George Washington Funk (May 14, 1827 – July 15, 1911) was an American rancher and politician from Illinois. The son of prominent state politician

Isaac Funk Isaac Funk (November 17, 1797 – January 29, 1865) was an American rancher and politician, originally from Kentucky. In the 1820s, he founded Funks Grove, Illinois, in McLean County, Illinois, with his brother and became a prominent cattle trad ...

, and a member of the

Funk family The Funk Family is composed of Midwestern United States pioneers who did business in the fields of agriculture, politics, finance and civic life. Abraham Lincoln was one of Funk Farms' first attorneys and later served in the Illinois House of Repr ...

, George W. Funk was tasked with dividing his father's vast holdings upon his death. Although he held similar political beliefs as his father, he was only elected to office once: to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

in 1870 to a two-year term.

Biography

George Washington Funk was born in

Funks Grove, Illinois Funks Grove is a historic unincorporated community on U.S. Route 66 in McLean County, Illinois, United States, southwest of Bloomington. The grove for which the settlement is named, ''Funk's Grove'', is a National Natural Landmark. Natural hist ...

, on May 14,http://mchistory.org/research/resources/findingaids/people/george-washington-funk-collection.php 1827. He was the eldest son of Cassandra (Sharp) and

. Funk attended public schools and assisted on his father's farm. Upon the death of his father in 1865, Funk was responsible for fairly dividing the of land holdings among his siblings. Funk was left with in McLean County. Three years later, Funk moved to Mount Hope Township in the same county. He was named president of the People's Bank of Atlanta and was also involved with the First National Bank of Bloomington and banks in Lincoln and

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

. Like his father, who had served in the

and the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

, Funk was a staunch Republican. Funk showed little interest in pursuing political office, but was nonetheless elected to the Illinois House in 1870. He served one two-year term there. Funk married Susan Pumpelley in 1868. However, she died the following year. He remarried to Rose Fitzwilliams in 1876. Funk had one son by his first wife and three children by his second. Funk died on July 15, 1911, and was buried in Funks Grove Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funk, George W. 1827 births 1911 deaths Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from McLean County, Illinois 19th-century American legislators 19th-century Illinois politicians