George Hay and his wife, Virgine (Virginia) Minear
George Hay was born in Erskine, Renfrewshire, Scotland, March 17, 1836. With
his parents he sailed from America from Liverpool, England, Septemeber 10,
1841. They landed in New Orleans on October 19, 1841. From New Orleans they
proceeded up the Mississippi To St. Louis and then to Nauvoo, the Mormon City
in Illinois. George's parents were the first in Scotland to be baptized in
the Mormon faith. They joined up with a large party of Mormons, headed by
Elder Lyman Wight, and moved south finally
settling in Bandera County in 1854.
George first married Amanda Minear, also a member of the Mormon colony. They had two children: Mrs. Amanda Elam and George Alexander Hay. Amanda Minear died at the young age of 25 (16 May 1863). Later George Hay married Virgine Minear, Amanda's sister, and nine children were born to them: (1) Jessie Georgianna, (2) Francis Towle, (3) Janet Virginia, (4) Charles Frederick William, (5) Joseph A. M., (6) Mary Emma, (7) John Samuel Stevens; and twins, Ola Elva and Ora Elva.
Virgine Minear (everybody called her "Virginia") and her family joined the Lyman Wight Colony after her father, William Minear, was murdered for his horse and saddle in Coryell County, Texas in 1850. Virgine's mother, Lydia P. Hymer, at the time had 6 young children and was expecting the seventh.
George Hay was a true pioneer helping to bring peace and prosperity to the frontier. He protected the town from Indians, served as a judge, and as a merchant made it possible for the early settlers to get the supplies they needed. As a husband and father, he raised a fine family. George Hay died at the age of 89 on 6 Feb, 1925 and was buried in Bandera, Texas. Virgina passed away in Bandera on November 6, 1941 at the age of 97 and also was buried in Bandera.