Samuel Griffith was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

-American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 political figure who represented Pennsylvania's 20th congressional district

Pennsylvania's 20th congressional district

Pennsylvania's twentieth congressional district was a congressional district in southwestern Pennsylvania. It was created following the 1830 Census and was disbanded after the 2000 Census removed two representatives from Pennsylvania...

 in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1871 to March 3, 1873.

Griffith's birthplace in Wales, Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...

, was a booming industrial town which, at the time, was a part of the historic county of Glamorgan

Glamorgan

Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...

. He was instructed in elementary subjects by a private teacher and subsequently graduated from Allegheny College

Allegheny College

Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...

 in Meadville, Pennsylvania

Meadville, Pennsylvania

Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...

. Following law studies, he was admitted to the bar in 1846, at the age of thirty and, over the following decades, practiced law in the Mercer County

Mercer County, Pennsylvania

Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 116,638. Its county seat is Mercer; Sharon is its largest city....

 seat, Mercer

Mercer, Pennsylvania

Mercer is a borough in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,391 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mercer County. Mercer is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area....

.

At the age of fifty-six, he campaigned as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to represent his congressional district and was elected to the 42nd United States Congress

42nd United States Congress

The Forty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1871 to March 3, 1873, during the third and fourth...

 in November 1870. After an unsuccessful reelection campaign in 1872

United States House election, 1872

The U.S. House election, 1872 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1872 which coincided with the re-election of President Ulysses S. Grant....

, he resumed law practice in Mercer.

Samuel Griffith died in Mercer at the age of seventy-seven and was buried in Mercer Cemetery.