Compiled by Jane Hunter Hodson
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This file was contributed for use in the OHGenWeb Pickaway County by
Jane Hunter
Hodgson
Compiled Jane Hunter Hodgson
DANIEL FUNKHOUSER was born 3 October 1794 near Mill Creek in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He was among the children in the third generation to arrive on American soil. His grandfather, John had come to Philadelphia in 1728 aboard the Ship Mortonhouse with his parents and siblings. Daniel's father, Jacob had come with his parents to the Shenandoah Valley and Daniel was the ninth child born to the family of JACOB and DOROTHY (HOTTEL) FUNKHOUSER. It was when Daniel was just seven years old that his father died, and just one year afterwards his mother also died. He went to live with his brothers and sisters and during the War of 1812 when several of Daniel's older brothers had been called off to war that several of the brothers contracted War Fever and three of the brothers died within one year.
Daniel served an apprenticeship as a cooper with DANIEL TUSSING, his sister Dorothy's husband. It was during this time that he fell in love with his brother David's widow. Amos was born in Shenandoah County, VA. Daniel and his wife, who was born CATHERINE DEISINGER, moved to Pickaway County, Ohio. There three more children were born. Daniel died, leaving a widow with four children as his father had left him an orphan. Daniel is buried in the Reber Hill Cemetery in Pickaway County, Ohio. There is some question about the exact year of Daniel's death, which may have been before or after the birth of Sarah.
Two years later his son Amos was thrown from a horse, and killed. Catherine met and married John Treece, and they took the three girls and moved to Hancock County in the northwest part of Ohio. Catherine is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Findlay along with her daughter, SARAH FUNKHOUSER BARNHILL and her family. Her name on the gravestone is CATHERINE FUNKHOUSER.
(age 18)
8 Sep 1812 DANIEL FUNKHOUSER Orphan of JACOB FUNKHOUSER decd over the age of 14 yrs came into Court & made choice of EPHRAIM RINKER as Gdn who gave bond & secy accg to Law.
(age 19)
12 Jul 1813, Ord. that EPHRAIM RINKER Guardian to DANIEL FUNKHOUSER orphan of JACOB FUNKHOUSER decd do bind his said ward to DANIEL TUSSING he being 19 years of age the 3d of Oct next, to learn the trade of a Cooper and that he Covenant for such freedom ____ as they may agree for months schooling.
13 Sep 1813, On motion of MARY FUNKHOUSER & DANIEL FUNKHOUSER who made oath & entered into bond with ___ according to Law a ___ for obtaining letters of Admin in due form on the estate of JACOB FUNKHOUSER decd is granted them.
(age 24)
Jun 1818, B of sale from D. FUNKHOUSER to DANL TUSING for their shares of 173 acres of land 30 Sep 1818.
On a motion of Jacob Funk for a road from his mill (late Snapp's Mill) the nearest and best way to Zane's road to Philip Peter Baker's ordered that Jacob Feizel, DANIEL FUNKHOUSER, Henry Roher and Nicholas Pitman or any 3 of them being first sworn, do view the ground proposed for the said road, and make report to April court next of the convenience and inconvenience which will attend the opening of the same toward the publick and petitioners or any other person or persons whatsoever.
The view and report for a road from Zanes road at or near John Funkhouser's plantation across the Little North Mountain to the settlement on Cedar Creek and to fall into the road that goes up Cedar Creek and to fall into the road that goes up Cedar Creek at or near the plantation of Peter Hurbaugh or Jack Loughmiller's being returned and the same being seen and inspected. It is ordered that the said view and report dismissed. And that JACOB FUNKHOUSER, Jacob Sibert, DANIEL FUNKHOUSER, SON OF JACOB and Jacob Trissler, or any 3 of them being first duly sworn, do review the said ground and make a more fuller report of the convenience and inconvenience.
Shenandoah County, VA Page
FUNKHOUSER, Jacob 21, 31, 33 If with brother Jacob
21 01100-20100-00
31 11010-21010-00
33 12110-00010-00
1820 FEDERAL CENSUS
Shenandoah County, VA Page 152 Columbia Furnace
Funkhouser, Daniel - 1 - 1 - - FE - - 1 - - - 2 - - - - - - 1
(age 28)
FUNKHOUSER, Daniel m Catherine Funkhouser 10 Jun 1822 d of Johnson (I do not know what "d of Johnson" means.)
