Here’s a collection of emails from BJ Funk “tracing the Funk family roots,” plus other interesting tidbits from the past.

From email dated 04/xx/08

My cuzins:

It took up to now to finally know the story of those ascendants of George Funk who was the first Funk who fathered all of us Funks here in the Philippines.  Sure,  you know that his ascendants were from Germany.  But do you know which township or kingdom in Germany?

Who was his mother?  Where was she from?  Her ascendants were from what country?

What was George's complete name and when was he born?  Who was his father.  Where did they live.  Who was our first ascendant who came to the U.S.  from Germany.  What port did he arrive at?  Who was his wife?

Then When did Marcelina (George's filipina wife) go to the U.S.?  what ship did she take?  Who were she with? Where does she live?  When did she die?   

Mind boggling, indeed.  20 years back,  it was impossible to find out.  Not anymore.  I've done my homework well.  I found it!!!! 

Now wait until I tell the full story.  I've started the intro (2 pages)  in a couple of weeks it will be all told.   And they are all fully supported with public documents. 

And just to tickle your inquisitive minds,  I give two answers for the moment.

1.  According to the 1910 US Federal Census,  George W. Funk lived in Camp John Hay with 8 other servicemen

2.  Nicholas Funk was born in Baden,  Germany in 1810 and landed in Baltimore Maryland in 1832.  He lived until his death in Georgetown, Washington DC. 

Would you know his address in Georgetown?  I do.  What was his profession?  I know too. 

What was his religion?  As an installment answer, He and his wife where German Anglicans who  became Episcopalians.

Know more when I get back.  Stay connected w/ Funkmelee for the revealing history of the Funk Family!!!!

Yours truly,

BJ Funk

THE TEASER    TRACING THE ROOTS    CONTINUING THE TRACE    A BIT OF HISTORY

Excerpt from email dated 04/21/08 from BJ Funk:

It all began, as far as record would show,  in Baden Germany where Nicholas Funk was born in 1810.  I have not really done any further research as to the ancestry of  Nicholas because I have not found the chance to go to Baden up to this time.  In any case, Nicholas was married to Rebecca who was also from Baden.  Sometime between 1830 to 1935 1835,  they went to Bremen, Germany and boarded  a ship that transported them to Baltimore, Maryland.   However. a succeeding Census taken in 1840 (the earliest census where Nicholas' name appears) reveals that Nicholas was residing then in one of the Washington Wards (Washington Ward 1, Washington D.C.) as the head of the family. Meanwhile Nicholas and Rebecca had several children namely Barbara (b.1839), George (b. 1841), William (b. 1842) and Nicholas Jr.(b.1844).  George married Caroline Cleveland who was from Jefferson County (Harper's Ferry, Jefferson county, VA).  She was the first child of Ralph Cleveland (b.1828 from New Hampshire) who was a machinist working at one of the mills and Anne Cleveland (b.1828 in Virginia), was a home maker. They owned a 3 acre farm in Virginia and probably lived a provincial life.  Caroline's other siblings were Ralph Jr. (b.1848), James (b..1853) and Anne Caroline (b.1855).  When Caroline married George,  Anne Caroline,  Caroline's youngest sister went to stay with the Funks at Rock Creek Church Road in Georgetown D.C. 

George Funk was a wheelwright (one who makes wheels for carriages)  and a Carriage builder.  His father Nicholas,  was a comb maker.  In those days,  the art of making comb was an intricate and meticulous one for combs were made of real animal bones or of steel.  Son George and Caroline had several children - Jullia (b. Nov 1865), Alice (b.Dec 1867), Ella (b.1869), Walter (b. Sept 1872), George William (b. Aug 1875) our great grand father, Frederick (b. Nov 1877) (yours), and Edward (b. July 1881).  Alhough all his male siblings were also involved in blacksmithing, Walter proved to be the most senior being the eldest son and the one who would have possibly inherited George's business.   Jullia married to Lawrence McIntyre (b. Nov 1857) who was born in New York but whose parents were both from Ireland.  The union bore them 3 children namely Carrie (b. Feb 1887), Marie (b.Dec 1889) and Lawrence Jr. (b. Nov 1891).  Alice also married a guy from New York whose family name was Foley.  She had three children as well -  Marion (b.Aug 1886), George W. (b. Mar 1889) and  Annie (b. Oct 1889)..  In the national census taken n 1900, George and Caroline with Alicia and her three children, plus Walter, George William, Fredrick, and Edward lived in one house at Rock Creek Church Road which is owned by George..  He had an estimated 1 acre property there. Meanwhile,  Lawrence and Jullia McIntyre and their children lived nearby.  They were all members of  the St. Paul's Episcopalean Church in Rock Creek Church Road.

