August Funk – taken around 1898
– he is holding his granddaughter Henrietta and it is believed that his son
Gustav is behind him – his wife Annie is at his side. Taken at their house in the
Southside of Pittsburgh.
My ancestor was born Johann Heinrich August Funk on 3 Jan 1837
in Minden,Westphalia Germany to Johann Bernard
Funk. August’s father was from Mennighuffen, the son of Johannes Funk, and August’s mother
was Anna/Johanna Marie Catharina Beck, the daughter of Johann Christian Beck of
Herford. The couple was married on 20 March 1825 in Minden’s St. Marien Church.
August was baptized on 15th of January 1837 in St. Martini’s
Church in Minden.
August immigrated to the United States in 1858 – or so we
believe. This belief is based upon the
arrival of an August Funk from Bremen
in 1858.
He lived in Pittsburgh and met
the love of his life – Anna Elisabetha Alt in the Iron City. Anna was a recent immigrant who came with her
entire family from Steinau a.d.
Strasse in Hessen-Kassel
Germany. August and Anna were married on 28 July 1860
at Pittsburgh’s Saint Paul’s
Evangelical Lutheran Church. Witnesses to this were Anna’s father,
Leonhard Alt, and August’s friend Freiderich Albrecht
– he also would serve in the Civil War and be one of Anna’s witnesses when she
applied for a pension.
Nine months after their wedding, the Rebel Forces of South
Carolina fired upon Fort
Sumpter…and
the nation was plummeted into a bloody civil war. August probably heard of the raising of a
German regiment in Pittsburgh
while attending church, or walking home and passing recruiting flyers. Alexander von Schimmelpfennig,
a veteran of the 1848 uprisings in Germany,
had been selected to lead a regiment put together by a group of merchants in Pittsburgh. Schimmelpfennig had
been Carl Schurz’s commander in Germany,
now the roles would be reversed.
Rod with his kids fulfilling
a family tradition at Gettysburg
Rod showing where August is located on the 74th
Plaque at the
Pennsylvania Monument
at Gettysburg
This is Rod’s Great Grandfather, William Charles Knechtel,
doing the same thing sixty years earlier!
August joined for duty on 3 September 1861 in Birmingham,
Pittsburgh’s
South Side. According to the muster
rolls (thanks Bret!) we know that August was a mechanic when he enlisted. He and the regiment mustered into service on
14 September 1861. He left at home Anna
with his four month old daughter Elizabeth.
The regiment mustered into service on 14 September 1861. The regiment he originally joined was the 35th
Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry – and due to political infighting amongst the
merchants – the regiment was disbanded then reformed as the 74th
Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry in early part of 1862 while it wintered at Washington, D.C.
August was with the regiment until his enlistment ended in
1864. During that time, he fought with
the regiment during the battles found in the outline associated with this
website. He is noted to have served in
the capacity of an ambulance driver and was detached to the Ambulance Corps on
at least one occasion. He also was
listed as a drill instructor in the regiment’s books. While he was away, Elizabeth passed away in February of
1863.
He was promoted to Corporal on 1 January 1864 and served in that
capacity at Gettysburg. His name is on the Pennsylvania
Monument at Gettysburg under Company K. He was discharged on 17 October 1864 when his
term expired.
August lived the rest of his life in Pittsburgh’s South Side. Ultimately, he would owned
a home at 46/48 South 27th
Street in Pittsburgh’s
South Side. This would be a site for
many of the family’s living and business adventures ranging from a store to a
bar which was closed because the City wouldn’t reissue him the necessary
permits. Today the building is the home
of Cupka’s Deli – pictured above - a South Side
tradition and there is a great bar next door in the same building. He and Anna attend the Birmingham Church of
Christ and many of their children were baptized there.
August died on 9 June 1900.
His occupation was listed as Gentleman.
Cause of death was given as cancer of the stomach which he endured for
over a year. His obituary noted that he
was a member of the Peter Futs Lodge No. 486 of the
International Order of the Odd Fellow, Schillders Glocke, and the Union Veteran Legion. Members of Company K were also invited to his
services.
Anna would live the remainder of her life as a widow at the home
on 27th Street. She would eventually obtain a widow’s
pension, which she used to augment her income until her death in 1928.
The following are the children of August and Anna Elisabetha Funk:
1.
Elizabeth
Funk – born 31 May 1861 and died 13
February 1863.
2.
William
Lanehart Funk – born 20 July 1865, South Side, Pittsburgh, PA – married
Anna C. Bode on 28 February 1894 and he died on 27 April 1905 in Pittsburgh, PA. William made a trip back to German and made repeated
visits to the towns listed above for the “Minden
area.”
3.
Henry
Funk – born 16 October 1866 and died 30
October 1867.
4.
Henry
A. Funk – born 6 March 1868 and died on 29
May 1906.
5.
Johann
Heinrich August Funk – born 22 October 1869 in Birmingham, PA
and died on 30 October 1869.
6.
Heinrich
Peter Leonhard Funk – born 22 October 1869 in Birmingham, PA and died
on 15 June 1870 in Birmingham,
PA.
7.
Johann
Gustave Adolph Funk – born 26 November 1870 in Birmingham, PA and died
on 29 March 1914 in Pittsburgh. Gustave was
disabled and referred to as an “invalid” by the family.
8.
Augusta
Henrietta Funk – born 1 June 1873; married
William Daum in 1899 and died in 1945.
9.
Ann
Carolyn Louise Funk -- born 29 October
1874 in South Side, married William August Bode in 1898 and died on 27 November
1951 in Brintwood,
Pennsylvania. Rod Fleck’s ancestors.
10.
Infant
Funk – born 3 January 1876 in Birmingham and died in
July 1877