George Washington Maybery

George was the third of seven children, with three brothers and three sisters. They probably grew up correcting people who should have spelled their last name with just one r, but at some point it became futile. Two of George’s brothers lived and died with their last name documented as Mayberry, but despite a few hiccups, George and his descendants managed to keep the original spelling alive.

Charles Maybery (1802-1859) was the patriarch, a native of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania who served in the Army in the 1830s. He must have extolled the virtues of military life to his three oldest sons because they also served. They were born in New London, Connecticut while he was on duty there. He was their role model as they grew up in Southwark, a district south of the city of Philadelphia before the city and county merged in 1854.

The oldest son, William, served in the Civil War as a lieutenant in the 118th Infantry for three years. The second was Charles, and his entire career was with the military starting at age 8 when he became a drummer boy in the Marine Corps, which took him into the Mexican war in 1847. He also rose to lieutenant during the Civil War.

George followed in his brother’s footsteps and became a drummer boy in 1856. Then he enlisted as a private in the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry for a three-month term in 1861 and left when his time was up in August. 

A few months later he thought the Navy would be a better choice.  He started at the bottom, which meant he was in the bottom of the ship as a coal heaver, keeping the fire hot beneath the boiler of the steam engine. From January of 1862 until Christmas Eve of 1864 he was on the USS Hartford, rising to the rank of Fireman, 1st Class.

Hartford was the flagship of Admiral David Farragut, who commanded the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. Their primary goal wasn’t just blockading Southern ports but to capture the city of New Orleans. From that conquest in April of 1862 the fleet worked for more than a year on the siege of Vicksburg, with the help of troops led by Ulysses S. Grant. Then came the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. Twelve of Hartford‘s sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor during the three hours of heavy fighting that day, but George wasn’t one of them.

Like many men after a war, he came home to find a good job, marry a fine woman, and start a loving family. Sarah Ann Cuthbert was the fine woman, tavern-keeping was a good job, and their  first child was born in 1869. A son followed the next year and was given his father’s name. They had a total of seven, with five surviving to see the new century.

The 1871 city directory listed George’s occupation as a welder. It wasn’t long before George found an even better job as a police officer, and this dashing portrait was taken in his new uniform. 

Unfortunately it was during a time when the work environment was frequently tainted by corruption. Wards and police districts often shared the same boundaries, and the leaders of the wards had tremendous influence over who got hired in their police district.

This may not have been the case with George, but it was widely known that the political party captain actually acted like the police district’s captain. In exchange for being hired, the rookie cops might be told to collect payments from certain nefarious individuals. The money was forwarded to the ward leaders who instructed the officers to “look the other way” in certain situations. 

The mayor had final authority over those hired, and at the time it was Mayor William Stokley, who served three 3-year terms, from 1872-1881. George was appointed to the 25th district by Mayor Stokely in 1873 and served under him for four years. He was reappointed in 1881, just before the Mayor stepped down. How long he served after that is unknown, but it may have been for the rest of his life. He also took part in a group for Navy veterans as well as the most influential veteran’s association, the Grand Army of the Republic.

The first of the Maybery children to get married was son George in 1889, followed by Jennie in 1894. Both couples moved to Clementon, New Jersey, and the rest of the family followed them before the turn of the century.

George only lived in that new century a little more than two months when he had a stroke. It’s not certain what year he was eventually buried at Mount Moriah, but his wife was interred here with him in 1919 and a daughter in 1928. Son George decided to add the suffix Sr. to his name when he had George Washington Maybery Jr. in 1895. That man’s son was named George III in 1916 although he was really the fourth George. Like his great-grandfather, he served his country in the Navy during World War II.