Some time in 1902, George William enlisted in the American Army where he was drafted and sent to Philadelphia.  From there he was shipped to the Philippines soon after Spain ceded the Philippines to the U.S. after it lost the Spanish American war (1900).  The Philippines then was under Commonwealth territory.  The head of government in the Philippines was a governor-general who was appointed in the U.S.  There were several American bases establised during this period.  One of those was the Camp John Hay in Baguio City which was more of a recreational facility for the members of the American military who were stationed in the Luzon Island.  George William was a member of the Foot and Horse cavalry division assigned to the Horse stables as a master horse shoe maker and blacksmith.  It was during this tour of duty that he met a charming Filipina whose name was Catalina Baradi who hails from a nearby town in La Union (Bangar).   Soon after, the relationship had blossomed and he fathered a child with Catalina.  This son would later be named Rufino B. Funk Sr. who was born in San Fernando, la Union in 1903.    George William returned to the U.S. mainland and did nor return until 1920 to Baguio City where he found Catalina now married to another man (who was a local) and with other children.  Heart broken and lonely, this was the time when he met Marcelina and Dorotea,  two sisters who were vacationing in Baguio city at that time when George had just arrived from the U.S. in 1920.   George William fell in love with Marcelina Velasco Villanueva and soon got married.  They had 7 children namely Charles, James, George Jr., Elizabeth, Ruth, Caroline, and Frederick.  While staying in Bangar, La Union, George and Marcelina allowed Dorotea (Marcelina's youngest sister) to stay with them.  At the same time,  George William had taken over the rearing of Rufino Sr. (His son from his relations with Catalina).  Soon after, Rufino Sr. and Dorotea fell in love and produced a family of their own.  Among the offsprings were Corinne, and William and Gray Donna were born in Bangar; Gray Donna, Rufino Jr., Edward, Geraldine, George, Richard and Dorothy Victory were all born already in Manila. 

As in the case of Rufino and Dorotea, George William's and Marcelina's four of the elder siblings were born in La Union,  while the remaining three were born already in Manila after their family relocated to Manila which at that time was the center of cosmopolitan living.  George William found a job as the Stable Manager of the newly organized Polo Club of Manila,  An elitist club membership whose members were mostly expats and creme-de-creme of Manila's high society.   He was hired as an expat and was therefore paid with American dollars that allowed his family to maintain a considerably higher status in life than most average Filipinos could at that time.   He bought a 1000 square meter property at Villaruel st in Pasay City where most American expats then resided.  It was also nearby his place of work at Calle Real in Pasay City.  George William's mother Caroline passed away on Feb 8, 1911 due to a lingering illness and while George William was away in the Philippines.  George Sr., subsequently passed away on Feb 16, 1917 also at Rock Creek Church Road.  George William passed away on January 02, 1942 due to an abdominal illness and was interred at the Pasay City Public Cemetery while Wold War II was at its height in the streets of Manila.  Right after the war, Marcelina's whole brood left for the U.S.  Most if not all of them relocated to California.   Elizabeth and her husband Iluminador Faustino and their children Fae, Daniel, Elizabeth and David, together with James Bernard, his wife  Clementina and their son Ronald Funk left the Philippines on August 7, 1945 via U.S.S. A .W. Brewster.   Marcelina together with her children Ruth Virginia, George and Frederick left Manila via S.S. Monteray on Aug 31, 1945. While Caroline and her husband Cerelino Gatchalian left via U.S.S. Admiral E.W. Everle on Sept. 6, 1945  Some are now based in Sausalito, San Francisco, some in Dublin, CA and some in Sacramento, CA.  Instead,  the brood of Dorotea remained in the Philippines.  Marcelina lived a long life having remarried twice.  First with Mr. Partible and second with Mr. Mosquito.  She died recently of old age at Almeda,  CA  on May 15, 1997.  Instead Dorotea remained a widow from the time Rufino was captured by Japanese Occupational forces in Manila and was rumored to be summarily executed by beheading and a bayonet stabbing at the back in 1945 until her death in Manila on May 30, 2005.  Son William of Rufino and Dorotea only lived for six months and succumbed to an unknown disease.  Geraldine, however, was already six years old when she died due to Asthma complications

The only child of the Rufino-Dorotea union who left the Philippines was George V. Funk who migrated to Australia in 1963. George Married Teresita Parco and they bore 3 children namely David, George Jr., and Gerilyn.   David had passed away (May 9, 2003) because of a heart problem leaving a daughter (Kiara Isabella) and a wife (Carmella) whileGeorge Jr. (Wife Jenny and son Tyler) and Geriilyn (Husband Steve Freestone and Daughter Jessica)  have families of their own now and are citizens of Australia.  .  

