The son of Samson Levy and Martha Lampley Levy, and the grandson of Moses Raphael Levy and Grace Mears Levy, Samson Levy, Jr. grew up among Philadelphia’s social elite. Raised Episcopalian, his family attended Saint George’s Church.
In 1793 he married Sarah Coates, daughter of William Coates and Margaret Norris. They had two daughters—Sophia and Margaret—and their family maintained its position within the upper strata of Philadelphia society. They attended balls, belonged to exclusive clubs, and Samson became an incorporator of the Pennsylvania Academy of Art.
Samson, like his older brother Moses, sought a career in law. Indeed he studied under his brother, and after his apprenticeship joined the practice in 1787. Known for his ebullience in the courtroom, one contemporary observer described Levy’s courtroom oratory this way: “his manner of speaking was so energetic, and his voice so agreeable, that the uninitiated considered him—to borrow a figure from his name—‘the very Samson of the bar.’ Indeed, it seems that Levy was something of a celebrity in early 19th-century Philadelphia, known for outrageous and brilliant courtroom antics.
