Joseph Funk & Sons (Rockingham County, Va.)
Historical Note
Joseph Funk was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1778 to the former Mennonite bishop, Henry Funk, and Barbara Showalter. In 1786, the Funks moved to Rockingham County, Virginia, in the area called Mountain Valley. In 1804, Joseph Funk built a log cabin and married Elizabeth Rhodes of York County, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth died, after bearing five children, in 1813. Funk was once again widowed by his second wife Rachel Britton in 1833.
A man of many talents, Funk was a landowner, farmer, schoolmaster, teacher of vocal music, and the creator/publisher of music books. In 1832, Funk published Genuine Church Music, a popular Mennonite hymnbook written in shape-note style. (Beginning with the 1851 edition, the title of the work was changed to Harmonia Sacra.) With the success and multiple editions of Harmonia Sacra, Funk established a printing house in 1847—thus making him founder of the first Mennonite printing house in the United States. Joseph Funk died in 1862; his grandsons then took over the printing house and had great success with the publication of gospel songs.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Joseph Funk & Sons Correspondence
The Joseph Funk & Sons Correspondence predates the American Civil War and includes two letters from a Mennonite hymnbook publisher in Rockingham County, Virginia, to a client in Lewisburg, Virginia [now West Virginia]. The letter discusses book shipments, the settlement of accounts, and the unreliability of shipping to the western counties via the railroad.