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 Representatives with Isaac Funk, who was a friend of Lincoln's and a booster when Lincoln ran for president. Funk and Lincoln were also responsible for bringing the Chicago & Alton Railroad through Bloomington-Normal in McLean County, detouring it from its originally planned route through Peoria. Frederick Funk was born in Germany and emigrated from The Palatinate, a section of the Rhineland, to the United States on the "Pink Mary" in 1733. Like other immigrants, Funk was seeking religious freedom in his new country. During the voyage, Adam Funk was born to Frederick's wife Sarah (Moore), who died during childbirth. Adam Funk settled in Shenandoah County, Virginia near Strasburg. He married Sarah Long of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His son Adam Funk, Jr. was raised in Virginia. Some time around 1790, Adam Funk, Jr. moved to Clark County, Kentucky. In 1808, he removed to Fayette County, Ohio. Adam Funk, Jr. had at one time accumulated significant wealth, but he died poor. However, he was prolific in progeny: he and his wife had nine children—six sons and three daughters. The Funks and Stubblefields were among the first settlers in the county and put down roots in the area now known as Funks Grove, Illinois. In 1824, brothers Isaac and Absalom Funk, the sons of Adam Funk, Jr., moved to McLean County. Six months later in December 1824, Dorothy Funk Stubblefield and husband Robert Stubblefield followed from Ohio; Robert had earlier been widowed after being married to another Funk suster, Sarah, for 25 years. Their father Adam Funk Jr. arrived the same year; he chose the site of Funks Grove Cemetery, and in 1830 he was one of the first to be buried there. In 1826, Isaac married Cassandra Sharp, who eventually gave him 10 children. By the 1830s, the Funks were among the richest settlers in the area, but they lost half of their fortune in the Panic of 1837. Isaac and Absalom dissolved their partnership the following year, in 1838, after which Isaac continued to raise cattle and to slowly rebuild his fortune. In 1840, Isaac was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives and served a single two-year term.