George Taylor was born in 1716 in Ireland. He immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1736, where he worked as an iron worker for Samuel Nutt at Coventry Forge near Philadelphia.

Nutt died in 1737 and by 1743, Taylor was managing the iron furnace and married to Ann Taylor Savage. Ann died in 1768, and Taylor later had a relationship with Naomi Smith, his housekeeper, with whom he had five children out of wedlock. 

Taylor's political career began in 1747 when he was commissioned captain in the Chester County militia. He served as a justice of the peace when he moved to Easton, Pennsylvania, a member of the provincial assembly, and a judge of the county court. His ironworks, which remained his chief business, became vital during the Revolution, casting grapeshot, cannonballs, bar shot, and cannon for the Continental Army.

In July 1776, Taylor was one of several selected as representatives to the Continental Congress to replace members that had refused to sign the Declaration of Independence; he appended his signature to the document on August 2, 1776. 

In March 1777, he was elected to the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, but served only six weeks before retiring due to illness and financial straits. Taylor died on February 23, 1781, at the age of 65.