Benjamin F. Funk

Benjamin Franklin Funk (October 17, 1838 – February 14, 1909) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois, father of Frank Hamilton Funk.

Benjamin F. Funk
From 1925's Centennial Catalogue: Commemorating 100 Years of Ownership of the Funk Farms by the Funk Family
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 14th district
In office March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895
Preceded by	Owen Scott
Succeeded by	Joseph V. Graff
Personal details
Born	(1838-10-17)October 17, 1838 Funk's Grove Township, McLean County, Illinois
Died	February 14, 1909(1909-02-14) (aged 70) Bloomington, Illinois
Political party	Republican

Biography

Born in Funk's Grove Township, McLean County, Illinois, Funk attended the public schools and Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois. He was the son of Isaac Funk.

He left school in 1862 to enlist in the Sixty-eighth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and served five months during the Civil War.

After the war, he returned to the university and finished the course. After this, he engaged in agricultural pursuits.

He returned to Bloomington, in 1869, and served as its mayor from 1871 to 1876 and from 1884 to 1886. He also served as president of the board of trustees at Wesleyan University for twenty years, served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1888 and was a trustee of the asylum for the blind in Jacksonville.

Funk was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-third Congress (March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895). His candidacy for renomination in 1894 failed, so he returned to agriculture. He died on February 14, 1909, in Bloomington, Illinois. He is currently buried in Bloomington Cemetery.

References

• United States Congress. "Benjamin F. Funk (id: F000427)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress