Samuel Morton Rutherford was born on March 31, 1797, in Virginia.
[2] In 1814, he enlisted in the United States Army to serve during the War of 1812 and he fought in the Battle of New Orleans.
He retired from the army in 1817 and moved to the mouth of the Verdigris River.
He served as the Treasurer of Arkansas Territory, as registrar of the land office, Superintendent of Indian Affairs West of the Mississippi River, Fort Smith Judge, and as a trustee for the University of Arkansas.
[3] His grandson, also named Samuel Morton Rutherford, was active in politics in Indian Territory and Oklahoma.