George W. Fry was born on July 4, 1834, in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, to Adam and Esther Fry. His father was a farmer who owned $5,000 of real estate and $400 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Venango County, Pennsylvania, and he married Mary B. Stiefel on October 7, 1856. They had at least two children: Melvin, born around 1860; and Elepha, born around 1862.
He enlisted in the Union army in August 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company G of the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry. The regiment took part in the Seven Days' Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the Battle of Gettysburg. He was wounded at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, and he mustered out on September 20, 1864.
He settled in Elkhart, Indiana, after the war. He worked as a laborer, and by 1870, he owned $100 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in August 1884 and eventually received one. He died in Elkhart on October 21, 1884.