George Lord was born in Essex County, England on April 21, 1816, to Felstead and Anna Siggs Lord. He immigrated to Canada in 1834 and worked there for two years, then moved to New Orleans and joined volunteers under Capt. Lyons to serve in the military of the young Republic of Texas, arriving in Galveston in 1837. As part of the Texan Army, he took part in operations including suppression of the Córdova Rebellion in 1838 and the fight against Manuel Flores in 1839. He also fought in Mexico with the Federalists before returning to Texas. He joined the Somervell Expedition to expel forces of Gen. Adrián Woll from the Republic and fought at the Battle of Salado Creek in 1842 alongside figures including John C. "Jack" Hays and William "Bigfoot" Wallace. Lord was among those who then followed Col. William Fisher into Mexico. Fisher's men were captured after fighting at Mier, and in the Black Bean Incident ten percent were executed while the others remained imprisoned. Lord was not selected for execution, survived the harsh conditions at Mexico's Perote Prison, returned to Texas, and fought in the Mexican War as a Ranger. In 1849, he accompanied Jack Hays and others to California during the Gold Rush. Along the way, he married Catherine "Kate" Myers in Eagle Pass, Texas. The couple spent three years mining for gold; Kate sold pies to other miners while her husband collected gold dust. They returned to Texas with $7,000 worth of gold and settled near this site in DeWitt County, where they established a Longhorn cattle ranch and raised 11 children. Lord died while working in his garden in 1895 and is remembered as a Texas patriot.