Samuel took advantage of his relation to his sister Heather Garret to get a job on Benjamin Garret's paper. He started out working on presses, but eventually worked his way up to reporter. As a reporter, he received a kickback from Matthew O'Dore for looking the other way when Benjamin Garret sent him out to dig up dirt on his older brother. These kickbacks allowed him to marry Isabella Collum, a woman from a socially connected family.