Opdycke, Stacy B. (Opdyke)

Born: 1795-01-01 New Jersey

Died: 1858-06-26 Springfield, Illinois

Alternate name: Opdyke

Opdycke learned the trade of a carpenter in his native state, and in 1816, moved to Kaskaskia, Illinois. On April 25, 1833, Opdycke married Hannah Griffith in Kaskaskia. They moved to Chester, Illinois, where they had one child. In 1835, they moved to Springfield, Illinois, where they had three additional children, two of whom died young. Opdycke opened and operated a pork packing business with James Lamb for several years, and afterwards had a merchandising business with Seth Tinsley. In 1837, Opdycke was among the prominent Springfield residents who pledged money to secure the move of the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield. In 1850, Opdycke was a merchant and owned real estate valued at $18,000.

As a merchant, Opdycke had frequent contact with Lincoln in the circuit courts of central Illinois from 1837 to 1851.

Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL; John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 511, 551; Bond of Thomas Mather and Others for the State of Illinois; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Sangamon County, IL, 120; For more on Opdycke's contact with Lincoln in the circuit courts, search for "Opdycke, Stacy," Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Search.aspx. Illustration courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, IL.