Eliot was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1798. He was the son of banker Samuel Eliot and Catherine Atkins Eliot, and was related to Congressman Thomas Hopkinson Eliot. He attended the Boston Latin School, and graduated from Harvard University in 1817 and from Harvard Divinity School in 1820. His father had wanted to see him become a minister, but he died the year of his graduation and Samuel stopped short of the pulpit. Instead he traveled Europe for two years, gaining great knowledge in music and singing, and developing interests in parks and playgrounds.
