Hairston, George, 1822-1866.

George Hairston, tobacco planter of Pittsylvania County, Va.; his wife Anne Elizabeth Hairston George (1834-1925), who, after Hairston's death, married Forney George; the Hairston's son Samuel (1865-1933); and George's first cousin Louisa H. Watkins (fl. 1851-1872), her husband Peter Wilson Watkins (fl. 1851-1865) of Henry County, Va., and their son Hairston Watkins (fl. 1864-1865).

From the description of George Hairston papers, 1778-1919 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 31693216

Born in Pittsylvania County, Va., in 1822, tobacco planter George Hairston (1822-1866) was the second of Agnes John Peter (Wilson) and Samuel Hairston's seven children. In 1823, Samuel Hairston (1784-1880), who in the 1850s became known as the richest man in Virginia, built Oak Hill plantation in Pittsylvania County. George spent his early years at Oak Hill and attended the plantation school along with his brother Peter's future wife, Columbia Stuart, and her brother, the future Confederate general, James Ewell Brown (Jeb) Stuart. Like his brother Peter, George attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, but, unlike the former, George performed poorly and left the University after several incidents.

In 1855, George Hairston married Anne Elizabeth Lash (1834-1925), the daughter of William and Anne Powell Hughes Lash of Bethany, N.C. Between 1855 and George's death in 1866, the couple and their two children, William and Samuel, lived at Berry Hill, the Pittsylvania County plantation of George's grandmother, Ruth Stovall Hairston. In 1875, Anne Hairston (often called Lizzie) married Colonel Forney George, with whom she had one child, Elizabeth Lash George (the future Mrs. Spencer James). Widowed again in 1877, Mrs. George returned to Oak Hill to live with her son Samuel. She died in Danville, Va., in 1925.

Louisa Hardyman Hairston was George Hairston's first cousin by his paternal uncle, George Hairston (1784-1863). Louisa married Peter Wilson Watkins (fl. 1846-1865) and had three children: Hairston, Nannie, and Loulie. Hairston Watkins served in the Civil War in the 24th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, and, in 1864, was held prisoner for a time at Point Lookout, Md. His first cousin, Orren W. Barrow, served as a company commander in the 24th Virginia Infantry Regiment.

From the guide to the George Hairston Papers, 1778-1919, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)