Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau a Samuel Anderson Purviance i Butler, Pennsylvania. I uru ia ki te whare wānanga, i whai i tētahi akoranga ā-wā, kātahi ka ako i te ture. I whakaaetia ia ki te kaari i te 1827 ka tiimata te mahi i Butler. I neke atu ia ki Warren County, Pennsylvania, ā, e rua tau e mahi ana hei roia whakawā. I hoki ia ki Butler, i reira i haere tonu ai ia ki te mahi ture. He mema ia ki te huihuinga ture a te kawanatanga o 1837 me 1838. He mema ia o te Whare Kawana o Pennsylvania i te 1838 me te 1839. He karere ia ki te 1844 Whig National Convention me te Republican National Convention i
1856, 1860, 1864, me te tau 1868.