1864 beginnings; 1867 move to Elkhart · person
John Fretz Funk
Publisher and Mennonite leader whose Elkhart work circulated periodicals, historical books, and practical help for immigrants.
Also searchable as: John Funk · John F. Funk
John Fretz Funk (1835–1930), named John Funk on the supplied chart, came from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He worked as a teacher and then in Chicago’s lumber trade before beginning a publishing business in January 1864. He moved himself and the business to Elkhart, Indiana, in 1867.
His periodicals included Herald of Truth and Mennonitische Rundschau. He also published editions of Menno Simons’s writings and Martyrs’ Mirror, making the older witness available to new generations. Printing became a means of connecting dispersed congregations through teaching, news, discussion, and shared memory.
Funk also assisted Mennonites migrating from the Russian Empire in the 1870s through the Mennonite Board of Guardians. His surviving papers at Mennonite Church USA Archives include correspondence, diaries, and other records of this wider work. The Elkhart marker thus belongs to a life of publishing, church leadership, and material assistance, rather than merely the opening of a print shop.
Sources for this history: [1] [2] [3] [4]
