PHOTOGRAPH OF GEORGE WHITEFIELD SAMSON, PASTOR OF E STREET BAPTIST CHURCH IN WASHINGTON D.C., AND FIFTH PRESIDENT OF COLUMBIAN COLLEGE [now George Washington University, Washington, D.C.] by Samson, George Whitefield (1819-1896)

Original oval photograph, approx. 7 x 5 in., matted. Samson is shown as an older man, in 3/4 view, turned slightly to his right, and dressed in a suitcoat and bow tie. A very good image. Rev. Samson was born in Harvard, Massachusetts in 1819, and graduated from Brown University in 1839. He completed further studies at Newton Theological Seminary and graduated from there in 1843. He served as pastor of the E Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. from 1843-1850, and again from 1852-1859. Some brief biographies mention that he was the clergyman who married Mathew Brady and his wife Juliette [Julia] Handy, although we have been unable to verify this. Between 1859-1871, he was President of Columbian College in the city, shepherding its growth through the Civil War. He later served as President of Rutgers Female College in New York City. He was the author of several books on moral and intellectual philosophy, including spiritualism and spiritual manifestations.