We don't know much about his early growing up years, but his parents moved from Green County to Walker County when he was about 4 years old. George was still living with his parents at age 22 on the 1850 census in Walker County, but he married in Alabama in 1851 to Frances Ann Elizabeth Jones. He married second to Nellie V. Moon on 10 May 1893.

George and Frances had 10 children, although some researchers list an 11th as Lewis Gaines as his wife is buried in the Gaines family plot; he is not mentioned in his father's obituary and he was born several days before one of his supposed siblings. Of the 10 we are sure of, two died in infancy and the rest lived well into adulthood, George and Frances stayed put in Walker County for the rest of their lives! They are found there together in 1860, 1870 and 1880 with their children. He is listed as a farmer on all three and was wealthy enough in 1860 to have personal property worth $3,000. I also found him on the Slave Schedule for 1860 with just 3 slaves: female 46, female 26 and male age 1, all living in the one slave house on the farm. He is listed in 1880 as having 5 black house servants, but 3 of them were under 10 and probably not actually doing work. George and Frances were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and George was a member of a Masonic Lodge and served as a Master for that lodge at one time. George served as a private in the 41st Regiment of the Alabama Infantry during the Civil War for the Confederate Army. He first served as a private in 1861, but soon hired a substitute, which one could do if wealthy enough. However, he served again as a private in May 1864 until the close of the war.

Additional story contributed by Joshua Sanders, a descendant of George's son, William. "George was going home to Corona, when one of his former slaves dreamed that he needed help getting home, found him and brought him safely home. This was written in the memoirs of the daughter of Frances Margaret (nee Gaines) Sanders." Frances was the daughter of William Robert Gaines.