George Coryell was born at Coryell’s Ferry in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, probably in 1759 or 1761. Family reconstructions disagree on the exact year, but the George who later lived in Alexandria and helped carry George Washington’s bier was a son of Cornelius Coryell and Sarah Shaw Coryell. He should not be confused with Captain George Coryell, an older relative in the same extended family. The Coryells operated and lived around the Delaware River crossing later known as Lambertville, New Jersey, and New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Growing up at a ferry gave George a practical education in river conditions, boats, horses, roads, freight, travelers, weather, and the exchange of news. Ferries were essential infrastructure in a world with few bridges. The Coryell household met merchants, farmers, soldiers, officials, and strangers whose journeys depended upon the family’s knowledge of the Delaware. No reliable source consulted identifies George’s formal schooling, so claims about a particular education would be speculative.

George was an adolescent when the Revolutionary War reached New Jersey. His father Cornelius supported the Patriot cause, guided Washington in the region, and assisted the movement of American forces at the river. The ferry became strategically important during the campaigns of 1776. Washington used the high ground nearby to observe British movements, and American forces removed or destroyed available boats to prevent the enemy from crossing. Family members provided local knowledge and transportation as the Continental Army prepared for its attack on Trenton.

Later tradition credits the younger George with Revolutionary service, although details are frequently confused with the records of other Coryell men. The safest conclusion is that his youth unfolded within a strongly Patriot ferry family whose work directly supported military operations. After the war, George moved to Alexandria, Virginia, and entered the building trades or property development, erecting a frame house on Duke Street around 1794. That move marks the end of his early life: river experience, wartime family service, and the mobility of the postwar republic carried him from rural New Jersey into George Washington’s Virginia community.