At an early age George Yardley went to sea as a stowaway aboard a Delaware river boat and eventually gain employment as a seaman on board ocean-going ships. He came to San Francisco after the Spanish-American War (in 1898) and after his trying his hand at whaling in the Arctic. By the age of 27 (in 1906) he had gained his master's papers which allowed him to take command of ships. The years later in 1916 at the age of 36 he received his master's license. Yardley was employed with by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company from about 1906-1925. His first full-time command was the large passenger large brand-new passenger liner Golden State (built 1921) which was renamed as President Cleveland in 1922. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was taken over by the Dollar Steamship Line in 1925 and all ships crews, including Captain Yardley were transferred to that company. Yardley took command of the Dollars Line's giant flagship President Hoover (built 1931) in May 1935 aft the ship's master retired. He command the President Hoover until the ship was accidentally wrecked and lost off the coast of Formosa (now Taiwan) on December 10, 1937. Following the loss of his ship Yardley's health declined rapidly and his died in a San Francisco hospital on May 30, 1938. He was 58-years old.

Captain Yardley was married twice and had two sons from his first marriage. He his second wife was Gertrude Adams Yardley whom he married in March 1937.

Below is a link to Time magazine's obibituary for Captain Yardley.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,849023,00.html

"Died. Captain George W. Yardley, 58, master of the Dollar liner President Hoover; of complications from exposure and nervous strain in the six grim days of rescue and salvage after the President Hoover ran hard aground 18 miles off Formosa last December; in San Francisco.