(age 32)
Funkhouser, Daniel
15 May 1826
Grantor: Solomon Zairn by Sheriff
Walnut Twp, Range 21, Twp 9, Sec 22, 89 acres, NW 1/4 MS G77
Funkhouser, Catherine
27 June 1827
(age 33)
Grantor: Jabez Hedges & W.
Walnut Twp, Range 21, Twp 9, Sec 22, 80 acres, E 1/2, NW 1/4 MS G419
Note: This property is northwest of the town East Ringgold at the junction of CR 321A (Ashville-Fairfield Road) and Highway 8 (Circleville Winchester Road). It is located on the southeast corner of this intersection. This is the NW corner of Section 22 in Twp 9 (Walnut Twp) in Range 21.
Funkhouser, Daniel heirs decd
Grantee: John Recktor et al, v13, p251
Grantee: Samuel Recktor et al, v14, p101
Funkhouser, Daniel d. Aug 15, 1826; age 31-10-12, Reber Hill, Walnut Creek Twp
DANIEL FUNKHOUSER, the eighth child of JACOB, b on Mill Creek, near Mt. Jackson, Shenandoah Co., VA. about 1795; grew to adult life on his father's farm and had the same educational advantages as other members of the family in those pioneer days. He improved his opportunities well and developed those sturdy, industrious and frugal traits which marked him in after life. He m his brother's widow, Mrs. CATHERINE FUNKHOUSER, nee DEISINGER, dau of PETER, in violation of an arbitrary law which was afterwards rescinded. Fearing indictment and prosecution in the courts of VA for this, he went West about 1820, to a country far more pioneer than the one he left, locating near Circleville, Pickaway Co., Ohio, where he died in 1829 and was survived by his widow and four ch.
Though Daniel and Catherine had moved out of the Shenandoah Valley in about 1820, many of their sister's and brother's families still lived in the Valley during the time of the Civil War. Major battles were fought near their homes and probably their homes were destoyed during the burning of the Valley in what was called "Red October." I will include here a description of the battle of Cedar Creek. The story of the battle of Fisher's Hill is included with the notes on Daniel's father, Jacob. I will capitalize each place where I have documentation concerning the residences of Funkhousers or Hottels.
Cedar Creek
19 October 1864
The last major battle of the 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign took place at Cedar Creek on October 19. The battle area extended from Fisher's Hill, just south of STRASBURG, north to a point about three miles below Middletown. A few days earlier, after BURNING THE VALLEY AS FAR SOUTH AS Staunton, Union Major General Philip Sheridan had established his lines along the high ground north of Cedar Creek. Sheridan and his men were confident that Lieutenant General Jubal Early's Army of the Valley was no longer a threat, even though there had been a sharp cavalry engagement on October 9 at TOM'S BROOK near Round Hill, south of STRASBURG. As a result, at Cedar Creek the Union troops focused more on rest and recuperation than on a possible renewal of the struggle.
The aggressive Early, reinforced with Major General Joseph B. Kershaw's deivision to offset his September losses, quickly pressed his 21,000 men northward. He occupied Fisher's Hill and probed the Union positions for weak points. A sharp fight at Hupp's Hill on October 13 signaled the cautious Sheridan that Early was on more than a scouting mission. The 32,000 Union soldiers were deployed in echelon from southeast to northwest, conforming to the flow of Cedar Creek. The Eighth Corps was east of the Valley Pike, its two divisions almost a mile apart. The Nineteenth Corps was just west of the pike, occupying strong positions along Cedar Creek, where its trenches still may be seen. The Sixth Corps was farther north and west. This corps, en route to Washington after the Hupp's Hill fight, was recalled by Sheridan and returned just in time to set up camp, but without any fortifications. On October 16 Sheridan went to a conference in Washington, leaving Major General Horatio G. Wright in command. Wright placed the large cavalry corps to the west of the Sixth Corps.
The strong Union positions seemed to stymie Early, who, because of a shortage of supplies, would soon be forced to pull back unless he acted quickly. One of his division commanders, Major General John B. Gordon, and his corps cartographer, Captain Jedediah Hotchkiss, gave him a plan. The two men had climbed up to Signal Knob on Massanutten Mountain, where they had a full view of the Union positions. They noted the dispersal of the Eighth Corps and the apparent reliance on the rough terrain along Cedar Creek and the NORTH FORK OF THE SHENANDOAH to secure its eastern flank. A local resident told them of a trail that infantry could use to cross the tongue of Massanutten to reach fords on the river. They could then get to the Union flank east of the Eighth Corps.
