George Rye, born February 19, 1810, built a successful saddle making business in Woodstock and became a prominent citizen, but he was best known for his unwavering opposition to slavery and support for equal rights for African Americans. In 1837 he authored an anti-slavery article and was arrested, and on July 31, 1839, he wrote that he supported the "elevation of the character of the African race and the final abolition of slavery." Two years later he objected to a requirement that members of Woodstock's German Reformed Congregation support slavery, and in 1841 the church excommunicated him for his beliefs. Because of his views he was threatened, harassed, and beaten. He carried his cause into politics, helped found the Republican party, and after a fiery anti-slavery speech at its 1856 convention, locals burned him in effigy and threatened to lynch him. During the election of 1860, he campaigned vocally and was one of only 13 Shenandoah County residents to vote for Abraham Lincoln. When the Civil War began, he moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the Federal Government. In 1865 he returned to Shenandoah County and was elected the county's Presiding Justice, later serving in several state offices, where he continued to support equal rights for African Americans despite verbal attacks and mob beatings. After Reconstruction ended and white supremacists returned to power, he retired from politics. He died in 1890 and, after reconciling with the church, was buried with his wife, Catharine. His obituary in Woodstock's newspaper called him an "abolitionist of the most ardent type."