Charles Godfrey Gunther

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Godfrey_Gunther

Charles Godfrey Gunther (April 7 or February 7, 1822 - January 22, 1885) was a Democratic Mayor of New York from 1864 until 1866.

Harper's Weekly, December 19, 1863:

HON. CHARLES GODFREY GUNTHER was born in New York, on 7th April, 1822, and with his father and one of his brothers carries on a large fur business there. Before he was of age to vote he was an active working member of the Democratic party, and subsequently became a member. of the Young Men's Democratic General Committee, of which body he was several times chairman. In 1855 he was elected a Governor of the Alms-house, and became afterward President of the Board. In 1861 he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor, Mr. Opdyke winning the day. On the 1st of the month he ran a second time, and was elected over the Republican candidate, Mr. Blunt, on the one hand, and over the nominee of Mozart and Tammany, Mr. Boole, on the other.

Mr. Gunther is greatly respected as a high-toned, honorable merchant. In politics he has hitherto been a Hard-shell Democrat. We believe, however, that he has been unjustly classed with the peace party.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19380199 : New York City Mayor. Usually referred to as C. Godfrey Gunther or C.G. Gunther, he followed his father into the fur business and established the firm C.G. Gunther and Company. He was active in New York's volunteer fire departments and Democratic clubs, becoming a Sachem of Tammany Hall in 1856. He was also President of the alms house Board of Governors, the agency charged with oversight of the city's corrections and charitable institutions. Gunther was an opponent of President Lincoln's prosecution of the Civil War, arguing against the draft and for a negotiated settlement with the South. In 1861 he was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor, but in 1863 he ran successfully, defeating incumbent George Opdyke. As mayor his quick response was a key part of defeating an attack by a band of Confederates who hoped to foment riots throughout the city. He also presided over the city's 1865 memorial services for President Lincoln. At the completion of his term he withdrew from politics since he was not an ally of then-Democratic party leader William Tweed. Recognizing that Coney Island was destined to become a tourist attraction, in the 1880s Gunther built a hotel there and bought and improved a railroad connecting the area to Manhattan. In addition, he became President of the medical facility that is now Lenox Hill Hospital. His fur business remained active well into the 20th Century as C.G. Gunther's Sons.