A Brief Sketch of George Posey

The Daily Register, April 2, 1903

One of Washington County's Pioneer Citizens Who is Ninety-Two Years Old, Today.

George Posey, son of Thomas and Amy Petty Posey, was born in Prince Williams county, Virginia, April 2, 1811.  When not two years old his father moved to Washington county, Ohio, settling near Marietta.

To Thomas Posey and wife were born seven children, one daughter and six sons, viz:  Amney, Henry, Alexander, George, Thomas, Dudley and William.  Amney, the daughter, was married when quite young, to James McKibben; when William was two years old the wife and mother died, leaving the father and six sons to battle life's rough ways together.

The hardships and privations of those earlier days can hardly be imagined by the younger people of today.  Settled in the dense woods, where panther, bears, wolves and other wild beasts were quite plentiful, with the prowlers around the home at night, with their mournful, hungry howls, made many lonesome nights for the little boys.  The boys grew to young men working at different occupations, the three older ones working in the timber.  Dudley was a stone cutter and Thomas worked in the brick yard with Westgate, until his death at 21 years of age.  

George, the subject of this sketch, with one of his older brothers, worked in the ship yards at Cincinnati at whip-sawing, getting out the timbers for the boats.  Saw mills at that time were unknown.  At the age of 21 he made his first trip to New Orleans on a flat boat, and from that time until the breaking out of the civil war he went every winter to New Orleans and was a successful flat boat pilot.  After the close of the war he made one trip through to New Orleans and one to Memphis, and about that time flat boating was superseded by freighting produce on steamboats and railroads.  He always enjoyed the flat boating and loved to tell the stories of the travels.

 George Posey

March 25, 1838, he was married to May Riley.  On the following day he came onto the farm where he now resides, having rented it in September, of the same year.  The farm, containing three 8-acre lots, was sold at sheriff's sale and he bought it for $500, having saved the full amount from his earnings at flat boating and working in the ship yards.  Later he added three more 8-acre lots to the farm, which has ever since been his home.

To him and his wife were born ten children, all of whom are dead but one daughter, Rose, the wife of Whitney Corner, who, with her husband, since the death of his wife, May 28, 1893, have made their home with him and cared for him in his declining years.

During the years of his life the many great improvements have been made in all of which he always took a great interest.  He has been a great reader and hi mind is stored with useful knowledge.  He has retained his faculties to a wonderful degree, his eye sight and hearing being good and his mind good, remembering events of years ago clearly and distinctly, and often persons wanting to know something that had transpired years ago will come to him and he can usually give them the desired information.

The last three years he has been quite feeble and moved about with difficulty, though the most of the time enjoying very good health for one of his years.  On the evening of March 17th, while going from his chair to his bed, he fell, receiving an injury to his hip that has confined him to his bed.  Considering his age and his feeble condition, his friends fear he will hardly be able to recover from the injury and the shock occasioned by it.