Samuel Hamlin (1774-1864) was a pewterer from Providence, Rhode Island. Hamlin’s significance to Sarah Helen Whitman lies loosely in his ties to her residence at 88 Benefit Street. Hamlin was the owner of the property, purchasing it in 1822 for $2,300. He occupied the north half (which was the right side) with his family, while renting out the south half to Whitman’s mother, Anna Power, where she occupied the space with her daughters. Hamlin served as their landlord until 1862, baring witness to a number of significant events in the Powers’ lives, including Nicholas Power’s bizarre conduct and Whitman’s romance with Poe in 1848.

Anna Power died in 1858, and Whitman moved out of this house with her sister, Susan, in 1862. Hamlin continued ownership of the house until his death in 1864. His family then sold the property. It changed ownership one additional time before it was finally bought by the Episcopal Church in the early 1900s, and it remains their property today. In 1950, the house was divided into five separate apartments that are now rented out to the public.

Hamlin is buried with his family at Swan Point Cemetery.