George W. Postlethwaite/Postlewait/Postlethwait, born about 1828 in Tyler County, was the son of Isaac Postlethwaite, born in Virginia, and his wife, Sarah Fertner, born in Pennsylvania. The family moved in the late 1830s to Meigs County, Ohio. The family is found in the 1850 census of Meigs County; the mother had died that year.

Isaac Postlethwait, 54, Farmer, b. Va.
Julia A Postlethwait, 23, b. Va.
George Postlethwait, 22, b. Va.
Margaret Postlethwait, 18, b. Va.
Martha Postlethwait, 17, b. Va.
Sarah J Postlethwait, 16, b. Va.
Isaac Postlethwait, 11, b. Va.

On 30 June 1861, John W. Postlethwait married Olive Barringer in Meigs County. Some genealogies state her name as Olive Wells. She may have been a widow when she married John.

Records of the W.Va. Adjutant General: "POSTLEWAIT, GEORGE W. - Enrolled at Ravenswood, W.Va.; age 36; mustered in 31 Aug 1862 a Ravenswood, W.Va. Engineer, born Tyler Co., W.Va. Absent in hospital at Parkersburg, W.Va."

Service Record Summary: A farmer, age 36, Engineering (also Farmer), born in Tyler County, Va. Joined for duty and enrolled 15 Aug 1862 at Ravenswood; mustered in 31 Aug 1862, Ravenswood. He "says that he ruptured on his left side 18 Apr 1864 during march from Clarksburg to Beverly. He also stated that the accident occurred in the act of leaping a ravine?" Admitted to Parkersburg General Hospital and record indicates he was a resident of Portland, Meigs County, Ohio; his wife was Olive. Due to an inguinal hernia, he received a disability discharge 29 May 1865, which was near the end of the war.

Following the Civil War George W. Postlethwait, sometime after 1870, moved his family to Kansas.