| Frederick R. De Funiak | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 5, 1839 Rome, Papal States |
| Died | March 29, 1905 Louisville, Kentucky |
| Occupation | Vice-President of Louisville & Nashville Railroad |
| Known for | namesake of DeFuniak Springs, Florida |
Frederick Rudolph De Funiak was an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Later he became a successful railroad engineer and an official of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. DeFuniak Springs, Florida, is named for him.
Biography
De Funiak was born in Rome, Papal States, on August 5, 1839, and came to America in 1862. He enlisted in the Confederate Army as captain in the engineering department and later was promoted to lieutenant-colonel. After the war ended in 1865 he became resident engineer for the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, and in 1869 was appointed chief engineer of the Ripley Railroad. In 1870, the Memphis & Charleston, the Mississippi Central Railroad, and the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway roads sent Colonel De Funiak abroad to study European railroad construction methods, and when he returned a year later, he accepted the position of superintendent of machinery with the Louisville & Nashville. Later he was, for a number of years, general manager of that railroad. He retired in 1884. De Funiak died at his residence in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 29, 1905, at age 65.
References
- Washington, Ray (June 27, 1982). "The early railroad made West Florida". Ocala Star-Banner. pp. 7F. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- Obituaries, The Railway Age, Chicago, Illinois, Friday 7 April 1905, Volume XXXIX, Number 14. page 578.