Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Joseph Funk & Sons Correspondence must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Joseph Funk & Sons Correspondence, Ms2008-074 - Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Joseph Funk & Sons Correspondence was purchased by Special Collections in 1993.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement and description of the Joseph Funk & Sons Correspondence occurred in September 2008.

Biographical Information

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.

Scope and Content

The Joseph Funk & Sons Correspondence includes two handwritten letters from a Mennonite hymnbook publisher in Rockingham County, Virginia, to a client, James Curry, in Lewisburg, Virginia [now West Virginia]. The letters predate the Civil War and discuss Curry's order of the Mennonite hymnbook, Harmonia Sacra, and the settlement of his account. The unreliability of shipping books to the western counties via the railroad and the burden of increasing shipping fees are also mentioned. Noted geographic locations include Harrisonburg and Staunton, Virginia.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Related Material

Presgraves, Jim, ed. Two notable shaped-note leaders : Joseph Funk by John W. Wayland [and] Aldine S. Kieffer by Weldon T. Myers, Wm. B. Blake, B.C. Unseld. (Wytheville, Va.: Bookworm & Silverfish, 1995). ML390 .T896 1995 Spec Large

Funk, Joseph. Harmonia sacra, being a compilation of genuine church music. Comprising a great variety of metres, all harmonized for three voices, together with a copious explication of the principles of vocal music. Exemplified and illustrated with tables in a plain and comprehensive manner... 11th ed. (Singer's Glen, Va.: Joseph Funk's Sons, 1866). By Joseph Funk and Sons. M2117 .F95 C5 1866 Spec Small

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Presgraves, Jim, ed. Two notable shaped-note leaders : Joseph Funk by John W. Wayland [and] Aldine S. Kieffer by Weldon T. Myers, Wm. B. Blake, B.C. Unseld. (Wytheville, Va.: Bookworm & Silverfish, 1995). ML390 .T896 1995 Spec Large

Funk, Joseph. Harmonia sacra, being a compilation of genuine church music. Comprising a great variety of metres, all harmonized for three voices, together with a copious explication of the principles of vocal music. Exemplified and illustrated with tables in a plain and comprehensive manner... 11th ed. (Singer's Glen, Va.: Joseph Funk's Sons, 1866). By Joseph Funk and Sons. M2117 .F95 C5 1866 Spec Small