George was the first Gahagan, in this family line, to be born in America. Lawrence and Sarah brought the family from Ireland, arriving in Charleston South Carolina on New Years night, 31 Dec. 1801, or New Years morning, 1 Jan. 1802.

George was a member of the wig party in his early years, but was a personal admirer of Andrew Jackson. When the political struggle began between those favoring states' rights and those who stood for the preservation of the Union, he became a strong Unionist. Many of his relatives and friends were of the Confederate side, and his decision to oppose them must have been a difficult one. He was too old for military service; he worked as a civilian at the U.S. Army Post at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee (or Kentucky), leaving the family at the home place in Laurel.
George was a justice of the peace for many years, logger and farmer. At the start of the Civil War George was arrested and had to give bond because of his very strong Union sympathies. After the Civil War George served as commissioner of readjustment and control of elections during the reconstruction period and was a delegate to the Constitutional Conventions of 1868, and served in the legislative session of 1869-70
Representatives Gahagan and Rodman were appointed to write "an Address to the People of North Carolina" on the new constitution. In an editorial appearing (1869) in a Raleigh paper, it was said of George: "The modesty of the earnest man equals his moral worth and he is an embodiment of a true man of the people. His large heart and generous views raise him above all narrow prejudice."
George was one of the First Trustees of the Board of Education for UNC, and officer on the Board of Public Charities.
George W. Gahagan was elected to a second term by the Republican Party to represent Madison County in the North Carolina Legislature, but did not live to take his seat. He died at his Laurel River Home.
The Grand Army of the Republic Post Number 38, organized in Western North Carolina, was named in his honor, the "George W. Gahagan Post."

George was a Mason, unknown lodge, but believed to have been a member of the old Asheville Lodge.