George W. Strayline was one of five sons born to George and Catharine (Wise) Strayline in Philadelphia, PA. By the 1850 census, George is listed as living with the Doak family in the South Mulberry Ward; he is 21 and his wife Catherine is 17. Ten years later, in 1860, George is living with his mother and four brothers (Charles, Theodore, Augustus, and Ferdinand) and is working as a gas fitter. One year later, in 1861, George and Charles enlisted in the 71st Pennsylvania Regiment, and their younger brother Theodore enlisted in the 72nd Pennsylvania Regiment. Over the next two years, Theodore wrote several letters to his mother, sometimes referencing Charley and George and telling their mother "not to worry about them." As fate would have it, all three brothers fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. George, the oldest brother, and Charles survived. Theodore, however, died of his wounds on 3 July 1863. By 1870, George was living with his mother and two of his younger brothers, Augustus and Ferdinand; Charles was close by in Philadelphia, living with his wife Elizabeth and their two young girls, Catherine and Sally. By 1900 George was a patient at Fort Monroe, the Southern Branch National Home for Disabled Veterans. In his last two years, he lived with Mrs. Clara Allbright of Phoebus where he died suddenly (see article below) on January 10, 1910. Charles had died in 1903, just short of the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg which had been such a watershed moment in the lives of the Strayline family and the United States of America.

Daily Press
1/11/1910
Page 4

Mr. Strayline Dies Suddenly at Dinner

Aged man of Phoebus succumbs to heart trouble in the home of Mrs. Clara Allbright

Mr. George Strayline, 82 years old, who had made his home with Mrs. Clara Allbright, in Mallory Street, Phoebus, for the past two years, dropped dead while eating his dinner at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon.

The aged man seemed to have been in perfect health up to the minute of his sudden taking away. He came to the table laughingly conversing with others. Finally he choked slightly and his dead dropped to one side. Mrs. Allbright went to his side, but he was dead.

Dr. George K. Vanderslice was summoned and after investigating the circumstances, gave a certificate of death from acute heart disease.