George Hay was born in Erskin, Renfrewshire, Scotland March 17, 1836 to Alexander and Jessie Ballantyne Hay. He and his family sailed for America in 1841 aboard the Tyrian. They landed at New Orleans, poled flatbed boats up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Mo. Two younger brothers and his father died there. His mother, with her three children, joined the Lyman Wight Colony, several hundred converts of the Latter Day Saints, for the wagon trip to Texas. Eventually they made their way to Bandera County, Texas in March 1854.

George married Amanda Minear, December 30, 1858. To this union two children were born: Lydia Amanda (1860-1938) who married George Elam, and George Alexander (1863-1943) who married Sarah Gibbons. Amanda died May 16, 1863.

In 1865 George married Amanda's sister, Virginia Minear. Their children were: Jessie Georgianna (1865-1958) who married D. Lee Risinger; Francis Towle (1867-1956) who married Della Gibbons; Janet Virgine (1870-1962) who married John A. Curry; Charles Frederick William (1874-) married Bessie Taylor; Joseph A.M. (1877-1961) married Etta Hughes; Mary Emma (1880-1971) married B. F. Langford; John Samuel Stevens (1884-) married Adella Kemp; and twins Ora (1899-died of flu 1919) married (Schmidt) (Holloway); Ola (1899-) married (Corisdale) (Wild).

George served Bandera County in Ballantyne's Minute Men Ranger Company, and later, the Frontier Battalion during the Civil war.

George was in several businesses in Bandera including a mercantile, gristmill and cotton gin, the Ranch Store; and later a confectionary business in Hondo. They returned to Bandera for their remaining years.

George's information is taken from his biography in a Bandera, Texas county history book.