Early then approved a plan of great daring. It was in essence a three-column, converging night attack with cavalry support on each flank. Gordon took his division, along with Major General Stephen Ramseur's and Major General John Pegram's over the trail to McInturff's and Bowman's fords on the North Fork. >From there they hustled northward until Ramseur's division in the lead reached the Cooley mansion. At this point all they had to do was stop and face west; they were a half mile east of Brigadier General Rutherford B. Hayes's division of the Eighth Corps. Meanwhile Kershaw's division marched from the Fisher's Hill assembly area up the pike through STRASBURG TO BOWMAN'S MILL FORD across Cedar Creek. From there he confronted the other division of the Union Nineteenth Corps Brigadier General Gabriel C. Wharton's division moved farther north up the pike to Hupp's Hill, from which it prepared to cross Cedar Creek at the Valley Pike bridge when conditions allowed.
The Confederate approach on October 19 was aided first by moonlight and then by an early morning fog. Kershaw's men opened the fight as scheduled at 5 A.M., quickly shattering the First Division, Eighth Corps, commanded by Colonel Joseph Thoburn. A few minutes later Gordon's men smashed into Haye's division, forcing it westward into the confused Nineteenth Corps. That corps put up greater resistance, especially around the Belle Grove mansion, which was serving as corps and army headquarters. Finally, however, the Nineteenth was pressed westward through a line established by the Sixth Corps. The time bought by the Eighth and Nineteenth corps had allowed the Sixth Corps to get well established on the high ground just west of Belle Grove. Each of its three divisions fought fiercely, although all were slowly pressed back. Finally most of the Union forces broke contact and retreated to the north, eventually setting up a line perpendicular to the pike about three quarters of a mile north of today's Lord Fairfax Community College.
The Second Division of the Sixth corps held on alone in a position around the Middletown Cemetery just northwest of the village. For more than one hour the Second resisted everything the Confederates threw at it, halting the confederate momentum while buying time for the main Union force to reorganize. Early lost full vision of the battlefield and was unable to contol all of his forces. Despite the entrieaties of his senior commanders to bypass the problem, he decided to concentrate on this one division, which was finally forced back to the new Union position. The Confederates then established a line westward from the north edge of town. Later they edged half a mile farther north, waiting for the next Union move.
In the meantime Sheridan had returned to Winchester from Washington on October 18. On the morning of the nineteenth he was to encounter numerous stragglers, each with his own tale of disaster. Sheridan rode quickly up the VALLEY PIKE, inspiring the retreating ranks of men to turn and join him in saving the army. At Newtown (now Stephens City) he directed a young Eighth Corps staff officer, Captain William McKinley, to set up a straggler line to halt and channel the men southward to reinforce the Federal lines set up by Wright. Sheridan then rode along the new line, waving and bowing to the cheers of the Union soldiers. His presence, in the words of one, was like an "electric shock." Sheridan later said he had resolved to give his men a success or to suffer defeat with them.
The fiery army commander quickly reestablished control and restored morale, then spent the afternoon carefully planning an assault on Early's lines. At about 4:00 P.M. he led his massed cavalry in a counterattack that sent the Confederates into a retreat that turned into a rout. A BRIDGE BROKE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF STRASBURG, forcing Early's troops to abandon all their rolling stock and all that they had captured. The infantry survivors rallied at Fisher's Hill and withdrew southward the next morning. The Confederate casualties totaled 2,910; the Union casualties, 5,672.
Early had helped Lee's defense of Richmond by tying down a large Union force for several months. However, at a moment of great opportunity, he made the fatal decison to pull back, allowing Sheridan to smash the Confederate military power in the Valley forever. The news of Sheridan's triumph assured a Republican victory in the upcoming November elections and the prosecution of the war to its end on President Abraham Lincoln's and Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's terms.
Cedar Creek battlefield is on U.S. Route 11 and interstate 81 at Middletown, Virginia, north of Strasburg. The battlefield is privately owned except for a 100 acre historic property, Belle Grove, owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and 101 state-owned acres occupied by Lord Fairfax Community College.
8. Daniel, son of Jacob, b. 22 Feb 1796, d. 12 Jan 1828, married his brother David's widow, Catherine Deisinger Funkhouser, bond dated 10 Jun 1822. Had three children:
Elizabeth Funkhouser, b. 12 Dec 1823, d. 10 Aug 1898, m. John Thompson.
Mary Jane Funkhouser, b. 2 Sep 1825, d. 24 Jan 1904, m. Edward Sparks.
Sarah Funkhouser, b. 11 May 1827, d. 31 Jul 1899, m. Joseph Barnhill.