George W. Woodward was born around 1810 in York, Maine, to Benjamin Woodward and Mercy Grant. He married Tamara Dennison on December 1, 1836, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and they had at least six children: John, born around 1840; William, born around 1843; Mary, born around 1846; Pricilla, born around 1848; Elizabeth, born around 1848; and Ellen, born around 1853. George worked as a farmer in York. In 1850, he owned $800 of real estate. A decade later, he owned $1,500 of real estate and $328 of personal property. His wife Tamara died on June 9, 1863, and he passed away of heart disease in York on January 2, 1870.