Born in New Wilmington, then Mercer County, Pennsylvania, Samuel Waugh became one of the most well-known portrait painters of Philadelphia and was also famous for his Italian panoramas. Among his portrait subjects were Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.

His father, James Waugh, was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and later settled in New Wilmington where he laid out the town with his sons and opened the first general store. (New Wilmington is now part of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania).

Samuel Waugh first left New Wilmington for Pittsburgh where he worked in a paint store, then received some early art instruction from J.R. Smith in Philadelphia, and then went to Italy, France, and England to study the Old Masters. In Europe, he painted many portraits and also panoramic scenes of Italy, for which he got some recognition there.

He settled in Philadelphia for the remainder of his life except for a year in New York City, 1844-1845, and Bordentown, New Jersey, in 1853. In addition to portraits, he also did several marine scenes of the New York harbor.

In 1845, he was voted an Associate Member of the National Academy of Design in New York and in 1847 was made an Honorary Member. Exhibition venues included the Pennsylvania Academy as well as the National Academy.

Several family members became artists including his wife, Mary Eliza Young, and daughter, Ida, and his son, Frederick Judd Waugh who became a distinguished marine painter.

Sources include:
Mercer County Historical Society records, courtesy Jackie Wolf Heinl
Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"