Jacob Goshorn, An Early Scotch Settler Of Tuscarora Valley.  Mr.
And Mrs. Funk Were The Parents Of Six Children: James; Mary, Wife Of William
Ayers, A Miller Of Sharpsburg, Allegheny County; Henry, Who Died Young;
Nicholas (deceased), Who Was In The Insurance Business At Hollidaysburg;
Abraham, Now Dead; And Sarah, Who Died Young.
   James Funk Received A Good English Education, And Became A Conductor On The
Old Portage Railroad, Which He Left One Year Later.  In 1850 He Engaged In
His Present Prosperous Lime Business.  He Is Now Running At Four Different
Places In The County A Number Of Kilns, Whose Aggregate Capacity Is Twelve
Hundred Bushels Per Day, Employs Thirty-five Men, And Ships Lime Over A Wide
Area Of Territory.  He Has Two Kilns At Frankstown, Which Cost Over Twelve
Thousand Dollars And Are Claimed To Be The Largest Lime Kilns In America,
Each One Being Forty-four Feet Long, Thirty-one Feet Wide, And Thirty-seven
Feet High.
   Mr. Funk Married Susan J. Long, Who Died Afterward And Left Nine Children,
Of Whom Are: Margaret, Wife Of J. Rock Williamson, A Farmer Of Humbolt,
Nebraska; Missouri, Wife Of William P. Irwin, Depot Master In Altoona; 
John S., In Business With His Father; Matilda, Who Married George P. Mccormick, A
Foreman In The Pennsylvania Railroad Company's Shops In Altoona; Nicholas G.,
A Conductor Who Runs Between Altoona And Pittsburg; Edward B., A Foreman In
The Duncansville Rolling Mill; And Landis Superintendent Of His Father's
Kilns At Frankstown.  After His First Wife's Death, Mr. Funk Was United In
Marriage With Mary Dasher, And Has By His Second Marriage Three Children:
May, Ira, And Nannie.
   In Politics Mr. Funk Is A Cleveland Democrat.  He Served Thirteen Years As A
School Director, And Then Declined Another Re-election.  He Was Shortly
Afterward Elected As A Justice Of The Peace, But Refused To Take Out His
Commission.  He Was Elected Coroner In 1855, On The American Ticket, And
Before His Term Closed, In 1858, He Was Elected Sheriff As The Fusion
Candidate On The People's Ticket.  Mr. Funk Was The First Democratic Jury
Commissioner Elected In The County; Was Twice Defeated As The Democratic
Candidate For The Assembly, Although Once Lacking One Hundred Votes Of Being
Successful When The Republican Majority Stood At Fifteen Hundred, And Was
Once Defeated For Associate Judge, Though Running Ahead Of His Ticket.  He Is
A Man Of Business Ability, Of Energy And System In All Of His Different
Enterprises.  He Owns A Beautiful Home At Duncansville, And An Excellent Farm
Adjoining That Borough.  Mr. Funk Has Been For Thirty-four Years A Member Of
Juniata Lodge, No. 282, Free And Accepted Masons, Of Hollidaysburg, Of Which
He Has Been A Past Master For Twenty-eight Years.
   One Well Acquainted With James Funk Has Written Of Him: "although Now Denied
By The Calls Of His Large Manufacturing Interests From Taking His Old-time
Part In Politics, Yet He Is Nevertheless Thoroughly Abreast With The Progress
Of Affairs That Mark The History Of American Advancement, And Takes Especial
Pride In Advising Himself As To The March Of Social And Political Events At
Home And Abroad."

Additional Comments:
Originally Submitted 2001. Transcribed By Janet Ebaugh.

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