Among those other members of the Rufino-Dorotea Union based in the Philippines, there were the following who have migrated to other countries as well:

1.  Children of Edward (son of Rufino and Dorotea) and Marita Funk namely Charles Funk, Geraldine Funk-Cruz, and Frederick Funk all living in LA., CA

2.  Sons of Rufino Jr., William Raymond I. Funk and family now residing in El Paso, TX and Glenn I. Funk and family now in San Ramon, CA

3.  Daughter of Corrine, Grace Funk-Huang-Mercado and family now residing in Halifax NV, Canada

4.  Son of Richard V. Funk, Neil S. C. Funk and family now residing in Canada

5.  Daughter of Dorothy Victory, Dauphne Funk-garcia- Cabauatan and family  now residing in Canada.

6.  Son of Dorothy Victory, Stanley Funk-Garcia and family now living in Singapore            

Rufino Sr. (top) and Dorotea (Bottom)

George William with young Elizabeth

George William

The Funks at Modesto during one of Uncle George’s Philippine visits (left) and Bill & Fannie’s wedding (right).  Go to My Albums to check out higher resolutions of these pictures.

BJ Funk

From email dated 04/28/08 from BJ Funk:

Dear Friends and relatives:

As I have stated previously,   it was Nicholas and Rebecca who started our family in the U.S.  having arrived at Baltimore, Maryland in 1832.  At that time, Maryland was well known for the trading of slaves.  Their first known address, when the second National census was taken in 1840 ( the very first one was done in 1930.  The US. Census is done every 10 yrs.)  they were residing at Washington Ward 1, Washington D.C.  In those days,  immigrants would arrive in New York and Maryland (port cities)  in ship loads.  These immigrants initially did not have places to stay. 

The name of Nicholas first appears in U.S. records in the national Census conducted in 1840.  He was 30 years of age.  His wife Rebecca was 25.  They already had a child whose age was 1 year old.   Unfortunately, the national Census conducted in 1840 did not include the names of the minor children, only the ages. The record also erred in that the child was listed as a son when in fact that child was a female, whose name was Barbara, their first born child.  In addition, there was somebody else living with them.  Her name was Catharine Cook (as spelled in the document). She was 80 yrs old and from Washington..  I surmise that she must have been their housekeeper of some sort or they took her into their custody because of her old age.  Soon after, in 1941 George was born, then William in 1842 and Nicholas Jr. in 1844.  We know what happened to George.  He became an accomplished Wheelwright and carriage maker having settled in Georgetown.  He was able to acquire an acre of property at Rock Creek Church Road in Georgetown and became a devout Episcopalian protestant together with his wife Caroline until his death in Feb16, 1917 six years after Caroline's death (Feb. 8, 1911). they were both buried at the St Paul's Cemetery at rock Creek Church road.  William, however, became a machinist and was married to Sallie C.(b.1854) and they had a daughter whose name was  Katie M. (b. 1874).  William was working in one of the flour mills in the area.  Nicholas Jr. instead had transferred to Philadelphia County in Pennsylvania and was included in the national census taken in 1900.  As listed, he was a lodger and his occupation was a shoe maker. He was by then 56 yrs. old. 

More to come.

BJ

From email dated 08/09/2006 from BJ to GJ and Jenny in response to GJ’s email (also below):

Hi GJ and Jenny:

Did indulge in a bit of a read on the Herman website and went

across the 67 pages of sample transcripts. Yes and I found some

references pointing to the Funk's and Rufino Funk and Funk Sr.

I had a good read, I might say. It gives me a clearer picture

of that time-frame that Lola Duting used to relate to me while

she spent time cooking lunch here in Modesto. She would

differentiate betweem "peace-time" and when the war broke.

I spoke to Rufino Jr. (my dad) about it and he was excited to

learn that Herman Beaber indeed wrote a diary of his memoires.

Papa recalls the name and even retold that these guys (Leo,

Willie and Herman) were frequenting the Funk residence here in

malate.

Tomorrow I will be seeing Auntie Cor bec, another Funk relative

is here fromt he states. I think its Marlyn Gardunio but i am

not sure. And I will ask her about this. There was also mention

of Gertrude. The name sounds familiar.

Well for the rest of the cuz who are out there, I am taking the

liberty of pasting the excerpts of the mentions right below.

Happy reading:

In case you want to read the whole sample transcripts I am

attaching it to this email.

Thanx,

BJ

Deliverance! It has Come!

By John Beaber

Funk, Name, last, Male, in church, American, married to Filipino

woman

Wed. Dec. 24/41

Cecil and I go to Pasay to talk things over with the other boys.

