SENTER, GEORGE B. (1827-16 Jan. 1870), councilman, mayor, and military leader during the CIVIL WAR, was elected to Cleveland City Council from the 1st ward in 1858 and served as mayor from 1859-60. Senter, born in Potsdam, New York, was the son of David K. and Susan Senter. When the Civil War broke out, Senter, for whom no military record can be found, probably served in an honorary capacity as assistant commissary-subsistence officer at Camp Taylor (see CIVIL WAR CAMPS) on Woodland Ave. during Apr.-May 1861. He was elevated to commandant of Camp Cleveland on 16 July 1862, a post at which he served until 20 Apr. 1864. In 1864 the Cleveland city council elected Senter to serve the remainder of the mayoral term of IRVINE MASTERS, who had died in office. Senter, a staunch supporter of the Union cause, had, in 1861, invited president-elect Abraham Lincoln to visit Cleveland, which he did (see ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S VISIT). In 1865, as mayor, Senter performed the sad task of proclaiming a day of mourning on 15 Apr. to honor the assassinated president. Senter apparently spent the period after the war practicing law and holding part-interest in a wholesale wine and liquor business. He died at his home on EUCLID AVE. and is buried in WOODLAND CEMETERY. His 2-story brick mansion, built in 1842, was purchased for $60,000 in 1872 by the UNION CLUB and converted into its first headquarters. Senter married Delia Wheaton in 1851; they had three children, George B., Jr., Cornelia E., and J. Augusta.
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