Poet and merchant, George Arthur Hammond (1817-1910), was one of 6 children born to Archelaus Hammond, Jr. (1769-1837), and Elizabeth Close (ca. 1770-ca.1844) and was the grandson of pre-loyalist or Planter, Archelaus Hammond, of Gagetown. The Hammond family settled at Upper French Village, Kingsclear, in the 1780s, after losing their land at Gagetown to Loyalist refugees.

George Hammond's father died when he was 16-years-old. He remained in the family home at Kingsclear for many years; however, he eventually settled on the west bank of the St. John River, about 18 miles above Fredericton, possibly on land bequeated to him by his father. On 7 September 1864, he married Emily J. Smith, of Queensbury.

George Hammond opened a general store at Kingsclear and operated a printing press in the back room. Beginning about 1887 he printed his own poetry there under the name Lahstock Rural Press; however, earlier works appeared before that date. Hammond printed the first volume of his poetry entitled, "The Harp," at Bristol, N.B., in 1869 when he was nearly 50 years of age. Another of his poems, "The Lake of Tears, An Allegory," appeared in 1869 and was reprinted in 1887 in a collection entitled, "Three Volumes in Miniature". His "Queen Victoria's Olive Tree" was published by Roberta Banks of London, in 1885. Hammond's works also appeared in several British and American publications. His poetry was nearly always on religious themes, and, like many of his contemporaries, he believed that one's sole purpose was to prepare for the hereafter. George Arthur Hammond died in 1910.