Introduction
George Opdyke (December 7, 1805 – June 12, 1880) as an entrepreneur and the 76th Mayor of New York City (1862 to 1863) during the American Civil War. The New York City draft riots occurred during his tenure. After his term as mayor expired, Opdyke attempted to forbid blacks from participating in President Abraham Lincoln's funeral processional.
Early life
Opdyke, the son of George & Mary E. (Stout) Opdyke, was born December 7, 1805 in Kingwood Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. During the 1820s he lived in Cleveland, Ohio and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Career
Opdyke was a member of the Republican Party on its anti-slavery platform. He was a delegate to the Buffalo Free Soil Party convention in 1848, and served on its committee on resolutions, as well as standing as a candidate for the U.S. Congress on the Free Soil ticket in New Jersey.
In 1859, he was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 14th D.), and was a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention, where he played a role in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln.
As mayor of New York, Opdyke recruited and equipped troops for the war and responded to draft riots. His company was the largest clothing manufacturing and merchandiser in the area.
Opdyke died in New York in 1880 and was buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Newark, New Jersey.