Cumberland County, Maine - Rev. Thomas Smallwood Samson ********************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: C. Wendland SilverDrusilla@aol.com Copyright (c) 2005 by C. Wendland Caitlin's Gold Award Project, Girl Scouts USA, Rio Grande Girl Scout Council, El Paso, Texas ********************************************************************** Biography Rev. Thomas Smallwood Samson Biographical Review Cumberland County, Maine Boston Biographical Review Publishing Company 1896 Page 374-375 Rev. Thomas Smallwood Samson, the present pastor of the Free Street Baptist Church of Portland, was born in the city of Washington, D.C., October 26, 1845. Although by accident of birth a native of America's national capital, Mr. Samson belongs to purely Puritan stock. On the paternal side he is the eighth in line of descent from the emigrant progenitor, who was one of the Plymouth Pilgrims. His grandfather, Abisha Samson, married Miss Mehitable Kenrick, who was of the sixth generation of an old Boston family. George Whitefield Samson, the father of the subject of this memoir, was born in the township of Harvard, Mass., September 29, 1819. At Worcester Academy he prepared for Brown University, from which he graduated in the year 1839. He then entered the Newton Theological Institution, and passed his examination for ordination in 1843. For many years he was pastor of a Baptist church in Washington, D.C.; and between the years of 1859 and 1871 he was President of Columbian College of that city. He afterward became President of Rutgers Female College in New York City. The Rev. George W. Samson had, previous to his acceptance of the Presidency of Columbian College, been something of a traveler; and his letters and essays published during his wanderings in Europe and the East had awakened general interest. The period of the publication of these letters was 1848-49, and was the beginning of his literary career. Pamphlets on theological questions, critical essays on art, and treatises on abstruse subjects appeared over his name. The subjects of some of his works show the deep interest the author took in psychic problems. For instance the title "To Damomon, or the Spiritual Medium," which was afterward published in an enlarged form, under the title of "Spiritualism Tested," indicates the trend of an analytical and philosophic mind. His "Outline of the History of Ethics" was published about 1860; and in 1867 his "Elements of Art Criticism" appeared, followed two years later by a work entitled "The Physical Media in Spiritual Manifestations." He has also written "The Atonement historically considered, ""Wine in Religious Uses," "Evolution," and "The Future State," showing a wide range of thought and knowledge. To this gentleman belongs the distinction of having satisfactorily identified those spots so venerated by Christians of all races and shades of belief, the places where the strangest drama of the world was enacted - the places of Christ's birth, baptism, transfiguration, death, and ascension. Although Mr. Samson is seventy-six years of age, he is very strong and vigorous, and still devotes himself to his favorite pursuits -teaching and writing. He married Miss Elizabeth Smallwood, daughter of Mr. Thomas Smallwood, of Newton, Mass. The Smallwoods were among the early settlers of Newton, coming thither from Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Eight children were born to them, five of whom are now living. In the order of their births these were: Thomas Smallwood Samson, whose name heads this article; George Clement Samson, a physician of Washington, D.C.; Charles Edwin Samson, of. East Orange, N.J.; Emma, wife of William A. Dayton, a physician of New York City and brother of Postmaster Dayton of that place; and Elizabeth Samson. With the Christian influences of a home in which both parents were allied in faith and effort, the atmosphere was conducive to the development of high types of character; and the intellectual life of the father was naturally a factor in the mental growth of the son. It is therefore no surprise that the son, Thomas S. Samson, chose one of the learned professions for his life work. After winning his diploma in Columbian College (now Columbian University) in 1864, he entered the law school of that institution, graduating three years later, 1867, and was immediately admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia, where he practiced his profession until 1870. Hereditary instinct now began to assert itself, and he entered the Union Theological Seminary of New York. From this institution he accepted a call two years afterward to a Baptist church in Newton, Mass. Not having as yet completed his theological course, he pursued his studies at the Theological Institution in the town in which his charge was located, graduating therefrom in 1875. On May 1, 1880, after seven years of faithful service, he left Massachusetts to become pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven, Conn., which was destroyed by fire, but afterward very handsomely built. This charge he retained until 1887. In the autumn of this year he was called to the Delaware Avenue Baptist Church in Buffalo, New York; and this pastorate was accepted. Here Mr. Samson was engaged in ministerial work until 1892, when he came to the Free Street Baptist Church of Portland, of which he is now pastor. The Rev. Thomas S. Samson married Miss Marian D. Brown, a daughter of Mr. Eleazer Brown, of Washington, D.C. This marriage was celebrated May 18, 1870. Four children were the offspring of the union. Three of them are at school and college - Marian Elizabeth, in the class of 1896 at Vassar; George Whitefield, in the class of 1897 at Yale; and Eleanor Kenrick, in the class of 1896 in the high school of Portland. Mr. Samson is a member of the Elm City Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of New Haven, Conn., and has served as Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. He belongs to Hiram Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of New Haven, and to the Chi Alpha Society and Ministers' Club of Portland. Culture and piety have gone hand in hand for two generations in this family, from which two scholarly clergymen have gone forth to labor and achieve. It is by such transmission of high aspiration from father to son that the national standard of American citizenship shall become more and more elevated intellectually and spiritually.