Decide to move back to F. Fernando, as no use to pay rent in

two places, and we better be all together in case of emergency.

Volunteer for any kind of work at Manila Sanitarium. We visited

old Mr. Funk who is there. He is pretty sick and weak. Had

three raids today. Saw one plane hit by the anti-aircraft fire.

The Port Area was hit at noon, and quite a bit of damage was

done-many killed and wounded. Forty more transports are

supposed to be landing troops on the shore of Tayabas Province.

Got things ready to move on the morrow. This is Christmas Eve,

but what kind of a Christmas is this? Very quiet in the p.m. but

we saw a dogfight over Malate and Pasay. We heard that three

Japanese planes were shot down, but we could not see.

Encouraged seeing a number of American fighter-planes in the

air. Time bombs kept going off during the night, and we could

not sleep very well. Large fires burning in vicinity of Nichols

Field.

Fri. Feb. 27/42

The Funk girls and Gertrude came over yesterday for a meal of

hot cakes with us. I am getting a kind of reputation, but do

not know that I relish it. Today I experimented with an oven to

make a cake. It turned out fair, so I gave the boys half and

took the rest to San Andres as I was going there on business.

Tues. June 9/42

Heard of a big battle going on in the Pacific, but nothing

official. Many rumors. See by the paper that we must register

our denomination - five pesos if you please. I am thinking

about fishing in the bay. Rufino Funk catches quite a good many

fish. There is a death penalty now for anyone caught listening

to radio news from San Francisco, Australia or England.

Sun. July 23, 1944

I am sure it has been over a year since I wrote last partly due

to the fact that I was very busy, and also our life was somewhat

monotonous - pretty much the same from week to week. Now I have

time to spare and life is different. Over two weeks ago, Friday

the seventh to be exact, Willie, Leo and I were eating our

supper about five-thirty and four Japanese came to visit us. We

had several visits before, so did not anticipate anything now.

However they lined us up, read a document in Japanese and then

one of them translated it into English. It was to the effect

that we were to be interned and must be packed - ready to go at

nine the following morning. We learned afterward that all the

missionaries were notified at about the same time. We have not

yet found out why the sudden change. Our baggage was limited to

two suitcases, one bed or cot, and a roll of bedding. We

managed to bring in some sugar scape and a few cans of meat.

Cecil was not at home when the officers came, so got a real

surprise later. He and I have been doing some private tutoring

to help meet expenses, so the first thing I did was to visit the

homes where my pupils lived to tell them, and to visit the

Saints as well as I could. About nine p.m. I met Willie at

Funks and we continued to Cinco de Junio together. Then we

returned home to pack! What a job! What a mess! What to take,

and what not to take. I got to bed about one-thirty.

--- George & Jenny Funk <funkstars@optusnet.-com.au> wrote:

> Hi everyone, just thought I'd share some interesting

> information I found whilst surfing the net. I did a "google

> search" on Rufino Funk and this lead me to a site about a

> Christian Missionary who was in the Philippines during 1941-45

> His name was Herman BEABER, (passed away in 2001) . However

> his family published his diary of that time as a book called

> "Deliverance--It has come". I had a read through the book on

> line and he mentions our family a couple of times...He

> mentions Rufino catching many fish in Manila Bay, as well as

> the "Funk girls" coming over for some cake, also he mentions

> visiting "old Mr Funk at the Manila Sanitarium, he's very sick

> and weak". Its quite interesting and really paints a vivid

> picture on what life what life was like during those war years

> under the japanese occupation. I wonder if the older

> generation like Aunty Cor and Uncle Jun recall this

> fellow.....Was Aunty Cor one of the Funk girls who came over

> for some cake??. If you're interested, the site is

> www.geocities.-com/ithascome/

>

> regards

> Geejay

BJ IDQUIVAL FUNK

Additional information from BJ to GJ dated 08/11/06:

Hi Geejay:

Well,  I did ask Auntie Cor about Herman, Leo and Willie.  She remembers vividly Leo because according to Her,  Auntie Ruth and her had a big crush on him.  Uncle Dick and Papa also confirm that Herman courted auntie Ruth and where "on"  for some time.  This could probably be the reason why they were frequenting the Funk residence.  The "Gertrude"  that was mentioned on the book was actually  "MATDA"  who is still with us here in Modesto at the age of 83.   You can ask your dad who she is.   Anyway,  Auntie Cor was a bit pissed why Gertrude's name was mentioned and theirs were collectively limited to "the Funk sisters."  She also confirms  that the Funk sisters were Auntie Caroline, Auntie Ruth and Auntie Cor, albeitthey were not really sisters but cousins.

Warmest,

BJ

More to come...

Plus link to the old, never quite finished, family tree.