George Linder was born in 1834 in Laurens County, Georgia. While still enslaved, he founded Strawberry AME Church (pictured above) in 1859. At the conclusion of the Civil War, he attended the 1868 Georgia Constitutional Convention held in Atlanta. He represented the Sixteenth Election District. The convention lasted from December 1867 to March 1868. Required by the federal government, the convention created the new Georgia state constitution. Linder was elected to be a state representative. After being expelled, Linder was quoted saying, “Roust us from here, and we will roust you!”

In addition to being an AME pastor, Linder helped found two other AME churches in Laurens County. He was a successful farmer owning several hundred acres in the Buckeye District, just outside of Dublin, Georgia. He and his first wife, Peggy, had seven children. He had an additional ten children with his second wife, Mary. At some point, Linder moved his family from the farm into Dublin. The Linder family home still stands today.