George William Bagby was doctor, editor, and writer. He was born on August 13, 1828, in Buckingham County, Virginia, and received his undergraduate and medical degrees from University of Pennsylvania (1846, 1849), although he may have never practiced medicine.

Along with work as a lecturer and humorist, Bagby spent his career as a journalist, writer, and editor, with a brief period as a soldier in the Confederate Army (April-September 1861). His many jobs included include co-owner and write for Lynchburg Express (1853-1856); editor of the  Southern Literary Messenger (1860-1864), where his writing was in favor of succession; editor of the  Native Virginian (1867-1870); and later, as an assistant to the secretary of the Commonwealth, head of the Virginia State Library (1870-1878). Overall, Bagby and his work were intertwined enough with the Conderate States of America that when Jefferson Davis fled Richmond for Danville, Virginia, in April 1865, Bagby was on the same train.

Bagby married Lucy Parke Chamberlayne Bagby on February 16, 1863, and together they had six sons and four daughters. He died in Richmond, Virginia, on November 29, 1883.

Source: Watson, Ritchie Devon, Jr. and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "George William Bagby (1828–1883)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 2013 July 8. https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Bagby_George_William_1828-1883